djredrupp Posted December 16, 2006 Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 Hi, Im currently trying to decide what to buy for my new boat, and have become stuck for choice! so i decide to ask you! Im looking between a Merry Fisher 655, Avon 6m (ish)RIB, or something else! I will be using it for general fun around Poole Harbor, wakeboarding, supporting a dinghy, and of course fishing!!! Ive definately been attracted to the benifits of a Cabin on the Merry Fisher, able to make some tea, however I do not really know the speeds of a Fisher, compared to that of a RIB, and the abilities to easily wakeboard with it! Please help me choose by giving your opinions/ knowledge on the subject! Thanks Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Martin Posted December 17, 2006 Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 Dan The 2 boats you have listed are totally different breeds. The Merry fisher is a fine cruising/fishing boat. She will do all you need on the fishing and cruising front so will satisfy some of your needs. The cruising speed of this boat is around 14/15knots so you may be able to wake board (just) but she is not ideal for that. The rib is a fantastic speed machine and will easily give you the 18/19knots you need to comfortably water ski and wakeboard. You would also be able to fish from it but it is not ideal for that. To get the best of both wrolds you might need to look elsewhere. Now I do know that a Warrior 195 will be up for sale early in the new year It will do all you ask and more. For more details keep an eye on the swap and shop section of this site Just my thoughts, you will get loads of sound opinions from the guys on here I'm sure Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBettle Posted December 17, 2006 Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 (edited) Dan Firstly, welcome to the site. I hope you find it as fun and friendly as I have in the year I have been a member. Between the members there are few technical questions that cannot be answered and fishing tips will soon be boiling over. Martin is right. The 655 makes a superb sea boat, a great family cruiser. Come and see, it truely is the best in it's class as it is the only one with the option of "proper" cockpit seating and sunbathing. It also makes a fine angling boat with space for up to four to fish depending on whether you have the seating or not. In reality it isn't a wakeboarding boat as it will top out, down hill and with the wind behind you at 20 knots. It will be fine for towing toys etc and has bags of torque so a truly good wake boarder (or smaller child) will have no problems and although it kicks up a a lot of wake it was never designed for this purpose. However! The Merry Fisher 625 is a different kettle of fish. It still has some nice cruising comforts and one of the "prettiest" 21 footer Pilot House boats out there (so the wife and family will approve). She has all the comforts of the 655 by way of a toilet, a stove, a sink, a large dinnette area that converts into a huge berth for occasional over nights and even a retractable cockpit bench seat which is fully cushioned. The cockpit is plenty big enough for three anglers and there is bags of storage for all the gear. The sporty bit: She is fitted with a 115 Suzuki 4s engine giving +/- 30 knots and she gets there pretty quickly. Back the speed off to about 18 knots and she is kicking up some good wash (particulalry with her rear end pulled down with a boarder) and will cruise alln day at up to 22 or 23 knots economically. A big 136ltr built in fuel tank gives a huge range and she has the usual Merry Fisher self draining decks. The best bit is she will be less than a better brand 6m rib (a huge amount less than the 655), is very sea worthy, will keep you warm and dry, can cruise with the family, can fish with the lads, can head out to and beyond the rips without special plans for extra fuel etc (skilled skipper only!), can do all your water sports and your dealer is me! Just so you know, even though the boat has not been designed for wakeboarding I actually have a customer who keeps their 625 at Shell Bay who has had a custom built wakeboard tower fitted to their boat. Good luck and if you want to know more then please PM me or call me on 07780687795 or the office 01202 706943. Better still, pop down and see me at Salterns Marina and I'll show you the boat I am talking about. ...the kettle is always on (just ask Maverick). Tom Edited December 17, 2006 by TomBettle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djredrupp Posted December 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 So the 655 will top 20knts DOWNHILL eh ?! As far as speed goes, i do not see why the 655 is comparitavely soo much slower, considering it is only a tiny bit bigger, and has 5hp less! Also, internal wise, what is the difference between the 655 and 625? is there more of anything, or is everything just bigger? I cant seem to find any adequate photos on the web! Also Tom, how easy is it to fit the wakeboard tower? (aftermarket i presume!) and have you got any photos of this? Thanks for the Help Guys! Keep it comming! Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBettle Posted December 17, 2006 Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 So the 655 will top 20knts DOWNHILL eh ?! As far as speed goes, i do not see why the 655 is comparitavely soo much slower, considering it is only a tiny bit bigger, and has 5hp less! Also, internal wise, what is the difference between the 655 and 625? is there more of anything, or is everything just bigger? I cant seem to find any adequate photos on the web! Also Tom, how easy is it to fit the wakeboard tower? (aftermarket i presume!) and have you got any photos of this? Thanks for the Help Guys! Keep it comming! Dan Hi Dan The difference between the 655 and the 625 is the drive system. The 655 is powered by a SHAFT driven 110Hp diesel engine. The benefits of this are a very low and central centre of gravity creating very solid sea keeping and very easy handling in a seaway. The downside to shafts is a relative drop in performance to an outdrive or outboard driven boat. The 625 is powered by a feisty little outboard which gives her speedboat performance whilst maintaining the Pilot House characteristics. Essentially, inside they are quite similar boats with the same features, however due to quite a large amount of extra space the 655 does feel a lot less cramped. Any boat you ever look at will always have a compromise somewhere down the line. I run my own Merry Fisher 695 and absolutely love her. The one compromise I had to make that whilst the boat did everything I could possibly ask she was about 3 or 4 knots slower than I would have liked. Now there were many boats out there that had the performance that I craved, but I would have had to sacrifice so many of the 695's other qualities that the compromise to something else wasn't worth it. Come down and take a look. I have both boats here at Salterns. I am here until 16:00 today and all next week (Tuesday very busy) until Friday. Tom PS: I'll try and get a picture for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djredrupp Posted December 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 thanks for that help Tom! By any chance do you know Andrew Dowland? 'cos i think that we met (well me and my dad Bob) at the last Southampton boatshow! i would have your card where you recommended me to this forum... but ive lost it . one (or two) final points of help, as a 'seaworthy' boat, is there any difference in handling + stability, or other general control differences between the 625 and 655? Thanks for all the help Guys! Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBettle Posted December 17, 2006 Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 thanks for that help Tom! By any chance do you know Andrew Dowland? 'cos i think that we met (well me and my dad Bob) at the last Southampton boatshow! i would have your card where you recommended me to this forum... but ive lost it . one (or two) final points of help, as a 'seaworthy' boat, is there any difference in handling + stability, or other general control differences between the 625 and 655? Thanks for all the help Guys! Dan Hi Dan I know Andrew very well. He is a customer and from that link has become a friend. Is your Dad, "Bob", from Enfield? ...Gee what a memory! (or a very good computer database!). In seriousness, I do recommend giving me a call and we can chat about the pro's and con's more effectively than exchanging messages on here. Are you coming to London Boat Show? Handling and Sea Keeping: Now I have to be careful how I explain this... Both boats are exceptional in their size range and "class". So long as the statement in the sentence above is taken into account then it is fair to say that yes there is a considerable difference between the 625 and the 655. I don't mean it quite so literally, but with the 625 you will happily out run a storm to get home, but with the 655 you will be safe and sound driving home through the storm. The 655 will take the rough with the smooth and will plough through almost anything with little fuss. You will bounce around and the wipers will be going, but you will just keep on going. The 625 will fly around giving you a true adrenalin buzz and in anything up to a moderate sea you can keep a reasonable turn of speed on. When things start turning nasty if you try and keep the speed up high you will begin to really feel it and you will have to drop down to little more than displacement speeds to make comfortable progress. It will keep going through, but you will see a difference. These characteristics are not faults of the boats, but are common of the style of boat (both hull shape and power source). Clearly I am more than a little biased, but remember I also own one, but the Merry Fisher range are about the very best in their class / relative style. DO NOT BUY A RIB. Even if you go an buy an inferior brand of boat, do not buy a rib. For what you are intending on doing it will put a huge smile on your face for the first three times you take it out and then the family won't want to come as they get wet, then the wife won't come as there is no loo, then you won't go because you are worried about sticking a hook in it..... Ribs make great inshore dive boats, or safety boats and will blast at high speeds through anything. The boat is great for those purposes but at the expense of very wet and very bashed about crew. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djredrupp Posted December 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 WOW! thanks for that! gd memory about the boatshow! I won't be able to get down to Salterns, as were not yet living in Poole, still in Enfield until June next year , but we will definately be down at tha house every couple of weeks! I will be at the london boat show, so hope to see you then! p.s. is there any 2nd hand Merry Fisher 625's around? as ive had trouble finding these on the web! Thanks Everyone! Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted December 17, 2006 Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 Dan, Tom's absolutely right RIB's make fantastic dive boats, don't buy one unless you plan on going diving or undertaking inshore rescue work. Gordon H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBettle Posted December 18, 2006 Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 WOW! thanks for that! gd memory about the boatshow! I won't be able to get down to Salterns, as were not yet living in Poole, still in Enfield until June next year , but we will definately be down at tha house every couple of weeks! I will be at the london boat show, so hope to see you then! p.s. is there any 2nd hand Merry Fisher 625's around? as ive had trouble finding these on the web! Thanks Everyone! Dan Hi Dan There are a number of used Merry Fisher 625's kicking around. We get a steady number coming through our books every year (maybe 6 or 7) as owners buy them as a first or second boat, love the concept and trade up. If searching for used, try hard to get one with a 115Hp rather than a 90Hp. Some of the early ones were fitted with a 90Hp which is more than adequate, but the 115Hp does give it a lot more ooomph. The only downside to used is that they truly hold their money well. Imagine a well specified brand new boat (all your usual gear added) will retail at +/- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djredrupp Posted December 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 ok thanks for that! hope to see you at the boatshow then! One final thing!: are there any websites which i can see 2nd hand Merry Fishers, jus to get an idea of the price gaps + different types of extra equipment around?] some sort of 'merryfisher2ndhandsales.com?! lool thanks guys! Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Martin Posted December 18, 2006 Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 Try boatsandoutboards search for merry fisher Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djredrupp Posted December 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 i knew that!...... thanks for that Martin! there seems to be some good buys! .........but not quite yet Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coddy Posted December 18, 2006 Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 Hi Dan Try these sites Apollo Duck or Boats for sale or Find a fishing Boat or Boatshed That will keep you busy for a while Coddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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