Clipper 36 Heritage

The Clipper 36 is single-engine displacement cruiser with one cabin (second optional), a roomy and comfortable saloon, walk-around decks and dual helm stations. Being a full-displacement cruiser it is not designed to break any speed records but more as a cruiser from which you can enjoy the views and the journey – like a gentleman’s cruiser of yore.

Also included is a Vetus bow thruster (stern thrusters optional), two air-conditioners – 12,000BTU in the cabin and 16,000BTU in the saloon and an Onan generator.

For entertainment, there is a Bose surround-sound system and a 19” LCD DVD/TV in the saloon.

“We fit out the boats with all the gear that customers usually get on their boats,” said Brett Thurley. “That way, we have a short options list and owners can simply drive the boat away.”

The way the boats are fitted out would also make it easier to budget for your purchase.

There is a twin-bathroom setup with the head and basin in the port-side ensuite and the roomy shower in the starboard.

Hand-rubbed teak abounds giving a feeling of warmth and comfort in what is a large and well thought-out cabin.

Up four stars brings us to the saloon which has a raised dinette for four. Big picture windows give and excellent view all round from here and I could well imagine cooking up a storm in the galley and enjoying a lovely evening here. If you have extra visitors on board, the table will drop down to make a double bed with infills provided.

Opposite the dinette is the lower helm station which offers the skipper a comfortable helm seat with footrest. The wheel is worth noting, a big, hand-made wooden wheel dominates the fascia of the helm station and as well as being functional, it’s a real feature of the boat – not unlike a piece of art. Apart from the afore-mentioned electronics package, the clipper also has analogue gauges for the tanks and a row of rocker switches for lights etc.

Further aft, opposite the galley is a comfortable lounge which could also double as another spare berth.

The galley is fully equipped with top-quality appliances. A Smeg oven with two-burner electric cooktop will take care of the cooking while a Dometic front-opening fridge will keep things cold. There is also a second fridge in the cockpit for you long-range cruising. It’s interesting to note that the benchtops in the galley are solid Corian and everything feels classy.

Stepping out into the cockpit, I noticed a huge cockpit locker which would be great for storage of equipment for long stays aboard. The walk-around decks offer a great level of safety for kids and crew, and lead to a wide foredeck with good access to the anchor. A 45lb gal anchor with 100m of 10mm gal chain come as standard and should be plenty to anchor the 36. Interesting to note here is that there are controls for the anchor winch at three stations as standard – on both helms and on the foredeck. There is a nice padded seat on the foredeck too, brilliant for cruising or to sit and have a cool drink while at anchor.

The deck gear is worth noting while outside. Big stainless-steel cleats are obvious at the bow and stern and there are also spring cleats amidships – all have hawsepipes and give the feeling that you could dock this boat anywhere with confidence.

Moving upstairs via the solid staircase, we find a vast flybridge. Seating for four around the dinette is not a problem; and then on the port side there is another lounge that will comfortably sit three more. The skipper has a dedicated helm seat and full instrumentation including a second VHF radio. All standard.
Aft of the lounges, there is a big area that can easily accommodate a RIB and davit, however, I’d prefer to leave it alone and put out a table and some deck chairs – each to his own. There are also decks with railings along the sides of the flybridge further adding to its appeal.

There are three automatic bilge pumps with manual override and high-water alarms and one manual bilge pump.

The hull of the Clipper 36 is constructed of hand-laid moulded fibreglass with cored fibreglass superstructure. It features a solid GRP keel and chines, and there is a watertight collision bulkhead forward.

The 36 is a pretty big boat with a beam of 13’3” which is the same as the Clipper 40. But this is not a cut-down 40, it is a stand-alone boat with its own moulds which were new in 2009. Usually, a boat with walk-around decks loses a bit in the saloon but due to the 36’s beam, this is not the case.

We’d brought out some sandwiches and after a while we decided to go south with the wind and have our lunch up on the flybridge. What a pleasant way to pass the afternoon – gliding down the waterways of the Gold Coast with a sandwich and enjoying the vista of the Gold Coast Skyline. The purr of the Cummins is barely perceptible on the bridge and at a smidge over 1500rpm we were doing 7.1kt at a frugal 7.7 litres per hour. Crank it up a bit and the fuel burn rises, but at 8.3kt we were doing 1840rpm with a burn of just 15.4 litres per hour.

The combination of the single Cummins and the bow thrusters, with the added bonus of the optional stern thruster on the test boat meant it was a particularly manoeuvrable boat. However, Brett showed us just how nimble this boat in the hands of a well-versed driver with just the engine. Even with the wind and tide against us, Brett could spin the boat without the use of the thrusters.

I did find that there were quite a lot of turns lock-to-lock on the helm but Brett told me that it was due to the company wanting the helm to be light to the touch rather than stiff through the hydraulic steering. We got used to it. Lunching under the bimini was gorgeous and I could easily see myself happily coping with cruising on this little ship.

With the combination of the dual stations, the lovely wooden ambience of the saloon and the easy manner of the hull and engine combination, one could happily cruise in the Clipper 36 come rain, hail or shine.