Fisher (yachts)
Encyclopedia
The Fisher line of motorsailing yachts is a line of fiberglass yachts in sizes from 25 ft to 46 ft. Currently completely build from scratch to finished product by Northshore Shipyard in Itchenor near Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...


Short history

The first Fisher yachts were built in the 1970s and today the yachts can still be ordered, but only the most popular models 25, 34 and 37 ft long are still available. During the earlier years the fiberglass
Fiberglass
Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...

 hulls were molded by Fairways Marine and several companies completed the hull to complete ships. Currently the shipyard does all work themselves.

The Fisher 30 was a popular model but isn't produced anymore as the building costs are too high for the size.

Design

The Fisher line is easy recognizable: the professional looking wheelhouse and a hull resembling (Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

) fishing ships with rounded stern
Stern
The stern is the rear or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite of the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Originally, the term only referred to the aft port section...

 and high water displacement. The double masts with Ketch
Ketch
A ketch is a sailing craft with two masts: a main mast, and a shorter mizzen mast abaft of the main mast, but forward of the rudder post. Both masts are rigged mainly fore-and-aft. From one to three jibs may be carried forward of the main mast when going to windward...

 sailplan is another distinctive feature of the line.

Models

Over the years the following models have been produced. The number refers to the length of the yacht in feet.
  • Fisher 25: The smallest member and only type with straight stern (approximately 250 made)
  • Fisher 30: For several years the most popular model
  • Fisher 31: The intended successor of the 30, but not a commercial success
  • Fisher 34: Currently one of the most wanted models (over 100 produced)
  • Fisher 37: The larger version of the 34 (140)
  • Fisher 46: The longest model. Only a few ships built


Beside these standard models some other types were available based on the Fisher design:
  • Potter 25: seen as a full member of the Fisher family: a Fisher 25 without the raised main cabin resulting in a larger work deck directly in front of the wheelhouse. Has only one small mast; misses the main mast.
  • Catfisher 28: catamaran version.
  • Northeaster 30: (discontinued) based on the Fisher 30 but with longer and different design of wheelhouse. Has also an aft cabin but no open cockpit.
  • Caribbean 30: (discontinued) Another Fisher 30 based yacht, but instead of larger wheelhouse: no wheelhouse at all. Sailing and steering is done from the protected open cockpit.
  • Trawler: Based on the hull and wheelhouse design pure motorships.
  • Holterman Fisher 46: After the accident (fire) with the last Northshore built 46 the moulds and drawings were sold and the Dutch shipyard Holterman in Meppel
    Meppel
    Meppel is a municipality and a city in the northeast of the Netherlands, in the south-west of the province Drenthe.It developed in the 16th century as a transport and distribution inland harbour for turf...

    , The Netherlands offers it as the HOLTERMAN 46 FISHER
  • The Barlow 32: an Australia
    Australia
    Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

    n built yacht inspired by the Fisher line. Designed by Malcom Barlow from Australia

Owners around the world

As the Fisher is designed for cruising all waters you can find the yachts all around the world. In England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, The Netherlands (incl. German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 members) and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

there are active owners associations.
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