This fall, I put in at Anchor Marine in Selby Bay, MD and noticed several Flemings on the dock. I was introduced to a 55 Fleming owner who graciously gave me a tour of his boat (about an hour). I had tried to tour a Fleming at the 2000 Lauderdale Show and gave up after several tries due to overcrowding on and around the boat. The 55 Fleming is one hell of a boat and the owners are its biggest promoters. The next day, I got a tour of a 75 Fleming being prepped for delivery at Burr Yacht Sales. I think they set the standard for boat dealers. After a thorough tour of the 75, I was asked if I would like to meet Tony Fleming. He is an Englishman who was Grand Banks technical director for 21 years. He was very gracious and we had a nice talk about his boats. Unfortunately, the new 55 is close to 1.5 mil and the 75 is 3.0 or so. Quality costs money and the Flemings reek of both. Maybe some day. Dan Weaver M/V Propper Lady 1981 Trojan Trawler wintering Wacha Wache Marina Murrells Inlet, SC

At 11:25 AM 12/22/01, you wrote: >The 55 Fleming is one hell of a boat and the owners are its biggest >promoters. The next day, I got a tour of a 75 Fleming being prepped for >delivery Dan, I have bashed a 55 Fleming up the Baja and many more up past Cape Mendecino. They are better than reported. I have had them out in winds of 45 knots on the bow. There is a bulbous area about fwd of amidships, this area is ideal for running chop. I noticed that in chop the boat rode better at high speed than at low, where the chop was hitting further forward. In other words, in chop, a speed of 13-16 knots is more comfortable than at 7--8 knots. The boats handle well in big chop of 15 feet or so and I consider the 55 to be about the best coastal cruiser of its size built. The craftsmanship of the woodwork is just gorgeous. The attention to detail is just almost outstanding. Cupboards are everywhere, there is very little wasted space. The materials and workmanship are first class. The newer boats have 425 hp Cummins and are considerably faster. The fuel economy with the older engines is better than 1 mpg at 13-14 knots, iIncluding running a generator. The pilothouse setup is extremely comfortable, with a serious helm seat and the table with seat is usable to sleep on. The engine noise is so quite that you can bring up the Stereo and play Enya's CD's and sing her to sleep. Or vice versa. The boats are NOT prone to rolling, although many have stabilizers. Engine room access is excellent, with access available from inside the cabin. Engine room lighting is very good and so is access to all engine room equipment. The fuel system on the older boats used standpipes and was very reliable and easy to use. The newer system is ok. The boat is heavy and feels very secure in a big sea. It is hard to find things to fault. But they are not perfect. The anchor chain is prone to balling up, even thou Tony Fleming has gone to great lengths to fix that problem. Otherwise the anchoring setup is easy to use. The fridge doors are hard to secure and it is hard to access while the boat is bouncing around, which a Fleming is very good at. The boat is very comfortable to live on and cruise for a thousand miles or more. Fleming owners would rather die than sell their boats, so you have to wait until they do. Note that I get no compensation commenting about Flemings, they are just great boats. A list of nice touches that have been incorporated in the 55 Fleming's would run to many, many pages. Capt. Mike Maurice Near Portland Oregon.