Merit 22 owners
- Thread starter RussC
- Start date
I don't have my boat here but I don't recall any hole in the liner near the keel. I'm assuming the not so uncommon damage caused by a hard grounding that cracks the fiberglass where the keel trunk meets the hull proper. it's usually visible by crawling under the boat and feeling around the trunk area. mostly in the front and rear of the keel.
Happy to say I brought home my new/old 1984 Merit 22 today. I'm the third owner and the sellers included a paper copy of the manual which I am happy to share with you. I'm the happy guy on the right, Max is still checking the bottom paint. Registration, insurance and the name changing ceremony soon. Then we sail!
Merit 22 manual
Fair winds!
Merit 22 manual
Fair winds!
@Crazy Dave Condon - You sure had me scratching my head on this one - but I see I posted that 2 years ago.
I almost did this for the Aloha 34 as I came very close to buying one a few years prior to that posting. At that timer, I realized a lot of the information available through the Yahoo groups was in serious danger of getting lost. I began amassing all that available data but ended up not buying that boat. I just checked, I do still have all that data. So if anyone also wants to start an Aloha 34 group, I have a huge data set on those boats.
@Jnovva - if you are interested you should ask @dlochner how to go about setting up a group for this boat.
As I alluded to above dealing with the Aloha 34, all the information in the Yahoo group may be difficult to get - as time passes, it will get harder and harder. Regarding the Aloha, I was able to find the administrator of the group who had a CD filled with all the information that group had and was able to send me a copy. In your case, if you wanted to do something similar, there would be a lot of leg work. But you could just set the group up and start from scratch.
dj
I would love to see a Merit owner group as a permanent part of SailboatOwners. As mentioned years ago, between the 22 and 25 I think it would have enough support to be of value. I'm still a "four-year apprentice" to all things sailing, thank you Covid. Blue Dream is my second boat after I sold my Santana 21 looking for a similar but newer craft. I already have a ton of questions to ask other Merit owners but I'm trying to discover answers on my own for the most part and not flood this post with dopey questions.
I don't know if I'm allowed yet to message people directly so I'll just ask here. How about it, @dlochner ? How do we go about starting up a Merit Owner's group?
Thank you all.
I don't know if I'm allowed yet to message people directly so I'll just ask here. How about it, @dlochner ? How do we go about starting up a Merit Owner's group?
Thank you all.
thanks for posting the manual! It answered some questions we had about our merit. it is nice to have a sense of what came with the boat and what was probably a modification.
Messing around with Merits!
After my brother and I survived our shakedown run, I began researching improvements to sail handling. I'm still pretty new at all of this but my previous boat, a '72 Santana 21 had a mid-cockpit mainsheet that I grew accustomed to.
I bought a longer traveler on daBay I plan to mount about mid-cockpit. I've been advised to reinforce the boom and am working on ideas for that. I also found a heavier bail. This drawing shows the shortened boom I'm thinking about.
BTW, I heard back from Dave about a Merit Owner's Forum. He researched interest in the Merit line and his opinion was it wouldn't draw enough support from owner's and previous owners to warrant its own forum. He was gracious, as you would expect from a Forum Admin.
Easy enough to make the thread the next best thing, eh?
After my brother and I survived our shakedown run, I began researching improvements to sail handling. I'm still pretty new at all of this but my previous boat, a '72 Santana 21 had a mid-cockpit mainsheet that I grew accustomed to.
I bought a longer traveler on daBay I plan to mount about mid-cockpit. I've been advised to reinforce the boom and am working on ideas for that. I also found a heavier bail. This drawing shows the shortened boom I'm thinking about.
BTW, I heard back from Dave about a Merit Owner's Forum. He researched interest in the Merit line and his opinion was it wouldn't draw enough support from owner's and previous owners to warrant its own forum. He was gracious, as you would expect from a Forum Admin.
Easy enough to make the thread the next best thing, eh?
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I purchased Sweet Jane in early September of this year, fixed a few safety issues and put her in the water a week later.
My brother and I took her out for a shakedown run on a 3-4kt day knowing that the wind should pick up in the afternoon.
Sure enough, around 3 pm I could see clouds gathering over the South end of the lake so I reefed the main and TRIED to draw in the genoa on its CDI roller furler and it jammed hard. Soon enough it was a constant 15kts gusting to 30. With every blast she would try to point up even though we were heading downwind trying to get back to the marina. Short story is we got blown hard because it never occurred to me to just DROP the genoa and we attempted to furl it by hand and just hang on. First time sailing with a roller furler, I should have known to fully test things out before committing. Another lesson learned in the second year of my sailing apprenticeship. Turns out that the PO installed a snap shackle with a swivel to tie the furler to the stem fitting. Doh.
My brother and I took her out for a shakedown run on a 3-4kt day knowing that the wind should pick up in the afternoon.
Sure enough, around 3 pm I could see clouds gathering over the South end of the lake so I reefed the main and TRIED to draw in the genoa on its CDI roller furler and it jammed hard. Soon enough it was a constant 15kts gusting to 30. With every blast she would try to point up even though we were heading downwind trying to get back to the marina. Short story is we got blown hard because it never occurred to me to just DROP the genoa and we attempted to furl it by hand and just hang on. First time sailing with a roller furler, I should have known to fully test things out before committing. Another lesson learned in the second year of my sailing apprenticeship. Turns out that the PO installed a snap shackle with a swivel to tie the furler to the stem fitting. Doh.
@Jnovva You are alive to tell the story - your boat is not broken and is getting better... sounds like a win to me...
dj
Hi Jeff, can you post a photo of the hole? Sounds like they were gaining access to mount a transponder? You should see lots of foam as I believe that whole area under the v berth is foamed.
I put a screw out deck plate in that position, forward of the keel, in my Merit 22 for inspection. There was another one near the floor in the aft port settee seat. Both are useful for sponging any water that is trapped by the cabin liner.
The only Merit 22 group I know of is located on Yahoo groups, which has announced it will be basicly fading into the sunset at the end of the year. the loss of Yahoo groups itself is no big loss, as far as I'm concerned, but the loss of the Merit content is sad. the owner of the Merit site has delt with the typical online abuse for so many years that he doesn't have the energy left to start up a new site somewhere else. he's anxious and willing to transfer the content to someone else, should they step forward, however.
I've not seen another Merit 22 owner besides me on this SBO site, but surely some do exist?.... anyone?? ...hello,.. hello
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Here is my 1983 Merit 22 (Pressure Drop) My buddy helped me find it. Turns out he sold it new in 1983 to a lake day sailor when he was a dealer in Lake Tahoe. An ocean day sailor owned it in Norwalk for a few years. I bought it and have been cleaning it and the trailer up. Looking for advice.
Wiring: I bought an 8 gang switch and 4x16 mast wire with blade fuses but am having trouble getting the crappy old household wires out. The hatch gasket is leaking as are various places on the chine seal. Not sure if it can be resealed properly without taking the deck off the hull. Keel Winch: I am looking for cord to replace the winch cord. Mine has a hand crank with 5/16 poly rope that only uses 2 of the 3 block pulleys. I would like to replace it with dyneema or at least something longer to use the third pulley. Interested in pulley / cord ideas. Finish: I bought a polisher and am looking for the right product to restore the shine. I am also looking for advice on restoring or re-doing the black accent paint and mast paint - I am thinking sponge roller enamel paint. Also considering foam decking and other interior cleanup ideas. Mast raise: I am also looking for good ideas for single-hand mast raising on the water or trailer. Leak: I have a slow leak in the rear access area letting in about a quart a week that I cannot find to fix. I bought it with cracks in the internal hull near the at the corner of the rear right storage compartment and next to the trunk. I suspect there are microcracks in the trunk. I cannot see cracks by looking up from below or down from above. It looks like you have to completely disassemble the hull to access wherever cracks may be. Anchoring: I do not understand why this boat spins and rocks so much at anchor and on a side tie. She moves WAY more than all the surrounding boats. I don't get it. She's a good boat but I have all kinds of questions as I try to restore her to glory. I would love to find more Merit owners to share experience or meet up in the San Diego area.
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I love that plexi upgrade and am interested in details. I would like to upgrade my slider as well. Maybe you have done that. As for the A frame mast stepping system, I have been using a winch on the mast to crank the jib halyard through the masthead block to the bow. I have been putting the halyard on my shoulder and using that as my A-frame support - maybe not the best system, but it has been working with a 2 man crew member to help lift the mast. I will toy around. your stepping system seems more complicated, but may offer more stability. It's interesting, though I would like to use my mast winch so I can better keep the mast centered while raising and lowering.