Jeanneau Merry Fisher 795: Review

A utilitarian 25-foot cabin cruiser with the latest FourStroke outboard engine, sleeping for four, galley up and separate head, an all-weather helm deck, and a decent convertible cockpit with walkaround decks.

OVERVIEW
- One for all and all for one
French juggernaut Jeanneau offers some 30 models in its ever-expanding range of high-production fibreglass craft. There is a boat for just about every budget and bent. But if there is such a thing as a “one-for-all” then this Merry Fisher 795 takes the prize.

We called this boat a winner in our 2016 Merry Fisher 795 news item before we even set foot aboard. For this is one of the best-selling boats in the range.

It’s also seaworthy with an excellent hull shared with the Marlin offshore sister ship, which has more of a centre cabin and less cockpit seating. But this 795 Merry Fisher layout is more popular for general-purpose boating and, with a full lock-up cabin and wheelhouse, sleeping for four and separate toilet, it really is a winner.

In its previous guise as the Merry Fisher 755, this boat accounted for more than 1000 sales globally in just over three years. We came to this test rather thrilled by the fact that the boat has now had an upgrade to become the Merry Fisher 795 for 2016.

The new Merry Fisher 795 (the newest model in the range) boasts a redesigned transom with bigger swim platforms and single-level cockpit entry, new deeper cabin windows to let more light inside, a new modern dash, and improved furnishings and benchtop options.

“The best thing was there was no great price increase with the new model and we are selling these as a base boat from $109K. But generally around $120-130K is where most people end up. It is great value for money," said Matt Willett from his eponymous Jeanneau dealership in Sydney at The Spit before we cast the lines.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT
- Value, utility, family and outboard
Importer Willet first tested this boat at the European dealer conference with a 150hp Yamaha and says even with four adults it was good for 30 knots. He sold three of the boats sight unseen to locals, mostly with 200s, and with some upgrades. The base 795 Merry Fisher with 150hp outboard costs $109k.

Factory rigged, our test boat was powered by a trusty 200hp Yamaha F200GETX, the frugal inline-four-cylinder engine. It had a bowthruster and was headed to a waterfront on Lake Macquarie — just the perfect boat for it.

The Merry Fisher 795 has a 2.81m beam, but with permits could be trailered and the rig will weigh under 3.5t on the road. That said, these Merry Fishers have a lot of appeal as small affordable marina berthing propositions, boats for swinging on moorings and, yes, parked outside waterfront homes.

Without a trailer, our test rig had the aforesaid 200hp Yamaha F200GETX inline-four cylinder engine upgrade ($25,800) and thruster ($4253), plus a must-have Trim Level Premiere pack ($2915) with wheelhouse hatch, cockpit cushions, second portside wiper and screen wash system, plus portside sliding window and cockpit shower.

Options also included a factory installed Lowrance Combo Elite-7 CHIRP GPS/sounder, Fusion audio package, windlass plus anchoring and mooring kits. The optional U-shaped cockpit seat module and table provide a lunch venue outdoors, with upgraded teak trim on the swim platform and a foredeck sunpad to zhoosh things up.

The boat had more options boxes ticked: 42-litre fridge, cabin curtains and chemical toilet, and a Luxury Galley pack with gas stove and bottle fitted. With all this kit, you can cook, shower (cold) and sleep over. There wasn’t hot water but with a kettle, hanging camper shower and 100 litres of water on board, you can get around that.

All told, this Merry Fisher was a $135,710 rig that only needed some fishing tackle, an inflatable SUP, your bedding, food and fuel. Bottom line: Great value in today’s market and, we have to say, a boat with a bit more utility that the once popular pocket sportscruiser. No sterndrive legs or running gear to worry about either. So think low running costs and maintenance.

Here is the French promo video of this boat with the base 150hp Yamaha outboard. The author's handheld onboard video is below in the "On the Water" section.

LAYOUT AND ACCOMMODATION
- A well-proportioned cabin cruiser
With a lock-up cabin, walkaround decks, a useful amount of cockpit space and the new big swim platforms, this is a very well-proportioned family cabin cruiser. The design lines are typically European and a la the genre, with a little more rake and modernisation than some cabin cruiser from this part of the world.

You certainly don’t need to overthink the design of this boat. At the blunt end, the new big swim platforms are a boon and each is big enough to stand or sit on with legs dangling. You could strap a bait tank or tub, lash some crab traps and certainly leave your wet gear — if not blue swimmers — in the handy outboard wet locker out here.

It's all one level after you climb the swim ladder to the starboard platform and walk through the marlin door to the cockpit, with surround moulded seating and storage under. The internal transom access is improved by removing the portside corner infill section. Then you can stand in that corner for fishing and to net a flathead dinner. Deck fittings include a couple of rod holders, cleats and recessed grab rails.

The central transom bench seat slides back inboard, enabling full engine trim and cowling clearance, when lifting your outboard leg and prop out of the water. This is handy at the marina, on your mooring or — the beauty of an outboard over inboard — when pulled up on the beach. Yet you can still use the bench seat with the outboard trimmed right up.

With the cushions strapped in and the supplied table, you have a lunch setting. The table converted into an optional sun pad on the test boat. There were a fair few barrel bolts and infill panels to deal with. It was a tad fiddly and the Jeanneau brains trust ought to come up with a better storage solution for the table, say, stored in clips under the large floor hatch lid. This seems entirely possible with some minimal mouldings.

But having said that, I don’t think you will be converting the boat too many times during your sorties and you can do as we did and put all the cushions and table in the cabin when running around.

So to re-iterate here’s how the cockpit works:
1. Remove the optional moulded seating modules, by unscrewing the knurled nuts, lift away the infills and cushions and you have a fishing layout (one 795 owner does this and has the optional second outdoor helm).
2. Re-attach the moulded seat base with knurled nut and add cushions and you have a social layout and family commuter.
3. Now drop in the table and do lunch.
4. Afterwards, lower it all and add the infill cushions to create a daybed.

We would also add a Euro-style awning running from the cabin top back to some rear-mounted poles for shade.

This boat also had cushions to create a foredeck sunpad. The recessed grab rails on the cabin top really make the passage forward nice and safe. The starboard sidedeck is the widest, as the cabin is mounted asymmetrically. The step up from the cockpit conceals the gas bottle, underscoring the fact that Jeanneau has really maximised the available space on this boat.

The concealed windlass and walkthrough split bowrail and pulpit make this an easy boat to access off the bow, say, when picking up passengers from a wharf or dropping them off to get supplies. Such is the volume inside the cavernous lined rope locker that you could stow wet stuff here when not anchoring and certainly the garbage if weekending.

With a full lock-up cabin, you can keep your valuables inside, stash your fishing gear and dive stuff and so on out of site in the head. The wheelhouse has a cheerful ambience, good space and amenities. I was enthused by the internal layout and could see myself hanging out in here for fishing overnighters without any problems.

The portside area is a dinette than converts to a double bed or indoor chaise lounge for just lolling about. The co-pilot bench seat has a reversible backrest to maximise this lounging and dinette space. When cruising, with the backrest flicked back upright, there’s a grab rail and glove box and the optional wiper to assists your nav crew. The fridge is back near the door on this portside.

The galley module opposite, behind the helm seat, includes a gas stove near the door, a couple of drink holders, and a decent square sink. The helm seat folds forward for cooking and food prep. Opening windows and a hatch ensure abundant fresh air. The curtains slide around when it’s lights out or you want privacy at the marina.

Stepping down into the cabin proper reveals a generous double bed, obtuse in shape to maximise foot well space, off which is the enclosed toilet compartment with sink. I didn’t seem to be unduly stooping throughout any of this and the whole rig just struck me as being functional.

While both are excellent boats, the smaller 695 tested here doesn’t have this cabin volume, while the next size up is running twins. So this 795 Merry Fisher really hits the sweet spot of single-engine manageability and cabin cruising comforts.

HULL AND ENGINEERING
- Simple systems and good access throughout
The hull, deck moulding and liner are all nicely executed and make very good use of available space. Jeanneau includes a good spread of storage shelves and storage lockers, while a large cockpit hatch leads into a big lazarette with battery and fuel tank access. The battery and windlass breakers are easy to access in the cockpit.

The 100 litres of water is really quite generous for a boat of this size, while the 280 litres of fuel will go a long way with the frugal four-cylinder 200hp Yamaha, which was burning 30ltr/hr on test at 22-23 knot cruise.

As we had a bow thruster, we had the top-shelf battery combination with stand-alone battery for the thruster's duty, a house battery for the fridge, lights and so on, and a separate engine-start battery.

All these are powered by the outboard’s 50A alternator and rigged up to a VSR that distributes the charge accordingly. You could add a solar panel on the roof or shorepower and charger for $1500.

The supplied rode — 18m of 8mm chain and 30m of rope — and 12kg anchor will see you sit fast at night, while the extra-long 25in shaft of the Yammie kept its cowling nice and high above the water at all times, even in reverse in a bit of chop.

In terms of construction, Jeanneau says that 20 years ago the company developed a closed moulding process called Prisma Process. Closed moulding is nothing new, but this boat, built to CE Category C for eight, seemed well made.

Bilge pumps consisted of electric ones forward and aft as well as a manual back-up pump as per CE standards. Add to that the self-draining cockpit and you shouldn’t have to worry about a bit of water on deck. Which is why this is such a good mooring or in-water storage proposition.

ON THE WATER
- Stable, smooth and dry
We had a typical northeast summer sea breeze on Sydney Harbour for this test. There was run-out tide in The Sound between North, South and Middle heads, creating a nice little chop typical of this waterway. Add to that the Manly ferries and you had a perfect test bed.

With the bow trimmed in using the outboard  (trim tabs aren't a listed option, and no 795 owner has requested them, but we'd still fit a pair as aftermarket accessories), I punched one-up into the sea breeze and thought the ride was pretty good for a family boat and part-time fishing boat or offshore cruiser. There was a little bit of cabin noise, perhaps exacerbated by the stored infills and gear, but no harsh thumps in what was a light boat from a gear and crew perspective.

At 3700-3800rpm, we recorded 22-23 knots cruise for 30lt/hr; 4100rpm gave 24 knots for 40lt/hr fast cruise; and I squeezed 32-33 knots out of it at 5300-5400rpm, which is pretty much in keeping with the official data (not yet available for this boat) for the Merry Fisher 695 Marlin sister ship with this same hull and same 200hp four-pot Yamaha outboard.

The hull holds plane for a low-speed rough-weather cruise of 13-14 knots at 3000rpm for about 20lt/hr. But at the optimum 22-23 knots you will get a safe range of 190nm, which is certainly ideal for port-to-port hopping, offshore fishing and diving, upriver or bay camping, and plenty of harbour cruises and commutes.

Vision at the helm with all the glass, the new deeper side windows and rear glass doors is excellent and the boat instils quite a feeling of confidence and seaworthiness. It throws the spray out and with twin wipers and the wheelhouse you should be able ride out a storm or rainy weather without to much stress.

Underway, you have a big trim range but tabs would help offset crew load or the tendency of a cabin cruiser to lean into the wind. At rest, standing in the cockpit and drifting, the boat felt nice and stable for offshore fishing. And it doesn’t dig in with the new extended swim platforms (they are quite high) in reverse.

Even with the 200hp four-cylinder Yamaha, this isn’t a rocket ship out of the hole or a sportscruiser with the wind in your hair and eyes watering. But it’s a very good design for year-round boating in comfort. You can see the raw but real video from onboard shot by the author here...

VERDICT
- Today's entry-level family cruiser
We have spent a fair but of time on boats like the Mariner 26 Pacer with our young family of four. It was a popular boat in its day in Australia, in many ways all you need, as indeed might be this Merry Fisher 795. Only this boat is of vastly better design and with the latest outboard power it’s a lot less hassle to maintain and drive.

This boat seems to be displacing a lot of the pocket sportscruiser that we used to consider desirable in the entry-level cruiser market. Why?

This rig has a galley up, the little 26ft sportscruiser has the galley down; this boat has outboard whereas so many little cruisers have sterndrive; the Merry Fisher has an enclosed wheelhouse and no clears; there are walkaround decks and a decent cockpit; and this boat with modular seating flips across to fishing in a much more capable way that boats with full-width wrap-around permanent cockpit lounges.

It’s all here in a low-fuss, easily driven, affordable and easy-to-run cabin cruiser. A mobile mechanic can service the Mercury in no time, the antifouling can be done yourself after careening, or slip it into a dry stack.

Snapper fishing in the morning, a family cruise and lunch on the Magma gas barbecue smoking in the rod holder. Sleep the night when you want to and put your boat to bed in no time. Trim the outboard leg out of the water, a bit of bird netting over the cockpit, and go. Winner, winner, fish dinner.

HIGHS
>> A great all-rounder for family and fishing
>> Low maintenance, self-draining decks, outboard power
>> Amenities for weekending aboard and sleeping a young family
>> Galley, stove, fridge, enclosed toilet and more
>> Excellent performance in bouncy conditions
>> Big brand backing and a very popular model

NOT SO MUCH
>> Cockpit conversion to sun pad is a bit fiddly with the barrel bolts
>> Cockpit table storage could be improved — why not use the underside of the lazarette hatch lid?
>> A little bit rattly underway around the sliding window areas
>> No factory option for trim tabs

Supplied by and tested through:
Matt Willett Marine
D'Albora Marina, The Spit,
The Spit Road, Mosman
NSW 2088
Phone:(02) 9930 0000
Also the

Jeanneau website.