Merlin III in the Museum’s Workshop

Merlin III is the latest boat to take centre stage in the Museum’s on-site boatbuilding workshop for restoration.

This is an example of a late 1960’s offshore power boat that had some success on the racing circuit. Merlin III displays a well renowned hull type which was used extensively in racing boats of the period.

Initial exploration has led to discovery of much greater deterioration than was initially thought but our boat team of volunteers, led by Boat Collection Manager Bob White have already make progress on the restoration plans.

Merlin III is a part of a family of fast motor boats with good performance in all conditions, designed by Bill Maloney, beginning with the 12ft Sorcerer in 1961.

The inspiration for the design came from a study of the flying boat hulls of the 1930s and led to the development of a family of 12 ‘warped bottom Vee’ hulls from 8ft to 25ft giving speeds up to 60 knots. The development of these craft was achieved by building a series of simple plywood hulls to perfect the shape so as to provide stability and level drive at speed even in lumpy seas.

Both the 15ft Merlin III and the 20ft Bewitched were very successful in offshore powerboat racing in the 1960s. In 1967 two Maloney-designed craft Bewitched and La Sorciere did very well in the Cowes-Torquay Race, with Bewitched, the smallest boat in the race, finishing 6th overall beating many larger and more powerful craft.

The designs continued to be produced by various builders, initially still in wood but later in GRP. The original hull form was still being used until recently in the Sorcerer 760 Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB), regarded by many as a classic in terms of powerboat performance.