Fleming 55 for Sale, a Buyer's Guide to Prices, Specs and Hull Eras

Why a Fleming 55 for sale rarely sits for long

Ask a trawler broker which boat they would like more of in inventory and the Fleming 55 is near the top of the list. Good examples sell quickly, often privately, and prices hold in a way that is unusual for a production motor yacht. The reason is not mystery or marketing. It is a design that has been refined continuously rather than replaced, built by one yard, supported by a factory that keeps records on every hull, and owned by people who tend to maintain their boats obsessively.

Fleming states the 55 was first introduced in 1986. The original mold was built for a 55-footer, but the first eight boats were 50 feet long, hull 9 was stretched to 53 feet and the line eventually settled at 55, all counted in one hull series; Fleming recently delivered hull 55-276 and is working toward the 300th. The current 55 measures 55 feet 9 inches on deck, but with its swim step and anchor platform it stretches to 60 feet 9 inches overall, which matters when you price a slip. Waterline length is 50 feet 10 inches on a 16-foot beam and a 5-foot draft.

Tony Fleming, the former technical director of American Marine, builder of Grand Banks, developed the design with partner Anton Emmerton and San Diego naval architect Larry Drake, and insisted on continuous improvement over model-year churn. That philosophy means a 2005 and a 2025 Fleming 55 look nearly identical from the dock, yet differ in hundreds of details from engine rooms to wiring to stabilizers.

The hull that cruises at 8 knots and still runs at 17

The Fleming 55 is not a full displacement trawler. It has a semi-displacement hull with a long keel protecting the propellers, fine sections forward and enough flat area aft to lift and run at speed. That gives it two personalities. At 8 knots it is an economical passagemaker with a range of 2,000 nautical miles. At 17 knots it can outrun weather, make a 100-mile coastal hop in six hours, or get you home before the forecast closes.

Fleming publishes a typical economical cruise of 10 knots burning slightly over 10 gallons per hour in total, a maximum sustained cruise around 17 knots and a top speed of approximately 18 knots with the current twin Cummins QSC 8.3 engines rated at 500 hp each, turning through Twin Disc MG5075A gearboxes at a 2.53 to 1 reduction. Those are honest numbers for a boat of this weight. Between 11 and 14 knots the hull works hardest for the least gain, so most owners either loaf at 8 to 10 or commit to the mid teens.

Engine packages by era and why they matter to price

Over nearly four decades of 55s, Fleming fitted several twin-diesel packages, so older listings carry earlier engines in different makes and horsepower ratings. Current boats use the twin Cummins QSC 8.3 at 500 hp, a modern electronic common-rail engine with good parts support across the US. When you compare listings, the engine package and its hours affect value more than cosmetic condition.

Electronic engines need a computer to diagnose and a dealer who knows them, but they run cleaner and quieter. Older mechanical engines are simpler to fix in a remote harbor. Neither is wrong. What matters is documented service: valve adjustments, aftercooler and heat exchanger service, raw water pump rebuilds and coolant changes on schedule.

Pilothouse, Portuguese bridge and a flybridge you can live on

Fleming's signature is the Portuguese bridge, a walk-around section of the forward superstructure that protects the pilothouse windows and gives crew a secure place to work forward in a seaway. Side doors from the pilothouse open onto wide, high-bulwarked side decks, so a couple can dock the boat with one person at the lower helm and the other on deck without anyone climbing ladders.

The lower helm is a proper ship's wheelhouse with excellent sightlines, a settee and chart table. Above, the flybridge has a second helm, seating and a hardtop on many boats, with room for a tender on the boat deck aft. Fleming's published air draft of 16 feet with the mast lowered is a big deal for anyone planning inland cruising.

Three staterooms laid out for an owner who stays aboard for months

Below the pilothouse, a central passageway leads to three cabins. The master is forward for light and ventilation, with a tapered queen berth and an en suite head; the port guest cabin has two singles or a double, and the starboard cabin has a lower and slide-out upper berth or can be ordered as an office. A second head serves the guests. The saloon and galley share the main deck aft of the pilothouse, with a door to the aft deck. Joinery is traditional teak, and finish quality is consistent across the build years.

The engine room is reached through two hatches in the saloon sole and from the lazarette, and it is one of the best laid out in the class, with clear access to filters and pumps and wiring that is labeled. Surveyors routinely comment on it.

Great Loop, Inside Passage and the Bahamas on a Fleming 55

With a 16-foot air draft once the mast is down, a 5-foot draft and protected running gear, the Fleming 55 is one of the larger boats that can complete the Great Loop without drama. It clears the roughly 19-foot fixed bridge near Lemont, Illinois with margin, though the western Erie Canal at about 15 feet 6 inches remains a problem, so plan the Oswego Canal and Lake Ontario route. At 60 feet 9 inches overall you will pay larger slip fees and occasionally struggle to get into small municipal marinas on the rivers.

The 55's more natural home is the Pacific Northwest to Alaska run, the US East Coast with a winter in the Bahamas, and Mexico's Sea of Cortez. The speed reserve means you can wait for weather windows and then cover distance quickly, which is invaluable crossing the Gulf Stream or running Johnstone Strait.

What it costs to keep a Fleming 55 in Fleming condition

Plan on roughly $90,000 to $170,000 a year excluding depreciation. Insurance on a seven figure boat, a 60-plus foot slip, two engine services, a generator, stabilizer service, bottom work and varnish add up quickly. Many owners employ a part-time captain or a maintenance company, which pushes the top end higher.

Fuel is the variable you control. At 9 to 10 knots the boat burns around 10 gph, roughly half of what it needs in the low teens, and a fraction of its 17-knot burn. A season of 500 hours mostly at 9 knots is a very different budget from 300 hours at 16.

• Electric stabilizers on current boats, hydraulic units on many older hulls
• 17 kW Onan generator standard on current hulls
• 100 gallon holding tank and 300 gallons of water for extended anchoring
• Bow and stern thrusters common on most later boats

How to read a Fleming 55 listing like a broker

Start with the hull number and ask the seller to request the factory's build records. Fleming keeps detailed documentation on its boats, which makes due diligence unusually precise. Then check what has been upgraded: electronics, stabilizers, thrusters, battery systems and soft goods. A 15-year-old boat with new electronics and stabilizers may be better value than a 10-year-old boat needing all of it.

For sale by owner listings exist, but with boats of this value most transactions run through brokers who specialize in Flemings. Either way, insist on a survey by someone who has seen several Flemings, plus separate engine and generator surveys with oil analysis.