After nearly 2 months of refurbishing the Merit, and rebuilding a new trailer to fit it, the weather went unseasonably downhill about the day after it was ready for a test sail. but then, finally, we got a brief break on the same day as no other obligations and went for it. still not fully set up for any extended stays on the water, so we sailed two days in a row and pulled out at the end of each day. The first success was that it tows like a dream. hardly know it was there at all. the second trailer success is that it launches and loads just as well as it tows. floats off the trailer in slightly less water than our Macgregor 25 in fact. the lake is way down, and barely launch-able for the Mac, so I was REAL happy to be able to get the Merit floating so easily.
As to the boat itself: set up took about 30 minutes and went smoothly as well. the side stays are in line with the base of the mast, so no baby stays required on the mast, and I just use a light rope tied to each side of the toe rail, as a precaution, to support the jin pole. the 3hp johnson 2 cycle is light enough that it can stay on the transom mount during the tow, so raise the mast and stick the rudder on and you're pretty much ready to go. the main sail stays on the boom in the cockpit, so 2 minutes and thats mounted and ready also.
The first day we got to the lake early enough to get the very tail end of the typical morning breeze. it was immediately apparent at just how light on it's feet the Merit really is. even with a barely perceptible breeze we were ghosting along at 1.5 - 2 kts. under main sail and 95 Jib! After that we motored a bit and once again I was struck by how far the boat would "coast" after shutting the motor down. very slippery indeed!
We did get another brief bit of 2 kt sailing in as the sun was getting low, but still not enough to really see what she would do in a proper breeze, so we agreed we needed to come back the next day, after Jennifers Dr appointment, for another try.
The second day we arrived around 11:00 am to a lake of glass. the sun was out and in the low 70s, so we just enjoyed floating around, napping and eating
. wile Jen did her sewing down below I did take my loos gauge topside, adjusted the side stays, and played with some rigging. by 4:00 we were getting a little worried it was going to be a bust again for sailing, but two more boats came out of the marina to join us in staring at the cove where afternoon winds typically sprout from first. I think the extra karma power finally did the trick and it did slowly build to 8-10 Kts. Once again I was struck at just how light and responsive the Merit feels, even in the lightest of breeze. we had sails up and were sailing well before the other two even raised sails. Even after the other two raised sails the Merit would easily walk away from them both (popular 22 and 25 foot boats). we had to bail out by 5:00 in order to get packed up and on the road before dark, but before we left, and with an estimated 8-10 kts true wind, we hit 5.4 kts and it felt like with a bit more wind there was no end in sight. I was complaining about the interference between the tiller and my butt during tacking, due to the mid boom sheeting traveler, but even so we were only loosing 1-1.5 Kts during each tack. the energy retention is amazing. with a smaller butt, or a shorter tiller (the eventual solution I suspect) even this will no doubt get better.
I have a short list of little things that need improvement or adjustment to make our sailing more enjoyable on it, but the Merit 22 is still far and away the most enjoyable sailing experience I've had in the 5+ years of owning 5-6 different sailboats. Even the wife loves it, so that's a huge plus also . she commented several times at how roomy it is, compared to our Mac 25, but I had to keep pointing out that the Mac also has a built in galley, large built in cooler, huge table, etc. the Merit cabin is very well laid out, and extremely well designed as far at utilization of available space, but 22 feet is still only 22 feet . I purchased this boat with the idea in mind of refurbishing it, sailing and enjoying it for a wile and re-selling to recoup. it's what I do. I'm thinking it may take much longer than expected to complete the testing and enjoying phase however .
As to the boat itself: set up took about 30 minutes and went smoothly as well. the side stays are in line with the base of the mast, so no baby stays required on the mast, and I just use a light rope tied to each side of the toe rail, as a precaution, to support the jin pole. the 3hp johnson 2 cycle is light enough that it can stay on the transom mount during the tow, so raise the mast and stick the rudder on and you're pretty much ready to go. the main sail stays on the boom in the cockpit, so 2 minutes and thats mounted and ready also.
The first day we got to the lake early enough to get the very tail end of the typical morning breeze. it was immediately apparent at just how light on it's feet the Merit really is. even with a barely perceptible breeze we were ghosting along at 1.5 - 2 kts. under main sail and 95 Jib! After that we motored a bit and once again I was struck by how far the boat would "coast" after shutting the motor down. very slippery indeed!
We did get another brief bit of 2 kt sailing in as the sun was getting low, but still not enough to really see what she would do in a proper breeze, so we agreed we needed to come back the next day, after Jennifers Dr appointment, for another try.
The second day we arrived around 11:00 am to a lake of glass. the sun was out and in the low 70s, so we just enjoyed floating around, napping and eating
. wile Jen did her sewing down below I did take my loos gauge topside, adjusted the side stays, and played with some rigging. by 4:00 we were getting a little worried it was going to be a bust again for sailing, but two more boats came out of the marina to join us in staring at the cove where afternoon winds typically sprout from first. I think the extra karma power finally did the trick and it did slowly build to 8-10 Kts. Once again I was struck at just how light and responsive the Merit feels, even in the lightest of breeze. we had sails up and were sailing well before the other two even raised sails. Even after the other two raised sails the Merit would easily walk away from them both (popular 22 and 25 foot boats). we had to bail out by 5:00 in order to get packed up and on the road before dark, but before we left, and with an estimated 8-10 kts true wind, we hit 5.4 kts and it felt like with a bit more wind there was no end in sight. I was complaining about the interference between the tiller and my butt during tacking, due to the mid boom sheeting traveler, but even so we were only loosing 1-1.5 Kts during each tack. the energy retention is amazing. with a smaller butt, or a shorter tiller (the eventual solution I suspect) even this will no doubt get better.I have a short list of little things that need improvement or adjustment to make our sailing more enjoyable on it, but the Merit 22 is still far and away the most enjoyable sailing experience I've had in the 5+ years of owning 5-6 different sailboats. Even the wife loves it, so that's a huge plus also
. she commented several times at how roomy it is, compared to our Mac 25, but I had to keep pointing out that the Mac also has a built in galley, large built in cooler, huge table, etc. the Merit cabin is very well laid out, and extremely well designed as far at utilization of available space, but 22 feet is still only 22 feet . I purchased this boat with the idea in mind of refurbishing it, sailing and enjoying it for a wile and re-selling to recoup. it's what I do. I'm thinking it may take much longer than expected to complete the testing and enjoying phase however .
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