Sutcliffe Pressings is most famous for its toy boats, submarines that have graced paddling and boating ponds for over a century. Powered by clockwork , electric and pop pop they produced a range of boats unmatched by other manufacturers. The clockwork submarines are fantastic to watch , especially if you can take one into a swimming pool and view it from under the water. Finished in lovely thick enamel paints , the majority of the boats and submarines are beautifully made . One drawback to the Sutcliffe boats is that the majority of the 9 inch hulled boats had the motors sealed in the hull , therefore the motors could not easily be lubricated or fixed.

The 12 inch unnamed speedboat. This uses a very simple copper coil system to drive the boat along. It can travel for about an hour on one filling of methylated spirit , but at a very slow speed. I would estimate that it travelled at no more than one mile an hour maximum. Only suitable for very calm boating pools. A lovely boat to set sail on your paddling pool and watch it sedately and quietly trundle around the pool.

12 inch twin hulled speedboat . Modelled on Donald Campbell's speedboat. Didn't have quite the turn of speed as the real one. In fact , it performs poorly on the water. Doesn't stop it being very sought after by collectors. A lovely boat to look at.

At 24 inches , this is the longest boat Sutcliffe made and very rare. I've not had this running , but I would think progress would be very sedate. Would have been very expensive when it was made. Has an oiling tube on the propeller tube.

Pre War Minx . Very similar to the 1980 Minx except the windscreen is different. Lovely wooden motor cover.

Sutcliffe Minx from 1980. As you can see it uses the same hull pressings from the pre -war hulls , and also uses the windscreen used for the contemporary Tiger speedboat. The box is the same box as used for the Hawk with a factory applied green label printed 'Minx' on both ends.

9 inch Viking. The Sutcliffe factory modelled this , albeit very loosely, on the Manx Steamship Viking.
Wound down the fore funnel.

Pre-war 9" Zip. The decal on the 'engine cover' states that the motor is 'Supercharged'. The sedate progress across the boating pool suggests otherwise ! There are a few versions of the Zip. Quite rare to find one in its box.

Clockwork powered Commodore is a 12 inch hulled cruiser. The clockwork motor is accessible under the blue hatch.

The Hawk is a very pleasing clockwork cruiser. You can see the clear stopper over the winding hole indicating that this Hawk was one of the later issues. The Merlin cruiser is an electric motor powered version of the Hawk. 12 inches long.

The Kestrel is structurally identical to the clockwork Commodore but with an electric motor powered by 2 'C' cells. The Kestrel proved not as popular as the Commodore. Maybe, this was because any parent buying the Kestrel for their child had to purchase batteries too !

Jupiter Pilot Cruiser 9 inches long. Fitted with clear keyhole bung , which indicates that it is one of the last boats to be made by Sutcliffe.

The only non - powered boat in the Sutcliffe range.
A simple pull along boat that used some parts of the superstructure from the Grenville destroyer. Has no rudder . This humble boat has to be one of the rarest boats in the Sutcliffe range. I bought it off ebay , and I hadn't seen one before , and I haven't seen one since. 9 inches long.
Nice to have in the collection , but if had been bought this as a young boy , I would have been a bit unhappy because it was not powered.

Sutcliffe early 9 inch Racer 1. Boxed.

Sutcliffe early 9 inch Racer 1. Boxed.

Pale green hull and cream deck. One of the more common colour schemes. Has the larger decal on the 'engine hatch cover'.

One of the later Sprites from the mid seventies in cream. It has the smaller than standard winding hole that has no stopper supplied. This may have been as a cost saving measure.
Has the larger decal on the 'engine cover hatch'.

One of the later Sprites from the mid seventies with a red hull and a white deck.
It has the black rubber keyhole bung supplied on the last boats.
Unlike the earlier other Sprites , this one has the round transfer on the 'engine cover hatch'.
The red hull is one of the less common colour schemes.

Pre-war 9" Zip. The decal on the 'engine cover' states that the motor is 'Supercharged'. The sedate progress across the boating pool suggests otherwise ! There are a few versions of the Zip. Quite rare to find one in its box.

Sutcliffe Tiger. This model had a stronger spring than the standard 9 inch hulled Sutcliffes.

A more basic version of Jane without rails and no deck fitting in front of the windscreen. Supplied in a plain white box. Unfortunately , I now believe this is one of the many fake Janes unfortunately being sold these days. I , and other collectors, believe this is because it is relatively easy to modify the very common
Comet to make a passable Jane that may fool collectors. I was fooled !

9 inch Comet. A very common Sutcliffe boat in the less common yellow and red box. I think its simple lines are very appealing.

Sutcliffe Jane with the rails on the 'engine hatch cover'. There were very few Janes made. This boat was supplied in a very basic corrugated box as shown in the picture. A few fake Janes are knocking about.
The reason being , in my opinion , is that it is based on the very common Comet , meaning there are loads of donor boats to be had. The usual give aways are missing or very badly executed engine bars, and / or missing foredeck deck ornament. Sold predominantly at the Windermere Museum.

Noddy 9 inch with green hull. Has the early type cork bung with a covering of tinplate. One of the rarer Sutcliffe boats.

The Nautilus c/w submarine was released shortly after the film 20,000 leagues under the sea was shown for the first time.

As  with all Sutcliffe submarines it dived dynamically - it used the speed of the water over its diving planes to overcome the buoyancy of the submarine, and force the submarine under the water. As the clockwork motor wound down , it gradually rose to the surface in a very realistic manner. The first issue of this sub can be distinguished from the later version by noting that the earlier version is different shade of green , and that it does not have the hole in the rudder.

The earlier Sea Wolf submarine. Note the absence of the front projection compared with the later Sea Wolf. Note, also the illustration on the box showing the missile firing from the submarine. The missile did not in fact fire , and Sutcliffe had a few disgruntled customers complaining that they expected the missile to fire from the deck. The missile was shown firmly rooted to the deck on the later versions.

9 inch submarine. These 9 inch submarines are great fun , especially if you can go in the pool too , and watch underwater with your goggles. They dive surprisingly deep , over 6 feet , on a good wind.
Alas , quite a few are now broken , as small amounts of water finds its way into the hull and if the submarine is put away with its bung fitted without letting it dry out first, and the result is rusting from the inside.
This rusting usually rusts out the motor too.
The yellow version here is much rarer than the sky blue version.
The box shows a submarine commander encouraging the young child to take control of their own submarine.

Sutcliffe Unda Wunda submarine

One of the rarer Sutcliffe boats.
The Snappy Submarine chaser dates from about the mid thirties. Wound down the funnel , and it has a motor brake . This allows the motor to be wound without one having to hold the propeller with your finger. This example was supplied in a plain brown boxed stamped Sutcliffe in red ink on one end.

The Fury torpedo boat is one of the rarer Sutcliffe boats .
The artwork on the box showing Sutcliffe's diversity not just in its design of boats , but in the artwork style of the boxes.

The Victor torpedo boat was made predominantly with the blue hull. The earliest versions were supplied with a mast that was not folded over at the ends . This had to be changed to the design with the folded over ends when a child unfortunately put their hand on the upright mast.

Unnamed 16 inch battleship. Very impressive boat that travels at a very realistic slow speed.

Pre-war Grenville about 1939. The most expensive of all Sutcliffe boats to produce due to the detailed superstructure. The box is detailed too , giving details of the many deck components. The two masts are removeable. The four deck screws allow access to the motor. The black and grey paintwork indicates that this is a pre-war Grenville. Red and grey indicates post-war.

Pre War Minx . Very similar to the 1980 Minx except the windscreen is different. Lovely wooden motor cover. No motor , missing foredeck vent and is obviously a re-paint.

Clockwork Valiant from the late 1970s. Wound between the funnels in contrast to the pre-war version that is wound down the fore funnel. Quite a common Sutcliffe boat. Sutcliffe re-issued the Valiant in an effort to revive flagging fortunes in the toy market. Unfortunately , it couldn't compete with plastic toys that were cheaper to produce. Sutcliffe ceased trading not long after the Valiant was released.

Pre-war clockwork driven 12 inch Valiant. Shown with stand , but this was not supplied with the boat. It was borrowed from the later 'seventies' Valiant that was supplied with one. Unlike the later Valiant it did not have a flag either. It was also wound down the forward funnel , unlike the later Valiant that is wound between the funnels. Quite a rare Sutcliffe to be found in its well worn box.

9 inch hulled speedboat . A lovely boat with lovely decals. The way the boat is shown on the box streaking through the water is a little misleading. Like most clockwork boats , slow and steady is the way it goes.

12 inch Commodore Speedboat . The only Sutcliffe boat supplied in kit form. Very rare and very sought out by collectors especially when unbuilt. Has the same hull and running gear as the similar age Zodiac.

Sutcliffe Meteor. 16 inches long and is powered by a clockwork motor similar to those fitted to the metal hulled 12 inched Hawk and Commodore. Much lighter than the Hawk and the Commodore , it seems faster maybe due to sitting higher the water. Definitely quicker off the mark because of its lighter weight.
The Meteor and Zodiac did not sell well compared to the metal hulled boats, and were not in production for too long. These boats are quite fragile , as the plastic can crack in not handles sympathetically.

Sutcliffe Minx from around 1960. Quite a rare Sutcliffe boat , firstly because most buyers preferred the traditional tinplate, and also because the plastic construction is relatively fragile. Same running gear as the 12'' hulled tin plates such as Hawk and Commodore .Shares the same hull as the 1960s plastic hulled Zodiac and meteor. You must be careful when winding up the boat as the deck can crack quite easily.
The motor can be accessed under the yellow hatch.

Pre war 12" Swallow. Sutcliffe made a 16" version of this boat named Commodore.

9 inch Viking. The Sutcliffe factory modelled this , albeit very loosely, on the Manx Steamship Viking.
Wound down the fore funnel. This version is from the last years of production , around 1980. It has the white box that housed many of the last products produced by the factory.

Sutcliffe Zodiac. Exactly the same dimensions as the clockwork powered Meteor. Has the toggle push button switch on the battery cover. Has a smaller diameter propeller than the Meteor , but has 3 blades. Note the sheet accompanying the boat - I do not know if photocopying was generally available about 1960 , and if it wasn't , every one of these leaflets must have had to been typed individually !

Sutcliffe Diana made in 1981 in commemoration of the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. Only 375 of these were made. Based on the Hawk with an extra cabin piece soldered on. Always supplied with a black stopper.

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Merlin. Identical structurally to the Hawk but battery powered. Uses two 'C' cells , but I would use 2 'AA' batteries with adaptors. The circular cover towards the stern of the boat is removable and allows light oil to put on the linkage between the propeller shaft and the motor shaft .

Jupiter Pilot Cruiser 9 inches long. The red hulled variant of this boat is one of the most common Sutcliffe boats , but the blue hulled version is much rarer.

9 inch Racer 1 . In common with the later 12 inch clockwork boats , this version of the Racer 1 allows the motor to be accessed under the removeable cover.

Early 9 inch Racer 1 with a slide off engine cover and engine brake. It would have been nice if Sutcliffe has kept the 9 inch hulled boats with the removable engine cover , enabling oiling and , if required , motor replacement.

9 inch Racer 1 Coronation 1953. In common with the later 12 inch clockwork boats , this version of the Racer 1 allows the motor to be accessed under the removeable cover.

One of the later Sprites from the mid seventies with a blue hull and a white deck.
It has the smaller than standard winding hole that hasn't any stopper supplied. This may have been as a cost saving measure.
Unlike the earlier other Sprites , this one has the round transfer on the 'engine cover hatch'.

One of the later Sprites from the mid seventies with a red hull and a white deck.
It has the smaller than standard winding hole that hasn't any stopper supplied. This may have been as a cost saving measure.
Unlike the earlier other Sprites , this one has the round transfer on the 'engine cover hatch'.
The red hull is one of the less common colour schemes.

9 inch Viking. The Sutcliffe factory modelled this , albeit very loosely, on the Manx Steamship Viking.
This boat has the special decal applied to the foredeck to commemorate the investiture Queen Elizabeth II.
Wound down the fore funnel.

Re-released 1970s 9" Zip. The decal on the 'engine cover' states that the motor is 'Supercharged'. The sedate progress across the boating pool suggests otherwise ! As with most of the last Sutcliffes to leave the factory , it was supplied in a plain white box with the name of the boat either stamped or written on the end.

Sutcliffe Comet. A lovely example in a simple , but very appealing box. One of my favourite Sutcliffe boats in a jolly yellow. I would have thought that this would have been one of the cheapest Sutcliffe boats for its time.

9 inch Comet. A very common Sutcliffe boat in the less common yellow and red box. I think its simple lines are very appealing.

9 inch Comet. A very common Sutcliffe boat in the plain white carton , and also has the black stopper. Both these attributes indicate this was one of the last boats to leave the Sutcliffe factory.

Noddy 9 inches long with the rarer blue hull.

Sooty 9 inch Speedboat. One of the most sought after Sutcliffes. A love boat in a jolly box.

The later issue of the Nautilus from 1976. Note the darker shade of green and the hole in the rudder. Supplied with short shaft key . A re-issue of the original 1950s version that did not have the hole in the rudder.

The later and less rare Sea Wolf. Note the static missile illustration on the box. Supplied with a long key so not as to foul the periscopes when winding. A lovely submarine and a great performer too.

One of the earliest Sutcliffe submarines - pre second world war. The keel allowed for various small lead weights to be attached with wire to obtain the correct buoyancy. The carton , not shown here, encouraged you to 'Take command of your own Submarine'. Supplied with a short shaft key.

The lovely Unda Wunda from 1976. My personal favourite of the submarines. I'm not sure why - it may have something to do with its colour - Manchester City sky blue ! Supplied with a short shaft key.

Pre War unnamed 16 inch Cruiser.

The less common red hulled version of the Victor. Identical in every other respect to the blue hulled version.

The 12 inch unnamed battleship from the 1920's. This uses a very simple copper coil system to drive the boat along. It can travel for about an hour on one filling of methylated spirit , but at a very slow speed. I would estimate that it travelled at no more than one mile an hour maximum. Only suitable for very calm boating pools. I have seen this boat in all grey and all khaki colour schemes as well. A lovely boat to set sail on your paddling pool and watch it sedately and quietly trundle around the pool.

This 16 inch Hot Air battleship from the 'twenties' . Has 4 tubes exiting the rear which promise great power , much like a 1970s Japanese superbike , but unlike the superbike , very moderate power is provided.
A lovely boat that will run for approximately an hour on one filling of methylated spirit.
Has twin heater coils , one for two exiting at the rear.
A lovely and quite rare Sutcliffe.

Post war Sutcliffe Grenville about 1948. Identical to the pre-war Grenville except for the obvious colour difference and , as pointed out by Claude Heurte from France , the stamping 'SUTCLIFFE MADE IN ENGLAND' is turned 180 degrees from the pre war black version.

The 16 inch Nelson battleship from the 'twenties' is in my opinion one of the most impressive looking Sutcliffe boats. With two extra gun turrets than the Valiant. It has what I think is the original large winding key. The box is also the original. The Nelson  was also produced with dark grey below the water line instead of black.

The rarest of all Valiants ,and one of my favourite Sutcliffe boats. There were between 6 and 11 built by Mr. Ken Sutcliffe using an electric motor instead on the more common clockwork. As you can see the box simply had a hand written sticker placed over the word clockwork.

The two bladed prop was replaced with a three bladed prop allowing for the greater rotational speed of the prop , but less torque than from the clockwork motor. The superstructure is modified to hold the one HP11 or 'C' size battery as it is now commonly known in place.

Being powered by one cell , it gives a realistically slow speed.

The electric Valiant showing the electric motor inside , and the battery (cell)  holder.

Note the modified superstructure with a 'U' section soldered to the underneath to hold the battery in place.

Pre-war clockwork driven 12 inch Valiant. Shown with stand , but this was not supplied with the boat. It was borrowed from the later 'seventies' Valiant that was supplied with one. Unlike the later Valiant it did not have a flag either. It was also wound down the forward funnel , unlike the later Valiant that is wound between the funnels.