Motor Boat & Yachting - July 2018

Early in the 20th century, the Philip &

Son boatyard on the River Dart turned

out everything from Trinity House

lightships to tugs and tankers. In the

early ’60s, before Princess, Sunseeker

and Fairline had even been thought of,

this once-prolific yard turned its tools

to luxury motor yachts. Going straight

in at 50ft, the twin-diesel Philips 50

was constructed using laminated

Iroko frames planked with teak below

the waterline and mahogany above.

The superstructure was varnished

teak with a sheathed plywood

coachroof deck and wheelhouse roof.

Launched at £20K, six were built of

which four remain – two of them on

the Dart. This is one of them.

INTERIOR

An aft-cabin layout creates space for

three separate sleeping cabins, the

master cabin aft with twin bunks, one

each side. A large and well-lit saloon

sits forward of the wheelhouse with

the galley on the lower level forward,

but what’s impressive is the heads

opposite, which features an actual

(if half-sized) bath! Varnished teak

gives the interior a warm period feel.

EXTERIOR

An L-shaped seating area dominates

the aft deck, with plenty of room to

walk around the outside of it. With its

wide side decks, there’s room to walk

round the outside of the whole boat.

PERFORMANCE

Twin Perkins 6.354 140hp shaftdrive

diesel engines mean speeds are

stately rather than speedy. MBY

tested the very first Philips 50 to hit

the water, recording an admirably

precise 9.91 knots in pre-GPS times.

Eight knots is a comfy cruising speed.

SEAKEEPING

I experienced this boat’s sister ship

out of Dartmouth, and it’s quite

different compared to modern planing

50-footers. Very much a gentleman’s

motor yacht, she’s slower, obviously,

but rock steady. It’s boating for the

pleasure of being at sea rather than

racing to the next port in a ball of spray.

DATA FILE

1967 £110,000

Length 52ft 8in (16.5m)

Beam 14ft 7in (4.4m)

Draught 4ft 6in (1.4m)

Displacement 35 tonnes

Fuel capacity

900 gallons (4,091 litres)

Engines Twin Perkins

6.354 140hp diesel

FOR SALE Wooden Ships.

http://www.woodenships.co.uk

KEY CRITERIA

OQuality heritage

OClassy styling

OModern cruising ability

Philips 50

Including the

performance

Classical in

every sense



RATING

FIND ME A USED...

Classic

cruiser

A teak and brass

interior leaves no

doubt that you’re

on a classic boat

Modern nav equipment

is neatly integrated

into the period helm

The aft cabin

features single beds