Mason Clipper

Don't talk about the fishing though....

 

nice looking proportions on that boat.

 

The radiused chine was probably to ease the original strip-planking construction, later when they changed to glass construction, retaining that might have seemed a bit odd to the average buyer.

 

Good pints PAR,
I remember the "good old days" that wer'nt so good in many many ways. My first car was a 36 Chevrolet and I had many from the 40's and fifties. The cars of the 50's were comparitively bad compared to newish cars now ... as you point out. But you could drive down the road with little effort on the steering wheel to make slight corrections .. even look around a bit w/o heading for the ditch. An "old car" nowdays is as pictured above. That little blue guy (an 87) w 284000 miles on it is my preferred driver. Even though it's a stick it takes less effort to drive. For a long trip I drive the Honda mostly because it's better at speed. Gas millage is not far from the same as is ride comfort. Visibility is much better in the old Nissan. Several things like ride comfort are better in the older cars.

As for boats I defer to you.
The newer boats do need more power to drive them. The old OB cruiser of the late fifties was powered w two 35hp ourboards. That 22' (or so) boat is now powered w 150 to 200hp. Most fairly small outboards need gobs of power. I have an 18' Winner w a 60hp OB and w more than two people onboard it's under powered. Wanted fairly fuel efficient but I probably should have bought a lighter boat w a flatter bottom.

 

Agreed Eric, modern boats tend to have hull shapes, that need more power to get up on plane and maintain speed. The trade off is much higher speed potential and better handling. In the good old days, those twin 35's would get you into the high 20's maybe the low 30 MPG bracket. The hull forms used back then will run into a huge drag wall in the low 40's and an atomic reactor is required to go any faster. A modern version of the same boat will need 90 HP to do the same speeds, but also can take much more and have speed potential into the low 60 MPH range. Besides, it'll have a GPS plotter, so you don't have to hope your Loran can find your home port. Come on, the good 'ol days, remember . . .

 

Well said PAR,
Skin friction I assume.
Yes I see your point. But for me personally I have no desire to go 60 knots .. or even half that. Just want to go 12 or 14.
I really appreciate your post #15.
Hard to imagine you going through all those tires on the Burb. We still have an 87 Burb and it's Hard to imagine a more useful vehicle. But we seldom use it. It's for boat towing. Speaking of tires .. tires could be the greatest advancement of all. I could go down the freeway in a 60's car quite gracefully at present day speeds but not on the 1960's bias ply tires. I'd soon be dead.
Still have your Digger plans.
Thanks again PAR.

 

I've gotten the usual milage out of the tires on the Suburban, it's just got a quite a few miles. I remember getting flats regularly as a kid, but tires are so much better now, along with lots of other stuff (except my exwife).

 

Hi there
Mason Marine Clippers has a facebook page under same name. The Clipper hulls were lofted from half models scribed - there are no plans kept by heirs as one post suggests. My father Tony was an aeronautical engineer and a fine natural mathematician. The 24 was the most popular production model. Exporting was difficult as the then government led by Robert Muldoon created a 'luxury tax' which essentially killed off NZs boating production industry. We exported one Clipper to USA and there's one in Western Australia.
By 1970 hulls and cabins were mainly moulded. New Zealand's North Island is blessed with very accessible sheltered coastal and lakeland holiday spots. Marinas were non-existent - the Clipper 24 was probably the biggest luxury appointed cabin cruiser you could fit on a trailer.

How a hull performs is determined by a set of parameters.
1. What are the usual conditions you would use the boat in?
2. Is it for overnighting or longer holidays ( ie; warp-plane reserve buoyancy aft hulls better drinking gin at anchor ).
3. Degree of vee, length to beam ratio - and weight, position of engine and tankage, and horsepower.
Most Clipper 24s were configured with around 260hp sterndrive petrol motors. If you look through the facebook page you will see the Clippers won many powerboat races - both line honours and fuel efficiency awards. Good story there on the late Sony Levi - designer of the Riva range in Italy - he came down to NZ and spent some time with Tony.