Hi,

I'm thinking of getting into a Merlin, but my ideal crew and I weigh just under 20 stone. Are there any designs which work well with that weight and would be competitive at Champs level, or should I get a 12 and manage without a kite?

Thanks,

Bob

My Dad's boat 'Ticket it to ride' is blistering downwind with a light crew combination. He sailed it very light. She is  the newest 2nd hand boat for sale on the list and on the money (open to sensible offers). He is away till Wednesday but will be back on his mobile number then. All details are on the list.

If you are looking for an old boat, a Summer Wine would be a good buy.
late boats, The Cant.,or Driver/ Cant. would be good.
If you join the N12's you will need a new boat or a late boat with a wing rudder. The Dead Cat Bounce has killed the fleet on our club, the guy in the boat park next to me, said,"his new Foolish has become worthles. Not a happy man. But looking on the bright side he's looking at joining thr Merlins.

We sailed a Tales with 20 stone, it was dam hard work but went well. Dead Cat Bounce hasn't killed the 12's anymore than the Canterbury tales did the Merlins. Will Henderson has just won the Warming Pan in a Baggy Trousers which must be 15+ years old.

Ah but the Warming Pan was light. If breezy Will would have been bounced, pardon the pun>>

The Ticket to Ride is worth a look and would suggest getting hold of Phil King on this one to discuss for advise. Jenny should be able to supply Phil's details. Should be a flyer with little weight but not sure of condition or amount/lack of work to get it to Championship winning condition.

I would have thought that at that weight, nything with a raking rig would be good. You can always depower the rig buy can't just lose 10 stone out of the boat!

..."can't just lose 10st out of the boat" ...unless the crew's toestraps break!

What's your budget?  There are several good older CT's on the list at the minute, Empi 3501 was well-known in it's day & would still be competitive with a good set of sails if you mean you would be in the fleet.  If you are looking for top 10, try the standard kit but with a soft mast/flatter sails.  3513 is from the same batch as 3501.  There are 2 Chipstow CT variants on the list as well which might suit.

Thanks for all of your responses. Can I take a summary of the opinion to be that we'd probably be ok in most boats, but there may be some like the Ticket to Ride that might suit us a bit better? This raises a few more questions:

If you can be competitive in a CT as a lightweight, why are al of the current teams in the Top 10 more what I would term 'medium weights'?
Can lightweights really depower the boat enough upwind in wind/chop to be able to hold their own with the heavier teams and use their weight advantage downwind?

I'm not looking for a boat just yet. I'm really thinking ahead for next season's campaign at the moment (possibly looking to start over the winter). We'd be looking for a boat that could take us to top 10 (if we're good enough!!) and I can't afford a brand new boat at the moment, what do we need to spend to be fully competitive?

It's not only about depowering the rig, but sail design too. It may be worth a chat to a sailmaker for recomendations about a cut to suit your weight in windier conditions. I would presume that there is an ideal weight for any boat and the extents of this can but widened to some extent with choice of harder or softer rig and power/depth of sails. Constantly overpowered = slow, but is good training for the swimming!

I would say for top 10 you need to budget about 9k and get yourself a new set of sails. You want a drop nosed Winder (3640ish+) or equivalent with single string and you need everything to work and be in good order. They are well built so you could spend less and get an older boat and convert it to drop nose and do some work to get everything sorted. I personally do not think you will have a problem upwind as you can rake. Maybe avoid a superspars mast as they are quite stiff. Your most likely issue will be tight spinacker reaches and 2 sail reaches but you could leave some rake in to lessen the affect. At 20 stone if fit overall you would not be at a disadvantage and at Salcombe week you would probably be at an advantage.