Merry Fisher 855

rustybarge said:
Congratulations on a lovely looking boat.
Those Honda twins sure are cool, really set off the boat.

I would be very interested to hear how you get on with fuel consumption Vs. the 300hp single engined boat.

Outboards Rule OK! :D

PS: I guess 8 1/2 gals/hr at 25kts.
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They do look cool don't they?

I don't have a fuel flow sensor, so consumption will be a guestimate of fuel added to hours run, but I will have an idea during the season of how it's doing.

ricky_s said:
Congratulations! I love the look of the new Merry Fisher boats, we have an older 925 which we purchased second-hand last year but did have a new 625 in 2006 and loved having a brand new boat. Enjoy! :)
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My colleague bought a new 625 a few years ago, then he bought a Glastron.....big mistake, as it was very unreliable. He should have kept the 625 which never gave any trouble at all! We did look at a 925 before we bought the Prestige 34s, but at the time we thought the 34s was better for us. Now we have a boat with sliding patio doors to keep out the weather, maybe we should have bought the 925 instead of the 34s.......

SammyB said:
Great pictures! So exciting to see it being unwrapped. Our Swift Trawler arrives on Friday, it has been a long wait since we ordered it. Happy Boating.
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I bet you can't wait until Friday comes and I look forward to seeing some pictures of your Swift Trawler, where will she be berthed?

neale said:
We saw you out and about on Saturday. I was moored on the mid river visitors pontoon. We left on Saturday and headed out to sea at the same time as you. Nice looking boat. :)
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We poodled up to Wivenhoe and on the way back, we saw another 855 that is berthed at Morgans, I can't remember it's name, but it had the aft canopies on, where ours were stored away, so it may, or may not have been us. We then headed towards Clacton.

AdeOlly said:
That's a lovely looking boat - you must be well chuffed. I've nearly bought peche promenade style (MF695 then 925) but the lure of speed has won me over each time so far! Maybe next time....

Interesting what you say about your P34. We have a P34S, that we bought from Ric through Morgan Marine as it happens, and at the time a lot of thought was put into whether to go for KADs or D4s. With the mixed reliability reports and the well known early DPH issues, plus my engineer screaming "buy the KADs", we went for KAD300s. Sounds like I made the right choice! The KAD300s are a delight and propel the boat to 38 knots on clean bum, though we've had a few gremlins that were probably caused through prior lack of use and dirty fuel.
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We had a KAD in our old Maxum, with a 290 leg and never had any issues with it. But reading of all the issues with the D4's (and experiencing some) together with the continuing cost of the dph outdrives (rams, cables, hydraulic hoses, etc.) I think that you made the right choice. Ours would easily hit 38 knots too and handled well. In fact I think it handled better than the 855 does.

rustybarge said:
Please post some 'wake shots' of the twin outboards doing their stuff.:cool:
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I certainly will when I get a chance, there might be the odd little video too :encouragement:
 
Just thought I would keep you in your place.:D
Triple 550hp.......

7ob_zps21c1da46.jpg
 
I bet you can't wait until Friday comes and I look forward to seeing some pictures of your Swift Trawler, where will she be berthed?

It has been a long wait! Will berth her in Med.
 
Looking good.

Still can't quite get used to the MF having outboards. Out of interest what have they done with the space beneath the cockpit where the engine would have been on the old merry fisher
 
ricky_s said:
If it's anything like the space on my 925 engine bay then you could probably put a bed down there:)
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Somewhere to put the kids, even better!

edit: Just had a look on the jeanneau site at the brochure and the 855 seems to have grown a second cabin where once the inboard engine lived?

Are they not doing an inboard engined version any more?
 
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Just looked a the little sketch in the brochure, is there a cabin(bed) below the cockpit (where the engine used to be)?

mf855lowerlevel.JPG
 
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Where the seating is at the aft, there is a shallow lasserett above the fuel tank. The central grey shaded area is the mid cabin, with a double bed. They have squeezed a lot into a 28" boat!
 
Bubblegtt said:
Where the seating is at the aft, there is a shallow lasserett above the fuel tank. The central grey shaded area is the mid cabin, with a double bed. They have squeezed a lot into a 28" boat!
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Thanks for that, thats what it looked like in the drawing but I wasn't sure. Thats a good layout, my current boat has it, compact but works.

Be good to hear how you are getting on with the boat as things progress..
 
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The temptation is too great, so after less than a year with the Merry Fisher 645, it is already time for a bigger boat and the 855 is ideal. The one difficult question has been two 150hp or one 300hp. I am now 90% certain that I will get the twins as I am sure that I would always wonder if I should have got them if I had gone the single 300hp route.
There seem to be some good deals on the MF855 around so the little 645 is for sale or P/ex and I will be introducing myself to a marine mortgage broker.
The decision is simple - you only live once!
 
Well done Chamaerops. I think the 645 is a great boat and we are really enjoying it, but I can also see why you might want to go bigger. Having had bigger boats in the past, I now know where my sweet spot is (famous last words).
 
Chamaerops said:
The temptation is too great, so after less than a year with the Merry Fisher 645, it is already time for a bigger boat and the 855 is ideal. The one difficult question has been two 150hp or one 300hp. I am now 90% certain that I will get the twins as I am sure that I would always wonder if I should have got them if I had gone the single 300hp route.
There seem to be some good deals on the MF855 around so the little 645 is for sale or P/ex and I will be introducing myself to a marine mortgage broker.
The decision is simple - you only live once!
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You wont regret your choice with the 855!

I a a bit ashamed to say that we have only clocked up 18 hours so far, what with the weather and disappearing to Turkey for a week :(

Still getting used to handling her and you certainly notice the difference moving down to a smaller boat. A bow thruster is a must, as the wind easily catches her in the marina, just when you don't expect it. I could spin the P34 around just using the engines to get into the berth, with just the odd touch on the bow thruster. The P34 also took a lot longer to get affected by the wind. The 855 is not so responsive to spin around using the engines, which may be because they are mounted closer together. Also as I previously said, the cable throttle controls are a bit clonky, with a lot of movement, but I will get used to it. I'm still happy that I went for twins though.

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I have left the aft canopy off and it is safely stored away, leaving just the roof section on and the interior blinds to protect the interior from the sun. She is ready to leave the berth in just minutes that way, after a quick engine check.

Must remember to take that wake shot :)
 
855 Single engine

Hi All, Interested to hear all the comments on the 855. I have had mine for a year now and although having only clocked up 40 hours due to family commitments etc, am over the moon with it. My wife and I have just spent 2 weeks on board and are still talking. We went for the single engine 300hp Yamaha and so far so good. One 20 hour service approx. £250.00. No further servicing required until 100 hours! Compared to a diesel a huge cost saving. Fuel consumption approx 40 litres per hour at cruising speed of 20knots according to the flow meter. However as we tend to potter up and down the Fal, with the occasional blast over to Helford we don't use anything like that. Planning to visit Fowey and Dartmouth later this year (time allowing!) and maybe Scillies on a good day next year. Minor criticisms as per already mentioned; dinghy storage - we keep it rolled up on foredeck or on the roof if inflated, coming alongside a pontoon in a wind can be tricky so we tend to try and berth with an offshore wind if possible, at least that way we get blown off! Practice makes perfect.

Can't offer wake shots of twins OBs but here is a video taken by Daniel of BHG Marine from whom we purchased the boat - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzgcx3bCVOY of our actual boat on sea trials.
 
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I had to work Saturday morning and had the intention of going down to the boat and do a bit of cleaning/polishing inside, as the weather forecast was not brilliant. However when I got down there, there was virtually no wind and it didn't look like it would rain, so I thought lets go out!

My first time single handling the boat out of her marina berth, an hour blast around off Harwich and Felixtowe and then back into the marina - phew!

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Managed a sneaky wake shot @ 32knts
 
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