Thread: 46' Merritt
View Single Post
Old 11-08-2007, 12:09 PM   #10
Loren Schweizer
YF Associate Writer
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Coral Gables/Ft. Laud., FL
Posts: 832
Quote:
Originally Posted by Longboard
How would you rank the hull of an Andy Mortenson to a Merritt's?

Good question, Longboard-- great handle, BTW (my brother is an old f@rt surfer) and welcome to YF.

One of the last Mortensons built, to my knowledge, was a gorgeous 36-footer with a sixties-looking mahogany interior. This was in 1982 or so on the south bank of the Miami River. I think she was pure wood, i.e., planked, not cold-molded, which is a limiting factor for hull design.

The 1980s Merritts, on the other hand, were cold-molded triple diagonal hulls. Merritt survived the 1981 recession in fine fettle even with their stratospheric pricing and, of course, are still in business.

I could be wrong, but 'Yachting Darwinism', as it were, would tend to look more favorably upon the boats built up in Pompano Beach.
Loren Schweizer is offline   Reply With Quote