Meridian 441 Sedan Bridge Used Buyer's Guide, Specs and Prices

Why the 441 shows up in so many Meridian boats for sale searches

Anyone browsing Meridian boats for sale quickly notices how often the 441 Sedan Bridge appears. That is no accident. Meridian was Brunswick's cruiser brand, spun out of the Bayliner pilothouse and motor yacht lineage, and by 2009 it claimed to be the best-selling flybridge brand in the US 35- to 60-foot segment for the fourth straight year, with nearly 20 percent of that market according to Statistical Surveys data quoted by Soundings Trade Only. The 441 arrived for 2008 as the newest and largest Sedan, and Power Boat Guide later called it one of the company's best-selling models.

The 441 replaced the 411 and, as Yachting's tester put it, Meridian basically kept the VHF antenna and built an entirely new boat underneath: new hull, deck, bridge, shearline, hull-side windows for the guest cabin, easier bridge access and more wood inside. Production began in Arlington, Washington, then moved in 2009 to Brunswick's facilities on Florida's east coast when the company consolidated Meridian manufacturing. Meridian's own website still showed the 441 as a 2014 model, and the last boats on the brokerage market are titled as 2016 models, after which the brand went quiet. By late 2017 Brunswick described Meridian as out of production for several years.

That history matters. You are buying a boat engineered by a large corporate builder, but with no factory behind the badge today. Parts and service run through Cummins, Brunswick-affiliated dealers and an active owners' forum.

Designed for couples who would rather not hire a captain

Power & Motoryacht's Richard Thiel summed up Meridian's target well: average cruising couples and families, not round-the-world dreamers. Everything on the 441 serves that idea. You board easily from the side or from a 3-foot-deep swim platform, step from a 7-foot covered cockpit into the salon over a low threshold, and climb to the bridge on an enclosed, molded fiberglass stairway rather than a ladder. Side decks are about 9 inches wide with 28-inch rails running all the way aft, and grabrails line the house. The bow rail rises to nearly chest height for anchoring.

The cockpit has dedicated fender lockers, a transom door and light switches hidden in the door frame. Yachting also praised a covered channel on the swim platform for the shore-power cord, and the fact that the whole cockpit sole can be unbolted to pull an engine or the generator.

The trade-off is styling. The reversed sheer and tiered window band are aggressive, and traditionalists will not warm to them.

Two staterooms that both feel like the master

Below, the 441 keeps the layout that made Meridian sedans popular but executes it better than the 411. The salon has a curved settee opposite a pair of barrel chairs, a flat-screen TV in the aft corner and the full AC/DC panel behind a cabinet door at standing height. One step up, the galley and dinette deck is raised to make room for the midcabin beneath, and 6 feet 7 inches of headroom plus 360-degree glass make the space feel bigger than the beam suggests.

The galley runs to port with Karadon counters, a three-burner cooktop, convection microwave, double sinks and a full-height Norcold fridge. A lower helm was a roughly $10,000 option in place of the dinette, and most testers advised spending that money on a bridge enclosure instead.

Forward, the master has a queen island berth that lifts for storage and cedar-lined lockers. The full-width midship cabin has four bonded hull-side windows, a vanity, room for a washer-dryer and its own head, which also serves as the day head and uses a curtain and handheld shower. Yachting's reviewer said he would flip a coin over which cabin is really the master.

The flybridge and Meridian's Total Command docking system

The bridge is where the 441 differs most from its predecessor. An L-shaped settee with a convertible table can be a dining spot for six or a big sun lounge, there is a three-person bench to port of the helm, a single reclining helm chair, and an entertainment center with sink, optional grill and optional fridge. Most owners specified the factory hardtop with opening hatches and a full isinglass enclosure, which turns the upper deck into a second salon in the shoulder seasons.

Shaft-drive 441s introduced Total Command, an integrated vessel control system that ties the bow and stern thrusters to the engines and gears through a single joystick. Yachting described it as offering about 80 percent of a pod system's functions at 20 percent of the cost, and it was standard. Power & Motoryacht's early test boat, hull No. 5, kept tripping a fault that required restarting the engines, but the tester was docking confidently in a 15-knot crosswind within minutes once it worked. On a used boat, make sure the software and AGM batteries that run it are current.

From 2011 Meridian added the Cummins Zeus pod option, which brings a true pod joystick and, on some boats, Skyhook station keeping tied to the autopilot.

Straight shafts or Zeus pods, and what the numbers say

Standard power was a pair of 380 hp Cummins MerCruiser Diesel QSB engines on ZF V-drives, mounted under the cockpit. Buyers could step up to 425 hp QSBs, a $17,000 upgrade in 2008, or to 480 hp engines. Both larger engines were also offered with Zeus pods. An Onan 11.5 kW generator was standard, and air-conditioning packages bumped some boats to a 13.5 kW unit.

Yachting's test boat with twin 425s reached 26.4 knots, a shade over 30 mph, and the reviewer judged the 480s not worth it on shafts. Power & Motoryacht found the unassisted steering heavy, but the boat tracked straight, turned in about four boat lengths and needed no tabs in a crosswind, with a noticeable hump onto plane because the engines sit far aft.

BoatTEST's later comparison called the shaft boat slightly underpowered and reported roughly 37 mph with 480 hp Zeus pods, plus better efficiency at cruise. Power Boat Guide lists the Zeus 480 boats cruising at 22 to 24 knots. Plan on a low-20s cruise with pods and high teens to about 20 knots with the smaller shaft engines.

• Standard: 2 x Cummins QSB 380 hp, ZF 85 V-drives, about 2:1 reduction
• Options: 2 x 425 hp or 2 x 480 hp Cummins, shafts or Zeus pods
• Yachting test with 425s: 26.4 knots top speed
• BoatTEST with 480 Zeus: about 37 mph top speed
• Fuel 432 gallons, water 150 gallons, holding 55 gallons

Engine room access and the big storage room under the salon

The V-drive layout frees a large utility room beneath the salon sole, reached through a hatch with stairs and a swing-down handrail. Yachting called it big enough for folding bikes and water toys, and it also gives direct access to pumps, batteries, Xantrex chargers and the water and waste tanks.

The engine room under the cockpit splits opinion. Yachting's tester reached everything needed for routine service and liked the Reverso oil-change system. Power & Motoryacht found the outboard sides of the engines essentially inaccessible and the Racor filters buried in a forward corner, reachable only by removing panels from the storage room. Check both on any boat you inspect, because awkward filters tend to get neglected.

What a 441 costs to keep

A realistic annual budget for a privately run 441 is roughly $45,000 to $85,000 before depreciation, covering a 50-foot slip, insurance, Cummins and generator service, bottom work, canvas upkeep and a few hundred hours of fuel. Zeus boats add pod service intervals, and owners on the Meridian forum discuss gear-pressure readings worth checking at survey.

The Cummins QSB family is supported nationwide, which is the best news for an orphaned brand. The hull is conventional solid glass with a bonded, through-bolted joint, so structural problems are uncommon and most money goes into systems, canvas and cosmetics.

How 441s trade today and which years to target

Because Meridian sold so many, there is real choice. 2011 Zeus boats have been listed around $399,000 to $420,000, and late 2016-titled 441s with low hours at $559,000 to $580,000. Early shaft boats trade well below that and are the value play.

Our pick is a 2011 or later boat with 480 hp Zeus if you dock short-handed, or a well-kept 425 hp shaft boat if you value simplicity and lower long-term maintenance. Avoid paying a Zeus premium for a boat whose joystick or Total Command system is not working perfectly on the sea trial, because diagnosing integration faults on an orphaned brand can be slow.