Merit 22 owners

[emh56]

I'm glad to see this site is still active! I was wondering if anyone knew what tension the shrouds, forestay and backstay should be? I have a Loos gage that came with our boat. We were delayed in getting the boat in the water last season but it should be ready soon. This is the first time I've been responsible for the rigging so any advice would be welcome. We got the mast up, the new main, jib halyards and the boom and topping lift. The motor goes on today!

 

[dLj]

The tension is boat independent. It depends upon the diameter of the rigging being used. It's a function of the rigging - not the boat.

dj

 

[emh56]

Thanks that makes sense

 

[RussC]

I'll never forget the owners manual I once saw, translated from Japanese, that literally said: "tighten until tight enough", regarding a bolt torque. the same logic kind of applies here however. once you get out sailing watch your lee shrouds once healed over 10-15*. you will want to see slight slackening but not limp. adjust from there "until tight enough" .

 

[Drinky Crow]

I was once interested in Merit 25's and read somewheres that to make those boats fast they wound up the turnbuckles so's the wire tension was beyond catagory.

Found this...

Tuning a Merit 22

Does anyone have any tuning tips or guide for a Merit 22? I can't find anything online, the old Yahoo group is dead. The best I found is a tuning guide for a Merit 25 here: http://www.epsails.com/Merit25-Tune.htm I will not be racing this boat, so I'm not worried about any class rules, I just...

forums.sailinganarchy.com

 

[emh56]

We launched our Merit 22 for the first time today (after 2 years of work). The boat was last sailed in 2006. We only motored to make sure the new electric motor was working, but it trailered and launched easily. We will get the sails up (hopefully) this week. So far we are really happy with it

 

[jefstr]

Hello Merit owners
A friend gave me his Merit 22 and I have been having fun working on it and hope to get it into the water mid June 24'. I have attached a photo of somthing that came with the boat. I have no idea what it is nor can my friend remember. Any ideas.

 

[Drinky Crow]

That's a Boomkicker All the cool kids have one.
Though yours looks old enough to be a precursor or prototype or some such thing.

 

[jefstr]

Thanks for the quick answer.

 

[jefstr]

I'm new to sailing and hoping to get my Merit 22 in the water this W, Th or F. What would be the min. wind speeds for the M22?

 

[RussC]

I'm new to sailing and hoping to get my Merit 22 in the water this W, Th or F. What would be the min. wind speeds for the M22?

The M22 is a great light air boat but you won't learn much at less than 5 kt or so.

 

[fishingbobber]

We launched our Merit 22 for the first time today (after 2 years of work). The boat was last sailed in 2006. We only motored to make sure the new electric motor was working, but it trailered and launched easily. We will get the sails up (hopefully) this week. So far we are really happy with it

I just got a Merit 22, I was wondering what size motor you have on it.

 

[emh56]

I just got a Merit 22, I was wondering what size motor you have on it.

Your question is timely. We got a 5hp (equivalent) Elco electric motor. We are finding the 5hp to be underpowered for our conditions. We keep our boat on a dock on a marina that is about a mile down a tributary of the Hudson River, so we have a bit of a hike to get to the Hudson to sail. The Hudson also has strong tidal currents (up to 2-3 knots). It moves the boat, but slowly (if we get it up to 3 k/hr we are flying and we only do that under good conditions) and under challenging conditions we don't have a lot of power.

We are seriously thinking about upgrading to a 9hp and that is what a lot of the boats that are our size on the Hudson have. We went with the 5hp because of battery cost/weight and the positive is we have a 100ah lithium battery that weighs 40 lbs and holds enough charge for several days of sailing with a lot of motor use. If you are only using the motor to get out of a marina and aren't fighting tides a 5 hp motor is probably fine, and from a battery perspective (if you are considering electric), much more economical. But if you will be motoring a distance to get from point A to point B and don't want it to take forever, or need to fight tides and currents you probably want something more.

That said we do like the electric motor a lot. Easy to start, not heavy, reliable, and quiet.

 

[emh56]

My better advice would be to learn from our mistake and look around the marina at comparable boats 20'-25' and see what they have for outboards since the amount of power you need is somewhat location dependent.

 

[fishingbobber]

Your question is timely. We got a 5hp (equivalent) Elco electric motor. We are finding the 5hp to be underpowered for our conditions. We keep our boat on a dock on a marina that is about a mile down a tributary of the Hudson River, so we have a bit of a hike to get to the Hudson to sail. The Hudson also has strong tidal currents (up to 2-3 knots). It moves the boat, but slowly (if we get it up to 3 k/hr we are flying and we only do that under good conditions) and under challenging conditions we don't have a lot of power.

We are seriously thinking about upgrading to a 9hp and that is what a lot of the boats that are our size on the Hudson have. We went with the 5hp because of battery cost/weight and the positive is we have a 100ah lithium battery that weighs 40 lbs and holds enough charge for several days of sailing with a lot of motor use. If you are only using the motor to get out of a marina and aren't fighting tides a 5 hp motor is probably fine, and from a battery perspective (if you are considering electric), much more economical. But if you will be motoring a distance to get from point A to point B and don't want it to take forever, or need to fight tides and currents you probably want something more.

That said we do like the electric motor a lot. Easy to start, not heavy, reliable, and quiet.

Thank you. I was looking at electric , because in lake Tahoe you must be inspected quite a bit for invasive species $115 ,but boats with air-cooled engines and electric motors still must be inspected, but it's free. I got ,almost free, two new 24 v 55lb thrust trolling motors , I thought I might try them out in Donner lake ,in Truckee CA. . .. Also some mention here or somewhere else on the internet ,about a red Merit 22 that would race. Mine is painted Red , maybe awlgrip and the person who sold it to me said the previous owner used to race it. .. Further more I don't know how old the rigging is, so at Grangers, i picked up three cans to do the MAGNAFLUX, procedure , but another brand, $36 out the door.

 

[fishingbobber]

Done!

I also have a recently bought a Merit 22, when you have time could send me a PDF of the manual.. Fishingbobber@gmail.com . Thank you Bob.

 

[Jnovva]

So glad that this group is active! I just sold my old Santana 21 and am negotiating with the owner on a nice Merit 22.
I hope I hope I hope!

 

[jefstr]

I was given a M22' and when the guy gave it to me he thought he remembered that there was a problem around the keel. Well, I just got it in the water on Friday and everything seemed fine. I went out today (Monday) and there was about 15 to 20 gallons of water in the cabin. I siphoined it out and searched for the leak. My guess is the previous owner ran the keel into something and damaged the boat around the keel. The damage was not noticeable when the boat was on the trailer. Again, my guess is the way to fix it is to remove the keel and glass the crack. I am new to sailing and no nothing about any of this. Does anyone have any suggestions? Am I thinking about this the right way?

 

[RussC]

I was given a M22' and when the guy gave it to me he thought he remembered that there was a problem around the keel. Well, I just got it in the water on Friday and everything seemed fine. I went out today (Monday) and there was about 15 to 20 gallons of water in the cabin. I siphoined it out and searched for the leak. My guess is the previous owner ran the keel into something and damaged the boat around the keel. The damage was not noticeable when the boat was on the trailer. Again, my guess is the way to fix it is to remove the keel and glass the crack. I am new to sailing and no nothing about any of this. Does anyone have any suggestions? Am I thinking about this the right way?

I saw some photos online several years ago where a guy had repaired similar damage on his M22. he cut and removed the inner liner around the keel trunk to gain access to the hull itself on the inside, ground out the damage, and re-glassed the area. I don't recall if he also did the same on the exterior of the hull but I imagine he did. no need to remove the keel for this repair, and the inner liner was cut out carefully so it could be glassed back in place after the repair.

 

[jefstr]

Hey Russ, Thanks
That is a very interesting way to fix the problem. Infact it is probably something I can fix. Let me ask you, Inside the cabin, at floor level at the front of the keel there is a hole in the fiberglass. It is about 4 inchs in diameter. I cannot tell if it was original with the boat or someone pit it there. Do you know?
That is where the water is coming from.