Mac 370 Clinker

We review a boat that has its roots in a classic hull design – but with a modern manufacturing twist.

Clinker or lap-strake construction is one of the oldest boat construction methods (consider, for example, the Viking long ships), and I can well remember, as a kid, many evenings lying under an upturned hull, holding a steel dolly on the copper nails, while on the outside my Dad swung the hammer, cinching down kauri or cedar planks.

The Mac 370 Clinker may have the classic lap-strake dory lines, but is made with much more modern material and technique. Mac boats, made by Galloway International in Auckland, are constructed from rotationally moulded polyethylene thermoplastic.

The introduction of this hull to the NZ market happened in a roundabout fashion. The moulds for the Mac 370 Clinker have been in storage for some time, and an ex-pat Kiwi living in Scotland, who knew of their existence, ordered 16 for export to the UK. This was followed by further orders, largely for use as rowboats on British lakes and ponds.

Encouraged, Galloway’s new sales manager, Tony Trueman, decided to look at the local market as well. The plan was to release the hull as an all-round utility boat. As well as having impeccable rowing credentials, the hull can easily be powered by a small outboard. The challenge was to also offer a sailing option, and to this end Trueman collaborated with sailing instructors Stuart and Holly Innes to come up with a simple but effective sail rig.

Construction

Polyethylene has high impact resistance (it is used in the manufacture of bullet-proof vests), is colourfast and has a high resistance to heat distortion. It is non-corrosive, can be welded if it ever needs repair, is non-toxic (it is used widely in the food industry), is quiet in the water and inherently buoyant, even before construction.

To the basic thermoplastic is added colour (various colours are available) and UV stabilisers. Its rated life in sunlight is well over thirty years.

The boat is formed by rotational moulding at 250° C. Some very clever Kiwi technology allows the hull to be formed in one integral piece with outer and inner shells connected – there are no hull welds or joins, and a five-year structural hull warranty is offered.

The Mac 370 has an approximate hull thickness of seven millimetres, and much of the internal space between the skins is filled with expanding foam, further stiffening the hull and providing a huge amount of reserve buoyancy. The hull is rated for five adults – pretty impressive for a 3.7m hull.

Power and performance

There are three power options for this adaptable craft. First is the ‘twin-armstrong’ power plant – a set of oars. Most hulls can be rowed or paddled at a pinch, but this dory-style boat is designed to be rowed and the slick polyethylene material slides effortlessly through the water.

A transom mount is provided for a small outboard. This is not a planing hull, and despite being rated up to 10 horsepower, it is recommended for 2-5hp. Extra power will not make the boat move a lot faster, just kick the stern down and the bow up.

If you are in a hurry, this rig is not for you. But if you are content to purr quietly along at a sedate pace, enjoying a gentle ride and using next to no petrol, read on.

The third option is a sail rig. I can count on the fingers of both hands the number of times I have been sailing, so  deferred to the expert touch of sailing instructor Stuart Innes, with Tony Trueman as his apprentice. The sail rig is compact and simple. A rudder is slipped onto pintles on the stern (these can be removed if they obstruct the outboard mount) and a centreboard is fitted just forward of the centre thwart. Both the rudder and centreboard are beautifully made from timber and sealed.

The mast is aluminium and takes down into two pieces (three if you count the boom) for easy transport. It is stepped into a mount on the rear face of the forward thwart. A full-length pocket along the sail’s luff slides over the mast. The rig is free standing without stays or shrouds, so rigging is minimal.

As I said, I am not experienced with sail, but I do appreciate the quiet simplicity, environmental friendliness, and once you have bought the sail conversion kit, the cheapness of it.

Layout

These small boats are meant for inshore work and shallow water, so there is no need for a serious anchoring kit. A forward locker, accessed through the hatch in the top of the forward thwart, has plenty of space for the ground tackle. A cleat set on the bow to tie off the warp pretty much eliminates the need for a fairlead.

The rest of the layout is simple. Seating in the bow, sides and across the stern (plus the centre thwart) give plenty of options. Most of the under-seat space around the sides and stern is foam filled, as mentioned, except for the bow locker.

The centreboard mount has a cap to keep the water out when the boat is used in outboard mode and there’s a drainage path from a bung in the deck near the stern to another bung on the side of the keel.

The only other fitting was a pair of foot braces attached to the deck to give the oarsman something to brace his feet against while pulling on the oars. This is an optional extra.

Overall, simple and clean, with virtually nothing to break or go wrong.

Fishability

The boat is stable, pretty much unsinkable, ghosts through the water, and is quiet at anchor, making it ideal for shallow water stealth fishing. For basic inshore fishing, you don’t really need much gear, and you do not necessarily need to go far. This is the beauty of it.

The clean lines and big stern seat would make it easy to pay out a net. Rod holders could be fitted in several ways: screwed onto the side of the boat as required, or by using models with mounting systems that drop into the rowlock blocks. Throw in a small tackle box, knife, a landing net and hand gaff, a bait board and a chillybin for the bait and catch, and you have all you need to go out and catch a feed.

With a rig like this, the cost of fuel is not an issue, especially if you decide to use the oars or sail to get where you are going. The small outboards recommended for this rig use little fuel. They are mostly fitted with internal fuel tanks, so there is no tote tank and fuel lead to clutter up the boat.

Trailering

A fair amount of thought has gone into making the trailer as much of an all-rounder as the boat. Two different trailers are offered. One is the standard T-bar design – a simple leaf-spring, single-axle design to carry the 137kg hull. A box trailer is offered as an alternative. This has bigger wheels and is pretty much a standard road trailer, but with an extra set of tailboards. These are fitted with rollers and cut out to carry the boat. By changing out the tailboards, you can turn the boat trailer back into a road trailer used to take the rubbish to the dump, cart firewood, furniture or whatever. Very useful.

All-up tow weight for the boat on the heavier box trailer is only 327kg – easily towed by most average-sized cars.

All in all

I love the simplicity of inshore fishing in small boats, and still do a lot of it. This sleek, classically-styled boat (and its trailer) is versatile, easy to handle, stable and safe. You can use it to fish, teach the kids to sail and generally have a lot of fun.

Easy to tow, cheap to run, and you can always row it home. The slower, quieter pace of this boat will be appreciated by those who go on the water to just relax – and maybe catch a fish for dinner.

	This article is reproduced with permission of New Zealand Fishing News Oct  2006 - by Sam Mossman Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited