9" Hull - ZIP Speedboat - 1935 to 1939
In 1935 Sutcliffe introduced another speedboat called 'ZIP'. This boat had a more powerful motor than RACER 1 and also had twin deck vents and a rather elaborate decal on the deck, declaring the boat to be superchared!
Very early ZIP Speedboat - circa 1935
The first Zip was very similar to the racer 1 of the period and had flat vents and a motor brake. Later versions dropped the brake and got larger vents. Compare the RACER 1 (below right)
Leaflet, circa 1935. Note that this boat is 'world beating'!
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The Zip was 3/6, compared to 2/11 of the RACER 1 (below) - the only real difference is the motor.
Above...spot the difference. For a short period in the mid 30's (around 1935), Sutcliffe Boats stopped being 'Made in England' (early 30's decal) and became 'British Built'....! Is that because not *all* of the boat was made in England/Britain? This may be related to the fact that initially, the clockwork motors came from Germany. When supply dried up, Sutcliffe made their own so they could genuinely claim that the boats were 'British Made'.
So you can imagine why the boat may have been named ZIP... because it's 'zippy' of course. But what about the logo?
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As it happened, in the 1930's, there was a Laundry and Dry Cleaners in Horsforth, Leeds (the home of Sutcliffe Pressings), called ZIP Laundry. The vans were a common sight in the town....
The images above show the ZIP logo design and the ZIP laundry van.... pure coincidence? Probably not!
ZIP Speedboat circa 1936 - 'British Made'.. Note the very specific 'ZIP' box.
ZIP Speedboat circa 1938
The example above is the next evolution of ZIP... the motor brake has gone and the front vents have had an upgrade. These are the same vents used in Minx, Meteor and Empress of the era (mid/late 30's)
ZIP Speedboat circa 1940
The example shown in fig 10.15 can be dated quite accurately to 1940 because of the box The famous repair service has been over-stamped with the message:
REPAIR SERVICE SUSPENDED FOR THE DURATION OF THE WAR.
Also note that hull pressing has now changed; the soldered on rudder rail has gone (it's pressed into the hull like the MK3 Racer 1) and the cockpit opening is smaller.
ZIP Speedboat circa 1940/41
The example above is probably the last version before toy production stopped for the War.
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Note that the box no longer shows the 'trademark' repair service, the round decal has been replaced with a smaller one and 'Made in England' is now embossed into the deck.
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It's quite possible that Sutcliffe ran out of decals; production of decals would have been a very low priority in the early 40's
ZIP Speedboat circa 1940/41
