Boat test for the 2008 Meridian 441 with boat pictures, boat specifications, and boat test results. Includes pricing, videos, engine test reviews, and ratings for the 2008 Meridian 441.

There's really only one space aboard the 441 that's not easy to get around, and that's where the engines live. Climbing down into the under-cockpit area is easy, and so is checking oil and coolant. But the outboard sides of the engines are essentially inaccessible, and worse, so are the Racors, which are buried in a forward corner. If you want to check for water or sediment in the fuel or change the elements, you will need to unscrew port and starboard panels from the under-saloon stowage space. The standard Onan genset, aft of the engines, is easily serviced, but I'm not sure it could be removed without major surgery.

There are no access problems on the bridge, which is where the 441's layout differs most from the 411's. This one's way more flexible, with a big, L-shape settee/dining area that converts to a sunpad, an especially worthwhile feature if you don't order the hardtop. Other seating includes a three-person bench to port of the helm and a single helm chair, a configuration that enhances conviviality without intruding on helm ergonomics. Said helm was redesigned to accommodate two large displays side by side. This places the analog gauges at either extreme, which made it difficult to compare the tachs. Standard electronic synchronization makes that point somewhat academic.

It's here at the helm you'll find the best evidence of Meridian's dedication to ease of use. This builder's been on a mission to simplify the most difficult aspect of boating: docking and close-quarters maneuvering. In the past it fitted every model with bow and stern thrusters and an intuitive control system for them called Docking on Command. The 441 takes that a step further with Total Command, which also controls engines and gears. On our test boat, Hull No. 5, the system hadn't been totally debugged; I kept tripping a fault circuit that required shutting down and restarting the engines. But when it worked it impressed me. Within a few minutes I was at ease with it, regardless of whether I was facing forward or aft and felt I could put the 441 just about anywhere I wanted, despite the 15-knot crosswind. My only criticism was the joystick's location right behind the thruster control pads. When Total Command went offline, I had trouble manipulating the pads and longed for good old thruster joysticks or, better yet, the old Docking On Command thruster control.

Compared to the 411, the boat she replaces, the 441 has a bridge with better passenger seating and considerably more entertainment amenities.

Once the Total Command is debugged, boaters will find the 441 enjoyable to operate in any situation. Her nonpower-assisted steering is a bit heavy at either end of its four-and-a-half-turn range, but that also means the boat tracks like a downhill skier. With a turning radius of about four boat lengths, she's also easy to maneuver, and although she does have a bit of a hump coming onto plane—courtesy of the engines being so far aft—visibility was never an issue, and tabs were never needed, not even in crosswinds. The 441 is an easy boat to run.

And when you think about it, what's more important when you're on a boat than that? So if you've given up your dream of circumnavigating the globe or couldn't care less about breaking freeway speed limits on the water—if you just want to take it easy and enjoy yourself, the 441's a hard boat not to like.

For more information on Meridian Yachts, including contact information, click here.

SPOTLIGHT ON: Cockpit Light Switch

You're coming back from that shoreside party, and it's late. It's also dark. How are you going to navigate across that unlit cockpit and into the saloon? Or maybe you're leaving for the evening, and you just remembered you forgot to leave some lights on. Do you have to go back inside? In either case these light-switch panels on the 441 will solve your problem. Mounted on the frame of the transom door, they let you control the cockpit, step, deck, and flood (cockpit overhead) lights. Close the transom door, and no one will ever know they're there.—R.T.

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