If we are talking pure eye candy then 3190 Finlandia is a very pretty NSM

Full marks to cousin  Andy for not blowing his own trumpet, but it's got to be said that the General is the grooviest Merlin of the last ten years.

What a great thread! 
There are many many very beautiful merlins. 
COTLB is a good one, Rong Number, Nemo! but and apologies for the favoritism here but the boat my uncle george built and maintains today 3470 'Roaring Forties' is really pretty. I also always thought the black boat Lawrie made for himself looked a bit juicey.

The 'not so pretty' award goes to Il Gattino and also Chuft (After peter scott got his hands on it! ho ho)

3471 Savage - an all time great Turner CT's. Extremely successful and all time great in the hands of Phil King (where is phil now)? That boat inspired me to obtain Terrabyte which I sadly parted with in 2005. Look after her Andy :-)

Heaven Sent!  Still a very pretty boat, JT's last all-wood Merlin.

Unfinished Business or any of the other Kevin Driver Let it Ride's would fit the bill - Rong Number, Storm Cloud...

Hi Robert, Do you know what happened to Baccarat-is she still alive?

Either Deep Thought (3451)or Gigolo (2222)

It was love at first sight - My Rowsell NSM 3 (3340) is in my opinion the prettiest and will be even prettier when it comes out of the workshop after the winter with the gunwhale glued back on. Fabulous double curvature stern tank - just how did they cut the wood for that? Sorry no pics - it is buried in a barn at present but I will send Dougal a transom shot for his collection when it re-emerges from winter storage.

Any history appreciated.

If anyone has any links to photos then please let us all know how to access them...

I loved our first boat 3494 and always admired Firestarter, also the red hulled ROTS and BAU, but my Dads Smokers on the beach at Abersoch in the sun after sailing, I'd have been about five probably gets the vote..and is responsible!

Hi Jez, whilst on topic of boats in heaven, I've been informed that one of my old boats 3218 (If Only ...) ex Breakfast in America was given a viking funeral a while back

Wicked

In terms of names I always thought Tim Hammicks Ghost Rider 'Wam Bam Thankyou Mam' was brillaint

Certainly will Richard.  Do you have a Merlin at the moment?

My Graham Edwards Contender............

Will I now bw expelled from the MROA or just given a damn good thrashing.....?

Deep Thought 3451

I am so happy to read so many enthusiastic responses to this thread this evening.

Of all the boats you have ever seen, which design has been your favourite and why?

Ha ha ha...! 

You charmer...

Kinda good to see a few boats mentioned similar to my Niane. Hopefully she will be a head turner too soon.

What details do you guys think make the boat "The Boat"...?

Thanks Rob

Tough question, I have lots! I would have to say Panatella (3165) as she is trully a beautiful boat and a fast one. I have always had a soft spot for COTLB (3431) too and also Guilt Complex (3546). I also like Shabazzle (3729), currently the prettiest boat on the circuit I think.

If money was not an option and I wanted a new boat built, I would be looking down the lines of ROTS or Niane mainly due to my weight. If I could lose a bit a Let it Ride would be on my christmas list or maybe a Make it So. I think both are faster than a Tales and if they were constructed in the same manor as Dave Winders boats they would be uncatchable in the right hands.

I will always hold out hope that someone recognised her and saved her from the scrap heap!

You will all be pleased to know that I have a couple of photo pages dedicated to this subject in the up coming Yearbook! A couple of the boats mentioned are in it, although there is a couple of missing boats from this list.

Thin Ice (3497)
Tumbling Dice (2633) another of Spuds Satisfactions
Smartypants (3506) a Smart/Blake one off - and about to make a reapearance on the circuit after a few years tucked away!
Gangsta

There are so many boats that are special in various ways.

Ben, do you know if she was then destroyed? Or is there a possibility that she would have been saved? Only she still shows in the records and I will move her to the 'Boats in Heaven' section if you know her fate.

1097 "Flinkidink" Passing Cloud design built by Jack Holt in 1959 and still looking pretty thanks to Mike Stephens who kept her in fantastic condition over the last 8 years before selling onto me.. ! 
She still wins the odd race as well ;-) 
Rob

Above all its results on the race course, it is after all a racing dinghy not furniture.

The prettiest boat is the one in the front!

Baccarat (2614) however the mid-70's was a pretty glorious era for Merlin Rockets and Nitro was a pretty stand out boat at that time

On the basis of prettiness, and that I shouldn't really vote for Firestarter 3548, the Thin Ice we refurbished and still looks gorgeous, my nomination would be for 3549, Unfinished Business.
We saw her at a Shustoke open meeting when we were just starting out with Merlins and had a 9b to completely rebuild (1981, completed by a much more competent pair of hands than mine!)
After seeing Unfinished Business there was no question that we wanted to sail a Merlin.  The construction was impeccable and the detail around the chute and shroud base, transom and plank ends,  where different components came together was just sublime, especially compared to our tragic 9b!
We came closest with Firestarter which I still admire greatly, but I guess it was inspired by Unfinished Business.
As much as our foam sandwich boat is fantastic in the way we all know the are, I think I'll be sailing a wooden boat on 'the other side' just so long as it doesn't need to be fire proof - I'd better be good.

Thin Ice; take a look at 'Firestarter'... they just don't get any prettier do they?

Come on Gareth!  You can't measure it, its like love/sex... you just know and it feels good!

Old add for Firestarter.....

Andy....not only a thrashing but when the Lymington 'PC' - that's picture committee (let's face it, it would never be PC for political correctness given the various attendees.... with the exception of Louise J) meet up you'll be dispatched to get the coffees/Sanatogen/herbal teas! More pics to follow. D

3199, Forever Autumn - a one off to the Credit Card design by Mike Burnham - superbly built by Graham Edwards. Why - carried weight well ( was designed originally for Ian Copsey who was on the large size in all dimensions), went very well upwind, then even better offwind. Sadly the boat was let down by a rather naff rig following the loss of the main set up during a seriously windy race at the nationals. With a better match of mast and sails, then someone to get the most out of the boat, it could have done so much more - as it was, it was a great package for Club racing around the Solent!

Dougal

I had the good fortune to own 'Baccarat' no. 2614 in the late 1970s and early 80s. She was one of an outstanding group of 'Satisfactions' built in the 1970s. Spud built her for my brother John who had a good championship record with her. 

John sold 'Baccarat' to the late Ken Ellis who became MROA chairman and chairman of the RYA and I bought her from him. 'Baccarat' was very light with lots of lead in the middle of the boat, as a result she was fragile and bits and pieces pulled off from time to time. But she was a winner, definitely my favourite. 

In the Vintage photo section of this website there's a photo Ken Ellis took of Jeremy Kearns and me sailing 'Baccarat' at Salcombe in 1980.

Good morning Chris

In 1980 I was chairman and bought the 2nd Omega boat from Spud to keep the project moving and ended up with two boats. Unfortunately I chose to sell 'Baccarat' despite the fact that she was better suited to my kind of sailing than an NSM 1. She went to Eric Archer at Minima Y.C. and I think she may have moved on to other owners but I have no firm information about who or where.

glass boat...dalbys general or mr raineys millennium falcon...both beautifully finished...wooden boat,about time....transformed jackos sailing or rong number ....both stunning...but I love our new boat the tart,...built by one of the best boat builders ever....mr calvert reckons every one should own at least one laurie boat....

My all time favourite Merlin is Charge of the Light Brigade and I can say that I had great time when I sailed her for a few seasons.  There is something special about that boat.

Also 1212 Fair Kop (Flinkidink and Passing Cloud's sister ship, c.1961) restored by my father some eight years ago including new decks, low bow buoyancy tank and a tall 22'6" carbon rig.  A joy to sail and to look at.

Psychic  3065 Rowsell Smokers - Won concourse d'elegance at the boat show in the 70's. Only owned by me for 18 months, wish I had the room to keep her.

Kate!
The mothership;
where it all started,
and still on the water.

After dad died I sold Baccarat to Gordon and Jo from MYC who some years later sold her in favor of a Flying Fifteen, the gentleman at their sailing club -not MYC at this stage- let her rot unfortunately, she was incredibly fast.
To date my most beautiful boat has to be Ministry of Pleasure- PHHWOOAAR!

Hi Jez,Jo Mays - the penultimate owner of the boat, told me that her garboards had rotted out in the dinghy park. I leave the decision to you. B.

Sadly not Andy. For some  odd reason I went and got a 12! Strange decision really considering I have owned Merlin's on and off since 91'"!