Why cannot I put a double bottom in my smokers? It would be more comfortable, self draining, stiffer and the bags  could go. The boat is far from original anyway so I would not spoil it. Do the rules preclude this? Has it ever been done? By the way, we have sailed the boat 2914 a few times now and it seems to be quite fast but it is so different to our Tasar that it will take time to adjust and jib sheeting from the floor is just awful, must change that next. Multi section flying poles work too. I have epoxyied little plastic tubes into the ends to smooth the action. Still looking for a cheap cover!

Class rules preclude self draining hulls other than by means of transom flaps and suction bailers. They also dictate where you can position your buoyancy and again is worded in such a way that a fully self draining hull as in a N12 or GP14 is illegal. To fit a double floor would add an enormous amount of weight and having the boat float at gunwhale level is actually a good thing provided you haven't capsized in weather too light to dain it and you shouldn't really have capsized in the first place! A self draining boat will just empty and try to sail away without you. A merlin won't do this.

There were a number of boats built in the 80s with rear tanks. These would empty the initial large quantity of water very quickly, but you were left with a much larger paddling pool that the bailers had to clear because the transom flaps were too high because of the tank. That coupled with considerably more weight at the back than bags meant that they went out of fashion. Personally i thought the added stiffness would be a good thing too, but obviously it didn't make enough differance to offset the two disadvantages.

Jib sheeting will be easy to sort, just look at the rigging guide and copy that.

Right then, that explains it very well. You are also correct about boats that float too high. Our Tasar is a nightmare in this respect, it always inverts and when you do get it up....over it goes again! Then you have to climb in! and I am past the first flush of youth. We have  found the Merlin to be pretty wobbly round the middle  but it seems stable when heeled.(compared to Tasar) But still a slightly flatter floor would have been nice.

I have seen a Merlin with wooden tanks where normally plastic bags are located in the stern, keeping the transom open inside and the transom flaps clear, if you want to go down that route.

I hear Tasars and other Aussie classes are deliberately designed to invert.

Double-bottom boats are bad for crew's knees!

Interesting. A lot of us at Whitstable have had Tasars and Merlins, sometimes both at once. We found the Tasar digs the chine in when heeled, hence goes straight on and any increasing wind pressure tips the lightweight narrow hull over. The Merlin, being wide and round tends to gripe up into the wind when heeled which will often avert a capsize but can no way be described as stable. In my experience the most comfortable and stable scenario is bolt upright in a Merlin whatever the wind strength and direction.

The Tasar, when designed by Frank Bethwaite, was designed to invert quickly. This is due to the fact that if the crew become seperated from the hull, it will invert and sails act as a sea anchor and allow the crew to catch the boat. Common with most of the Bethwaite driven designs. Only time I've had this problem was at Rutland in a Laser Team camp in the 1980s and the whole senior team (top 15 UK) was flattened (me included). Ended up having the shore ribs launched as extra cover. Chased the boat 2 up down the lake with a well known team GBR coach and caught it (boat stayed on its side as so windy as did a number of others). Coldest I'd ever been sailing and bought one of those new fangled drysuits the next week. Mike Fitz will remember it well as I shared the car journey with him.

I have heard this, inverts so it cant blow away, theory but  I am not sure that I believe it. If you design a boat which is all boyancy with a hole in the middle to sit in it will float on its chine and invert. When on its side it floats so high the mast points down and over it goes! If safety was a consideration then Mr Bethwaite would have made it more stable when it was floating upright with no one in it. As it is the only way to recover the boat is to scoop the crew up, he then makes the boat more stable and he hauls in the helm (or vice versa) I think it is just the way the design works out. Mind you I sailed it yesterday in a big blow with a young fit B14 sailor helming and it was just awesome. Still looking for a Merlin cover.