Merlin vs other Deans

We've been asked recently what features Merlin had that most other Deans don't.

Here is Greg's reply

Safety gear

- AIS send and receive

- Raymarine lifetag (used by person on watch. If person falls overboard then the Raymarine system sets off an alarm and the chartplotter goes into man overboard mode tracking the route back to the overboard location)

- Sat phone with external aerial (used to get weather charts world wide and email communication when at sea. Much faster and more reliable than the SSB email service. For emergency communication.)

- Full Grab bag under skippers seat

- Backup fully integrated hydraulic autopilot electric pump. We just flick a switch to swap between the pumps which is good in a big sea to give them a break.

- See-me radar detector with alarm and a radar transponder function. (This picks up ships about 30NM away).

Deckgear

- Full Harken deckgear (standard fit out is not all Harken)

- Traveler cars for the genoa so that you can adjust the leech when powered up.

- Harken ball bearing sheaths in the top of the mast for the main and spinnaker halyard.  These sails go up and down a lot so reducing friction there made a lot of sense to me.

- Harken batt car system for the main sail.

- Starboard genoa sheet is lead to the port side where the steering position is and the electric winch. This makes single handed tacking possible and is easily controlled

- fully rigged for spinnaker sailing with safety trip.

- Mast rack is about 7 deg which is a lot less than the standard Dean. This makes sail handling easier.

- All ropes go back to the cockpit, so there are no winches on the mast. (makes tacking easier &, can pull someone up the mast using the electric winch at the steering position)

- Quality Spinlock jammers for all cockpit ropes.

- Mast is one size up from the standard enabling less spreaders and no forward jump stay. That with not having winches on the mast results in much easier tacking.

- Flex-o-fold 3 blade props. This gives at least an extra knot of boat speed. I could not sail the world with those hand brakes.

- Main and Genoa are made of carbon twaron laminate material where the strands were laid out based on computer designed stress lines. This has resulted in the sails having maintained exceptional shape and are about 30% lighter.

Electronics

- Top of the range Spectra watermaker. 60L per hour and the automatic version.

- 760w of solar panels 110v to a top quality solar regulator "Outback MX60" (this saves us hours of motor running charging time shown by the low engine hours of 960 each)

- LED lights throughout (saves massive amount of battery power)

- each motor has an extra 210amp Balmar alternator (reduces motor charging time)

- Full diagrams of the electrics of the boat

- Top quality Raymarine autopilot with compass and gyro.

- Separate fishfinder that is also a backup chartplotter.

- VHF radio controller at the skppers station.

- working speed log (we find this useful to work out the current, as the GPS speed doesn't tell us that).

Layout

- larger chart table that fits a chart

- larger saloon seat that fits more people.

- work desks in each hull for the kids to do schoolwork

- Lots of extra storage cupboards

Galley

- Galley up version (ever since this was introduced every subsequent purchaser chose galley up).

- Full size stove

- layout that maximizes the work and cupboard space

- large pot drawer

- 2 very efficient fridge / freezers 65L and 125L in addition to the standard fridge
- plate drying racks above sink which makes washing at sea easier

- extra taps at sink (normal fresh water, charcoal filtered fresh water and sea water tap)
 

Comfort

- extra large side windows that brings light into the cabins and a connection with the sea

- 8.5kg cloths washing machine and dryer. Plumbed into the engine heated hot water system for hot washes. Uses about 1 1/2 hours of water maker water and 35 amps of power so it is covered by the solar panels on a sunny day.

- Larger saloon seating that is raised to give a view of the horizon when seated.

- Inside and outside tables can be lowered to sleep on.

- More space than the Aero version, this is an Espace version

Extras
- 11,5ft AB aluminum dinghy with a 18HP motor (light to lift yet large so you stay much dryer when going ashore)
- Boom extension to enable dinghy or 18HP motor lifted with main halyard using it's electric winch.
- RST water saving fittings on most taps and showers.
- hands free outside shower.
- screens for outside area to keep bugs out and better privacy when in a marina.
- Two "eye" zip openings in the main forward looking screen, making it easy to open to let the cooling breeze in and to close when it rains.

General

- we have never handed the boat over for someone to charter (the 2006 boat is a charter boat) so we know what the boat has been through and that is has been cared for by ourselves.

- only about 960 hours on each motor

- main toilet is an electric one

- Paper manuals for most items on the boat

- Relevant spares

Why Merlin is different?

Merlin was built with a lot of cruising, sailing and racing thinking. Our boat builder cruised for 10 years with his family on a smaller boat. He knew what was important, what was practical, what works or doesn’t. Greg had to add his sailing touch, mainly on the deck.

So here are few of Merlin’s hidden wonders which make our life on board simple and enjoyable:

Pot drawer

It is not because you live on a boat that you should leave behind your love for cooking which implies pots, pans, a pressure cooker, baking trays and much more. All of these found a home on board in a very spacious large drawer on wheels.

A secret cellar

We have a long drawer under the saloon table where we store our good bottles of wine (limited number though). There they are lying flat, ageing slowly and easily accessible for sundowners.

Magic boxes

Because we bought everything new, we have the manuals for all the equipment, instruments and special gear installed on board. While cruising the expensive internet connection doesn’t allow for downloading the manual to find a solution to an electrical bug or a mechanical problem, so the box of manuals was great to have. Not always the most inspiring reading but worth keeping them in a dry and secure spot.

Bed ventilation

Foam mattresses on top of lockers or wooden boards are nearly the norm on boats. Usually this doesn’t allow much ventilation, which in the tropics could be prone to fungal surprises. Our mattresses in the two front cabins are on top of a slat base that allows a good air circulation and no moisture build up.

Tin shelf

Our “shop”, also called pantry by others, has an easy access (not in a locker under big cushions). Three shelves have the height for the tins; others have the height for big plastic boxes where we store our flour, pasta, rice etc. At the bottom of the shop, we have big open boxes for vegies like potatoes, onions etc. Simple and practical so I can easily ask the kids to go “shopping” for me.

Bad odours

Our main heads are electric, which proved to be a very valuable way of flushing especially with kids. We also have a powerful extractor fan which does some amazing magic, fundamental when you are 5 living in a small space!

Chart table

It is hard to find a proper chart table in a new boat. Electronic charts are a way of navigating but it is always nice to have a paper backup. Personally, I love plotting my position when I do a long crossing. It gives me the impression of going forward in a scenery which could look alike every day. Our chart table is a proper desk offering lots of working space but can also store many charts.

Drying rack

What do you do with your plates once they are cleaned? They could drip dry in your sink for a while annoying everybody with their knocking noise. Greg insisted on having a drying rack (did he know while building that he would end up doing most of the dishes?). I enjoy it every day too as it frees up the galley space.

Next our sailing wonders...

Downwind sailing on Merlin

Behan, a cruising friend of ours, started a discussion on downwind sailing sails. Check the Totem's blog for details.

There are lots of different downwind sailing options. Here is what we do on Merlin (NB: usually without the main!).

You can check Greg's short video of our symetrical spinnaker set up on Merlin. That works so well. We crossed most of the Pacific with this system because it is easy, efficient and safe.

With this set up, there is no gybing stress, no mainsail chaffing, no mainsail reefing stress, just the wind pushing us along and the autopilot having an easy time keeping the boat on track. The quick release clip on the one side is the key as the person on watch could de-power the boat from the cockpit in only few seconds, then getting it down behind the genoa with a sock is so easy. We can go about 60 deg either way with the spinnaker still flying properly.

We love using our spinnaker as often as we can.

Medical issues: how we got ready

“Did you have any storms” is the most common question we are asked about our trip. The second most famous is “Did you have any illness or accident?”. We didn’t have any storms or illnesses but we were prepared in case something happened. So let’s speak about our medical plan (I leave the weather side to Greg if one day he is inspired to write about our strategy to avoid storms).

Our medical box – or boxes as we have 3!

When we were getting ready for our adventure, I read few blogs and books and I tried to compile our list of all the tablets, pills, syrups, drops, sprays or bandages we would need…in case something would happen. I went to our GP with a 4 page long list of what seemed to me as compulsory medicines. Our GP came on board with his own travelling experiences and, even more important, knowing our medical past. We discussed my list which became smaller and smaller. In fact, we summarised our needs in four section: 1)ear-nose-throat-head –2) everything digestive/gastric – 3)skin and muscles -4)pain, stiches or other specials. As often as possible, we tried to have some medicines with a large spectrum of action and which – with the appropriate dosage (1/2 or 1/4 for the kids) could be used for everybody on board. 4 of us are allergic to penicillin so we have appropriate antibiotics for all of us, but otherwise, it is more or less normal medicines. One of our sailing friends in Cape Town had a pharmacist as a brother and he prepared everything for us, using generics as often as possible and checking the expiry dates as we wanted the latest as possible. At the time, it cost us around AU$ 1000. I packed everything in Ziploc bags in function of their action and I left clear notes in each bags identifying each medicine and what they were for. I then packed these bags in 3 big boxes again with a summary sheet on the lid. The 3 boxes are in a high locker in our cabin, so out of reach for the kids.

We have on board few medical dictionaries, especially the Merck and a French medical guide for offshore cruisers or racers (“Du guide de la medicine a distance” de J Y Chauve) which helps a lots when you need to give a diagnosis to the Sea Medical Center in Toulouse (France).

Medical insurance

We chose BUPA international as our medical private insurance as we wanted to have a hospital cover, just in case. This medical insurance represented a big part of our annual budget but we decided to have that kind of cover, especially with the kids. We also had a subscription with DAN International which is a diving insurance but works as a very good repatriation insurance and was costing only $400 per year.

We didn’t need any of these, but knowing we had them, in case of a very difficult or critical situation was reassuring. We didn’t have a dental cover and the only medical issues we had were in fact teeth problems!

Practice

Gregory and I updated our first aid skills and went on a 3 day course. However, I didn’t feel it was enough so I also completed a “Captain ship medical certificate” which was a week course and included a Friday night at the emergency unit in a busy hospital in Cape Town. There, I saw lots of blood, put in some drips and learnt that the adrenaline helps a lot in case of emergency.

On board

While you are cruising you are more careful with your daily moves and you know that you can only rely on yourself. Also while at sea we live in a nearly bug free environment. We used only 2 courses of antibiotics in 3 years (Victor had some high fever for more than 48h and Clea had what I thought was tonsillitis). We broke 3 toes – that could have been avoided easily, but we have these “trip trap chairs” where the feet can’t be seen and are just there waiting for bare feet to trip over them.

In a handy basket we have our 1^st aid small kit and the kids know themselves what they can use and for what. We used some antibiotic cream for every little cut we had as it can take a while at sea to heal properly (this is for us THE cream to have). We used some paracetamol in a normal quantity and some arnica cream for bruises. We had some antihistaminic cream for these very itchy bites. There is also in this basket a special gel for burns, I am prone to these little burns, especially when I take a cake out of the oven.

All in all, we didn’t use much of what we had, but we planned a lot. We felt we were geared properly and we didn’t miss anything special. Our medical insurance was costing a lot but was offering us the peace of mind we wanted.

Virtual tour?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX6-gammuSE