Hello all,
 
I am looking for a Merlin to race on the river and have been advised that the likes of Proctor IX, IXb, Adur 7, Smokers or even the NSM2 would be more suitable than say a modern CT or derivative. Whilst the former are beautiful boats (Panatella being a prime example), I envisage that a lot of time and money needs to be invested in keeping these boats looking good. Unfortunately, I have neither.
 
I am therefore seeking advice in the search of a 'low-maintenance' modern boat for river/inland sailing.
 
I notice that some modern boats feature high in the rankings of the Thames series but no doubt in the hands of very accomplished sailors. 
 
Thanks,
David

Hi David,
 
I think we we all like the idea of low maintenance many of us enjoy owning wooden boats too! Having owned a number myself over the years and having limited time for maintenance too I have learnt that keeping a wooden boat dry is the key to long life and low maintenance. Boats left out all year round with an ill fitting cover half full of water are the boats that suffer. If you take the trouble to dry the boat thoroughly after sailing and you have a good breathable cover your maintenance is reduced significantly. If you aren't sailing for a few weeks put it under cover or pop by and check all is well. Some clubs on the river such as Tamesis and Ranelagh provide under-over storage all year which helps (I'm not sure you sail),
  
The majority of Merlin's pre the Canterbury Tales era are wooden. You will hard pressed to find a plastic NSM for example but they do exist. Wooden boats are very strong and relatively easy to repair. If you find a good wooden boat you won't have to spend days painting and varnishing it. You may go several years before that's needed. Foam sandwich is great but be careful to check the integrity of the foam construction as they can be tricky to repair.
 
Yes the modern CT's are quick on the river too but they need a breeze and yes, the are owned by good sailors. The reason a lot of river sailors have both an older boat as well is for the light winds and for when you have a long beat, hugging the bank against a strong tide.
 
Good luck, I hope you find a nice boat that suits your sailing. 
 
Dave C 

Like Dave I sail an older wooden boat (though very much not a river boat despite my home club!) and I would certainly reckon that keeping on top of maintenence is the key to avoiding big bills (as well as not sailing the boat in F6 in big waves with a big enthusiastic crew ;-) ).  But wooden boats do need a bit more care and attention than the modern plastic ones.  Plastic ones are not maintenance free either though, particularly if they have been neglected, and then there is the rig and the foils to look at and maintain.  There are plastic NSM2's around from the 1990's and that would be your best bet for a river boat as easier to tack than the CT and better in very light conditions.  Some of the top boats on the Thames have been quite carefully and expensively optimised for local conditions - depends what your aspirations are, whether you are interested in mid-fleet competition or want to win the bigger river events.
 
Andrew 

One further consideration if you are short of time is the end-state you are aiming for. I.E. if you want a carbon/deck-stepped/raking rig then the effort and cost of conversion from (say) ali/hog-stepped should not be underestimated.

I can vouch for what Dave has said having done the conversion on Panatella. It does cost a pretty penny to do properly and is allot of work.
 
For many years I have been an advocate of the wooden boat and it is only in the last year that I have found myself without one (until 2 weeks ago that is!!) and the maintenance on them can be minimal if treated correctly. The best way is to use them rather than leave them sat around. Just getting the cover off once a week so the air can get to them is paramount. Keep them nice and you can go 3/4 years without having to varnish them.
 
Andrew is also right in that the plastic boats need work too. I have found that my carbon and glass boats need just as much attention as the wooden boats for the main part of the season, it is just over the winter that you can get away with keeping them outside without risking the paint/varnish.
 
With regard to what you want for the river, I personally would go for a Satisfaction of some description (plain, Smokers or Fadaway) or an NSM2 of some description. 
 
I had Panatella (Smokers Satisfaction) before selling it to Dave which I replaced with a Proctor IXb. I didn't get with that so sold it and I now have an Uptown Girl which is a modified NSM2. All good on the river and the Satisfactions and NSM2's give you the option to sail on more open waters too if you wish.
 
If I were you and I had the Budget (infact, if I had the budget) I would call Dave and give my right arm for Panatella. You won't find a better example of a Smokers or a better boat for river sailing in my opinion. 
 
Good luck whichever way you go with it.

I have been following this thread with interest, having just joined UTSC and bought 3446, a Naylor-built NSM2 as a proof-of-concept boat to see if my daughter likes sailing. She does - a lot. The choice of Merlin was based upon initial investment and durability rather than specific design and given its condition and weight, it is inevitable that we would want to replace it at some point in the future.

With regards to trading up, we too would prefer to stay with plastic and it would seem that a CT is out, but what about an Ez Roller? Would these be a better consideration for the river/inland water?

I think the EZ Roller is quite a fast hull. They are a little more fragile than the Winder hulls though and most were painted from new which is not so hard wearing as gelcoat- certainly not a maintenance free option but then what is? When built all of these were kitted out with little regard to cost, so if you find one in good condition thats been unmolested you could unearth a bargain.
 
Will it be any better on the River than a Tales? Not being a river sailor i don't really know. People do sail modern hulls successfully on the Thames though, and there is no reason why an EZ Roller or Winder tales shouldn't compete with other boats - like most things in this sport the guy on the stick has more influence than the shape of the hull!!
 
I think you may already have what many would consider to be the ideal plastic river boat - if perhaps not the best example. On that basis what you do next depends on your ambitions. If you fancy doing the circuit or trying larger water then the conformist thing to do is buy a winder. I dont know what 3446 cost but you could always keep it for the river?
 
If club sailing is all you're really interested in at the moment then i think you're better off improving what you have. A carbon rig is a relatively easy retrofit, not necessarily that expensive if you go secondhand and can be removed from the boat when its time to move it on. You will definitely see a difference too.

The early Canterbury Tales has more rocker, which is what you want for the short tacking, the Thin Ice had even more (to enable it to carry more weight). I think that the EZ Roller had less, making it better for open water. The Naylor NSM was started up at Hollingworth, then adopted by Wembley, I seem to remember that Julian Parry had 3446 from new.

The EZ Roller has more rocker than you think, if you look at the bow section even with the boat on the trolley it's quite noticeable. I've sailed one once, in lightish conditions at Blithfield and we won both races comfortably against reasonable opposition. It tacked nicely, and felt very similar to the Thin Ice I borrowed a few weeks before.
 
What I don't think it will do is carry weight overly well, but then again even that seems to be more a function of rig setup nowadays. If you're light you'll always struggle upwind in a blow but reap your reward somewhere else and vice versa. Since we all sail more or less the same hull shape weight carriage seems to have gone out of the window!

The EZ Roller has a shallower stem than the later Tales but is flatter towards tha back and a bit fuller under the mast. It is not much different to the Let it Rides of which I had one and these should not go well on the river. However, my Let it Ride went very fast on the river and carried my all up crew weight of 28 stone very well.
 
As Chris says allot of it is down to the helm and crew and not the shape as they are all very similar now.
 
As a former owner of 3446, I can tell you that she went well on the river, however, I took her to the 2005 Hayling Champs and she weighed in at 111KG's which was the heaviest boat there by a distance. She did alright on the open water although I could not move back far enough in the gusts on the reaches as the tank was in the way and I kept sliding down it! Ultimatley she was overpowered on the beats due to the width against the newer boats. A very good starting point though and good enough for the river.