Design and Construction
The Merlin line was built from 1984 to 1992, with about 170 hulls completed across the Merlin 28 and 29 denominations; the 29 simply added a small extension to the transom, and the two share identical interior volume with only minor layout changes anchor. Like every Westerly of the era, the hulls were moulded to Lloyds standards and each one left the shop with a Lloyds Hull Construction certificate, a meaningful baseline for a buyer weighing an older fiberglass hull anchor. The 29 specifically wears a sugar-scoop transom with a transom-hung rudder positioned beneath it, a detail carried over from the Merlin 28 modification that defined the model anchor. Beneath the waterline the boat offers a choice of an iron fin keel drawing 5 feet 4 inches or twin bilge keels drawing 3 feet 5 inches, the latter giving the grounding tolerance Westerly bilge-keelers were known for anchor. Displacement is 7,694 lbs with 2,987 lbs of ballast in the fin version (3,328 lbs in the bilge-keel configuration), and the beam stretches to 9 feet 11 inches on a 23-foot 7-inch waterline.
Rig and Handling
The Merlin 29 is a sloop carrying 442 square feet of main and genoa, and the Dubois brief targeted higher performance and a contemporary hull shape against the Konsort, a goal the boat met in practice since the Merlin is regarded as generally faster than that earlier design anchor. The spade rudder hung from the sugar scoop gives the helm a modern feel.
Accommodations
Below, the Merlin 29 provides three cabins and six berths without feeling cramped for the length. The forecabin offers vee berths 72 inches long with an infill to make a double when needed, while the saloon to port carries a settee that converts to a 74-by-39-inch double anchor. To starboard the saloon has a short single berth whose aft end doubles as the seat for an aft-facing chart table, and aft of that is open-fronted hanging space for oilskins and the heads door. The aft cabin itself holds a berth 74 inches long and 54 inches wide at the forward end, a genuinely good-sized double that Yachtsnet credits as an interior improvement over earlier Westerly layouts anchor. Saloon headroom is a flat 6 feet. Finishes varied by batch: some hulls received light ash veneers on bulkheads, others vinyl headlinings, and later boats sometimes substituted varnished plywood in the saloon for the panelled foam vinyl of earlier ones anchor.
Engine and Systems
Power came from a diesel, either a Bukh or a Volvo, with most Merlins fitted with 20 hp Bukh units and some later 29s carrying Volvo 18 hp diesels anchor.
The Verdict
The Merlin 29 is a thoughtful Dubois design that closed out the Merlin line with a modern transom and a genuinely usable three-cabin layout. She competes on her own terms with the French imports she was built to challenge, offering Lloyds-certified construction and a faster, more contemporary hull than the Konsort.
Pros
- Ed Dubois performance cruiser with a more modern hull form than the Konsort and generally quicker
- Lloyds-standard hull construction with individual certificates
- Three cabins and six berths including a full-sized aft double
- Choice of fin or bilge keels for draft flexibility
Cons
- Interior finishes varied widely between hulls, requiring careful inspection of veneer and headlining condition
- Later-model Volvo diesels are lower horsepower (18 hp) than the standard 20 hp Bukh
