Flying out on British Airways to Istanbul to report at the 470 European Championship, I found myself seated next to none other than Stuart Bithell. Stuart is one of the rising stars in Skandia Team GBR, having won a silver medal at last year’s 470 Worlds just days after he’d formed a new partnership with 470 helm Luke Patience. In the past year they’ve notched up quite a few more medals at major events, and were unlucky to miss the podium at this year’s Worlds.

They had just moved into the lead of this year’s Worlds at a hyper-windy and super-wavy regatta in Holland, and were lying second in the penultimate fleet race when their rudder peeled off the back of the boat. They failed to finish that race and missed the next one too, yet still managed to finish 8th overall. A class act.

Anyway, back to Stuart, who in addition to being one of the most talented 470 crews has also recently won the Merlin Nationals from the back of the boat. Using a borrowed Winder boat from a friend, xxx, at home club Hollingsworth Lake, Stuart and crew Christian Burrel powered their way to a famous victory at a windy week in Penzance. Even if hiking is not what Stuart does for his day job, clearly all that aerobic work, which the Skandia Team GBR athletes have to do as a part of their day job, can’t have hurt his performance in the Merlin.

“My favourite boat,” says Stuart, who says he learned his trade in the Merlin Rocket and has no plans to give it up any time soon. So advanced is the performance of the modern Merlin that Stuart reckons that in anything up to 15 knots the Merlin would have the legs on a 470, upwind and downwind.

Aside from Stuart’s week, I asked after my old mate Richard Parslow, who had been racing a brand new Merlin with his old erstwhile helmsman Jon Turner. Jon had been busy the past few months designing and building a completely new take on the Merlin, but had only launched the boat with days to spare before the championships.

Stuart reckoned that in terms of Jon and Richard’s first mark roundings they might well have been championship winners, and says there were a number of times when they looked like the fastest boat on the course. But a lack of practice along with some minor gear failure put paid to their hopes of securing a good result overall.

A couple of days later I managed to get on a Skype call with Jon and Richard to find out more about the campaign and the boat. This duo dominated Merlin racing in the 80s, as well as in a number of other classes. Richard won the Fireball Worlds crewing for Kim Slater, only to lose the title the following year to Jon, crewing Phil Morrison.  Jon also won numerous International 14 regattas including the POW Cup and the Worlds, when he was crewed by Zeb Elliott. I used to race Jon in the 14 in the early 90s but hadn’t seen him for years. The reason being, as I discovered, that Jon hasn’t actually raced competitively for 14 years. Fast closing on 60 years old, and with Richard just over 50, Jon both had quite a bit of renovation and repair to perform on minds and bodyies if he was going they were to give the Merlin fleet a good run for its money.

Aside from the gear failure, Jon said it was lack of match fitness that let him them down. “Doing all the things you do naturally when you’re racing regularly - looking around the course, watching the fleet, the gusts, the waves, keeping the boat driving fast, adjusting settings - I noticed how much slower I was at doing all these things,” he said. “It’s going to take a while longer for that to come back before it feels natural again.”

However much Jon feels he might have slowed down as a sailor, and I’m sure that given more time he would rectify that, it seems his feel and understanding for what makes a boat go fast hasn’t deserted him. Jon was responsible for drawing extensive modifications to the Ian Holt's Canterbury Tales design which; and his version has remained the dominant hull shape ever since.

Canterbury Tales first emerged in 1988, and Jon was surprised that no one had moved things on since then it has not yet been superseded. “When I was approached about designing and building a new Merlin, I tried to imagine what would have happened in the intervening years if the same pace of development had continued in the class that used to exist 30 or 40 years ago,” he said. “A lot has changed with hi-tech materials and construction techniques, and ideas about sailing generally, over the past 22 years.”

Where the tendency has been to reduce the size of the planking on the clinker hull shape of the Merlin, Jon decided to go in the other direction, moving away from the standard 6mm width to 11.25mm since he believes the planks assist with dynamic lift, and going to wider planks also created a way of reducing the rise of floor measurement of the hull, thereby creating a slimmer profile at waterline.
 
Jon extended the maximum beam of the hull from the crew’s upwind hiking position to the transom, whereas most Merlins tend to taper to a thinner narrower beam further aft. “When the Canterbury Tales mould was taken in the 80s, and it was taken from a boat built in timber, we didn’t feel we could maintain the integrity of the boat to the transom using the materials that were available at the time. But now we’re using materials like carbon fibre, it’s much easier to make a boat that’s stiffer and stronger. Also, the modern Merlin has a bigger spinnaker and a longer pole which are fantastic for downwind efficiency, and it’s possible to drive the boat much harder on a reach - more like a Fireball or a B14 - so you need the extra righting moment to make the best use of that power.”

The new boat design, called "Genii" by the way, also incorporates a completely new implementation of back an aft tank. This provides reserve buoyancy in place of the unsightly buoyancy bags that are strapped into the back of most Merlins, but Jon says this improves the torsional strength of the aft section of the hull and provides more room and power for the helmsman. 

Jon He believes that not only is the boat stiffer and faster, it’s also a lot safer. “The aft tank has made makes the boat Genii float higher after a capsize, although fortunately we didn’t take the opportunity to test it that during the regatta!” he says laughs.  “When you bring a Merlin upright after a capsize, the stern is normally only two or three inches above the surface, with the bow sitting clear of the water. Buoyancy bags are under a lot of strain at this point, and it’s not unusual for them to break free of the boat.  "With traditional buoyancy bags, Merlins float very low in the water after a capsize.  This means that Not just that, the whole boat, rig and fittings are all under maximum extreme load when the boat is so waterlogged.  By contrast the Genii floats high and carries less water, so we think the back tank, will mean you’re less likely to damage your kit.  And you clear empty the boat of water much quicker, which means it’s safer and gets you back into the race sooner too.”

The foils are higher aspect and thinner than any others in the fleet, the centreboard being about a foot longer than standard. The rig is also radically different in a number of areas.  In conjunction with Ben McGrane and Graeme Willcox at Seldén, Jon designed a new carbon mast to take advantage of their sophisticated manufacturing.  This has produced a completely new rig that exploits all the advantages of the latest materials and construction techniques, rather than merely replicating the behaviour of aluminium masts. 

The mainsail luff is 6 inches taller longer than standard, which means the boom has had to foot length is reduced accordingly, resulting in a slight loss of overall sail area resulting in a more efficient high-aspect sail. However Furthermore, the jib attachment tack has been moved right forward to the bow, rather than sitting aft of the spinnaker chute, so there is less overlap between main and jib but a greater presentation of sail area to the wind and better aerodynamic efficiency, according to Jon’s theory.

The mast sits 50mm further aft compared with standard, lower shrouds have been dispensed with in favour of a new mast support arrangement, called Jon's new "Delta", which incorporates the functions of the vang and mast chocks bend control into one neat system. And the shrouds are led straight to the forward knee/tank rather than down through the side deck, which not only makes it easier for the crew to sit forward in light winds but keeps the rig tension more in balance gives the mast more support as the mast rakes fore and aft through different wind conditions as you rake aft to depower.

In short, there is no part of the Merlin that Jon has left untouched. If the boat does live up to its early promise and prove a step change in performance, it will be hard to discern which of Jon’s many innovations have been is the most successful. This is a completely different package from anything on the market, and if my experience of sailing a Jon Turner-built International 14 is anything to go by, it will work beautifully. And be very fast.

There are few people who have Jon's understanding of boats and rigs, although a name that does spring to mind is Jo Richards. You may recall the Dead Cat Bounce National 12 design, which Jo used to such devastating effect a year or so ago, after having barely raced the class 12 for 30 years. Jo and Jon have quite a lot in common, having both Olympic campaigned the Flying Dutchman in the 80s, which Jon used to introduce the boat that introducing the wider sailing world to the joy of mast rake.

It has taken two freethinking old timers to come back in and create a revolution within these two development classes. The impact of the Dead Cat Bounce was immediate, winning the Burton Cup and Burton Week at its first attempt. The Genii is out of the bottle, although we’ve not yet seen the real magic. Jon being the perfectionist that he is, though, it’s probably only a matter of time before the Genii shows her true colours.

Flying out on British Airways to Istanbul to report at the 470 European Championship, I found myself seated next to none other than Stuart Bithell. Stuart is one of the rising stars in Skandia Team GBR, having won a silver medal at last year’s 470 Worlds just days after he’d formed a new partnership with 470 helm Luke Patience. In the past year they’ve notched up quite a few more medals at major events, and were unlucky to miss the podium at this year’s Worlds.

They had just moved into the lead of this year’s Worlds at a hyper-windy and super-wavy regatta in Holland, and were lying second in the penultimate fleet race when their rudder peeled off the back of the boat. They failed to finish that race and missed the next one too, yet still managed to finish 8th overall. A class act.

Anyway, back to Stuart, who in addition to being one of the most talented 470 crews has also recently won the Merlin Nationals from the back of the boat. Using a borrowed Winder boat from a friend, xxx, at home club Hollingsworth Lake, Stuart and crew Christian Burrel powered their way to a famous victory at a windy week in Penzance. Even if hiking is not what Stuart does for his day job, clearly all that aerobic work, which the Skandia Team GBR athletes have to do as a part of their day job, can’t have hurt his performance in the Merlin.

“My favourite boat,” says Stuart, who says he learned his trade in the Merlin Rocket and has no plans to give it up any time soon. So advanced is the performance of the modern Merlin that Stuart reckons that in anything up to 15 knots the Merlin would have the legs on a 470, upwind and downwind.

Aside from Stuart’s week, I asked after my old mate Richard Parslow, who had been racing a brand new Merlin with his old helmsman Jon Turner. Jon had been busy the past few months designing and building a completely new take on the Merlin, but had only launched the boat with days to spare before the championships.

Stuart reckoned that in terms of Jon and Richard’s first mark roundings they might well have been championship winners, and says there were a number of times when they looked like the fastest boat on the course. But a lack of practice along with some minor gear failure put paid to their hopes of securing a good result overall.

A couple of days later I managed to get on a Skype call with Jon and Richard to find out more about the campaign and the boat. This duo dominated Merlin racing in the 80s, as well as in a number of other classes. Richard won the Fireball Worlds crewing for Phil Morrison and Jon won numerous International 14 regattas including the Worlds, when he was crewed by Zeb Elliott. I used to race Jon in the 14 in the early 90s but hadn’t seen him for years. The reason being, as I discovered, that Jon hasn’t actually raced competitively for 14 years. Fast closing on 60 years old, and with Richard just over 50, Jon had quite a bit of renovation and repair to perform on mind and body if he was going to give the Merlin fleet a good run for its money.

Aside from the gear failure, Jon said it was lack of match fitness that let him down. “Doing all the things you do naturally when you’re racing regularly - looking around the course, watching the fleet, the gusts, the waves, keeping the boat driving fast, adjusting settings - I noticed how much slower I was at doing all these things,” he said. “It’s going to take a while longer for that to come back before it feels natural again.”

However much Jon feels he might have slowed down as a sailor, and I’m sure that given more time he would rectify that, it seems his feel and understanding for what makes a boat go fast hasn’t deserted him. Jon was responsible for drawing the Canterbury Tales design which has remained the dominant hull shape ever since.

Canterbury Tales first emerged in 1988, and Jon was surprised that no one had moved things on since then. “When I was approached about designing and building a new Merlin, I tried to imagine what would have happened in the intervening years if the same pace of development had continued in the class that used to exist 30 or 40 years ago,” he said. “A lot has changed with hi-tech materials and construction techniques, and ideas about sailing generally, over the past 22 years.”

Where the tendency has been to reduce the size of the planking on the clinker hull shape of the Merlin, Jon decided to go in the other direction, moving away from the standard 6mm width to 11.25mm. He believes the planks assist with dynamic lift, and going to wider planks also created a way of reducing the rise of floor measurement of the hull, thereby creating a slimmer profile at waterline.

Jon extended the maximum beam of the hull from the crew’s upwind hiking position to the transom, whereas most Merlins tend to taper to a thinner beam further aft. “When the Canterbury Tales mould was taken in the 80s, and it was taken from a boat built in timber, we didn’t feel we could maintain the integrity of the boat to the transom using the materials that were available at the time. But now we’re using materials like carbon fibre, it’s much easier to make a boat that’s stiffer and stronger. Also, the modern Merlin has a bigger spinnaker and a longer pole which are fantastic for downwind efficiency, and it’s possible to drive the boat much harder on a reach - more like a Fireball or a B14 - so you need the extra righting moment to make the best use of that power.”

The new boat, called Genii by the way, also incorporates a back tank. This provides reserve buoyancy in place of the unsightly buoyancy bags that are strapped into the back of most Merlins, but also improves the torsional strength of the aft section of the hull. Jon believes that not only is the boat stiffer and faster, it’s also a lot safer. “The aft tank has made the boat float higher after a capsize, although fortunately we didn’t take the opportunity to test it during the regatta,” he says.

“When you bring a Merlin upright after a capsize, the stern is normally only two or three inches above the surface, with the bow sitting clear of the water. Buoyancy bags are under a lot of strain at this point, and it’s not unusual for them to break free of the boat. Not just that, the whole boat, the fittings, the mast are all under maximum load when the boat is waterlogged. So we think the back tank will mean you’re less likely to damage your kit, you clear the boat of water much quicker, which means it’s safer and gets you back into the race quicker too.”

The foils are higher aspect and thinner than any others in the fleet, the centreboard being about a foot longer than standard. The rig is radically different in a number of areas. The carbon mast, designed by Jon in conjunction with Selden, is 6 inches taller than standard, which means the boom has had to reduce accordingly, resulting in a slight loss of overall sail area. However, the jib attachment has been moved right to the bow, rather than sitting aft of the spinnaker chute, so there is less overlap between main and jib but a greater presentation of sail area to the wind, according to Jon’s theory.

The mast sits 50mm further aft compared with standard, lower shrouds have been dispensed with in favour of a new mast support arrangement called the Delta, which incorporates the functions of the vang and mast chocks into one neat system. And the shrouds are led down through the deck, which not only makes it easier for the crew to sit forward in light winds but keeps the rig tension more in balance as the mast rakes fore and aft through different wind conditions.

In short, there is no part of the Merlin that Jon has left untouched. If the boat does live up to its early promise and prove a step change in performance, it will be hard to discern which of Jon’s many innovations have been the most successful. This is a completely different package from anything on the market, and if my experience of sailing a Jon Turner-built International 14 is to go by, it will work beautifully. And fast.

There are few people that understand boats quite like Jon, although a name that does spring to mind is Jo Richards. You may recall the Dead Cat Bounce National 12 design which Jo used to such devastating effect a year or so ago, after having barely raced the 12 for 30 years. Jo and Jon have quite a lot in common, having both Olympic campaigned the Flying Dutchman in the 80s, the boat that introducing the sailing world to the joy of mast rake. It has taken two freethinking old timers to come back in and create a revolution within these two development classes. The impact of the Dead Cat Bounce was immediate, winning the Burton Cup and Burton Week at its first attempt. The Genii is out of the bottle, although we’ve not yet seen the real magic. Jon being the perfectionist that he is, though, it’s probably only a matter of time before the Genii shows her true colours.