The Merritt family has been building boats since 1955, and Roy Merritt has been hands-on at the yard ever since he was a boy. Under his leadership, Merritt’s Boat & Engine Works, located in the sleepy beachside community of Pompano Beach, Florida, has grown from a mom-and-pop boatyard to become one of the world’s legendary builders of custom sport-fishing vessels. Its latest build is Hull No. 110, an 88-foot skybridge—a first for Merritt’s—which is designed as a globe-traveling sportfisherman. Meet the new Reel Tight.
Other builders have proven the concept and benefits of a skybridge design, which is a conventional flybridge layout atop an enclosed bridge. For long-distance travel, it’s hard to beat since the lower station is not only luxurious in layout, but is fully climate controlled and out of the elements. When it’s time to fish, the captain heads up the ladder to the open flybridge above. With its additional electronics plus 360-degree views, not to mention the elevation above the water, this is definitely advantageous for those who choose to spend their days chasing mammoth marlin and tuna.
The enclosed bridge has Merritt styling and a classic teak interior with a full yacht-grade helm and electronics with an L-shaped lounge and granite-topped table. To port is a stone countertop with a wet bar, two refrigerator drawers and four storage drawers—all finished in Merritt’s satin-varnished teak. In essence, the enclosed bridge becomes the second story of this sport-fish yacht and a place where guests can enjoy the views while underway or the fishing crew can strategize without interrupting the conversations in the main salon one deck below.
At the helm, all vessel control systems are within easy reach, including the MTU engine gauges and the ship’s system controls. There are four large screens to display the various navigation and fishing information with two 22-inch and two 19-inch Seatronx sunlight-viewable monitors. The screens display the chartplotter and radar as well as Furuno black-box cartography, Chirp sounder, multibeam wide-angle 3D sonar sounder, omnidirectional sonar and FLIR thermal camera.
Heading down to the salon, the space is open and inviting with a U-shaped settee to port, another to starboard and a large television monitor in the aft corner, which can also display navigational or sonar inputs from the electronics. A dinette is to starboard across from the galley. There are six Sub-Zero refrigerator drawers for this boat, another nod to the owner’s plans for long-range travel and fishing in more than a few “off-the-beaten-path” destinations.
Forward of the galley is the pantry/electrical-equipment control room to port and the stairway to access the staterooms and the crew quarters with a private captain’s quarters, two bunks and a shared head. The master stateroom is to port with a king berth and en suite head, and a guest stateroom with over-under bunks is forward of the owners’ space. A laundry closet with a washer and dryer, a guest stateroom, also with over-under bunks, and a shared head with the port guest stateroom is to starboard. The VIP with an en suite head has a queen island berth with stowage, two cedar-lined closets and overhead outboard stowage.
Outside, the 88 Skybridge has a mezzanine with an L-shaped lounge to port with a teak armrest on the end. A flip-up lid houses controls for the exterior air conditioning as well as the stereo and security system. A high-low table creates a social lounge with the flybridge overhang providing respite from the sun. There is the standard mix of refrigerated and freezer stowage in the mezzanine, plus engine room access on centerline. The teak cockpit has a Bluewater Chairs unlimited-class fighting chair with a rocket launcher; a Seakeeper gyrostabilizer is also in the deck just ahead of the chair’s pedestal. The lazarette provides access to all steering components, plus bilge and livewell pumps. An oversize tuna door is included to help boat the big ones.
The engine room is home to a pair of 2,600 hp MTU V16 2000 engines and twin 40-kilowatt Kohler generators to supply power for hotel loads while away from the dock. Cruising along at 1,850 rpm at a 71 percent load and making 30 knots, Reel Tight burns 150 gallons per hour. Bumping the rpm to 2,100 yields a fast cruise of 36 knots. At wide open, the Merritt 88 Skybridge has a top hop of 41.5 knots in fishing-ready condition—impressive considering its 153,000-pound displacement. That performance is due in large part to the extensive use of carbon fiber, Corecell and advanced epoxy in its construction, making this boat not only stronger but also lighter and faster than its predecessors.
Merritt 88 Quick Specifications
- LOA: 88’
- Maximum Beam: 21’2”
- Draft: 5’6”
- Displacement: 153,000 lb.
- Fuel Capacity: 3,900 gal.
- Water Capacity: 500 gal.
Take the next step: merrittboat.com
