...or is there something missing from this ebay Merlin?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Merlin-Rocket-Sailing-Dinghy-/110602285080?pt=UK_Sporting_Goods_Sailing_Boats_ET&hash=item19c068f018

Yes, a mast and road trailer!

apart from that.... seems to be lacking a foredeck? or is this some strange variant I've never come across?

heh. just gone back for another look and description has been amended to include the lack of a foredeck.

they've left in the 'boat needs tidying up and a spot of varnish' bit which made me smile.

The frame work is also missing, not to mention the rear tank that would have been on it originally. It also seems to be a very late number for an NSM 1 (3425)?

It also seems to be wood rather than 'glassfibre' as advertised - the cost of re fitting the blocks sheaves and string for a raking rig would be prohibitive (compared to the value of an old NSM) and perhaps that's why the remodelling stopped in its current state - I'm assuming at that sail number it would have been deck stepped, if not raking?
Would it have had a rear tank? the bag rails look like they're in the right place - perhaps it was  a late one off commission?

You can see where the side decks roll in to the tank and where the transom has been extended. I would say looking at it that it was case stepped and it was in the process of being deck stepped. The fittings would be far too much to replace, and so I would imagine it is the end of the ropad for this particular Merlin. Sad.

Can confirm it is 3425, sold to a chap Tewkesbury way 4 or 5 years ago, had plans on convertor rig to carbon, deck removed in 2000 replace with alloy space frame now disappeared

Hull has to be Omega NSM1 but with the aft tank and foredeck gone.  Amazingly there have been 3 bids!

Heart of Darkness. My 'first' merlin (a very nice Mr D. Orten let me use it). 

Hopefully it will go to a good home.

.

Always sad to see boats that you have known well deteriorate over the years.  Heart of Darkness wasn't completed for some time after the hull was manufactured, hence the number.  She was fitted out by David Orton and owned by him for some time.  As with AD, David very kindly lent me the boat on a number of occasions, especially the season that Fat Pig was out of action following her Exmouth champs incident.  David had a simple policy - if you break it, you fix it.  I seem to remember doing quite a lot of fixing...

I was indeed the first owner. Omega Hull, decked and fitted very beautifully by Rowsell with full width low level stern tank. Stored a long time before final commissioning which explains late number. Astonishing what a mess has been made of her! David Orton

Rowlocks?

OK - so I'm the guy (sucker ?) that has taken this project on ! Came with some decent sails and all the fittings so the price (£100) still seems OK - what else is there to do over the winter anyway ? One question regarding the foredeck - It seems to me that it had a fabric foredeck most recently - stretched across some battens - is the consensus that originally it had a conventional wooden foredeck ? Any downside of sticking with the fabric approach ? are there any other boats that have gone down this road ?

Congratulations!  This boat originally had a conventional bulkhead and foredeck and also stern tanks, all of which added rigidity to the hull.  As indicated in one of the above posts, Peter Browne modified the boat to have an aluminium space frame and a fabric foredeck (I can't remember why this was necessary).  The decks, especially the foredeck, add a lot of stiffness to the hull and fabric alone won't do this.  I'm afraid that you'll either need to rebuilt a wooden foredeck or find the space frame that the (presumably) previous owner has discarded.  On a positive note, she used to be a reasonable boat, handicapped by a rather strange mast/ sail combination when I sailed her 15 years ago that was very wind strength sensitive.  I hope that you enjoy her!