M Myall 0 Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 Hi - I am reasonably new to sailing and looking to buy my first yacht - a trailer sailer. I've been looking at a couple of Merlin 6.1 yachts but I can't seem to find alot of information about the design or how well it sails. If anybody has owned one or has any information about how reliable and stable etc they are it would be much appreciated. Also, any other general advice on buying a trailer sailer apart from the obvious would be great. Cheers. Link to post Share on other sites
oliver 0 Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 I can offer the same advice I was given when I was looking at trailer sailers a bit over a year ago - look at the trailer as hard as you look at the boat. If the trailer craps out structurally you're looking a fair bit of expenditure before you can safely launch your boat! The NZ trailer yacht association has old reviews of lots of designs, and their ratings and self-righting index, on their website www.traileryachts.org.nz . Link to post Share on other sites
Terry B 71 Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 Good advice Oliver. Of course, I didn't follow that advice when I bought my trailer sailer about 9 years ago. And 3 years later had to bite the bullet and spend 8K on a tandem trailer, fully braked...................I wasn't very popular at home................ Needless to say, I looked after that new trailer like it was the crown jewels Had to buy a decent trailer as it's pretty hard to launch (or sell) a trailer sailer without a trailer........... There are some good trailer sailer specific publications around with great advice............ tour the internet or go to "Boat Books" and you'll find all sorts. There was a really good trailer sailer book called "Cruising essentials" by an Aussie named Bob Couper - it was an e book, but I've just done a quick search and it doesn't appear to around any more. If you can find it I highly recommend it. Good luck. Link to post Share on other sites
Brendon 0 Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 You are right M Myall, there doesn't seem to be much info on the Merlin available. In the boom time for trailer sailors in the 70's to 80' there were a lot of different makes around as different builder sought to cash in on the boom. One online article mentions that they are a strong boat, but not fast upwind. http://www.traileryachts.org.nz/2008/10 ... ler-yacht/ The NZ trailer Yacht association ratings. http://www.traileryachts.org.nz/wp-cont ... sion-3.pdf give it a handicap rating of 0.703, so it appears to have a very average to slightly below average speed for this size boat, but not too bad if you don't want to race. They also have a self righting index value of 0.48, this is a calculation of its stability, that is a fairly low figure, but there are worse. The higher the number the more stable the boat, for a trailer sailer anything around 1 or higher is pretty good. (My first trailer yacht was a Kestrel with a sri of 0.26, which is poor, as evidenced by a capsize with my family on board. I now have a trailer sailor with a sri of 1.375) It is up to you what you want in a yacht, what the price is and what value you get for your money. Older yachts generally have some flaws, it is really a matter of knowing them and judging whether they are reflected in the price and if you can fix them or live with them. Check all over for softness, cracks rust etc. are sails in good condition, rigging etc all the usual stuff. Also what sort of keel do they have. Looking at a picture I suspect they have most of the ballast in the stub keel with a swing down blade keel, possibly a steel plate. If so what condition is the steel plate and more importantly the pivot point which on a boat of this age could be worn or rusted. Very hard to check without the boat hoisted up to see if there is any play in the pivot. One more thing I learned with the Kestrel is that some makers used steel for ballast instead of lead. OK as long as it is sealed off in resin, but when the resin cracks with age water starts getting to the ballast, it rusts and expands with the eventual possibility of splitting the hull. I'm not saying the Merlin is like that, but the Kestrel was. If there is rust stains around cracks under the floorboards where the ballast is be weary. Are there Keel bolts under the floorboards, if so are these rusty or show salt deposits around them? And as others have said, don't overlook the state of the trailer. I was just going to write a couple of lines, this has grown a bit. Just some thoughts, I may be off track, the Merlin may very well be a good starter yacht and give you good training and experience. Link to post Share on other sites
madyottie 82 Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 About a decade ago there was a really good trailer yacht fleet in Whangarei. There were several twenty footers, and I'd happily say that as an all-rounder the Merlin is right up there. They were designed by Allan Mummery, who I think went on to design icefire. They're about average performance for that size of trailer yacht, were pretty well built, and whenever I sailed on them seemed to handle some pretty nasty weather without any big issues. I vaguely remember that there was an issue with water pumping up the tube for the keel winch in rough weather, and splashing onto the cabin floor. I can remember all our local merlins used a $2 funnel and some duck tape to solve the issue. Link to post Share on other sites
madyottie 82 Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 I've just read that article mentioned above about the mod's. I'm curious about why he couldn't keep up with Sabre 20's. The NZTYA ratings are 100% performance based, so obviously Merlins are just outperforming Sabres as a whole. Somewhere. Link to post Share on other sites
vstation 0 Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Aha- The trusty Merlin. We own the Merlin.to which the mods outlined in nz trailer yacht were carried out. The main was some 80% larger in area than standard with an enormous amount fo roach which meant that the backstay had been removed. This coupled with a roller headsail furler meant that the furler foil sagged so far to leeward that sailing upwind was a real hassle, plus the sense of impending doom wheneve we looked at the furler. We have recut the main, restored the backstay and put on a new headsail (110% and with a heavier cloth). We now regularly sail to Mayor Is and SlipperIs from Tauranga, And have spent 10 days in the Hauriki Gulf.We have met most weather conditions with the worst being 3m swells,30 kn, rough seas. This was not pleasant but the boat handled it well and got us home safely. The Merlin is not the fastest yacht, but for us it does all we want it to. We are not spring chickens my wire is 61 and I am 70 Link to post Share on other sites
Ptown 14 Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 The best advice is to sail on someone else's boat (preferably a really cool R930) and not move to Christchurch Link to post Share on other sites
boots 1 Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Yes good to get the experience on 930 Link to post Share on other sites
thestevens 0 Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Hi folks, I've owned a Merlin 6.1 for approx. 10 years now. When I bought it I put an ad on the Net for info & a guy in Auckland very kindly mailed me a magazine article about them. I can email a copy if anyone still wants it. I've spent time on Farr 6000's but for weekending I believe the Merlin is a roomier & more comfortable boat. It sails well, possibly not quite as fast as a Farr, but feels safe, even in a good blow. I think a Merlin won a major National trailer yacht championship back in the 70's or 80's? Anyway, if anyone wants the mag article email me at {C}thestevens@slingshot.co.nz{C} & I'll send them a copy. Update 21/1/2018: Sincere apologies to the people that emailed me for the article in the last 12 months, due to circumstances I was unable to access it. However, I have managed to "recover" the old PC & transfer the article to a new one. I can now email it if anyone wants it. The email address is now thestevens79@gmail.com Cheers Wayne Link to post Share on other sites
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