I was
back at Brooms this morning to Survey this Moonraker 36 Fast Cruiser for
Insurance. The Moonraker 36 was one of the most popular medium sized fast
cruisers of the 1970s. The boat was launched in 1970 by Moonraker Marine of
Brundall, Norfolk, where later became JCL Marine, and nearly 400 boats were
built before JCL went into liquidation in 1980.
The reason for the boats popularity were its competitive price (the
early examples cost under £10,000 with the smallest engine option of twin 100hp
GM diesels) and good accommodation, with a total of six berths. Most were
fitted with Perkins 145HP giving a top speed of 18 to 20 knots. This one
had the Ford 180HP turbo diesels.
Moonraker 36 History:
When the Moonraker 36 was introduced in January 70, orders in hand were
completed, but no further orders were taken. All in all 52 Moonrakers on the
Ocean 30 hull were produced.
The Moonraker 36 Softrider was introduced as the market demanded it, requiring
a bigger boat and Royal Navy Architect Robert Tucker was the original designer
of the hull. Bell Buxton Boat Builders was then formed to produce the Moonraker
36 under the name Moonraker Marine. Bell Buxton produced all in all 122
vessels.
On July 12th.1971 the yard was taken over by Anthony Colin Bruce (known for his
Lotus Sports cars), under the name Moonraker International. Chapmans arrival in
boat manufacturing was no accident. For months he had been considering designs
of a new boat in the 30-45-ft. range.
He redesigned the superstructure and thereby gave the boat the elegant look,
which today more than 40 years later, still makes the boat impressive. From
1973 Moonraker was produced under the name JCL marine/Moonraker Motor Yachts,
and with minor adjustments the manufacturing continued until October 1980,
where the builders folded, a victim of the recession that gripped the industry
at the time.
 |
| Found this on Google!! |
In 1987 the manufacturing was taken up again by Aqua Bell / East Anglian Marine
in Brundall, Norwich. The boats were then called Moonraker Super 36, and traded
through Monitor Marine / D.C.Developments. The last boat was built in 1991 to
the manager of Aqua Bell, Vic Bell. (Where my office is situated). In the
period as a hole, just fewer than 400 Moonrakers were built, the first 300 of
which were built before end of 1974. Moonrakers were sold to more than 30
countries including Bahrain and the USA.
The
Sedan and the Cruiser were powered by twin Perkins 6.354 115hp six-cylinder
diesels, the Sports Yacht by turbocharged T6.354s developing 175hp. The 175s
were also available on the Sedan and the Cruiser in a higher-spec version
called the Express most buyers opted for the extra power.
Surveyors comments
Some
of the hulls were renowned to have some osmosis blistering, although many have
now been peeled and treated with epoxy. Fuel and water tanks are constructed
from fibreglass and are bonded deep into the hull. Fuel filler and vent pipes
are an unusual design ( more like seen in the automotive industry!) and many
had to be changed to pass the current Boat Safety Scheme Regulations.
