Merry Fisher 895

[Cathy*]

We have very recently sold our boat and we're looking for something smaller mainly to explore the Solent. We're downsizing from a very capable Atlantic 38, we previously had an Antares 980 and before that an Antares 8. Initially we narrowed it down to a Leader 8 or Quicksilver 855 but having spoken to owners and previous owners both have drawbacks for us so now we've gone completely on a different tack and we're considering a Merry Fisher 895. This would appear to give us the accommodation we want, the manoeuvrability for the rivers of the Solent and also be seaworthy enough to take us back to the West Country or across the channel.

We would be looking for the offshore version twin engine so now we're researching engine options. I would be interested to hear from anyone who has or has had one of these boats. What engines do you have? How do you find the handling and servicing? I've seen the couple of reports on here from people taking theirs to Plymouth and they seem to fit the bill.

 

[macca499]

Hi Cathy
Sorry I can’t help with your question but just curious what put you off the Quicksikver? It’s not top of my list but one I keep coming back to although I can’t help thinking it wouldn’t be anywhere near as seaworthy as the other boats I am considering.

Thanks

David

 

[Cathy*]

Hi Cathy
Sorry I can’t help with your question but just curious what put you off the Quicksikver? It’s not top of my list but one I keep coming back to although I can’t help thinking it wouldn’t be anywhere near as seaworthy as the other boats I am considering.

Thanks

David

When we first looked at one we thought that's what we wanted. We mentioned it to the broker who was selling ours who said he had delivered 2 of these and had to postpone the delivery both times because the boat was squirming too much in the Hamble and didn't feel safe. He said we would be disappointed. I read the review in a powerboat magazine which said something similar. We came back to it now our boat has gone and I contacted a couple of people privately who had owned them. Both said similar things about handling. If we were just planning to stay in the Solent we would probably still consider it but I really want to be able to get back down to Plymouth and Falmouth which is our old cruising ground and I'm not confident I would feel safe in the 855 going from Portsmouth.

 

[macca499]

Thanks for the feedback Cathy, it confirms my thoughts even thought it offers a huge spec for the money

 

[Farmer Piles]

A mate, who is a very experienced boatman, has been out a few times in his friend's 855 - he really doesn't like it. As above, he reckons that it is squirmy, very lightly built. My mate is a long time yachtie who now has an Arvor by comparison.

 

[Martxer]

We have very recently sold our boat and we're looking for something smaller mainly to explore the Solent. We're downsizing from a very capable Atlantic 38, we previously had an Antares 980 and before that an Antares 8. Initially we narrowed it down to a Leader 8 or Quicksilver 855 but having spoken to owners and previous owners both have drawbacks for us so now we've gone completely on a different tack and we're considering a Merry Fisher 895. This would appear to give us the accommodation we want, the manoeuvrability for the rivers of the Solent and also be seaworthy enough to take us back to the West Country or across the channel.

We would be looking for the offshore version twin engine so now we're researching engine options. I would be interested to hear from anyone who has or has had one of these boats. What engines do you have? How do you find the handling and servicing? I've seen the couple of reports on here from people taking theirs to Plymouth and they seem to fit the bill.

I have the 895 offshore with Yamaha 200s . Burns 58 litres an hour at cruise at around 23 knots.
Full dealer service comes in at £1200 for the pair that is from the guys in Plymouth. We moved it from the Hamble to Dartmouth in April in not ideal conditions but the boat handled it fine.

 

[charlumax]

Hi Cathy,
We have a 2020 offshore - fyi all offshores are 2 x 200s and come with bigger fuel tanks and higher Cat rating vs standard 895s.
Great boat, very capable from my limited experience. We brought her back in a March swell from Swanick to Poole in blustery conditions and she was very stable. Done 50 hours this season despite the terrible July/Aug…
Twins far better for slow speed manoeuvres and I‘d say about 70 lph at 22 knot cruise, so a bit toppy, but servicing way cheaper than outdrives etc so all balances out. As mentioned above about £1200 for annual service on both.
Great to have two proper doubles ( although second is limited headroom width is v.large once you’ve crawled in) as well as heating, hot water and proper heads. The saloon is great as easily fully enclosed via the “patio door” when it gets a bit nippy. We weekend on her every month as a minimum and very comfortable for two.
Check out Offshore Adventures on You Tube for a whole bunch of very informative 895 vids.
Dealer support is also very good which is worth its weight in gold when you need support - check out recent threads…
We bought from Sea Ventures and they have handled a couple of very minor warranty repairs for us down at Cobbs quite willingly, as well as been available on the phone for a couple of issues that cropped up that I just needed some advice on.
We’re going the other way to you, want more accommodation due to expanding family (grandkids) hence thinking of going bigger our only reason for maybe moving her on.

 

[wonky]

Hello all, just resurrecting this as I’m looking at one of these (offshore or not) in the near future. Just wondering as they get older is there anything that is likely to need a large expense? Do the engines have a “major” service at any point? They have 5 year warranties now, have they always?

 

[Martxer]

Had mine getting on for 4years no problems .

 

[Cathy*]

Hello all, just resurrecting this as I’m looking at one of these (offshore or not) in the near future. Just wondering as they get older is there anything that is likely to need a large expense? Do the engines have a “major” service at any point? They have 5 year warranties now, have they always?

We did end up buying an 895 offshore. You need to be handy, or not too fussy, to put right all the little faults. Ours was just under 3 years old when we bought it, the previous owner was of the not too fussy variety so we've been dealing with things which should really have been snagged previously. The original broker was not interested. Being married to an engineer, with a son who's an electrician, they've made a few mods to satisfy themselves that everything can be isolated if need be. We said we'd give it 12 months before deciding whether to keep it and we're keeping it Last year we paid for the engine services, just under £1200, and we're doing the same this year purely for warranty purposes (yes 5 years Suzuki 200hp). After this one we'll be buying the bits to do them ourselves. It's taken a while to get used to having less room and storage than we were used to but it just means being tidy which is no bad thing. I find the boat easy to handle albeit a bit flighty in the wind at close quarters but I haven't damaged anyone yet. I don't think we'd go back to inboard engines. There are some improvements on the Series 2 that we would like but it's early days for finding one if those second hand.