I have recently became quite interested in the MAURADER 24 , and now I own one and found how incredibly good the yacht sails and of course his little Investigator 18 yacht also being a great design being two of only three yachts he designed both have had incredible thought put into them.
I am aware of Crawford's in Brisbane and sailboat data . but is there any one out there who may of known him who could share any more information ??

sailboatdata.com/sailboat/marauder-24

Worked at Hood sails in Sydney for years.
Back when people sailed in the oceans the JOG nationals where in Sydney so as kids we sailed to the regatta and back in a Marauder.
From Mooloolaba.

Sheppo was one of my dad's main rivals for NSW supremacy in the Gwen 12 dinghies in that class' early days. They then got together as partners in Daring, the first chine ply 16 Foot Skiff to win a championship. Dad built the boat and Sheppo won the toss of the coin to drive the first year; the partnership split up after that. So like so many good sailors, he had a strong record in dinghies behind him.

Sheppo also designed the Highlander 25, basically a big Flying Dutchman with a small cabin and trapezes. It was well ahead of its time. There was also of course the Marauder 27/825 (?).

The Marauder 24/725 was a lovely and fast but expensive boat in its day, so it never sold in the same numbers as rivals like the Hood 23 and Endeavour 24/26.

The Sailboat Data link is wrong in a couple of minor ways. The boat was initially called the 24 and then the 725, not the other way around as the SD piece says. The 24 was also designed around 1968, not 1974. I think Doug Chalmers may also have been involved in the design of the Marauder and Highlander.

Chris
Pretty sure the first launch of a production boat was in early 1974.
That was Hawkwind for the late Johnny Bates.
I see the best performed ie. White Sox for sale on Gumtree at present.

Thanks guys it's a shame there is not a record of all this information
I left Sydney in some large swells and was impressed how she handled, I look down at the GPS and see her regularly touching seven kts and that was not surfing surprised me big time.
She sails close to the wind , and where the galley is I really like how wide she is back there.
Knowing how much time he put into the Investigator 563 it would be great to find out how he came up with this design.
Chris do you know who the couple are who gave so much info on sail data? They seem to know a lot about them
Lyda could you please tell us more on the two yachts you mentioned ?
I really appreciate your information guys cheers

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lydia said..
Chris
Pretty sure the first launch of a production boat was in early 1974.
That was Hawkwind for the late Johnny Bates.
I see the best performed ie. White Sox for sale on Gumtree at present.

I've got an early test in Modern Boating in its black-and-white era under Bob Ross. It was in about 1968. I'll have a look for the test over the next couple of days. I remember that it was titled "Marauder's a Mover" and written by Nick Creech.

By about 1974 I was sailing on a Marauder 24 that was second or third hand. The 1974 boats may have been the first built in Queensland. The moulds had earlier been in NSW.

I think White Sox ran second in the 1974 JOG Challenge off Eden, behind Ian Thomas' Norge 23 Outlaw. She did well in later JOG events in Queensland as well. My information on those events may still be stuck in the attic hundreds of ks away.

I remember the Modern Boating article which had the line something like "How do you review a boat when you come away wanting to buy one."

The previous owners of my boat now race a Marauder 27.

Good stuff BMT, if there isn't one already you could start a Marauder Yacht group. I did with but with Top Hats, and its grown to be a great little community of owners (past and present), and a great resource of info, just like others have provided above,
cheers

Thanks Blue moon great idea.
The Marauder 24 Hood 23 and Bluebird 22 are very much over looked these days , treated as mooring minders
But when you see them out sailing IN loved condition they really do do justice to your eye.
Was a time if a man wanted a yacht he was either rich or he had to build it himself .
There are many opportunities out there for very little money , including the bigger yachts.

Could anybody tell me more about the history of White Sox? My friend and I bought it, this would be my first keelboat. The plan is to clean her up a bit and for me to get more experience on her. Possibly some nice adventures on the horizon in the near future as I see how I go.

I put the details to sailboat data for the Marauder 24 after digging up as much factual details from previous sales broshures and yacht test reports as possible. I have an old yacht review from back in the day by Jeff toghil who I believe also owned one. I have owned and sailed a M24 in Brisbane for 10 years and have completed a major re build. They are indeed a great boat to sail and very seaworthy, fast and comfortable for their size. A great design by Kevin Shepherd!!

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sydchris said..
And there's one for sale in Sydney for $300 ... https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/centennial-park/sail-boats/sail-boat-marauder-24/1224272103

The low asking price for many of these yachts is a reflection mainly of a lack of maintenance and generally poor condition, not a reflection of the quality of the design or the yachts ability. On the contrary the design is far better than many more modern yachts and can certainly sail better, especially when the going gets tough. Strong, well balanced and sea kindly with a 52 percent ballast displacement ratio.
They are generally cheep now because the work and expense required to re-build them is not inconsequential. I have spent over $17000 re building and upgrading my Marauder 24 and roughly 3 years of major work on my days off. It is a beautiful yacht now though.

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vmcg said..

sydchris said..
And there's one for sale in Sydney for $300 ... https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/centennial-park/sail-boats/sail-boat-marauder-24/1224272103

The low asking price for many of these yachts is a reflection mainly of a lack of maintenance and generally poor condition, not a reflection of the quality of the design or the yachts ability. On the contrary the design is far better than many more modern yachts and can certainly sail better, especially when the going gets tough. Strong, well balanced and sea kindly with a 52 percent ballast displacement ratio.
They are generally cheep now because the work and expense required to re-build them is not inconsequential. I have spent over $17000 re building and upgrading my Marauder 24 and roughly 3 years of major work on my days off. It is a beautiful yacht now though.

Could we please see some photos of your beautiful yacht? I am very fond of the Maurader 24 after owning one for a short time, and experiencing first hand how well they sail.

Sure. I will get some photos up next week when I can get out to the boat and get some recent ones.

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vmcg said..
Sure. I will get some photos up next week when I can get out to the boat and get some recent ones.

Hi SYDchris
Below are some photos to give you some idea of what I have done, You will see some finishing work still required at the time these were taken like the cabin ceiling lining and wiring needed finishing but much more work has been done than what you can see in the photos. The boat was stripped back inside and out and re-built. Will be completely finished soon so can post some more photos once i have the electrical wiring finished off.

Very nice thank you for posting you sure have been very busy something to be proud of

Thanks. Yes - a lot of work but enjoyable and worth it in the end. I see you one also and sailed it from Sydney. Would be interested to hear about any offshore trips you have made and how it went.

The very first Marauder 24 / 725 design included the keel trim tab as per Intrepid the Americas cup winner 1967 and 1970. Rather a bridge too far for a 24 footer but top marks to Kevin for trying.......