We finally bought a boat - Merry Fisher 895s2

[Martxer]

Mooring in Lymington is more expensive than most in that area. My advice would be don’t be tempted to try elsewhere worst boating mistake I made was leaving Lymington.

 

[Anibal]

After several years of paralysis just looking at boats (and mostly lurking on here), we finally made a decision and bought something!

We started off by looking at the 40-50ft premium boats, but as we weren’t spending millions, it meant something 10-20 years old. After looking at quite a lot, we could see ‘potential’ in some of them but realised that we’d end up spending a huge amount of money on a total refresh of the interior fabrics and covers and would also want to totally replace the entire electronics setup for something modern. That didn’t really appeal - buying a boat and then it needs a couple of months of work to get it ready, especially as we’re total novices.

So this year we switched focus to looking for something brand new with a warranty.

We went to Swanick in May for a good look around, but made sure we stayed focussed on the smaller boats - at previous shows we’ve accepted offers of hospitality at the big premium stuff and there’s nothing worse for looking at small boats than starting off on a brand new mega-yacht!

My wife’s total veto was a decent freshwater toilet - ‘bucket in a cupboard’ was most definitely not acceptable and that ruled several otherwise decent options out. We still couldn’t really decide but did have a couple of possibles. Summer came and went, with us once again going back into the loop of bigger/older and making no decisions.

We looked at some more older boats around the same price point and once again none of them really seemed right.

As a final “Let’s find something or give up” we made our way to Southampton in September and looked back around everything we’d seen earlier in the year. It was a very cold but beautifully sunny day, which really helped us decide that we wanted an enclosed, heated, helm cabin so we can use it year round (that’s the plan, at least).

With a more critical eye, we found issues with pretty much all the boats on our list - but the problem is, with no experience and no real idea of how much we’d use the boat, we struggled to decide what we actually need?! Clearly everything we looked at had compromises, nothing was perfect but we decided we’d probably use it more for day trips with occasional nights onboard, and if we wanted to stay somewhere longer we could always stay ashore (the rationale being that it was far cheaper to pay for a few nights here and there than for bigger/better cabins we’d probably hardly ever use).

Eventually, we found a stock boat, available with a deal (and help getting a berth) but still the ability to make some changes and add some additional non-standard items. After some back and forth on specs, colours etc we agreed a deal and then went on holiday for a month leaving time for the extras to be fitted and tested.

So, that’s how we ended up in Lymington two weeks ago to take ownership of “Champagne Four Two”, a new Merry Fisher 895s2 with Twin Yamaha 250s, lots of kit, a heater, inverter, radar and the amazing joystick controller. We spent a couple of hours being shown all the controls/systems which was a real learning experience - there’s a lot of stuff we had no idea about. The next two days were spent onboard our boat, with us both doing the PB2 course and we’re now on the water and ready to figure out all the stuff we don’t know and need to learn!

VHF course is booked for January, and I’ll probably get another day or two of training locally as these tide things are a bit confusing! Whilst I’m used to wind/weather planning (as someone with a PPL), I'm not used to the ground moving up and down and in different directions based on the time of day!

I guess we’ll find out over the next year or so if we made the right compromises and whether we bought the right boat - hopefully we got it mostly right!

So, new boater tips are welcome, suggestions of stuff to buy (or not buy, though we've already got safety gear, galley stuff and most importantly, some cushions!) as well as any suggestions of places to go for lunch over the next couple of months from Lymington that aren't too challenging as we figure out how everything works.


View attachment 203950

Congratulations on your new MF895-2. Excellent choice (but I am biased)
Ours is the same but with twin Yamaha 150 since we are based in the non tidal Thames.
Enjoy

 

[Cathy*]

We've had our 895 Offshore for 2 years. I have a flag and a bit of ribbon which tells me which way the wind is going. The first thing we found was the windlass didn't grip the rope that came with the boat when it was wet so we've added more chain. We've put a mente marine control panel on for auto trim tabs and have just put longer struts on the lazarette lid for better access, plenty of room for dinghy, outboard and loads of other stuff. We never used the radar on previous boats so haven't got one on this boat but did use AIS. We found leaks and loose screws and windows and doors that didn't open, shut and lock properly. It's a lovely boat but you have to be prepared for bits of snagging. Also check where your fire extinguishers are. We've moved one that was in an inaccessible place in the second cabin to outside.

 

[mjmatsea]

Oh another very serious what to buy.

A windex for the bow. Helps mooring more than any other gadget as it allows you to anticipate which way the bow will blow.

I just made a flag from from some ripstop fabric. still going strong.

 

[mjmatsea]

After several years of paralysis just looking at boats (and mostly lurking on here), we finally made a decision and bought something!

We started off by looking at the 40-50ft premium boats, but as we weren’t spending millions, it meant something 10-20 years old. After looking at quite a lot, we could see ‘potential’ in some of them but realised that we’d end up spending a huge amount of money on a total refresh of the interior fabrics and covers and would also want to totally replace the entire electronics setup for something modern. That didn’t really appeal - buying a boat and then it needs a couple of months of work to get it ready, especially as we’re total novices.

So this year we switched focus to looking for something brand new with a warranty.

We went to Swanick in May for a good look around, but made sure we stayed focussed on the smaller boats - at previous shows we’ve accepted offers of hospitality at the big premium stuff and there’s nothing worse for looking at small boats than starting off on a brand new mega-yacht!

My wife’s total veto was a decent freshwater toilet - ‘bucket in a cupboard’ was most definitely not acceptable and that ruled several otherwise decent options out. We still couldn’t really decide but did have a couple of possibles. Summer came and went, with us once again going back into the loop of bigger/older and making no decisions.

We looked at some more older boats around the same price point and once again none of them really seemed right.

As a final “Let’s find something or give up” we made our way to Southampton in September and looked back around everything we’d seen earlier in the year. It was a very cold but beautifully sunny day, which really helped us decide that we wanted an enclosed, heated, helm cabin so we can use it year round (that’s the plan, at least).

With a more critical eye, we found issues with pretty much all the boats on our list - but the problem is, with no experience and no real idea of how much we’d use the boat, we struggled to decide what we actually need?! Clearly everything we looked at had compromises, nothing was perfect but we decided we’d probably use it more for day trips with occasional nights onboard, and if we wanted to stay somewhere longer we could always stay ashore (the rationale being that it was far cheaper to pay for a few nights here and there than for bigger/better cabins we’d probably hardly ever use).

Eventually, we found a stock boat, available with a deal (and help getting a berth) but still the ability to make some changes and add some additional non-standard items. After some back and forth on specs, colours etc we agreed a deal and then went on holiday for a month leaving time for the extras to be fitted and tested.

So, that’s how we ended up in Lymington two weeks ago to take ownership of “Champagne Four Two”, a new Merry Fisher 895s2 with Twin Yamaha 250s, lots of kit, a heater, inverter, radar and the amazing joystick controller. We spent a couple of hours being shown all the controls/systems which was a real learning experience - there’s a lot of stuff we had no idea about. The next two days were spent onboard our boat, with us both doing the PB2 course and we’re now on the water and ready to figure out all the stuff we don’t know and need to learn!

VHF course is booked for January, and I’ll probably get another day or two of training locally as these tide things are a bit confusing! Whilst I’m used to wind/weather planning (as someone with a PPL), I'm not used to the ground moving up and down and in different directions based on the time of day!

I guess we’ll find out over the next year or so if we made the right compromises and whether we bought the right boat - hopefully we got it mostly right!

So, new boater tips are welcome, suggestions of stuff to buy (or not buy, though we've already got safety gear, galley stuff and most importantly, some cushions!) as well as any suggestions of places to go for lunch over the next couple of months from Lymington that aren't too challenging as we figure out how everything works.


View attachment 203950

We have an NC9. Newish to boating and still learning. However we have discovered one gadget we just love. Headphones. Whilst one is at the helm and the other at the stern we speak to each quietly, being the eyes and ears at each end of the boat, we communicate to who is mooring guiding any manoeuvres. ‘Talk2’ headsets is just great. No Wires , comes paired up with your partners headset. Switch on and listen. Good for 800ft. Makes docking, easy no arguing.

 

[Elessar]

We have an NC9. Newish to boating and still learning. However we have discovered one gadget we just love. Headphones. Whilst one is at the helm and the other at the stern we speak to each quietly, being the eyes and ears at each end of the boat, we communicate to who is mooring guiding any manoeuvres. ‘Talk2’ headsets is just great. No Wires , comes paired up with your partners headset. Switch on and listen. Good for 800ft. Makes docking, easy no arguing.

“Being the eyes and ears of each other” precisely articulates the benefits when berthing, anchoring or picking up a buoy.
As we come into harbour we just chat too. Have you seen that? sort of mundane stuff that you would do if sat together.
I could say you can bitch about your guests too but I won’t as many of our guests are forumites
We really like our headsets.

 

[Bouba]

“Being the eyes and ears of each other” precisely articulates the benefits when berthing, anchoring or picking up a buoy.
As we come into harbour we just chat too. Have you seen that? sort of mundane stuff that you would do if sat together.
I could say you can bitch about your guests too but I won’t as many of our guests are forumites
We really like our headsets.

You should invite me aboard....if you really want something to bitch about

 

[JOHNPEET]

We have an NC9. Newish to boating and still learning. However we have discovered one gadget we just love. Headphones. Whilst one is at the helm and the other at the stern we speak to each quietly, being the eyes and ears at each end of the boat, we communicate to who is mooring guiding any manoeuvres. ‘Talk2’ headsets is just great. No Wires , comes paired up with your partners headset. Switch on and listen. Good for 800ft. Makes docking, easy no arguing.

Do you have a link to the headsets that you’re using?

 

[Elessar]

Do you have a link to the headsets that you’re using?

Amazon.co.uk

 

[Bouba]

Amazon.co.uk

Is there a cheaper one….that only works in one direction ?

 

[Anibal]

Is there a cheaper one….that only works in one direction ?

Amazon.co.uk

 

[paulbrown22]

Is there a cheaper one….that only works in one direction ?

It's worth looking quite carefully - the Sena's are fairly small, lightweight, comfortable and unobtrusive to wear, some of the other options can get quite large and bulky if you're jumping around on deck and pontoon.

I love our Sena's, but sometimes does take me a couple of attempts to pair them together for reasons I haven't yet understood... Sadly they need pairing each time you turn them on (unless someone has found a way around that or read the instruction manual better than I did!).

 

[JOHNPEET]

Amazon.co.uk

Although I can’t see it mentioned in this advert, I’ve read elsewhere that these units aren’t water resistant.

 

[Anibal]

To be honest I did not look and I bet they are not, but for the price and for what they are, they could be a short time solution/alternative for someone who may need need them on fair weather passages.
Another solution could be a cheap set of waterproof hand held radios but that takes the hands free element away. The wife and I hardly communicate when we are docking or departing. I control the helm and she controls the lines. She normally takes care of the stern lines and I control the mid ship and bow and she knows exactly where I want the boat to end up and what I need from her to accomplish that. I mentioned to her a while ago about purchasing a set after I saw a YouTube sailing channel and she totally dismissed the idea telling me we don’t need them, our boat is not that big

 

[paulbrown22]

The Senas are advertised as water resistant (but not waterproof, so don't go swimming in them), but even with those you'll find some people saying they had issues with their Sena kit in the rain.

Worth bearing in mind though they they are mainly sold to motorbikers, and zooming down a motorway at 70 mph for an hour in the rain is a slightly different use case to standing on deck for maybe 10 mins while berthing.

 

[Elessar]

It's worth looking quite carefully - the Sena's are fairly small, lightweight, comfortable and unobtrusive to wear, some of the other options can get quite large and bulky if you're jumping around on deck and pontoon.

I love our Sena's, but sometimes does take me a couple of attempts to pair them together for reasons I haven't yet understood... Sadly they need pairing each time you turn them on (unless someone has found a way around that or read the instruction manual better than I did!).

We have 3 but the boy normally use 2. The instructions are poor and I paired them with a you tube video. It’s particularly complex to pair 3.

Once done we occasionally have to do a switch off and on again if they don’t find each other but no more than that.

Quite frequently the mic connection fails and that is cured by simply taking the mic out and plugging it in again.

 

[Elessar]

To be honest I did not look and I bet they are not, but for the price and for what they are, they could be a short time solution/alternative for someone who may need need them on fair weather passages.
Another solution could be a cheap set of waterproof hand held radios but that takes the hands free element away. The wife and I hardly communicate when we are docking or departing. I control the helm and she controls the lines. She normally takes care of the stern lines and I control the mid ship and bow and she knows exactly where I want the boat to end up and what I need from her to accomplish that. I mentioned to her a while ago about purchasing a set after I saw a YouTube sailing channel and she totally dismissed the idea telling me we don’t need them, our boat is not that big

Hand held radios do a completely different job. Headsets remove the stress when berthing because they are hands free and open mic not PTT.

The bow lines in our home berth (med mooring) are huge as we are at the smaller end of boat sizes that would use it. We use controls in the cockpit to come into the berth. My other half and usual boating partner simply can’t manage the lines so I do them. It’s nice when I’m on the foredeck to be able to talk to her and she can warn me when she’s going to go into gear too which is handy for me to hold on.

The one time we weren’t wearing them as we’d left them in the UK the cockpit controls went offline. I had zero idea all I knew was when I got back to the cockpit she’d gone! As we were drifting back to the concrete quay she’d shot up to the fly and taken control up there so no harm was done but she’d have appreciated being able to speak in that instance.

Our last boat in the UK was smaller but we still really appreciated the headsets. It’s particularly useful when docking from the internal helm or in an unfamiliar berth because she would watch the boat extremities and simply advise “come to port at the stern” or whatever. Or I would ask “how far from the port quarter to the pontoon”. So much better than her screaming “YOU ARE TOO CLOSE”. Thanks. To what???

Really good for anchoring too and particularly useful when picking up a buoy. Helps so much once the buoy has gone out of sight to the helm.

In summary we are completely fine handling a boat without them so I can’t say they are essential. But they really make life much easier and less stressful with zero raised voices.

 

[Anibal]

I totally agree and would still like to have a set on board for those instances where the headsets would comes handy. Will need to pass my rationale and request to management and see what she says

 

[Sianna]

Lovely looking boat the 895, Lymington is a great location, if your looking for local trips:

Newtown Creek is a great lunch spot, it gets busy in the summer, there are limited mooring bouys for a cost or you can just anchor up for free.

Yarmouth is a lovely place and easy for a newbie to moor up at as they always have harbour boats to help and guide you.

A run down the Beaulieu river is beautiful with a visit to the Master Builders, short stay walk on moorings are available.

Then you have probably the best motor boating ground on your doorstep, the Solent, you won't go far wrong.

 

[paulbrown22]

We have 3 but the boy normally use 2. The instructions are poor and I paired them with a you tube video. It’s particularly complex to pair 3.

Once done we occasionally have to do a switch off and on again if they don’t find each other but no more than that.

Quite frequently the mic connection fails and that is cured by simply taking the mic out and plugging it in again.

Interesting, thanks - I pair mine every time I turn them on, but maybe that's because I haven't realised they remember the pairing as the instructions are so useless! I'll watch some videos and have a play next time I'm down in Poole.