Auxiliary engine for Merry Fisher 795

[nickv]

Hello to all Merry Fisher owners - new member here from Devon, UK after a bit of advise please.

Following the failure of the Yamaha f175 belonging to 'Peace' my year old MF795  - 200 hours from new - and the resulting embarrassing tow back to Brixham mariner last week. I find myself frustratingly marooned enduring a rare British heat wave whilst awaiting the arrival of a new fuel injection pump - the most possible culprit - that apparently has to be shipped all the way from Japan!!!. I find my self pondering on the possibilities of installing a secondary engine/kicker to my stricken vessel to avoid such a painful incident from re-accuring.

I would like to ask if any other owners have had an engine of such fitted or have any knowledge of the best way to go about such a procedure and what would be the best size small engine and mount to use for the size of vessel concerned - it would ideally serve as an emergency engine, trolling tool and be suitably portable enough to mount on a smallish tender. 

Many thanks in advance for any help that any one can offer.

Kindest regards, Nick.


 

[primozt]

Hi Nick,

A year ago I plan to buy used 795 and found a 2y old with everything you may imagine.
There was also a tender, think it was 2m long and the outboard was mounted on 795 as a spare and for a tender. This was a 8hp suzuki, weight of 28kg. Not easy to move it from 795to a tender, but makes it possible. Tender was placed on the roof or towing behind. Not a nice or practical solution, a lot of additional weight...
An 8hp is going to be just for moving in easy sea and normal weather, it will not save you in case of storms,...
I think that 795 isn’t planned to have a tender, maybe an outboard for better filling.

BR,
Primoz

[pathfinderstu]

Following this post I intend to fit a mercury 9.9 kicker engine to my new 795 marlin...was wondering if the port swimming platform would be strong enough and what kind of fitting would be suitable.

[lettuce]

Back in January 2021 I had a 795 on order. I was eager to fit an auxiliary for extended canal pottering and, of course, the knowledge that there is some kind of backup, however feeble in case of main engine failure.
But how to steer it??

Would be good if Jeanneau came up with a couple of options on this....maybe including Torqeedo Cruise 4?

Any advice would be welcome!

Anyway, I made this post before I cancelled the order for the 795 as I discovered there are only a couple of water-side petrol pumps between the Orwell and Iceland so petrol motors are simply a non-starter for doing any serious cruising. Instead I have bought a 12 year old MF925, diesel engine of course.

[pathfinderstu]

Jan 13, 2021 22:18:14 GMT lettuce said:

I have a 795 on order. I am eager to fit an auxiliary for extended canal pottering and, of course, the knowledge that there is some kind of backup, however feeble in case of main engine failure.
But how to steer it??

Would be good if Jeanneau came up with a couple of options on this....maybe including Torqeedo Cruise 4?

Any advice would be welcome!
I have looked into the problem and still am...the problems I see with electric is lack of power and the amount of power needed in batteries and space Involved....i have a 200hp Mercury engine and so far found the best option in my case is to get a 9.9 hp kicker engine...have a bracket fritted. On the port swimming platform..not ideal but will match the main engine for looks and will charge batteries while running....apparently just the main engine when lowered Inn the water is enough to steer it with.  So you can potter aound all day on very liitle fuel.

[ihsan]

If you have steering problems like fluid loss, you may not have a chance to steer a working engine.  Someone may hold the engine with hands and force to turn it when you tell them to do so.  But this may help only for short distance and in nice whether. A kicker or spare engine working independently from the main steering may also be an advantage in such a case. I can use my 6 hp. with 795 with tiller extension from the cockpit. It works fine but not as convenient and effective as the joint steering of course.  9,9 is the ideal kicker, for sure. 6 is also enough to save you from most emergencies. They also provide 6 with a bigger three and four blade propellor for heavier boats. If possible I would definitely choose the 9,9. I had to give up because of the mounting problems encountered at that particular time.

[Capt’n Ron]

I agree with Ihsan, having an auxiliary is a good idea. Myself and a number of other owners on the forum have had our power steering lines break and complete loss of steering. Having an auxiliary kicker may not get you back from a long trip, but it could keep you out of a dangerous situation. I have a Yamaha 9.9 high thrust I use as my fishing trolling motor and it has plenty of power to get through wind and currents. For mounting you can check out Panther Marine outboard mounts.  I have a custom built mount, but I know several owners with the panther mounts and they work well. 

[ihsan]

Jan 13, 2021 22:18:14 GMT lettuce said:

I have a 795 on order. I am eager to fit an auxiliary for extended canal pottering and, of course, the knowledge that there is some kind of backup, however feeble in case of main engine failure.
But how to steer it??

Would be good if Jeanneau came up with a couple of options on this....maybe including Torqeedo Cruise 4?

Any advice would be welcome!

Attachment Deleted

 This is my solution.  I have the cut piece and it can be mounted again. The idea is from a 755 with smaller platform. They were able to do similar mounting without cutting anything. Captain Ron's solution is more practical, using the swimming platform as it is. I found the swimming platform as one of the most robust place on the boat. I dont think there will be any problems mounting a spare engine directly on it. In my case demounting the swimming platform proved  difficult. But we had to seperate it first in order to cut. There are pieces of metal inside the fiber hull which are placed during production to increase strenght of the swimming platform bolts.  One of my advantages, the engine is not exposed and the swimming platform protects it if you have to approach the pier in reverse, which is what I have to do. Unless you dont have a camera installed, it is not that easy to see the back of the boat from the helm position. To protect the main engine I have got fenders installed on the dock.