Merganser - Wayfarer sailing dinghy

This is Meander, a Wayfarer sailing dinghy purchased second hand by the HSC to replace Whimbrel, which was another Wayfarer dinghy which was purchased new by the HSC but which became a total loss after breaking up in high winds on a lee shore near Clacton.

Merganser was purchased with a old outboard motor which soon died, but we never really needed it since these boats sail well even in light winds and they carry oars for when the wind fails completely.

Meander has a slightly different layout to our older Wayfarer Merganser. There is an open storage space between the fordeck of Meander and the front bouyancy tank. This means that the foredeck is unsupported and I think that is the reason that the builder made the foredeck as a sandwich structure with a balsa wood core. This is stronger than a simple fibreglass laminate if it is in new condition but this type of structure is susceptable to delamination and water absorbtion. We have had some problems with this foredeck delaminating but it has been repaired and strengthened so should be ok now.