MERLIN ROCKET FORUM

Topic : Merlin Rocket Historic Wing

There has been considerable discord within the MROA over the general modernisation of vintage boats and there are many who wish to sail their Merlin Rockets as they were built, rather than modernise. I have thus proposed and the MROA Committee has agreed, the formation of the Merlin Rocket Owners Association Historic Wing with the aim of preserving and sailing older boats, classic, prime of life or vintage, as they were built, without modernisation or carbon rigs, so keeping a living history of this long standing class.

The Finn class has shown the way by dividing their classic fleet into two, "classics", defined as original with wood or alloy rigs and "classics with carbon" which are modernised boats and it is this approach I would like the MROA to follow with the Historic wing being original classics and the others (many in the current vintage wing) to equate to the "classics with carbon". It has already been said on the class forum that there is room in the class association for both approaches and this I believe offers one solution to the problem.

As an evolving class, the Merlin Rocket has seen several interesting developments through the ages and some of these have since been modernised out of the original boat and lost. It is these evolutionary steps that should be preserved as a sailing history of the class, whether they were successful or not.

Boats will still race within the class Vintage and Classic structure and also with the cvrda (classic and vintage racing dinghy association). The general aims would be to encourage the preservation and sailing of boats basically as they were built and to provide support and encouragement for those who wish their boats to remain pretty much unmodernised.



Posted: 19/04/2015 07:28:43
By:
Interesting

I have kept the original floro Kevlar main and Ali deck stepped rig for Niane for just such an occasion


Posted: 19/04/2015 08:03:38
By: Gareth Griffiths NHRC
Yes, interesting. I'm all for it, but how will it work? Who will be racing against whom, and how will the results be calculated?  Or are we still on first past the post?


Posted: 19/04/2015 15:27:10
By: Miles

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