Design and Construction
The Merlin 28 is a solid fiberglass monohull with a fin keel and transom-hung rudder, displacing 7,694 pounds with 2,987 pounds of iron ballast. Her length overall is 27.06 feet with a 23.62-foot waterline, and the 9.94-foot beam gives a length-to-beam ratio of 2.70. The displacement-length ratio of about 262 places her firmly in the loaded cruiser category for her size, while the capsize screening value of 2.03 recorded in yachtdatabase’s review falls outside the threshold accepted for ocean racing. The theoretical hull speed is 6.5 knots, and her immersion rate of roughly 822 pounds per inch means she responds predictably to loading.
Rig and Handling
She is rigged as a fractional sloop with a sail-area-displacement ratio of 14.08 and 337 square feet of sail area on a mast 36.7 feet above the waterline. The standing and running rigging dimensions are modest: jib and genoa sheets run 8.2 meters at 10 mm diameter, the mainsheet is 20.6 meters at the same diameter, and spinnaker sheets are 18.2 meters. Those figures describe a boat sized for manageable shorthanded trimming rather than grand-prix loads. The motion comfort ratio of 22.3 suggests a settled ride for a 28-footer, consistent with the cruising brief rather than an out-and-out racer.
Accommodations
The Merlin 28 was offered with owner and charter-oriented interior arrangements, the three-cabin owner layout being more commonly seen on the used market. The 9.94-foot beam and 27-foot hull provide the volume Dubois’s cruiser designs of the era were known for, and the production of 151 hulls confirms a finite, identifiable generation built entirely within the 1984–1990 window.
Known Issues
The capsize screening value of 2.03 means she would not be accepted to participate in ocean races, a boundary set for the design rather than a service-history fault.
The Verdict
The Merlin 28 is a modest, well-defined Dub,,,er from Westerly’s late-1980s range: solidly built in fiberglass, sensibly rigged for short-handed cruising, and limited by her capsize screening from offshore-race eligibility. She is a finite-production design with clear parameters.
Pros
- Solid fiberglass hull with iron ballast and fin-keel configuration
- Manageable fractional rig with modest sheet diameters suited to shorthanded crews
- Clear production span and numbered build of 151 hulls
Cons
- Capsize screening value excludes her from ocean-race acceptance
- Displacement-length ratio near 262 indicates a heavily loaded cruiser profile rather than light displacement
