Been looking for a Merlin for ages and need a little guidance.... |
Here is one answer, follow link below. http://www.merlinrocket.co.uk/technical/handicaps.htm |
What about the frp Turner 'tales? Mine (3486) has a continuous problem of the gel coat flaking off underneath. It is a real pain, so this winter I will probably clean it up and respray the bottom 4 planks. Is that wise? |
Yup, forgot those. There were about 12 of them and most had a good record and several if not all have been painted. |
Most of Jon Turners FRP CTs will have been painted by now. The trouble with gelcoat is that it needs to be polished regularly to keep it nice. Too many polishes and you're through and it looks awful. You'll never colour match a gelcoat repair either due to UV exposure. |
Cheers folks I feel a lot better now. Any problems with water take up if I leave it till the winter? |
As long as the glass isn't perforated then no. The gelcoat is there for aesthetic reasons protection from UV for the resin. It's not structural. |
Oh, and i'd pain the whole lot if i was you. You'll be suprised at how obvious it is once done. |
thanks for replies to date, all good stuff. The boat itself is 3519 so guessing late 80's! It is an nsm2 built by bagley/ovington. |
just having a quick look at the handicap guide. Seems a bit unfair? A 30 year old boat could have a py adjustment of only 20 points. |
Where are you planning on sailing it? |
Brain Salad surgery was at Hampton for a while, owned by Rob Heath initially and he did well in it but became dissatisfied with the boat's performance after weighing it in the Whitstable champs in 2002 (though he had been quite happy with it till then). Most recently owned by Kevin Anderson and sailed at Hampton till last year. the boat must be strong enough as I crewed for him on a windy day and we had over 30 stone hiked out at some points. We also tested the buoyancy and it works. Unless something bad has happened to the boat since it is a sound boat which needs some tidying and attention to the fittings to make everything work 100%, but the present owner may have done this. Though significantly overweight this really doesn't matter for a starter Merlin and it won't fall to bits. It gives you a lever to get the price down! |
andrew m, thanks. |
3520 - a plastic NSM2 built by David Ovington, is currently being raced very successfully at Tamesis by Jon Redding who previously sailed Fireflies. He won, I believe, last Sunday and is usually in the top three in club races. The boat looks pretty serviceable, and with new Rowsell sails, seems to go very well. If it is of a similar weight to 3519, it doesn't seem to be to the detriment of its performance. |
I have a feeling it was at least 8kg but I can't remember exactly. I doubt it has actually put on any more. I wouldn't actually get too hung up about it as the boat actually goes pretty well and looking at the ad there has been a lot of work done on it since I last saw it. But it is a negotiating ploy. |
I can tell you that the boat is now at cookham and is in sound condition and pretty tidy too. It has a nice new carbon rig on it aswell. |