Wooden Ships Comments on this Miller Fifer Motor Sailer Ketch
The Miller Fifer was a very successful range of motor sailers, built by James Miller and Sons of St Monance, Scotland. Millers was a long established firm passing through several generations with a proud reputation for building fine fishing boats up to 70’ or so.
The yard also built a number of large yachts before the war and continued with yacht building in the 1950s and 1960s with the Fifer range. The Fifers had a direct lineage to the fishing boats built by the yard and, in their various sizes were built with the same massive scantlings as the fishing boats.
The Miller Fifers were built as 26’, 28’ 33’ and a few larger models. With the exception of a few of the later boats built with a transom stern they had the characteristic canoe stern and proud sheer of the fishing boats.
This 33’ size was the most popular giving good volume in the cabin and excellent sea-keeping qualities. These are heavy, stable boats capable of pushing their way through a sea giving a huge sense of strength and confidence.
This particular example is almost certainly one of the very best available after 30 years in the ownership of a professional shipwright and more recently having been sold to a new owner who has upgraded and improved various systems aboard to make her into a comfortable and turn key cruising boat. She is wintered undercover every year and has been constantly updated and improved as necessary. The mahogany wheelhouse is a common weakness in Millers but this wheelhouse has been totally rebuilt and is in excellent condition.
She was re-engined in 2001 with a commercial grade New Holland diesel giving her 7.5knots cruising speed at an economical 1400rpm.
Survey available from November 2022 along with evidence of all work done since. Previous surveys and detailed documentation for all refit work in present ownership.
Length on deck 33’
Length Waterline 31’
Beam 10’6”
Draft 4’6”
Thames Tonnage 12TM
2023 Upgrades
- All new galvanised wire standing rigging
- Sails cleaned and serviced
- Main engine serviced
- Battery isolator switches relocated
- 150 watt solar panel with Victron charge controller
- B&G Zeus3S 9” chart plotter, new
- B&G V60-B VHF DCS radio with AIS transponder installed 2023
- Raymarine Evo Wheel Pilot autopilot installed 2023
- All new upholstery
- Eberspacher diesel fired cabin heater
- New fenders
- New mooring warps
- New anchor chain and warp
- Liferaft serviced
- New fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide alarm
- New Honwave dinghy and 5hp Honda outboard engine
Construction
- Carvel planked in 1.25” Mahogany above the water and Siberian Larch below the waterline.
- Fastened with iron nails to sawn oak frames at 12” centres. Selection of fastenings drawn and inspected December 2022.
- Sawn oak floors across the centreline.
- Iron keel bolts through the wooden floors, bolts x-rayed about 15 years ago and found excellent.
- No external iron ballast keel. Internal ballast of iron pigs of approximately 2 tons.
- Yacht laid teak deck screwed and glued over a marine plywood subdeck. Varnished mahogany cover boards. High toe rail all round with a varnished mahogany capping rail.
- Stainless steel stanchions and guard wires bolted through the cover boards.
- Varnished mahogany coachroof coamings and wheelhouse with epoxy sheathed plywood coachroof decks and wheelhouse roof. Varnished mahogany hand rails.
- Wheelhouse largely rebuilt in present ownership and in excellent condition.
- Deep self draining cockpit aft of the wheelhouse with a thwart either side. Deep lockers below each thwart.
- Full height double doors into the wheelhouse.
- Wheel steering with chain to the quadrant. New 2023 autopilot.
Rig
- Bermudan ketch rig on deck stepped varnished spruce masts. Mainmast set in a galvanised tabernacle which doubles as a ventilator, usual Miller design.
- Varnished spruce booms.
- Galvanised wire standing rigging All new in 2023. Galvanised rigging screws to internal galvanised chain plates.
- Running rigging new in 2016.
- Gibb No.7 self tailing mast winch. Pair of Gibb self tailing cockpit sheet winches.
- Headsail on a roller furling system.
- All sails in good condition by Dart Sails, Mainsail, Mizzen and Genoa.
- Masts stripped and varnished with new wiring
Machinery
- New Holland 6640 5 litre 4cyl diesel engine generating 85hp. A commercial grade engine, professionally installed in 2001. Fresh water cooled with all Bowman heat exchangers. Serviced April 2023.
- PRM 500 2:1 gearbox to a fixed centreline 4 blade bronze propeller. Gives 7 knots cruising speed at 1400rpm using 1.5 gallons/hour. Very economic cruising. 8.5 knots max speed.
- Painted steel fuel tank of 100 gallons in the engine room.
- 3 x 12 volt batteries charged from the large engine alternator. Installed shore power system with mains battery charger.
- 150W solar panel with Victron charge regulator, all new in 2023.
- 2 x manual bilge pumps, 1 electric bilge pump and 1 engine driven bilge/salvage pump.
Accommodation
- The large wheelhouse has a helm position to starboard and large chart desk to port. Crew seat forward of the chart desk.
- Centreline steps into the cabin. Galley to starboard and heads compartment to port.
- Galley is L-shaped with a single stainless sink with hot and cold pressurised water. Formica worktops with storage below and shelves above. Nelson 2 burner gas stove with oven and grill. Waeco Coolmatic fridge in the wheelhouse under the chart desk.
- Heads compartment is large with full standing headroom. Jabsco manual sea toilet discharges directly overboard.
- Main saloon with the original varnished mahogany dropleaf centreline table. Port and starboard settee berths, the starboard side pulls out to make a double. Original joinery with shelves above the settee berths. All new upholstery in 2023.
- New 2023 Eberspacher diesel fired hot air cabin heating.
- Centreline door going forward into the forepeak with two single V-berths. Joinery all new in this cabin but built to the exact same design as the original joinery in the saloon.
Equipment
- Orania steering compass
- B&G Zeus3S 9” chart plotter, new
- NASA Marine sounder
- B&G V60-B VHF DCS radio with AIS transponder installed 2023
- ICOM MS6 vhf radio (spare)
- Raytheon11x open array 24mile radar
- Raymarine Evo Wheel Pilot autopilot installed 2023
- Garmin 128 GPS (backup)
- NASA Navtex
- Radar reflector
- Plastimo 4 man valise Liferaft. Serviced 2023
- 4 x life jackets
- Lifebuoy
- Floating throwing line
- Spot light on wheelhouse roof
- Carbon monoxide alarm
- Fire extinguishers, new 2023
- Auto fire extinguisher in engine room
- 35lb CQR with Kong swivel and 60mx8mm DIN766 graded anchor chain, new 2023
- 45lb CQR with 50m x10mm anchorplait warp, new 2023
- Manual Clyde windlass. Facility to power the windlass with electric.
- 8 x fenders
- 4 x mooring warps, new 2023
- Mainsail by Dart Sails, 2016
- Mizzen by Dart Sails, 2016
- Genoa by Dart Sails with roller furling, 2016
- Mainsail and mizzen sail covers
- Varnished teak boarding ladder
- Beaching legs
- Boat hook
- Deck brush
- Honwave 3.2m dinghy, new 2023
- 5hp Honda 4 stroke outboard, new 2023
- Galley equipment
- Nelson 2 burner gas stove
- Gas bottle
- Bunk and berth cushions, upholstery new in 2023
- Jabsco manual sea toilet.
- Eberspacher diesel hot air cabin heater, new 2023
