Marino Gabry 5.50 (18.2 feet)

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Thought I would post some information on the Marino Gabry 550 that I went to have a look at last week at Mecca Marine. As some of you may know I am in the market for a boat so I've been doing some running around. The majority of these Italian boats are mass production medium quality cost effective vessels for boaters who want something but are on a budget. They are by no means comparable with Ranieri, Northstar or other premium brands. With a typical 90hp direct injection engine costing in the region of Lm3,200 - Lm3,750, if you have a budget of around Lm7500-8000 these are the kind of boats you're going to be looking at. They are what they are, entry level boats with a two to three year warranty and reasonable finishing, that you can also improve on if you want.

Let's put down some technical specs straight off the manufacturers website:

Length: 5.54m
Beam: 2.25m
CE Category C
Persons: 6
Dry Weight:500kgs

Min HP: 70
Max HP: 120

Construction

The biggest challenge faced by a boat manufacturer in my opinion is the trade off between weight and strength, and to that extent various techniques like multiple chines and stringers have to be employed in order to mitigate flexing whilst keeping the overall weight down. If the dry weight of the boat is high, you're going to need more power to push it along, the weight increases fuel consumption which means more money to run the thing!

However it's a very fine line between too little material to get that ideal weight. Parts of the hull on the Gabry are only 3/8 inch thick which is around 10mm so bear that in mind with foreign objects in the water and in general.

Marino are planning to move to a new factory and I hope that they also plan to buld new molds. The two Gabry's I have seen have some wavy lines down the side of the hull, a sign that the plugs (that's the hull as it's being built) have been pulled too many times from the mold, or that the mold need re-surfacing. If you look down the side of any boat you should see a perfect straight line, no waves or bulges. The Gabry mold doesn't seem to be producing that and you can see where the support stringers are as the fiberglass and gelcoat sag in a bit between the stringers. It's not the end of the world, but it's not the ideal either.

Other models might be better if the molds haven't been used so much, or if they are new molds.

At first glance this boat looks a bit bigger than 18 feet due to it sleek extending bow and forward swept railings and is pretty beamy at 2.25m.

The boat has an all white hull with dark blue detailing and logo's but then with cockpit upholstery was white and sky blue. I love the colour blue but I have to say I DON'T think this sky blue colour works at all on the upholstery. This is just my opinion but I think it should either be plain white with dark blue piping, or white with dark blue piping and inserts matching the blue colour on the hull. you decide!

Now that I've vented my frustration about the upholstery, we can move on to more important matters!

Construction looks ok and typical of most of these Italian produced center consoles. I haven't seen them being constructed so I can't accurately comment, but it didn't see to have better or worse quality detailing and finish compared to others especially under the seats/hatches. I think the factory should take better care of preparing the boat for shipping to avoid scratches and rubbing here and there.You are not going to find smooth moulded recesses under the hatches at this price level, and hull thickness all around will be at a bare minimum to hopefully provide structural integrity.

Personally for fishing I feel this ladder will get in the way, but for getting from the water into the boat, I reckon it will be awesome especially for a big guy like myself.

The center console has a wood look finish but is available in carbon fiber look and is a deluxe model center console that seems relatively sturdy, with a nice high screen which has a stainless steel railing above and around it. Finishing around the edges needs to be improved to avoid the gel coat peeling/chipping off.

I loved the bow railings and the railings amidships, all of which looked like reasonable quality stainless steel with hard plastic bushes were it mounts to the boat to help prevent the fiberglass from cracking as people grab it and put their weight on them.

This boat comes with a basic wooden table in the bow which can be dropped down to convert it into a sleeping area or a place to sunbathe. LOOK how much smarter it looks with plain white and blue piping, and if that was dark blue piping it would be even better!!

Lots of storage throughout at the bow, although only the front hatch locks and the two hatches either side are not sealed off which seems silly as you can reach around to get things out. The stern has a wide bench seat which opens up allowing access to the rear dry compartment where your fuel tank, bilge pumps, shower tank etc would be and were you could also lay your rods in at the end of the day for storage as all this compartment locks.

Note to Marino and Mecca, the rear bench seat doesn't open up fully as it then hits the backrest, so this should really have a hatch spring to make it practical to use and reduce the change of it coming down on your hands/head. The other compartments open up completely so there are no issues there, but the drivers bench seat would also benefit from a hatch spring.

A reasonable hull with some good reverse chines and an 18 degree deadrise at the stern, walkthrough passage into the boat, and the bow extension I mentioned earlier which really added to this boats look. 

There aren't very many ways in which this boat could be enhanced for the price, but lots of things you could add yourself like perhaps a stainless steel radar arch at the stern which would be perfect for having rod holders welded to it....maybe even an American style T-Top which would definately enhance it's looks but would need a reinforcing plate on the deck so this could only be done by the factory. They should also offer a built in fuel tank to avoid wasting space under the deck.

But like anything else all of these would add to the weight of the boat and of course the price, so if you are considering additions, go with the 90 or 115hp option.

Completed boat ready to go:

I'll leave the 'best part' till last the PRICE!

The base price of this boat is Lm 3496 which is pretty awesome for it's size and hard to beat.

Add Lm445 for electric panels, nav lights, extra stainless steel railings (the ones amidship) and the bimini top with anodized aluminium frame.

If you want a trailer you can have a Umbra Rimorchi CE certified trailer for Lm 896.

That's a no engine package of Lm 4,837 but take it as a package and get it for Lm 4,796 if you're buying a Tohatsu engine. This boat with a Tohatsu 90TLDI works out at Lm 7,699 which I think is a pretty good package when you consider the fuel savings that this engine will give you.

You could put this boat together for Lm 6,994 if you opted to put a Yamaha 85 2 Stroke, but I reckon it's worth spending the extra and have a full EU2006 certified engine that is extremely fuel economical. Two strokes are dead and old technology costing alot to run.

You will need to factor in around another Lm750 or so to finish off the boat with Battery, battery case, terminals, steering cables, upgraded/larger petrol tank if you want more than 25 litres, Fuel filter, fresh water shower, anchor, fenders, fire extinguisher, bilge pump system etc.

This is the boat that is currently my #1 contender although it's a little more than I orginally wanted to spend! If you want better quality you're going to have to save up more money, but if you bear the above in mind and your budget doesn't extend further (like mine!), it's not a bad option.

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