Antares 30 flybridge or merry fisher 925 flybridge?

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lupa

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Can't decide, is there any others I am overlooking. Has to have a flybridge, single shaft, around 30ft, no more than about ten years old.
 
lupa said:
Can't decide, is there any others I am overlooking. Has to have a flybridge, single shaft, around 30ft, no more than about ten years old.
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The fly on the Antares 30 deals the killer blow. The 925 fly is small and basic, but the flip seat inside makes the accomadation pretty much as good as the larger boat.

Both great sea boats. Well up to cross channel trips in a blow.
The Antares really needs a sternthruster budget 3k if it hasn't got one. The 925 would benefit but it's not quite as critical.
 
Antares 30!!

The only downside that I can think of is the leg room behind the flybridge helm and I see that other owners have made a clever alteration...wish I'd thought if that 4 years ago!!

I know of a very good one that will be going up for sale in a week or so:-)!
 
Thanks everyone, pretty much my thoughts. Although I have not been on a 925 yet.
Went on the antares at the boat show and fell in love with it. Made our antares 750 look a little small but we still love that too!
 
Antares 30, but I'm biased having bought one in July :D

Legroom is tight on Fly, but plenty of living space in boat. I've spent every weekend onboard since delivery and clocked up 80 hours.
 
I tried to sit on the fly of the Antares 30 at SBS, but it was impossible. The legroom is ridiculously tight, so try before you buy.
 
I agree, but I'm 6' and and a bit and wouldn't say its impossible. As I said earlier a few of the newer owners on here have made an alteration to the back rest which should alleviate the problem.
 
wonky said:
I agree, but I'm 6' and and a bit and wouldn't say its impossible. As I said earlier a few of the newer owners on here have made an alteration to the back rest which should alleviate the problem.
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At 6"6' I'm probably more demanding than most, hence the impossible for me. The only other thing that I can think of that was impossible for me to fit in is the standard sized Caterham. Everything else is mostly plain uncomfortable:)
 
The A30 is twice the money vs the MF925, if you are looking at a £100K flybridge then I am sure there are other candidates with a few years on their back that would fair much better that the MF925.
 
We have an MF925 and have been reasonably happy with it. We bought it because of it's utilitarian nature meaning we could use it as a weekender but I could still go fishing with mates.

On the plus side, being a single shaft we have found it really cheap to maintain (famous last words...) and economical to run. The single engined Nanni version is definitely the one to go for and gives us a 19knot cruise with a clean bum.
On the downside, being a Jeanneau, the build quality is poor, not a patch on the Benetteau and it really struggles going into any kind of sea, though trim tabs do help.

An alternative worth looking at would be the Rodman, far better build quality than either the Benetteau or Jeanneau but not as well laid out internally.

Hope this helps.
 
crossy said:
We have an MF925 and have been reasonably happy with it. We bought it because of it's utilitarian nature meaning we could use it as a weekender but I could still go fishing with mates.

On the plus side, being a single shaft we have found it really cheap to maintain (famous last words...) and economical to run. The single engined Nanni version is definitely the one to go for and gives us a 19knot cruise with a clean bum.
On the downside, being a Jeanneau, the build quality is poor, not a patch on the Benetteau and it really struggles going into any kind of sea, though trim tabs do help.

An alternative worth looking at would be the Rodman, far better build quality than either the Benetteau or Jeanneau but not as well laid out internally.

Hope this helps.
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Struggles to go into a sea?? Beg to differ. I think its up with the best as a sea boat for its size.
 
Elessar said:
The fly on the Antares 30 deals the killer blow. The 925 fly is small and basic, but the flip seat inside makes the accomadation pretty much as good as the larger boat.

Both great sea boats. Well up to cross channel trips in a blow.
The Antares really needs a sternthruster budget 3k if it hasn't got one. The 925 would benefit but it's not quite as critical.
Click to expand...

Interesting, I bought an Antares 30, as I've mainly had sail boats I'll be honest I wasn't expecting much in the way of sea keeping, but I've been surprised at how comfortable (relatively) the motion is, sure there's some slamming, but not nearly as bad as I expected, and even in a Solent chop there's none of the jerkiness I thought there'd be.

Based on the comments here I had a stern thruster fitted (more like 4k than 3k) and again the experience has been a revelation, she's manoeuvred sideways against 20 knots of wind, turns in her own length, and can be slotted neatly into the tightest berth without any scares. Even departing from the rafted up bedlam of bank holiday Yarmouth wasn't particularly stressful. Another plus for a stern thruster is that it's much quieter than a bow thruster, I guess because you don't have the sound box effect of a through hull tunnel. So for less demanding manoeuvres I'd rather use just the stern thruster and not have the coffee grinder sound effects!

Good luck!
 
Elessar said:
Struggles to go into a sea?? Beg to differ. I think its up with the best as a sea boat for its size.
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Not our experience, slams like nothing I've ever owned. Trimming the bow in and taking the sea at an angle all help but it makes for a really uncomfortable ride bumping back through the short chop of poole bay.

That said, I've always felt safe in it, just a comfort thing.
 
crossy said:
Not our experience, slams like nothing I've ever owned. Trimming the bow in and taking the sea at an angle all help but it makes for a really uncomfortable ride bumping back through the short chop of poole bay.

That said, I've always felt safe in it, just a comfort thing.
Click to expand...

How odd, mine very rarely slams. No trim tabs on mine.
 
Elessar said:
The fly on the Antares 30 deals the killer blow. The 925 fly is small and basic, but the flip seat inside makes the accomadation pretty much as good as the larger boat.

Both great sea boats. Well up to cross channel trips in a blow.
The Antares really needs a sternthruster budget 3k if it hasn't got one. The 925 would benefit but it's not quite as critical.
Click to expand...

Curious to know why fitment of stern thruster to 925 is not as critical as to Antares, would have thought they were similar?
 
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