Merry Fisher 755 extra's

[LadyJ]

I have had a season with the MF755 and loved it but as I get ready for the new season I am looking at two retro fits but wanted some feedback from those that have them to see if they are worth the money and if so what types. What I am looking at is a Windlass and also a heating system, I have shore power and a small electric fan heater which is great but I plan on more nights out of the marina and also (and more often) the ability for heating underway would keep the good lady a bit happier.

If any of you can share thoughts on either that would be great and in particular if there are limitation on heater use when cruising at c. 26knots and some chop?

 

[KevB]

Without a doubt (in my mind at least) heating should be top of the list. Nothing better on a clear winters day to have heating and as long as the pick up pipe for the fuel is below the sloshing of the tank it'll work whatever the conditions. Makes boating a 365 hobby.
If possible get the next size up heater than you think you'll need. Can never have enough heat.

 

[CLB]

Heating will transform the boat. I assume you have gas on board. If not, the next improvement to allow more autonomy would be a big battery bank and an invertor.

 

[Canopy Locked]

As other have said, heating will transform the boat. I also have a 755 (the marlin) and have seriously looked at putting a diesel heater in (don't like gas) - however I am struggling to find a suitable location for the burner - will be interested to know if you find a location.

 

[CLB]

Is it an option from new? If so, have a word with a dealer, they must know where it goes.

 

[darrenw]

I'd be interested in this too, as I've a Jeanneau Leader 705 that I'd like to add a diesel heating system to.

Having said that, I guess a different proposition to an MF as I've an open cockpit rather than enclosed, so more for use when moored up.

A windlass would be nice too, but I doubt I could justify the cost per usage on that.

Secretly I'd rather like a bow thruster as she can be a bit of a handful in a cross breeze with just a single engine, but that's probably my inexperience showing.

 

[LadyJ]

Thanks for the replies and I will speak more with the dealer. I do quite like the invertor scenario as the electric fan heater works a treat and safer than having gas and I don't fancy the diesel option (I'm an outboard so petrol tank for it but maybe that's not as big a hassle as I think). I'll post how the dealer advise goes but anyone have an idea as to the size of the battery bank needed for occasional use of fan heater via an invertor. I've a battery for the engine, battery for the systems and a third battery for my bowthruster already.

 

[Robin B]

"If possible get the next size up heater than you think you'll need. Can never have enough heat."

Properly wise words. I wish I had heard this advice before having mine put in.

 

[CLB]

You won't be able to run a fan heater via an inverter as it will quickly drain even a big battery bank.

 

[wipe_out]

I wouldn't recommend trying to run a heater off an inverter.. For 1kw heater you would probably need to pull 90+ amps off the battery.. Don't think the outboard can even sustain that when it's running..

Diesel/gas/petrol(not very common) heater would be far more practical..

I have just started looking at heating, maybe for next winter, and I am looking at an alternative install of a diesel water heater with a small calorifier and a fan matrix radiator gizmo.. All in probably a bit more expensive but has the added bonus of hot water on tap as well.. Not sure where it would all go in a MF 695 but could be fun..

As for the windlass we have one and it is really great.. Was an expensive option but means my girlfriend or my Dad can sit comfortably on the bow and just press the button to pull up the anchor while I motor slowly forward.. Far easier than the previous boat that has to be pulled up by hand..

 

[Garold]

To heat our last outboard powered boat (Beneteau Antares 8.80), I had a Webasto Airtop diesel heater fitted which also required us to fit a diesel tank. Since the heaters use very little diesel, the size of the tank doesn't need to be large to supply the heater for a few days. They use less than 0.5 litres per hour.

The only problem with my solution was that it didn't heat up the hot water.

In order to do this, I had a couple of extra 100 amp hour batteries (or thereabouts) fitted and a 2kw inverter. The water was hot enough to shower with after about 20 minutes. As a precaution, I did also tend to run the hot water heater whilst running the engines. On the battery level monitor, I could see that the inverter was draining the batteries even when running at cruising speed. The calorifier was about 1.6 kW (approx).

The inverter however also gave us the means to run a microwave, a George Foreman, a coffee machine. (Not at the same time), which all added to the comfort on board.

I avoided the hydronic system suggested earlier because on a previous previous boat, I had a wet heating system and found the fan matrices just didn't blow out enough hot air.

I'm not sure if this helps, but with all the above, we could comfortably use our boat even on cold days, and without needing to go into a marina every night.

We did also have a small fan heater on board but only used this when plugged into shore power.

All our stuff was fitted by Keto at Swanwick Marina.

Garold.

Ps we had x2 150hp Suzuki outboards so plenty of power going in to batteries from x2 alternators on anything above tick over.

 

[kevingreystones]

I do not have the Merry Fisher , but a similar sized Nimbus 26 Nova ( 7.9 m ) , love my heating, love even more my windlass and best of all despite 30 years of boating really love my bowthruster !!

 

[Rivers & creeks]

Agreed, I never realised how much difference an electric windlass, thruster and heating made until we fitted them.

 

[David2452]

The 755 (I assume not a Marlin version) is an awkward but not impossible boat to fit a heater to, going one up is not the way to go, what you should do is just size the heater properly to start with which for the accommodation you have should be 2 to 2.5 kw, the next size up would be 4kw which would be way over the top both in physicality of heater, ducting and output. A Webasto AT2000STC would be a good one to look at, very compact which is important to your scenario and uses 60mm duct which is easier to route (don't forget to get some Thermoduct™ to insulate the duct) When doing your planning do not be tempted to mount the heater inside the accommodation just to make fitting easy unless it and the exhaust run are fully boxed in and heated air is ducted from outside that box. If you like I can send you a PDF of the factory marine installers manual which should assist in planning before deciding which route to take, just drop me a PM with your email address.

 

[Mf755]

Hi! I'm new to the forum and this tread caught my eyes during my browsing for fellow 755 owners. Can't believe there are 1000 sold boats and still this little information online. However, I bought my boat very standard since I prefer to install gadgets myself. I have installed the eber d4+ heater which I would say is a perfect match. I have a total of 6 outlets; one forward, one in the toilet, one at the windscreen, one aft in the cabin and two outside on the aft of the cabin for warming my hands when fishing I decided to mount the heater inside under the sink after advice from the manufacturer. This is mainly because you otherwise have to mount it next to the petrol tank which may result in a big fancy fire. If mounted inside, it's wise to also mount a gas alarm that detects exhaust gasses. The diesel tank for the heater is mounted next to the petrol tank. If you provide me with an email address I could send some pictures from my install. Since I didn't choose any extras from factory, I have also installed a fridge, extra batteries, inverter, stereo, shore power, trim tabs, sounder and various other small improvements. I haven't fitted my anchorwinch yet since I first have to manufacture a suitable plate to mount it on. Would be nice to hear from others with suitable upgrades!

 

[wipe_out]

Hi! I'm new to the forum and this tread caught my eyes during my browsing for fellow 755 owners. Can't believe there are 1000 sold boats and still this little information online. However, I bought my boat very standard since I prefer to install gadgets myself. I have installed the eber d4+ heater which I would say is a perfect match. I have a total of 6 outlets; one forward, one in the toilet, one at the windscreen, one aft in the cabin and two outside on the aft of the cabin for warming my hands when fishing I decided to mount the heater inside under the sink after advice from the manufacturer. This is mainly because you otherwise have to mount it next to the petrol tank which may result in a big fancy fire. If mounted inside, it's wise to also mount a gas alarm that detects exhaust gasses. The diesel tank for the heater is mounted next to the petrol tank. If you provide me with an email address I could send some pictures from my install. Since I didn't choose any extras from factory, I have also installed a fridge, extra batteries, inverter, stereo, shore power, trim tabs, sounder and various other small improvements. I haven't fitted my anchorwinch yet since I first have to manufacture a suitable plate to mount it on. Would be nice to hear from others with suitable upgrades!

Sounds like you have been busy and I am sure many would be interested in photos of the various things you have done so please post away..

The trim tab install interests me.. Which tabs did you use, hydraulic or electric? Have you found them beneficial compared to the boat as it was? I have a 695 and have been considering adding tabs for balancing out uneven loads and potentially slower planing speeds..

 

[Mf755]

The trim tab install interests me.. Which tabs did you use, hydraulic or electric? Have you found them beneficial compared to the boat as it was? I have a 695 and have been considering adding tabs for balancing out uneven loads and potentially slower planing speeds..

I don't think Trim tabs do much for planing speeds etc. But I use them all the time for keeping upright. With all passengers on the port side, they help a lot. Wind makes her list over as well. They are also very handy in choppy seas. Push the bow down and you have a huge difference in ride comfort. I have lectrotabs, electrical. But I'm very tempted to change them to zip wake ( zipwake.com ) and that would be my choice if I were to do it today. In terms of economy, the hull rides better heavy on the stern, pushing the bow down doesn't improve fuel economy, even at lower planing speeds. But there are of course many other factors affecting this, like prop and engine mounting height. I have a Yamaha f150 mounted at the third hole and using a black steel 15" prop.

 

[LadyJ]

Older thread back to life which is good. Sounds like Mf755 you have a fair number of improvements done and as wipe_out has said, photos would be great.
I've decided to run this season as is and then decide whether to upgrade existing boat or decide to upgrade to a bigger boat. Prob veering to the later as the good lady has enjoyed the cruising almost as much as me this season and a longer and farther plan looms.
David2452, appreciate the comments and may still follow up once I've made a decision.

 

[Skyfall2]

Hi , probably wrong thread but I’m new to this , I’ve just bought a MF 755 with swim platforms, and I’m looking to fit an auxiliary engine, I see from an earlier post you hade done this , would you have a picture , was hoping to squeeze it next to the main engine as the platform would be to weak , any advice would be great thanks

 

[LadyJ]

Hi Skyfall2, great boat and I’ve done a lot of cruising, 6000NM and 600 engine hours since I bought her new , as well as day trips. Pictures attached of auxi engine mount.