Cordova 60 - Richard Boland Yachts

magazine
Clipper
Cordova 60
Clipper Cordova 60
Local Hero
From the Clipper brand comes the Cordova 60, a flybridge trawler named
after an Alaskan island but designed and built for local conditions by Clipper’s
Australian owners.
words: Kevan Wolfe
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Clipper Cordova 60
The galley is on the same level as the saloon with no step up, creating an easy flow.
The warm ambience of the main saloon is enhanced by Burmese teak and subtle burl inserts between the windows.
W
hen we tested the Clipper Europa 52 about 12
months ago, I wrote at the time that we were seeing
a new era emerging with the return of pilothouse
cruisers. It’s an era that has been brought about
partly by the high price of fuel and partly by the desire to cruise
comfortably at an economical speed.
Judging by the number of pilothouse motoryachts on show at
this year’s Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, that era is well
and truly here.
With the return of pilothouse cruisers comes some tried and
tested traditions, but the modern pilothouse cruiser is far from
the sedate old lady of yesteryear that puttered along at 10 knots
all day. Today’s displacement pilothouse with modern hull designs
and engine technology can show a turn of speed, if required, that
is almost as quick as many planning vessels. Handy to have when
there’s a need to beat a looming storm home.
Of all the brands on the market the Clipper name is probably
one of the best known with the traditional Clipper 34 being very
popular with the cruising fraternity on Sydney waterways in the
‘70s and ‘80s.
Last year the Europa 52 was released and now in 2009 the
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Cordova 60 has been introduced. The model has been named after
an island off Alaska. Although the models may carry northern
hemisphere names – a 54 designated a Hudson Bay is due next
year – the Clipper brand is still wholly Australian owned.
The boats are now manufactured in China at two state-of-theart shipyards, however Clipper still owns the moulds and all the
tooling. As Clipper MD, Darren Berry, says “we have taken all the
benefits of the Chinese shipyards and added the components –
much of it used in superyachts”. In addition, there is an engineer
and a carpenter from the UK, both Clipper employees, full time
in the factories supervising and generally keeping an eye on the
production of each boat.
Although the 60 was designed by Canadian naval architect
Trevor Bolt, who also designed the 52, the emphasis has been on
creating a boat for Australian conditions and not the other way
around as is often the case with imported vessels. Even so, the first
hull went to Norway, two and three have come to Australia, hull
four is off to Europe and hull five is scheduled for Singapore.
The 60 was four years in the planning. “We worked very hard at
it,” said Darren. “Even when the plug was being built we were making
subtle changes. “We wanted a modern trawler that was easy to move
The cosy master stateoom.
is complemented by the teak table with an inlaid compass rose in
around on and suited to Australian conditions,” he said. “Each
the centre, an entertainment centre, leather lounge and a couple
model’s hull is completely new as well, we don’t take an existing
of freestanding lounge chairs. The cabin floor is finished in teak
hull and lengthen it.”
and holly, which extends to the pilothouse. Although, this boat
There is only so much can be done with a trawler design,
had optional carpet in the saloon, which effectively hid some top
especially in the interior and accommodation. The difference
craftsmanship.
between most trawler designs is generally very
“The wood rim and spoke
The galley is U-shaped with all
subtle, such as in the tooling. On the Clipper
the
right appliances, good solid
this can be seen in the flowing superstructure
steering wheel is a work of art.
cupboards and drawers and an
moulds and even in the seats in the main cabin,
There must be an unwritten
overhead that is set in from the
everything has been tooled. There is not a hard
competition between the various edge of the counter, there is no
surface anywhere.
“We have spent a lot on tooling, but that’s the yards in China to see which one chance of accidentally banging
heads when walking past.
price we have to pay for quality,” said Darren.
can produce the best looking
It’s one step up to the traditional
The interior design of a trawler depends on
steering wheel. This one would pilothouse with the mandatory
whether the owner wants a galley up or a galley
down configuration, which dictates the layout of have taken many hours to build.” lounge and table at the back. The
driver gets a top of the line Crown
the main saloon.
seat in front of a compact console
The vessel had the yacht-style galley down on
with a full Raymarine package, which includes the new G17
the same level as the saloon. Mark Campion played a big part
plotter onto which the 48 nautical mile radar can be overlaid. The
in the design of the saloon. It’s finished in golden Burmese teak
wood rim and spoke steering wheel is a work of art. There must be
with subtle burl inserts between the large picture windows. This
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Clipper Cordova 60
The traditional pilothouse features a beautiful wooden helm wheel.
Wide walkways and the spacious aft deck create the feeling of classic trawler livability.
an unwritten competition between the various yards in China to
see which one can produce the best looking steering wheel. This
one would have taken many hours to build.
Off to one side is a real chart table with pop up lights either
side and underneath a full-size chart draw. A mimic showing the
status of the boat’s systems is overhead with other switches and
gauges showing fuel and water tank contents and the controls for
the Wesmar stabilisers.
On either side of the pilothouse are two serious Panagraph sea
doors leading out onto the wide side decks with high bulwarks. This
makes moving forward to the Portuguese bridge in a seaway both easy
and safe. Double doors lead out onto the foredeck where we find the
usual seats and a sunlounge.
The bulwark teak capping is worth mentioning here. The finish
looks like varnish. When I remarked that it would be a lot of work
to keep it looking good, Darren laughed and said that the finish
was an oil he had sourced in Germany. He wasn’t about to tell me
the name of it though, he was keeping that to himself.
Access to the sleeping accommodation is via a curved
companionway beside the helm station.
Again it’s the subtle differences that distinguish one trawler
design from the next. In the middle of the teak-lined, full beam
cabin is a king-size island bed and off to one side is a vanity table
for her. The bathroom, with overhead mirror, which is now
becoming standard on all trawler designs, features a big walk-in
shower and granite bench tops and the hanging locker comes with
a shoe rack.
There is the usual two-bunk cabin and up front a VIP cabin.
“We like to think that the owner will take this boat to sea and
not just sit in the marina,” said Darren, “So we have installed
safety covers to protect the ports up front in a seaway.”
Up top the flybridge is enclosed with Strataglass clears with a
lounge on either side finished in Sunbrella fabric, and each with
a teak table.
As most people gravitate to the flybridge on a good day, Clipper have
installed two Crown chairs at the helm console, one for the driver and
the other for a companion. The console houses a pair of Raymarine
E120 screens as well as the Wesmar stabiliser and hydraulic bow and
stern thruster controls.
There’s a full wet bar with a barbecue, sink, fridge and icemaker.
There is a lot of room up here on the hardtop that extends over
if needed. Drop the speed to 10 knots and it will cruise all day with
the QSM 11s ticking over at 1,070 rpm and using about eight US
gallons an hour.
According to Darren Berry we will be seeing a lot more of the Clipper
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stable. A new 45 and a new 48 are due for release later this year.
O
For further information Tel: Brett Thurley (07) 3890 5000, email
brett@clippermotoryachts.com.au or visit www.clippermotoryachts.com.au
Technical specifications
Clipper Motoryachts China Trevor Bolt Mark Campion 2009 17.60m
16.35m
5.12m
1.358m
26.8 tonnes (approx)
Hand laid fiberglass Hand laid FRP using core cell sandwich construction 2 x Cummins QSM 11 diesels 670hp each the big cockpit.
Access to the engine room is from the cockpit through the
optional crew quarters. The engine room houses the twin Cummins
QSM11, 670hp diesels, it’s neat with the engines set well down in
the hull giving the shafts an angle of just 10 degrees.
The boat has a ‘big girl’ feel but is light on the steering and easy to
handle with the Wesmar stabilisers reducing 90 per cent of the pitch.
This is no lightweight boat, the hull is a true semi-displacement
design with a high chine that works at around 10 knots and a low
chine that comes into operation at 18 to 20 knots.
There’s a big keel running down the centreline, this protects
the running gear and in a following sea keeps the boat straight.
Although, when manoeuvring the big keel tends to slow the
boat’s reaction to the helm and control levers. The 25 horsepower
hydraulic Wesmar bow and stern thrusters take care of that. A
short burst soon has the boat heading where the skipper wants it.
The Clipper loves cruising at 18 knots and will run at 23 knots
Hung Sueng 800mm x 810mm 23kts 12-18kts 4300ltr , optional 5800ltr
1500ltr
BUILDER
COUNTRY OF BUILD
DESIGNER
INTERIOR DESIGNER
YEAR OF BUILD
LOA
LWL
BEAM
DRAFT
DISPLACEMENT
HULL CONSTRUCTION
SUPERSTRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION
ENGINES
OUTPUT
PROPELLERS
SPEED (MAX)
SPEED (CRUISE)
FUEL CAPACITY
FRESHWATER CAPACITY
416ltr GREYWATER CAPACITY
Wesmar 25hp hydraulic bow and stern BOW THRUSTERS
Onan 21kVA Raymarine 6 optional Antique white DSM gelcoat Aurora with 15hp Mercury $1.89m as tested driveaway from $1.7m GENERATORS (MAIN)
NAVIGATION ELECTRONICS
OWNER AND GUESTS (BERTHS)
CREW
PAINT
TENDERS
PRICE
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