Need I say more?

For info this I believe is Hugger Mugger an Callagn Hotspur design built by Anderson, Rigden and Perkins of Whitstable

Cant spell, Callaghan

Looks like an old Ian Proctor design to me. I'd suggest the quoted sail no is that off a secondhand suit of sails that have been aquired somewhere along it's history. If you take a close look at the photos the main on the left appears to have a sail no starting 113? the forth digit off shot, as ever it does appear in a 'project' condition anyone serious would be well advised to go take a look or contact Ian Callaghan for confirmation.

I think the boat is NOT Hugger-Mugger but the spinny on the shot in E-bay is the same as the one on the link below, hence 1970 vintage, suggests the sails have come from somewhere else.  Hull shape looks much more like a 1960-ish Proctor, probably a IX

There you have it,
 it's not Hugger Mugger..........It's not yellow!!!

That boat looks like a MkIX and the internal layout looks typical of a Chippendale boat to me.

Sorry Guys, I agree its NOT Hugger Mugger, the transom is all wrong. Could be a IX as you say.

The advert has an update "Sail number 2342 (on the main and spinnaker), although this does not relate to the hull, as the original hull was scrapped, and a new hull sourced (no idea of the number for this).
"

It gets worse!         
Best advice check out 'Boats for sale' Merlin web site & buy a decent boat,

another merlin on ebay

A absolute cracker by Alan Jackson with no reserve!!

What design is 3429?
(PS Pink interior's a bit naff)

according to the handbook 3429 is an NSM IV by Hoare

nice colour inside!

It bears a resemblance to my old HBR, so i would guess it's either 3408 (Unlikely as that wasn't deckstepped as far as i know) or the other Who's a Pretty Boy.

Looks a good buy, though the new pwner may want to ditch the strut.

Where are those lowers led from?

They are non adjustable lowers.

I've seen quite a few case stepped boats using them as well as a strut so this boat was probably a conversion.

Basically the adjustable strut controls fore/aft bend as normal, but all the lowers do is prevent sideways bend. theyb use a chainplate fitting so if you get them set wrong tough!

the seller now says that the sail number is 3420, does that match up with Chipstow? and if yes, what design is it?

3420 is a WAPB (What a Pretty Boy)design by Ian Holt, built by Alan Jackson (Chipstow)close relative of a Canterbury Tales

Obviously there is something 'pink' going on with the WAPD as 3394 Who's (not What a) Pretty Boy has a pink hull. From the pictures on e-bay the rise of the fore-deck looks the same.

For £600 including combi trailer would make a good purchase. Whilst we havn't had much chance to sort 3394 out it seemed to be capable of holding its own, with all alloy rig and a 1992 holt main (but with a recent Alverbanks jib and full size Speeds Spin) at the Rutland Training final day mini regatta, Mark (admittedly with Liam Dempsey as crew) got a 5th out of 16, including a first to the windward mark, and without a small gear failure and being out tacticted at the finish of one race, could have got a 3rd or 2nd O/A. and that was in a field of mainly Winder's in the 35xx range with full Carbon.

WAPB*

So is that rig on the WAPB a raking rig or not then????

It's raking, just a slightly incomplete deckstep conversion

It's a slightly different aproach than used now, you'll note the lowers have been located in line with mast the problem being that as you rake the mast they go slacker. to work they would need to be at the same height as the mast heel for the loading to remain constant. This would then provide sideways support, the strut providing the same fore & aft. So to work you'd need a flat deck and underdeck supports to counter the lateral loads.

Does this mean that with this boat it could not be fully converted to a racking rig if so one put some work in it could be done.

Cheers
James

Of course. Move the attachment points for the lowers back to near the shrouds. Remove the ram and replace with a puller. I gues £20 or £30 of blocks, wire, string, and half a day of fidling around, useful if you have another merlin to look at to see how it all goes to gether.

The shrouds look fully adjustable already from the pictures.

According to Jacko, this is similar to the design which came 2nd at the nationals a few years ago, also the design won a race or two at salcombe,he said once you could sit on side deck it was very quick but in drifting conditions had a little too much wetted area. due to the straight run it was awkward to keep transom out without burying the bows.
Still available and seems a very good buy which could easily and reasonably cheaply be gien the right gear.

Do you recon that the boat has a spinny chute as it does to show it on any of the pictures

recon it does

Thanks all just gone out of my price range shame.

went for £822, outside mine as well, a good buy

And an exclusive club, with just Mark's 3394 and this one.

James, theres another merlin a summer wine for sale on EBAY , same seller as the last one, would be a good intro into the class and not too expensive especially if you combined crew weight is around 22 stone or less.

heres the link:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1297&item=4551665540&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

A quick audit of ebay reveals that this boat was listed and sold on 13 May for £740 to user 'trailertechservices', if some one was interested in the boat might be worth asking why it has been re-listed or indeed ask the buyer why they bailed out.

Pun intended?

Interesting as they both left each other positive feedback for this sale

and a seriously weird and extensively modified one here - answers on a postcard!!

the holes either side of the centreboard case look as though they might just take a party seven (if you who remember those days)

What are summer wine really like desgin guide says sit on the transom or else is it that bad

wot no foredeck!

The trouble with party sevens as I remember was getting the tap in! This led to drinking the whole lot asap to prevent spillage, etc. The youngers of today think they invented it! We didnt even know it had a name, Binge/Winge/Minge! drinking,or something like that.
Going back to the Merlin I like the free thinking aproach someone has used around the plate case, the lack of lateral support in the mast/shroud area looks suspect.
The effect I suspect has led to a fairly heavy boat but I stand to be corrected on that one.
PS I never did like Brown Ale "headache in a tin!"

Somebody has been mucking around with this hull, surely?  No boat deserves to have that done to it, let alone a Merlin.  What a mess.

This appears to be a Rowsell Brothers Ghost Rider converted into a chicken coop. The large holes are to allow the eggs to be collected

Nice and easy for the crew to go up front and rescue the kite though lol

Also nice and easy to get wieght forward

If you want to convert a Merlin into a chicken coop it is much easier to get a set of swivel wheels and screw them to the decks.  Put in a cross thwart for perching and roosting.  Finally then turn the boat upside down and nail a bit of roofing felt over the centreboard slot (chickens don't like getting wet and merlin sailors certainly ain't chicken). Now you have the perfect movable coop - a fresh piece of ground every day.

Do the chickens at the back of the coop shout at the chickens at the front?

I thought those 45degree bits of wood were loose floorboards, just stacked against the case....surely they are not fixed there, and if so, what the smeg is going on?

And no mast gate...but a lever of some sort?

Useful that the side decks are the same width at the bow, in case you want to hike out there.

I borrowed this boat  many years ago, it was beautiful standard Rowsell Ghost Rider, in its time very quick. It used to have full proper foredeck and mast gate,and not those very odd looking boards, presumably to help the crew push out from the inside to sidedeck.
What a pity its been mangled.

As with everything about Merlins (the ultimate in developmental sailing) it is yet another innovation to see if it can be determined whether the chicken or the egg comes first - aka premature eggjaculation!

Seriously - I imagine that in the absence of a thwart there would be no support for the centreboard case so the "chicken coop" boards would help in that regard and the crew/helm could hike out against them.  How does the mast stay up?

The boat in question is actually on the merlin site for sale section at £350

You boring lot, are we becoming a bunch of sheep bleeting & following without thinking; what a shame the owner appears to have passed away, it would of been interesting to know what were his ideas & how it worked. Altering an old boat may be sacrilege to many and not everyones taste but having a go at puting your own ideas into practice is resonable. Lets face it with a couple of hundred quid you could put her back in the flock again.

Other Merlin on Ebay   The guy who one it last time said that he is a friend of the person selling and was playing a practical joke on the guy his friend was not amussed.

In other words he committed fraud to get the price up and it backfired

Its called 'shill bidding' and ebay will investigate and close your account down!

Other Merlin on Ebay:

I've just purchased MR3420 through eBay from John Randerson. It is 100% as he described but with even more sails, including an additional 'as new' Number One kite. It's the best �822 I've ever spent, although I'm not sure my wife is of the same opinion!

John is chairman of "Filey Sea Cadets" and a qualified RYA instructor. I asked him why his other Merlin, 3329, was relisted. Yes, there was a mix up and another guy at his company (using the company ID I think) who bid for it! John then offered it to the next highest bidder who arranged to come over and collect it, but then backed out via SMS instead of turning up. Hence John's comment about "Timewasters x 2".

John is a genuine guy - MR3329 for only �550, a real bargin I think.

three more this week! some are real bargains

and

and

2986 used to be mine 11 years ago. It's a Rowsell built Fadeaway Satisfaction. It was a very pretty boat. Don't know what it is like know though.

Rich

I have already enquired about the condition and the owner did not know! He is going to check it out and let me know. Will post it on here when i know for all your information.

My wife almost let me have it when I said it was only £25...then she asked where on earth I would store it. Damn.

Lol, that conversation didn't even get that far in my house.

My Crew/GF said "If you want two boats you can't have carbon - do you want another boat or do you want carbon?"

Well it was a no-brainer really.........

I have been having both of those problems from my mother who knows it would end up in her garage as i do not have the space for 3 boats!

Plus i am about to buy a new Merlin.

I'm a sucker for a bargain. Wife said I could do it up as a birthday present for my brother (cunning idea to get him locked into the class eh?). Perhaps dad would let me keep it round his place...

Mags, Are you going to bid on it then? If you are i will steer clear so you get it cheaper! Whats your e-bay handle?

my alter ego is "lathe_wanted" (because i once wanted a lathe, before i started flogging my kid's old shoes on there - worth doing you know).

so are we going to fight it out on here, then let the winner get it for the minimum price?

Oooh, there's a bid!

Mags, a condition of your release is that you stay away from the chisels.....

Rowsell Smokers for £151 is exceptional value 2986, did it really go for that price ?

and as for the lathe? don't even go there!

( now, count your fingers )

£151 - I dont know what the state was, but what a bargain. Though it was actually a Fadeaway Satisfaction, not a pure Smokers. Good weight carrier. 

As I said in a previous post, it used to be my boat 11/12 years ago. Hope it has gone to a good home.

Rich

boo...i so wanted a boat for £25...shame it had to creep up to an almost sensible value.

but maybe you're right about that chisel ;o)

I was hopeing it would creep up because i really did not want to buy it but had i got it for less than £50 i would have been forced to bid!!!

mags- another boat sounds like a good idea, but where would you hide it?

I picked up the merlin on ebay (2986)- I have no idea what condition its in but figured for £151 couldn't go wrong (!?!) going to restore it and hopefully use for casual club racing.
I did about 20mins of research, figured it was a Smokers Satisfaction, was first owned by a certain P.N Rowsell and won Salcombe in 75 and 77.
Should be collecting it tomorrow - if you have any more history on the boat It would be really good to know - and any tips for the refurb, as its my first Merlin!

Good to see that you are already a fan!! The boat is actually a Fadaway Satisfaction which is a slight mod to the Smokers but just as fast. You should be able to trace the entire history of the boat on here as there is alot of people watching!! By the way does anybody know who owned my boat 3446 Sacre Bleu originally, it is a WOD so guess they would be a Wembley member. 

I have sold it now to a member of my club who wants to get into merlins and i am sure he would be interested. Should get my new boat in a couple of weeks can't wait!!

Wasn't it Spuds own boat?

No, he borrowed it back from the owner.

Think Spud had just sold on 'Fadaway' at that point and hence needed another one. Is there not a whole page picture in the Merlin Rocket Book of Spud sailing 2986 with all guns blazing?

he must have had a good relationship with whoever he borrowed it off as he was still sailing it in 1977, thats quite a loan! It was called 'Faming(?)' then.
Would be interested in seeing a copy of that photo as I haven't got a yearbook!

The boat was owned by a guy from Upper Thames called Mike Ingham. Mike lent it to Spud for Salcombe-I think it was called Fuming.

The book being referred to is not the yearbook but "The Merlin Rocket Book" by Holt & Park.  It's a book (published in the early 80's I think) to celebrate 30 years of the class.  It's basically an illustrated history all things Melin from conception to 30 years of merlins.  You can fond them on ebay and Amazon, they aren't cheap but it's a great book.

If you join the class association you will get the regular yearbook, indeed, I think I was sent one or two back-issues as well as some extra magazines etc etc.  Check the main page of the website for joining info.

Just out of interest, why was he nicknamed 'Spud' (and what was his real first name) ?

"Peter" Peters are called "Spud" GKW.

Actually Boat was called "Fuming"

Yeah I guessed 'Faming' didn't sound like much of a name. 'Fuming' sounds suitably appropriate!

I have noticed in the ad that it has a hoop, I take it that is not likely to have been original?

I'll take a look in the book when I get home and post.

When Mike had the boat new, it had an RWO traveller.

The Merlin Book pic (credited to one P. Blake who must have some idea of how a camera works to make it pay for all the Merlins) is one of the best I've ever seen of a Merlin at full tilt with Spud and Jon Turner hiked out hard, Jon hanging onto the spinny guy and the boat storming down the reach from Gerston, just passing alongside Saltstone.  The hoop is very definitely NOT there, but the lever kicker, the great big (IYE?) pulleys on the mainsheet and particularly the tiny 6ft centre slung pole don't really give me any nostalgic feelings!

See the article on the site about travellers and hoops - I'd put it back if you can.

Fuming was at Hampton for a long time. It was owned by Bob Parslow for a while in the 80's, before selling it to someone else there, who for the life of me I cant remember their names, and then we had it for 18 months until 1994. After that it left the club.

It was still called Fuming at that time.

It used to have a lovely black double stripe down the side with Fiming painted in quite flowery writing down the side. It looked terrific.

Fiming? -I actually meant Fuming.

soz - my bad typing

Especially if it had been spelled correctly!!   I think this poor old boat should be renamed Typo!!!!

Cheers Rich, I'll be sure to pick your brains in due course. 
Its great to hear so much of the boats history! I'm looking forward to seeing what condition its in, (not holding out too much hope).
It's in Twickenham now, hasn't gone far in ten years!

Another Merlin on ebay here http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7180930052&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&rd=1

try this

One from last week has been relisted at a lower price as it didnt sell. Anyone in Norfolk watching?

I think this boat used to be a Hampton Merlin. I have a feeling it was originally called HARP and stood for something. I think it may have been someone's name. The name was changed to HARPY by Bob Parslow (Richard's dad)when he bought it. I would say sometime in the mid 1970's.

Mags - it seems to be £99 start but last week it was £50 - or am I wrong?

Mags - it seems to be £99 start bid but last week it was £50 start - or am I wrong?

OOps did not realise we were on page 2 and reposted as thought it hadn't appeared!!

That one was at £50 before! He has actually put the price up after it did not sell!! No mast thats the problem.

That Merlin was only £50 last time and did not sell so he has upped his price!!? The other one has a spare mast the the owner only wants £15 for which could help the other one out as it has no mast, hence the no sale.

Don't worry Garry i did exactly the same thing!!