Buying THIS rotten fisher 46 for refit to cruise high latitudes?

[Sailing August]

That is a nice looking boat. Get new rigging and sails. Have the engine rebuilt. Add a water maker.
Give it a good scrubbing and you are ready to go. Don't over think it. Have fun and let us know how it is going.

[Ghostrider421]

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob

Ahh captn, you do realise that the fisher is in fact an overbuilt fibreglass boat don't you?

Much like the older Morgan's - circa 1970-73?

[boatpoker]

I've never seen a 46' but I've surveyed three 37's and one 32' catamaran.
All had severe decay of structural wood and joinerwork due to long term leakage. The electrical systems would have been funny if not so dangerous.
The hulls were thick but used a tremendous amount of glass mat covered with poor quality gelcoat which had led to significant hydrolysis and areas of demlamination.

Not for the faint of heart or those on a budget.

[Ibetitsthisway]

Originally Posted by Pete7

5:50 minutes in, steelie for sale up north somewhere

Hi Pete..you are a very Good observer!
In fact i phoned the Broker of that boat 2 weeks Ago.
Bruce roberts.53. Refited. 200000k usd.
Very very nice...not to say perfekt boat for me...but...too expensive.
Sweden. Thinking about ging there. Offering a bit Less...lol...

[Ibetitsthisway]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

I've never seen a 46' but I've surveyed three 37's and one 32' catamaran.
All had severe decay of structural wood and joinerwork due to long term leakage. The electrical systems would have been funny if not so dangerous.
The hulls were thick but used a tremendous amount of glass mat covered with poor quality gelcoat which had led to significant hydrolysis and areas of demlamination.

Not for the faint of heart or those on a budget.

Now...thats making me nervous.
I bough a 43 war old swedish Albino 24 in may this year BECAUSE they are known die hand Made hulls which nearly never have osmosis Problems or Soft decks.
No brainer quality wise.

I thought fisher are exactly like that!??

[Jim Cate]

I thought fisher are exactly like that!??

Surveyors look at the reality of boats as they see them instead of the opinions of less technically accomplished yotties. Ignore their opinions at your peril.

Jim

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Ibetitsthisway

Hi Pete..you are a very Good observer!
In fact i phoned the Broker of that boat 2 weeks Ago.
Bruce roberts.53. Refited. 200000k usd.
Very very nice...not to say perfekt boat for me...but...too expensive.
Sweden. Thinking about ging there. Offering a bit Less...lol...

Well you could do worse. Problem is Sweden is likely to be iced in shortly and then you are not moving anywhere till late Spring. However, she is for sale and will be sold to someone eventually. A quick visit and leaving a low offer on the table might be all it takes, oh and a bit of time

After all, how big do you think the market is for a BR53 in Europe? Steele, not high on the list for most buyers. 53ft, that's big for Europe so expensive. BR rather than the Ben/Jav/Bav, you know which wives will choose.

Go on, go on, you you know you want to

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

I've never seen a 46' but I've surveyed three 37's and one 32' catamaran.
All had severe decay of structural wood and joinerwork due to long term leakage. The electrical systems would have been funny if not so dangerous.
The hulls were thick but used a tremendous amount of glass mat covered with poor quality gelcoat which had led to significant hydrolysis and areas of demlamination.

Not for the faint of heart or those on a budget.

Very interesting. I have always liked the design, sounds like it's good I never pursued one. Even with the glass layups of the day, I would not have expected an excessive use of CSM, which adds little to no structural strength.
Thanks for those that may be considering one.

[JOHNMARDALL]

If you can do all of the work yourself and have five to ten year of full time, seven days a week to spare, plus the money to replace everything, except the hull and masts, it may be worth taking a boat like this as a freebie. If you're going to pay other people to do this, it will take the same five to ten years and be more expensive than buying a new boat. Also allow for putting your sanity and marriage at risk.


Good luck
John Mardall
Vetus Maxwell Boat Equipment



If you do go ahead, find a copy of Allen H. Vaitses book "Covering wooden boats with fiberglass", it's the bible on its subject.

[Wayne hoath]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

I've never seen a 46' but I've surveyed three 37's and one 32' catamaran.

All had severe decay of structural wood and joinerwork due to long term leakage. The electrical systems would have been funny if not so dangerous.

The hulls were thick but used a tremendous amount of glass mat covered with poor quality gelcoat which had led to significant hydrolysis and areas of demlamination.



Not for the faint of heart or those on a budget.

I don’t doubt that this is your experience but I would say that there are many examples that aren’t represented in this picture. Fishers have been made by a number of different yards and to various owner’s specifications. Clearly some, after decades of use, are in better shape than others. I wouldn’t dismiss all because some are bad. My experience has been very positive; with a very dry interior with no sign of rot after 32 years of use. Electrics are in very solid order too but I suspect after 3 decades of use this is more a tribute to prior owners than the original builders.

[Wayne hoath]

Originally Posted by JOHNMARDALL

If you can do all of the work yourself and have five to ten year of full time, seven days a week to spare, plus the money to replace everything, except the hull and masts, it may be worth taking a boat like this as a freebie. If you're going to pay other people to do this, it will take the same five to ten years and be more expensive than buying a new boat. Also allow for putting your sanity and marriage at risk.


Good luck
John Mardall
Vetus Maxwell Boat Equipment



If you do go ahead, find a copy of Allen H. Vaitses book "Covering wooden boats with fiberglass", it's the bible on its subject.

Fishers aren’t made of wood they are very heavy laid up glass fibre.

[BonesD]

The dinghy looks nice.
If you want to take some evening cruises on a Fisher 46 there is a couple that uses their 46 commercially. They are in Kemah Tx
Here is a link. Boat named Yankee Clipper
https://www.meetup.com/Sailing-a-vin.../mwnccryzkbjb/

[limte]

I can't offer an opinion on Fishers, but as far as the cost of refitting, it might be prudent to get actual estimates. We replaced the standing rigging on our 37' heavy displacement boat 12 years ago, did all of the labor ourselves, and the cost was over 5k including wire, turnbuckles, Stalock fittings, furlers, etc. This was for a cutter; the costs would be higher for a ketch. Regarding engines, unless you are certain that parts are readily available for a engine more than 40 years old, it might be necessary to replace the engine. We had an old Yanmar that ran well, but getting parts was starting to become difficult. As our plans involved sailing in relatively remote places, (although not in areas that you are contemplating) we replaced the Yanmar with a new Beta. We did all of the work ourselves, which included the engine (only 38 hp), coupling, shaft, new feathering prop (we reused the old stuffing box). The cost without any outside labor, aside from a machine shop to fabricate a new shaft, was over 13K. For the Fisher, I suspect the cost of an engine would be more than twice that, and then you have the labor. I would hesitate to estimate the cost of refitting the Fisher, but it will likely be many times the cost of the boat.


Regards,
Bob S

[MikeInMaine]

2" plywood hull covered with expoxy and glass do the NWP? This girl is a steal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_kX4U19jb4

Mike in Maine

[BluefinMainer]

Did you ever get a survey done of the Fisher? It’s still for sale, so am assuming it didn’t pass ..??