The Merlin Rocket is a dinghy sailed in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It is an active class, now with over 3700 boats built. The boat designed around a box rule, meaning that all class boats need to be within a certain length and width, but can be any shape. This allows for quick modernization of the class. The great advantage to this is quick adoption to new technology and the ability to change a boat to a person's weight and ability. Although the rules allow for many sail plans, many modern Rockets have similar sails. Most have a high

batten A batten is most commonly a strip of solid material, historically wood but can also be of plastic, metal, or fiberglass. Battens are variously used in construction, sailing, and other fields. In the lighting industry, battens refer to linea ...

allowing for a large roach in the sail. Although the rules are open, they are not unlimited. Use of a

Trapeze A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or flying, an ...

is forbidden in this class. When competing in a mixed fleet, the Merlin Rocket uses a

Portsmouth Yardstick The Portsmouth Yardstick (PY) or Portsmouth handicap scheme is a term used for a number of related systems of empirical handicapping used primarily in small sailboat racing. The handicap is applied to the time taken to sail any course, and the han ...

handicap of 1002 in the RYA scheme and 77.9 in the

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scheme.

History

The 'Merlin Rocket class' was created by the merger of two previously separate classes. The 'Merlin' was originally designed in 1945/6 by Jack Holt as a result of discussions among and commissioning by a syndicate of members, including Holt, of Ranelagh Sailing Club, on the Thames in London. The prototype Merlin #1, named Kate after the last few letters in the word 'syndicate', continues to be sailed at Ranelagh Sailing Club. The second Merlin and first production boat is now in the collection of the

National Maritime Museum Cornwall The National Maritime Museum, Cornwall is located in a harbourside building at Falmouth in Cornwall, England. The building was designed by architect M. J. Long, following an architectural design competition managed by RIBA Competitions. The ...

having been presented to the museum by

Beecher Moore Beecher Moore (16 September 1908 – 10 November 1996) was a highly influential figure in the development of dinghy sailing in the United Kingdom after the Second World War. He worked for many years with Jack Holt who designed numerous dinghie ...

, a sailing and business partner of Jack Holt and another member of the original commissioning syndicate. The 'Rocket' class was formed in 1949 when a group of Tynemouth sailors commissioned Wyche & Coppock of Nottingham, also known for their building of the Norfolk Punt, to design a half deck 14 ft. dinghy which had more sail area, narrower decks and was lighter than the Merlin. After much debate the two classes merged in April, 1951 to form the 'Merlin Rocket Class'.

References

External links

Official Class Page
{{Sailing dinghies and skiffs Dinghies Development sailing classes Boats designed by Ian Proctor Boats designed by Jack Holt