Located in Carlton NSW, Clipper Products Pty. Ltd. was a
manufacturer of Outboard Conversion Units and Outboard Motors that were
ultimately powered by a variety of different lawn mower engines including
Victa, Pace, Villiers, Hurricane, Pope and Kirby.
The earliest mention of Clipper Outboard Conversion Legs uncovered thus far is contained within a Victa Rotomo Lawn Mower advertisement dating back to May 1957. It reads “Call in and see the CLIPPER OUTBOARD UNIT for conversion from your Victa Mower – Also come along and have free actual demonstrations”.
The Clipper Outboard Leg featured a full reversing shaft (single piece drive/exhaust tube), underwater exhaust, three blade weedless type propeller and a safety tilt system. It featured a gear reduction of 3:1, weighed only 19lbs and came with a lifetime guarantee against faulty parts and manufacture.
The earliest mention of Clipper Outboard Conversion Legs uncovered thus far is contained within a Victa Rotomo Lawn Mower advertisement dating back to May 1957. It reads “Call in and see the CLIPPER OUTBOARD UNIT for conversion from your Victa Mower – Also come along and have free actual demonstrations”.
The Clipper Outboard Leg featured a full reversing shaft (single piece drive/exhaust tube), underwater exhaust, three blade weedless type propeller and a safety tilt system. It featured a gear reduction of 3:1, weighed only 19lbs and came with a lifetime guarantee against faulty parts and manufacture.
Conversions from motor mower to outboard were said to be
possible within 20 minutes or less. As one would expect, there were a number of
Outboard Conversion Kits to choose from, based on the engine type and model
that was to be adapted.
Variations of the Clipper Leg can also be seen on other
Australian Outboard brands.
Advertisements for Clipper Outboard Motors began to appear
in boating magazines from mid-late 1958. The earliest example and possibly the
most appealing to the Vintage Outboard Collector feature a purpose built cast
aluminium shroud with inbuilt fuel tank and external recoil starter. These were powered by Victa
Marine engines. Engine serial numbers prefixed with an ‘X’.
With the more recent Clipper Outboards, it is not possible
to know for certain whether they are factory or user assembled. Identification
becomes impossible in the absence of the original decals.
Serial number traces of engines fitted to non-Clipper
branded outboard motors have revealed that the engines were originally
consigned to Clipper Products Pty. Ltd. This may indicate that Clipper
facilitated the supply of engines to some of the smaller outboard manufacturers,
or alternatively that the Clipper company provided manufacturing services.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Specifications varied dependent upon engine make.
May 1957 Victa Romoto / Clipper Conversion Unit advertisement:
The most appealing of the Clipper Outboards are the earliest models. These feature a purpose built cast aluminium shroud with inbuilt fuel tank and external recoil starter and were powered by Victa Marine engines. Engine serial numbers prefixed with an ‘X’.
