James Miller Fifer 33 Boat for Sale

• Manufacturer: James Miller
• Price: £39,950
• Location: Dartmouth
• Year: 1961
• LOA: 33'0" (10.05m)
• Beam: 10' 7'' (3.23m)
• Berths: 4
• Draft: 1.5
• Keel: Long keel
• ID no.: 17F9072726

• Cabins: 2
• Heating: yes
• Heads: 1
• Engine Make: New Holland
• Horsepower: 95hp
• Drive Type: Shaft drive
• Fuel Type: Diesel
• Fuel Tank Size: 100 Gallons

Broker Remarks

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.  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.

Last surveyed in November 2022. Cruised the Channel islands and Isles of Scilly August/ September this year.

Accommodation

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 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.

• Eberspacher diesel heater fitted 2023.

• 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. New upholstery 2023

• 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.

Galley equipment

• Nelson 2 burner gas stove
• Gas bottle
• Bunk and berth cushions

Mechanical and Rigging

Hull and construction

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

• 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 coach roof coamings and wheelhouse with epoxy sheathed plywood coach roof decks and wheelhouse roof.  Varnished mahogany hand rails.

• Wheelhouse largely rebuilt in previous 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 single door into the wheelhouse.

• Wheel steering (new 2023)with chain to the quadrant.

Machinery

• New Holland 6640 5 litre 4cyl diesel engine generating 95hp.  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 7.5knots cruising speed at 1400rpm using 1.7 gallons/hour. Very economic cruising.  8.5 knots max speed.

• Painted steel fuel tanks of 50 gallons each either side of engine room.

• 3 x 12 volt batteries charged from the large engine alternator.  Installed shore power system with mains battery charger. 

• 2 x manual bilge pumps, 1 electric bilge pump and 1 engine driven bilge/salvage pump.

• 150W solar panel on wheelhouse roof plus Victron charge controller new 2023

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 replaced 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

Inventory

Navigation Equipment

• 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 (spare)
• B&G Zeus3S 9 inch screen chart plotter installed 2023
• NASA Navtex
• Radar reflector

Safety equipment

• Plastimo 4 man valise Liferaft.  Serviced 2023
• Lifebuoy
• Floating throwing line
• Spot light (fixed on wheelhouse roof)
• Carbon monoxide alarm and fire extinguishers fitted 2023
• Automatic fire extinguisher for engine compartment

Anchoring and mooring

• 35lb CQR anchor with Kong Swivel anchor connector linking 60m x 8mm DIN766 MF grade 40 calibrated anchor chain new 2023
• 45lb CQR kedge anchor with 50m x 10mm Anchorplait Nylon warp new 2023
• Manual Clyde windlass. Facility to power the windlass with electric.
• 8 x fenders
• 4 x mooring warps new 2023
• Boat hook

Sails and Covers

• Mainsail by Dart Sails 2016
• Mizzen by Dart Sails 2016
• Genoa by Dart Sails with roller furling 2013
• Mainsail and mizzen sail covers
• Sails cleaned by Dart Sails and Covers 2023

Deck equipment

• Varnished teak boarding ladder
• Beaching legs
• Deck brush
• Anchor locker
• Honwave 3.2 meter dinghy new 2023
• 5hp Honda 4 stroke outboard new 2023

Video