The first 21st century Merlin Rocket designs - HAZARDOUS series:
Hazardous 140 and Hazardous 170 (2004)
Hazardous Zero-9 and Hazardous Zero-9 LITE (2008 to present)

Photo copyright P Newton, Digital Images UK

Merlin Rocket Kits now available - Prices from £999.

In collaboration with JORDAN BOATS, the first HAZARDOUS ZERO-9 LITE Merlin Rocket kit of pre-cut plywood parts has now been produced. The basic kit comprises all the plywood parts necessary to build the boat (profiled to shape, but excluding the deck plywood), plus the building frames cut from MDF. More details.
The introductory price for this kit, including UK delivery and the licence to build one boat, is £999.

Click on an image below to enlarge.(These are orthogonal views, ie with no perspective)

While the UK National Merlin Rocket dinghy class still thrives, design development has stagnated over the last decade. In fact, my new HAZARDOUS series are the first really new designs in the 21st century, and also probably the first Merlin Rockets to be designed with the aid of yacht design and CAD software. Whether they will match up to the Morrison NSM4 or the Holt Canterbury Tales remains to be seen. I have done a lot of research recently (via books and the internet) to appraise myself of the latest design thinking, and experimented with a radical new Merlin shape, but I could not produce a "Bethwaite skiff" type of hull within the constraints of the Merlin class rules, and which did not have excessive wetted area. So I went back to the Hexagon/Hysteria/Hazard line and produced a concept which has the same fine entry, but flatter garboards forward, and a radically flatter planing run, to take advantage of the power developed by the sophisticated modern rigs. The Hazardous 140 and 170 designs differ only in their weight carrying capability - the 140 is designed for a lighter crew (about 140kg, in fact), and has less curve in the aft run than the 170. Wetted surface area compares favourably with my earlier designs (they were good light weather performers). In a planing breeze I expect these boats to fly.

Plans for the first Hazardous 170 were sold to the USA, and the first Hazardous 140 has gone to France. On 16 June 2005 John Keeling launched his Merlin USA01, named 'Forty-two'. To view some photographs he has sent me Click here.

22 November 2008: Laurie Smart has been commissioned by Rob Holroyd to build a Hazardous 170 (with a few mods, and thus renamed Hazardous Zero-9). The boat was exhibited at the RYA Dinghy Show at Alexandra Palace on 7th-8th March 2009.

Zero-9 is designed to carry 7-10kg more weight that the Canterbury Tales, and with the centre of buoyancy set further aft, she will favour heavier helmsmen with lighter crews - often a typical Merlin crew combination. Wetted surface is about 1-3% less than Canterbury Tales, and hull draft is 16mm less. The waterline is finer to amidships, and wider towards the transom. Rob Holroyd has named his green machine "WICKED", and the owner, the builder and the designer now look forward to the launch (planned for end of April or even sooner) and subsequent sailing trials.

"WICKED" has been allocated MR sail number 3708. Registration of this Merlin means that I am the designer with (by far!) the longest career in the Merlin Rocket class - 43 years (1966 to 2009) - and counting! By comparison, Ian Proctor's designs spanned only 21 years, but they spanned a larger sail number range (2417 boats versus 1753). Phil Morrison's first design appeared in 1969, and his latest (hopefully not his last) in 1997. Ian Holt, the designer of nearly all the Merlins built in recent years, produced his first creation only 24 years ago.

And with "WICKED" Laurie Smart's career as a Merlin builder becomes the longest in the 63 year history of the Class - 37 years. I know I am biased, but in my opinion Laurie has produced a beautiful boat which is up there at the pinnacle of wooden dinghy craftsmanship. How many more Merlins like "WICKED" will be built, I wonder?

July 2009:

• A Hazardous Zero-9 is being started in ITALY.
• A version of the Zero-9 for lighter crews (unimaginatvely named Zero-9 LITE) has now been produced. The intended crew weight of this design matches that for the Canterbury Tales, but favours a helmsman who is a little heavier than the crew. A set of plans has already been sold to someone who intends to sail his boat on the Wannsee lakes in Berlin, GERMANY.

September 2009:

As the sailing season comes to a close, "WICKED" has not yet really been tested in competition. She appeared at Salcombe Week in July and with an inexperienced young crew beat about 20 of the standard Canterbury Tales designs (though more finished ahead of her!). Since then she has not been sailed due to Rob's other commitments. So for the Hazardous Zero-9 it is still "Case Unproven".

See photos of the building in progress, below. - click on the picture to see a larger version.

Photo copyright P Newton, Digital Images UK