As a complete Merlin novice, I hoped that someone would be able to answer the following questions:

1. Do I need to spend more than £3,000 to get a competitive Merlin?
2. It is likely that I may switch crews/helms when sailing at the club. Bearing this in mind, I will be looking for a boat capable of carrying 21-26 stone. Is there a particular design I should be looking at, or do the modern boats carry a wider range of weight well?
3. Does anyone have any comments on the Heaven Sent design, i.e. competitiveness and weight carrying ability?

In advance, thanks for your comments.

1. Depends what you mean by competitive.  If you want to win a big open meeting, yes you do.  If you want to be sailing in the middle of the fleet, no you don't (or at least the middle/back of it, where I sail).

2. There have probably been more threads about sailing weight and design on the forum than any other single topic and quite a divergence of views.  At the £3,000 mark you will be looking at an older Canterbury Tales or variants thereof and most will carry up to an honest 26st OK.

3. I own Heaven Sent and have done for a number of years.  I have been sailing it with too much weight on board for most of that time but as long as there is a bit of wind the boat is OK but it doesn't like ghosting conditions (not a brilliant river boat really even though my home club is Hampton!).  Downwind in a breeze it's quick and stable.  Only 2 others were built to this design and it's not clear to me if they are quite the same shape.  Both completed and developed by Glen Truswell from shells built by Tony Lock in the Parkstone/Poole area.

If sailed by a better sailor and with a fully updated rig a Heaven Sent would be very competitive, if purchased for £3000 After Hours would be quite a bargain.  If you can't get that, there are 2 or 3 of the Jon Turner composite CT designs on the for sale list for that sort of money.

Andrew 3511

I would have said that £3,000 would buy you a mid fleet boat and quite honestly in the right hands one of these boats could easily make a top 5 or 6 at an open meeting. If you want to be further up than the mid field you are going to want a new or almost new boat to not only be fully up to date but to attract a top crew also.

If you want a competative boat with the ability to carry weight then you could do worse than the Thin Ice on the list. Proven design that will carry weight.

As Andrew has already said the Heaven Sent was not great in the light stuff or with weight. One of our club members at Cookham, Roy, used to own After Hours and he has gone significantly quicker at Cookham since he bought his Make it So which is also worht considering but a little pricey still. He did seem to go better at Salcombe in After Hours though so that really backs up what Andrew says.

If I had £3,000 in my pocket and 26st + in the boat I would be looking at the Thin Ice. With less than 26st I would be looking at the JT/Woodward Tales.

Thanks for your helpful comments.

It sounds like the best option for the time being will be buy a CT or Thin Ice. If I get more serious (and most importantly have a decent and committed crew) I could then dig a bit deeper and upgrade to a modern boat.

As I am not an impulsive person, my search is likely to take a little while. In the meantime, if anyone fancies a 13-stone crew for an event, then please let me know.

Andy

hi there is a modernised empty pockets at bartley that may be coming on the market in the near future