History
A Brief History
![]() The Class was launched in January 1946
after an eight man syndicate from Ranelagh Sailing Club, on the Thames in
London, had the previous year commissioned Jack Holt to design a lightweight
14ft., clinker hull with a 100sq.ft., sail plan and a moderate sized
spinnaker.
The prototype was called 'Kate' after the last few letters in 'syndicate'
and with the lessons learnt from her construction 'Merlin' was built - the
first of the new Class.
The Class Association was formed in 1947, the first of its kind, which has
been used as a pattern by many other classes. The rules were
devised to allow for the development of hull and rig rather than be of a
'one-design' nature. |
The 'Rocket' class was formed in 1949
when a group of Tynemouth sailors commissioned Wyche & Coppock of
Nottingham to design a half deck 14ft., dinghy. This boat had more sail area,
narrower decks and was lighter. After much debate the Classes
merged in April, 1951 to form the 'Merlin Rocket Class'.
Wyche & Coppock introduced glued plywood construction in 1953 which replaced the solid planked, ash ribbed, nailed clinker hulls which up until then were the only means of construction. Terylene sails were adopted in 1959 replacing cotton sails, at the same time aluminium masts were being experimented with which produced a far more powerful rig. This coupled with the development of transom flaps lead to the development of wider and wider hulls - flaring out to over well over 7ft 6ins. to increase sitting out power. |
![]() 4ft-7ins Sealgh and 6ft-8ins Krakawot. |
The next most significant development
was the spinnaker chute which allowed the spinnaker to be raised and lowered
very much more easily than the conventional launching 'out of the
bag'. In 1972 an experimental four plank boat was built with the
objective of reducing costs however it was not well received by the Class and
was not pursued.
|
![]() Merlins in build at Rowsell Bros. Spud inspects a new GRP hull. |
A feature of the Class has been the high standard of craftsmanship and finish that the various builders have maintained over the years. To give an idea of how designs have changed the class, in 1966 the championships were won by a Proctor Mark IX with a beam of 5ft., whereas two years later the winning boat was a 6ft. 8in., wide 'Wotnot' design. A number of prominent designers have associations with the Class e.g. Phil Morrison, Ian Proctor, David Thomas, Keith Callaghan, Ian Holt and so on. Whilst the Morrison designs dominated the seventies and eighties, the nineties have been dominated by the Holt designed 'Canterbury Tales' - or derivatives thereof. The spinnaker size and pole length was increased in 1979 and in 1996 the pole length was increased to 2300mm to allow spinnakers to be made to their maximum size within the existing rules. Carbon fibre is being used more frequently in the construction of mast, boom and spinnaker poles. Class Championships have been held on the sea every year since 1946, with over 15 venues used over the years. Traditionally the Championship was sailed over a week with six races sailed and five to count. In 1999 the same six race series is to be sailed over a long weekend at Weymouth in August. The Silver Tiller Series was devised in 1950 and sought to find the helmsman who could win consistently sailing on a whole range of waters. To that end the series runs over a whole season with competitors having to count their best five results having sailed on restricted water, open water and the sea. Consequently competitors get to sail on rivers, lakes, reservoirs, estuaries and the sea. Additional to this national event there are 'local' circuits such as the Midland Circuit and the recently established 'Thames Circuit'. As the nineties draw to a close the Class and its builders are examining ways to maintain the character of the class yet at the same time take advantage of new materials and techniques. To be continued... |
Topic | Author | Latest Post | Views | Posts | |
Covid-19 | Rousey | 04/04/2020 17:34:07 - Ian Mackenzie | 942 | 7 | |
Parkstone Merlin Training & Silver Tiller 2/3 May | Nick Scroggie | 01/04/2020 14:42:36 - | 1735 | 1 | |
Jack the Lad 1529 | Peter Keeble | 01/04/2020 14:34:58 - | 370 | 1 | |
3735 updates | James Wells | 30/03/2020 15:29:11 - Chris K | 951 | 5 | |
Salcombe Silver Tiller 2021 and Merlin Week 2020 update. | Graham Cranford Smith Salcombe Yacht Club | 29/03/2020 13:30:46 - Louise Johnson | 758 | 2 | |
A video to amus if we are missing going sailing | Andrew Mills | 27/03/2020 20:42:09 - Andrew Mills | 748 | 3 | |
Dinghy Show | Colin Simmonds | 25/03/2020 21:59:47 - Gareth Griffiths NHRC | 2051 | 21 | |
Cheap MR sails on ebay | RB | 22/03/2020 16:16:57 - | 481 | 1 | |
Ranelagh Thames and De May Series - Cancelled | Frances Gifford | 22/03/2020 08:06:22 - | 391 | 1 | |
Salcombe Week | Barry Dunning | 19/03/2020 08:46:07 - Ben 3767 | 1295 | 8 | |
Chichester YC silver tiller CANCELLED | chris grosscurth | 18/03/2020 21:26:19 - Grozzer813 | 453 | 1 | |
Itchenor SC Silver Tiller CANCELLED | George Yeoman | 18/03/2020 14:26:04 - | 435 | 1 | |
MROA staement on Covid 19 - Coronavirus | MROA | 18/03/2020 11:19:46 - Martin Smith | 944 | 2 | |
Aspire 75th National Champs - 2020 | Ian Mackenzie | 17/03/2020 18:58:35 - Ian Mackenzie | 1698 | 8 | |
Wembley Silver Tiller Open Meeting 15 March 2020 | John Green | 17/03/2020 14:59:11 - Lou Johnson | 1392 | 10 | |
Midland ST - cancelled | Chris M | 16/03/2020 18:08:52 - Chris Martin | 472 | 1 | |
... any crews for Wembley ? | Andy Jones | 13/03/2020 14:30:53 - Anna Aylward | 482 | 2 | |
RYA Issue New Class Rules (Rule C.8 rudders) | MROA Chair (on behalf of MROA Committee) | 13/03/2020 07:26:51 - Matt 3494 | 1497 | 10 | |
Merlin Week flight preferences 2020. | Graham Cranford Smith SYC. | 12/03/2020 08:22:40 - | 442 | 1 | |
David Oddie | Chris Haworth | 12/03/2020 07:37:18 - Chris Haworth | 640 | 3 | |
Main Halyard | Rousey 3634 | 09/03/2020 18:47:51 - Chris Martin | 567 | 7 | |
De May and Open Meeting River Series | Martin Hunter | 09/03/2020 06:17:44 - martin | 396 | 1 | |
Buoyancy bag covers | Rousey 3634 | 07/03/2020 20:55:35 - Chris Martin | 524 | 6 | |
Burghfield ST 7th March Entry Open & Live Tracking | Simon Potts | 07/03/2020 14:28:22 - Tim M | 1088 | 10 | |
Itchenor Winter Warmer 2020 | George Yeoman | 06/03/2020 20:02:21 - George Yeoman | 2021 | 8 | |
Calling All Regional Reps | Martin Smith | 05/03/2020 10:15:41 - Martin Smith | 458 | 1 | |
Merlin Rocket Class Training - 02/05/2020 | Christian Birrell | 04/03/2020 13:57:10 - Martin Smith | 459 | 1 | |
HD Sails Midland Circuit Prize Evening | Martin | 04/03/2020 07:57:12 - D.H. | 695 | 4 | |
Wanted: Old Superspars Carbon Mast | Richard 2037 | 29/02/2020 10:11:51 - Richard | 496 | 3 | |
the lead and how to swing it... | scam | 27/02/2020 22:39:29 - Keith Callaghan | 692 | 5 | |
Important information about the Dinghy Show. | Pippa Kilsby | 27/02/2020 09:29:44 - | 422 | 1 | |
MROA Training 02/05/2020 | Martin | 26/02/2020 20:13:18 - Tim M | 428 | 2 | |
Re-Measuring | Gareth Griffiths | 24/02/2020 12:54:20 - Gareth Griffiths NHRC | 665 | 6 | |
BLITHFIELD BLAST Event | Blithfield Sailing Club | 20/02/2020 21:18:24 - | 442 | 1 | |
Salcombe silver tiller | Tristram Squire | 20/02/2020 16:43:30 - | 400 | 1 | |
New Rudder Design | Tom | 14/02/2020 09:31:39 - Do different | 2116 | 7 | |
Perisher Series Lymington Town SC | Lou Johnson | 07/02/2020 21:10:22 - Gareth Griffiths NHRC | 809 | 3 | |
Rounding marks rules | Logan | 07/02/2020 13:43:44 - Andrew Mills | 889 | 9 | |
Blithfield Barrel | Peter Male | 06/02/2020 22:17:31 - Peter Male | 428 | 1 | |
Medium Kite | David Philpott | 31/01/2020 16:06:06 - Scam | 705 | 4 | |
Salcombe Accomodation Available | Jez 3686 | 31/01/2020 13:50:34 - | 469 | 1 | |
The cut of your jib... | Scallywag | 30/01/2020 08:18:45 - Gareth Griffiths NHRC | 887 | 6 | |
2929 High Noon | 22/01/2020 20:27:39 - A.musgrave | 1259 | 7 | ||
Safety Debate: Exhaust Gas Scrubber’s Washwater | Ankit Kumar Sharma | 16/01/2020 06:45:31 - | 481 | 1 | |
Classic boats at the Bartley ST | Chris M | 15/01/2020 13:44:14 - Stephen Crowder | 1332 | 6 | |
Salcombe Silver Tiller | Louise Johnson | 09/01/2020 13:14:03 - | 652 | 1 | |
Salcombe mooring for motorboat | Dangerous Dave | 08/01/2020 12:26:23 - Stuart Bates | 702 | 4 | |
Membership Fees | MROA | 08/01/2020 10:54:25 - Martin Smith | 515 | 1 | |
Proctor Design Variations | Rocket Espresso | 05/01/2020 10:09:21 - Andrew Mills | 2305 | 18 | |
Michael Goffe | Dougal H | 04/01/2020 13:45:12 - | 496 | 1 | |
CREW FOR NATIONALS AT TENBY | Robin Charles | 26/12/2019 15:20:20 - | 683 | 1 | |
Aspire 2019 Results | Ian Mackenzie | 24/12/2019 08:01:27 - Ian Mackenzie | 2633 | 25 | |
Lazy Guys (Not perching helms!) | Alistair | 18/12/2019 00:02:19 - Mark Elkington | 1489 | 11 | |
Crew required for next season | David Hayes | 10/12/2019 13:53:47 - DH | 681 | 1 | |
Help to identify and value a Merlin Rocket part of a deceased's estate | Adrift | 28/11/2019 13:21:55 - Peter Male | 2140 | 18 | |
Autumn mag | Logan | 26/11/2019 18:18:46 - Chris k | 899 | 3 | |
New rule interpretation re jib stiffening and support | MROA Committee | 26/11/2019 09:05:41 - Chris Martin | 708 | 1 | |
Job sheet angle to forestay | Logan | 24/11/2019 15:29:01 - Logan | 1004 | 20 | |
Jib sheet shenanigans | Martin Rouse | 22/11/2019 09:50:59 - Rousey | 1052 | 9 | |
Merlin 2371 | Marc Fovargue-Davies | 21/11/2019 21:05:36 - John Cooper | 1271 | 6 | |
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