Clipper Explorer 50: Review

The pilothouse is a timeless design, with long-serving brands cutting a swath along Australia's coastines for decades. But the aptly named new Explorer 50 from Clipper on the Gold Coast adds something new to the mix. With a modern interior, scope for customisation, thrusters and joystick, and the latest electronic Cummins engines, the Explorer 50 teams timeless design with modern efficiency and today's boating 'user-friendlies'.

OVERVIEW
- A solid little Explorer that captures the imagination
Clipper’s Explorer 50 sure has captured the hearts and minds of some keen motorcruising folk. Designed by Australian naval architect Mark Williamson, the Explorer 50 sold three times straight off the plan, we're told.

We drove boat #2, with the first one sold residing at Hamilton Island, and the third one back down in Hobart. As we tested 'ours' on the Gold Coast, these true passagemakers sure get around.

With the wind blowing at 30 knots from the south, my first thoughts were "thanks heavens for a pilothouse" as the Explorer 50 neared the fuel wharf. There was just Andy Diehm from Clipper Sales aboard but one-up he ably demonstrated how modern docking aids and joystick stations make moving big boats like this a, well, a breeze.

The boat arrived with a tender kiss, its captain slipping out from the pilothouse helm via the side doors to the forward outdoor wing station, moving the joystick this way and that. Of course, there is the third station in the flybridge that affords excellent vision of the road ahead. We'll get to that soon enough I thought.

With twin 480hp Cummins QSB 6.7s and the Cummins joystick option with electric thrusters, plus a full keel lying deep in the water, docking this boat single-handed was a snap.

You also get the impression this is a heavy boat, as the semi-displacement hull isn’t pushed around by wind or tide. A mini expedition liveaboard, our Explorer 50 had a stack of gear including Wesmar stabilisers among its extensive kit.

The semi-custom accommodation on this Explorer also reflects the fact that no two boats are the same, and their
owners, from Hammo to Hobart, like to do things differently.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT
- Keenly priced with a single engine option and thrusters
With a single 380hp Cummins QSB 6.7 and electric thrusters, you can get aboard an Explorer 50 for $1.35m today. But in reality, most owners are choosing this boat as their ultimate cruiser, going for twin engines, and not holding back on the gear.

Our Clipper Explorer 50 with the upgraded twin 480hp Cummins QSB 6.7s engines, Cummins Joystick docking stations, fore and aft thrusters, Wesmar stabilisers, 600kg hydraulic boarding platform, Raymarine electronics, upgraded Onan generator and inverter system, tropical air-con, European appliances and semi-custom accommodation plan was more like a $1.54m floating home at the time of testing.

Still, weighed up against a lot of bigger boats in this coastal cruising league, this is a big hitting 50 that represents excellent value for a cruising couple.

LAYOUT AND ACCOMMODATION
- Two or three cabins or this custom owner’s layout
Getting around the Explorer 50 is a safe, with exceptionally wide and deep walkaround decks from the modest cockpit to the side decks, then up some steps to the swooping wave-splitting bow and useful foredeck with inbuilt moulded seat. It’s not quite a Portuguese bridge, yet the high freeboard has that kind of seaworthiness.

The serious Muir anchoring gear includes twin bow sprits or rollers and a windlass with capstan. The boat has 100m of 13mm chain, a 66lb Bruce anchor, so one can’t imagine drifting on the hook. There are fresh and saltwater deck washes, foot controls and a chain counter in the pilothouse.

Lots of stainless rails and the deep bulwarks makes getting around this boat great for crew and family. The modest cockpit almost doubles in size thanks to the hydraulic swim platform that can be lowered as a waterfront deck extension once you dispatch the tender.

Underfloor, the lazarette has useful storage space for folding chairs and a matching table that you could plonk in the cockpit. But while the cockpit will work fine for a cruising couple, the flying bridge is the bigger al fresco entertaining area.

Moulded external and internal stairs lead the flying bridge, with large aft deck for mounting a davit and swinging a tender during serious ocean passages. There’s ample room for kayaks and watersports kit, a barbecue, and loads of seating and tables under the hardtop with full clear surrounds.

Given the stability of this little ship, entertaining an extended family or cruising neighbourhood is going to be a popular option in the flying bridge as the sun sets.

Indoors, via big saloon doors, is a conventional living area with U-shaped lounge and dinette to port opposite a pop-up TV, AV, wet bar and icemaker or wine fridge in some very nice teak cabinetry, plus there’s a lot of useful storage.

Among the details are a handcrafted compass rose in the timber table, burl vertical feature wall panels, art deco lighting, and tinted opening windows with fly screens. The lighting adds a hotel-like atmosphere.

Forward in the saloon to port, the galley has the kind of counter space you expect in a family kitchen, with a full spread of European appliances, twin sinks and good storage space for provisions. You can increase fridge and freezer space on your Explorer 50 to suit your needs.

From here, steps lead up to the pilothouse or down to the accommodation. That’s different to other Explorer 50s where the companionway is forward off the pilothouse via a circular stairwell.

On this boat, you have a straight run down to the sleeping area from the saloon and, in so doing, the accommodation is better connected to the living areas. You don’t feel trapped below decks when in your cabin and I like that.

The companionway to the cabins runs the length of the lower deck and is pushed across to starboard. Off here is the open-plan stateroom with king bed on the centreline and more burl accents to extend that hotel-like styling.

Privacy is gained by shoji screens that roll across to create a division between master cabin and companionway. As an owner’s boat, you can just leave them open and enjoy all the space extending across the full beam of the boat. Meanwhile, the highlight of the en suite was the large shower stall.

Up front, the second cabin has immense headroom and an en suite that doubles as a dayhead. With all the cabinetry and lockers, drawers and storage, this is a home-away-from-home. You will also welcome all those opening hatches for fresh air in northerly latitudes.

HULL AND ENGINEERING
- Solid little ship
The Explorer 50 is built by Ningbo Fuhua Boat Building Industry Co. Ltd, in China to various world naval standards and with a lot of established big brand engineering. Fuhua’s boats are exported to America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

While there is a classic clinker look and big forward chines, the hand-laid solid-fibreglass hull is topped with a modern composite deck and flybridge.

Clipper uses 316 stainless steel fastenings and fittings, Aquamet shafts with PYI dripless seals, Groco sea strainers, Racor fuel filters (two per motor), GRP fuel tanks (for a whopping 3406lt capacity) with sight gauges and manhole access, and so on.

We noted clear inspection windows on the sea strainers, 750lt water wing tanks (you will want a desal) with sight gauges, lots of room around the aft-mounted generator to reduce noise in the living areas, and abundant serving room in general.

Height-wise, the Cummins were kind of tight and, with no expansion tanks, you will need a hand pump to top up the coolant and cooling system in the header tank.

In the electrical department, there are three house and separate engine-start batteries including for the generator; a combined 70A battery charger/3000W inverter; full copper bonding system; and our boat had hydraulics for the Wesmar stabilisers.

One thing worth noting is that Explorer 50 owners coming out of smaller Clippers say they find the engineering is familiar and pretty consistent across the fleet.

ON THE WATER
- Solid, stable and stoical
Starting around 25t, our test boat felt like a robust and heavy ship more like 30t or even more. Despite a pilothouse, there’s not a huge amount of windage like some of today’s high-volume motoryachts.

The boat just sits there and doesn’t bobble, lean over in cross winds, swing wildly or jerk on the anchor, as we sat for a few hours at Wavebreak Island.

Underway, well, there is no better place than that pilothouse.

With twin doors, you could let the wind and fresh air whistle through or close it all up and have the boat pretty much drive itself on the autopilot.

A single helm seat fronts a burl dash, that’s not as stylish as some, but it has been shaped to create mounting space for large nav screens like the 17in models on our test boat.

Behind the helm seat is a signature crew lounge upon which to sit and reel in the sea miles, check the charts on the table, play with your tablets and devices, plot a course on your laptop, read a book, do lunch with your loved one, and stretch out for some shuteye between shifts and watches.

Underway and in classic Clipper fashion, the Explorer 50 with the twin 480hp Cummins is at once a fast and slow semi-displacement boat.

We cracked 19 knots on the test and they’ve seen 20 knots before. That’s handy for bar crossings, outrunning storms and getting home in a hurry at, say, a fast 17 knots cruise.

Otherwise, hull speed of about 9 knots at 1500rpm has a 19-20ltr/hr fuel burn for a range of around 1400nm from 90 per cent of the massive 3406lt fuel supply. Yep, this is a long-range liveaboard for exploring the Aussie coastline.

Of course, your consumption increases pretty quickly as you advance the throttles: 31lt/hr at 1750rpm and 9.9kt; 50lt/hr at 2000rpm and 10.7kt; 90lt/hr at 2500rpm and 11.5kt; 130lt/hr at 2800rpm and 14.5kt, to your planing cruise speed of 17-18 knots at 3000rpm for 150-160lt/hr.

At that 17-18 knots fast cruise, your safe range is a very respectable 340nm. Top speed was 19.1 knots on the day.

VERDICT
- Explorer by name and nature
At 16kt, with a bit of tab on, you sure make good progress on the Explorer 50. Clipper has driven one like this all the way to Hamilton Island. But once in the hands of owners, that 9kt cruise at hull speed is where this boat will spend most of its life.

Put a lure out the back and catch dinner as you go. Engage the Wesmar stabilisers and cruise with a coffee in hand. Plot with a finger on the touchscreen nav unit. Then watch that distant island materialise into view.

Launch the tender, comb the beach, catch a mud crab and crack it for dinner with some fresh-trolled mackerel fillets at a sunset up top. And go places in the pilothouse, arriving as fresh as the moment you weighed anchor.

This big little 50 has a ship-like look and feel in a package that’s easy to manage and feed with fuel. Explorer by name and nature and, with the docking aids, willing and able to set off for your next short-handed adventure.

LIKES
>> Liveability akin to a 60 footer just perfect for a keen cruising couple
>> Huge cruising range and Cummins reliability
>> Pilothouse cruising is hard to beat
>> Excellent short-handed manageability and manoeuvrability
>> Very good engineering, equipment lists, and fitout
>> All-Australian owned, strong local backing and regattas

NOT SO MUCH
>> Not a lot of room in the coolant header tank atop the engines to add coolant
>> Not the biggest cockpit, so make sure you tick the box for hydraulic swim platform
>> Could do with a side provisioning and access gate and door (easy option)

Specifications - Clipper Explorer 50
Price as tested:  From about $1.54 million with upgraded twin 480hp QSB 6.7 Cummins diesel engines and all the owner upgrades from Wesmar stabilisers to Cummins Joystick, custom two-cabin accommodation layout, and more
Priced From: The base price with a single 380hp Cummins QSB 6.7 and electric thrusters is around $1.35m.
Length Overall: 15.24m
Beam: 4.67m
Draft: 1.65m
Displacement: From about 25,000kg dry
Cabins: two (three optional)
Berths: 4+1
Engine: 480hp QSB 6.7 Cummins diesel engines
Generator: Onan 13.5kVa
Fuel: 3406lt
Water: 757lt
Holding tank: 378lt

Supplied by:
Clipper Motor Yachts
Gold Coast City Marina
46-84 Waterway Drive
Coomera, QLD, 4209
Phone: 07 5519 4019
Email: brett@clippermotoryachts.com   
Web: www.clippermotoryachts.com.au.