With her heavy displacement, long-keeled hull, modest sail area, and enclosed wheelhouse with internal steering, the Fisher 25 MS puts comfort and security ahead of speed. She’s a steadfast coastal and offshore cruiser rather than a light-air sprinter.
Design and Construction
The Fisher 25 MS measures 7.69 metres overall, with a beam of 2.85 metres and a displacement of 4,294 kilograms. She carries 2,300 kilograms of cast-iron ballast encapsulated in the keel.
The hull is a heavy-duty, hand-laid GRP moulding with a clear gel coat below the waterline. The same solid-laminate discipline carries into the deck, which is bonded to the hull, with plywood stiffening in all horizontal areas and additional reinforcement at heavily stressed points. Bulkheads are laminated to both hull and deck, forming an integrated unit.
Heavy, double-skin GRP bulwarks incorporate the hull-to-deck joint and are capped with 25mm teak. The teak rubbing strake and bulwark cladding were left untreated as standard.
The cockpit forms an integral part of the deck moulding and empties through overboard drains. A separate drained gas locker is moulded into the starboard seat. The Fisher 25 MS is the only member of the Fisher family with a transom rather than a canoe stern, a choice that creates an extremely spacious, self-draining cockpit behind the wheelhouse.
Rig and Handling
The standard rig is a sloop, with silver-anodised aluminium-alloy spars and 1 x 19 stainless steel standing rigging. Lewmar winches handle the halyards and reefing lines, while two Lewmar 40 self-tailing sheet winches sit on the cockpit coaming. The mainsail has two slab-reefing points, and a Furlex or equivalent genoa reefing system is fitted.
A ketch rig was available as an extra, adding another mast and sails aft of the wheelhouse.
The enclosed helm uses a rotary cable system to connect the wheel to the transom-hung rudder. That linkage can be disconnected quickly, allowing a removable teak tiller to be fitted in the cockpit for more direct sailing feel.
Writing in YACHT, the tester found the Fisher 25 MS very stable on course and able to point to around 50 degrees true wind. Under the Yanmar 3GM reviewed there, she delivered a good cruising speed of 5 knots at 2,200 rpm.
Engine and Systems
The standard engine is a Yanmar 3YM30 three-cylinder diesel developing 29 bhp. It is freshwater cooled, fitted with a water-locked silencer, and secured on anti-vibration mounts to a steel-reinforced GRP bed bonded to the hull. The soundproofed engine compartment is reached through lifting hatches in the wheelhouse sole.
A bronze stern tube carries a 1-inch stainless steel shaft to a three-bladed bronze propeller, protected by a zinc sacrificial anode. A single 182-litre stainless steel diesel tank is installed below the cockpit sole and vented overboard, with a fuel gauge at the console.
A flexible or GRP fresh water tank, also holding 182 litres, sits beneath the forward bunk. It supplies a cold-pressure system serving the galley, basin, and shower.
Two heavy-duty 12-volt batteries are housed in a sealed box in the engine room: one for engine starting and one for domestic use. A 55-amp alternator charges them. The electrical installation uses colour-coded wiring and circuit breakers at the console.
Accommodation
The forecabin contains two full-length single berths with storage beneath, along with a wardrobe and dressing table. Fixed hull ports admit light, while an opening hatch also serves as an emergency escape. A folding door separates the forecabin from the saloon.
Aft to port, the separate toilet compartment includes a marine toilet, washbasin with shower tap, opening portlight, laminate bulkheads, mirror, and ventilator.
In the saloon, settees to port and starboard extend into full-length berths using trotter boxes. A swiveling Lagun table serves the seating area. The galley is aft to starboard and has a stainless steel sink, a two-burner hob with grill and failsafe, an adjacent gas shut-off, and a refrigerator below. Laminate work surfaces are edged with rubberwood fiddle rails.
The wheelhouse helm is to port, with a chart area ahead of the teak wheel, a windscreen wiper, and a deep sail bin. To starboard is a seat with chart stowage. A sliding door opens into the cockpit, and a Perspex skylight brings light into the wheelhouse.
Interior joinery combines solid pale Malaysian oak with ash-veneered plywood. Vinyl linings and teak-and-holly cabin soles complete the finish.
Known Issues
On boats built before 1990, period review records in YACHT note two recurring concerns. Corrosion can make the wheelhouse window frames leak, requiring replacement, while the Treadmaster deck covering used at the time was not yet epoxy-bonded and can peel.
The Verdict
The Fisher 25 MS is a serious small motorsailer: heavily built, well compartmented, and protected by an enclosed wheelhouse. She combines a practical standard sloop rig—or an optional ketch rig—with a secure, self-draining cockpit.
Her modest sail area, heavy displacement, and long-keeled hull favour steady passages rather than racing pace or lively performance in light air. Her systems are arranged for owner maintenance, including unusually direct engine access through the lifting wheelhouse sole.
Early, pre-1990 boats need careful scrutiny around the wheelhouse window frames and Treadmaster deck covering. The structure itself, however, is sound.
Pros
- Encapsulated cast-iron ballast and bonded bulkheads form an integrated, robust hull-and-deck unit
- Enclosed wheelhouse with internal steering, plus a tiller option under sail
- Full-beam, self-draining aft cockpit unique among Fishers of the era
- Lifting wheelhouse sole provides direct engine access in a 25-foot boat
Cons
- Pre-1990 wheelhouse window frames are prone to corrosion and leakage
- Treadmaster deck covering on early boats wasn’t epoxy-bonded and may peel
- Heavy displacement limits light-air sailing performance
