This is the original Merlin Class Dinghy built by Jack Holt in 1945 for the Ranelagh Sailing Club in West London; it is from this model that many of the wide-beamed and hi-tech Merlin Rockets, familiar to so many competitive dinghy sailors, have developed over the last 40 years.
The idea for Britain’s first post war sailing dinghy was hatched by a small syndicate of members from this sailing club and among them was the well known designer, Jack Holt, the builder of many successful dinghy classes.
Many of the features incorporated into the Merlin were extremely advanced for the 1940s: the hull was made using the new marine plywood developed during the war and the ‘roll’ decks enabled the boat to heel without flooding the boat.
The Merlin Class Association was launched in 1946, and by 1951 the Merlins merged with the Rocket Class to form the National Merlin Rocket Class. The class was popular with both coastal and inland sailors. By 1959 sail numbers had passed 1000 and by 1968 the new material of glass reinforced plastic (GRP) had been approved. Other changes over the years have radically altered the shape of the latest boats.
Merlin II last sailed in 1969 and was presented to the National Maritime Museum Greenwich in 1971 by Beecher Moore, another member of the original Merlin syndicate of 1945 and a friend and business partner of Jack Holt.
Dimensions
Length 4.88m
Beam 1.42m
Draft, centreboard down, 1.23m
