Looks great! Nice job.
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Happy Birthday, Robert Wadlow (1918-40)! 8️⃣–1️⃣1️⃣
And so it begins... (Bell Merlin II Repairs)
- Thread starter FartherWest
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That is some fine looking work. The hull and gunwales look like new and all of the brightwork matches.
Putting on my persnickety hat I would have installed the bow carry handle in facing in the opposite direction, with the curved part facing the seat. As a 2-person carry handle that curved orientation is more palm comfortable
On Bell’s carry handles with a vee point the pointy sides both face the center of the hull
Putting on my persnickety hat I would have installed the bow carry handle in facing in the opposite direction, with the curved part facing the seat. As a 2-person carry handle that curved orientation is more palm comfortable
On Bell’s carry handles with a vee point the pointy sides both face the center of the hull
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Hey FW, nice boat! It looks even better than new with the webbed seat and all dark wood. Turns out that I also put my carrying handles on backwards on my Yellowstone solo so I hope I didn't lead you astray. The boat is so light you'll never notice.
My one comment is to remember that it is a super sturdy boat that is even rated for whitewater so I hope you use it a lot.
We'll all be curious to hear how you like it after you spend more time in it. No more problems on windy days for you.
My one comment is to remember that it is a super sturdy boat that is even rated for whitewater so I hope you use it a lot.
We'll all be curious to hear how you like it after you spend more time in it. No more problems on windy days for you.
Thank you all for the compliments, means a lot coming from you folks. You've made some truly beautiful canoes.
Carry handles, I think I put them on the same way they came off (bend towards the seat) however it is difficult to see it in the pictures. The handles are one of the things that I will change out again this winter. When I sanded them to refinish, it made them much thinner than I would prefer and the shape didn't exactly match either. I'll contact Ed's and see if then can send me a set that hasn't had a finish applied so I can stain and varnish on my own. It will take minimal sanding to adjust the handles a little bit to better match the ones that came on the boat (original? I'm not sure). I kept them for just this purpose.
Gumpus - I hope to use it in some whitewater too. Although - what is it rated to use it in?
I took the Prospector down a class i/ii section of the Rogue River last weekend in southern Oregon. Water over the gunwales a few times in the longer wave trains, but a grin on my face the entire 12 or so miles downstream. It's been awhile since I had that much fun.
I'm thoroughly hooked!
Carry handles, I think I put them on the same way they came off (bend towards the seat) however it is difficult to see it in the pictures. The handles are one of the things that I will change out again this winter. When I sanded them to refinish, it made them much thinner than I would prefer and the shape didn't exactly match either. I'll contact Ed's and see if then can send me a set that hasn't had a finish applied so I can stain and varnish on my own. It will take minimal sanding to adjust the handles a little bit to better match the ones that came on the boat (original? I'm not sure). I kept them for just this purpose.
Gumpus - I hope to use it in some whitewater too. Although - what is it rated to use it in?
I took the Prospector down a class i/ii section of the Rogue River last weekend in southern Oregon. Water over the gunwales a few times in the longer wave trains, but a grin on my face the entire 12 or so miles downstream. It's been awhile since I had that much fun.
I'm thoroughly hooked!
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Kathy, I am going from memory about the factory orientation of Bell carry handles.
Perhaps someone with a Bell could take a look and see which way the curve or point on their carry handles face.
Perhaps someone with a Bell could take a look and see which way the curve or point on their carry handles face.
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Well if you're going to order another set of handles from Ed's I'll make another plea that you forget the Bell parts and get black walnut handles since they will really complement your thwarts...they only cost like $1.25 extra.
I do not really know what level of whitewater the boat is rated for, hopefully others will know. I just know that's it is a very strong hull that can bonk into most rocks with minimal worries. I would think that if you are getting splashed and taking water in your Prospector then your Merlin may not be the best boat for that day!
I do not really know what level of whitewater the boat is rated for, hopefully others will know. I just know that's it is a very strong hull that can bonk into most rocks with minimal worries. I would think that if you are getting splashed and taking water in your Prospector then your Merlin may not be the best boat for that day!
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Hey Mike. Turns out that Bell carry handles are oriented like FW's on solo boats as shown on my Yellowstone solo, but the handles are oriented the other way on a Bell tandem that I recently sold.
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And a third way to set those handles.
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I was trying to refresh my memory of the orientation of Bell’s carry handles and looked through my collection of old Bell catalogs. Most of the catalogs do not show carry handles at all, and only one catalog has actual photographs of the canoes instead of grey shaded depictions.
The one catalog that does have photos, (undated, most Bell catalogs are undated) shows the carry handles only on a RX Wildfire photo. In that photo the little vee point on the carry handles each face towards the center of the boat.
The distinctive Bell thwarts with the little vee point are consistent; in solos the point faces away from the paddler, in tandems the point faces the nearest paddler seat, presumable for easier gear storage in the middle between thwarts and yoke.
I wouldn’t count on any of that as a factory built orientation guarantee; I have seen a couple of new canoes with the yoke installed backwards, including a carbon Bell from ORC. The worst factory miscue was an OT Northern Light solo; that canoe had a sliding seat/yoke combo, designed with the yoke curves at the back of the seat, to be used with the seat slid all the way forward. Not only was that seat put in yoke forward, the slider was positioned so that no matter which way the yoke faced the hull was badly imbalanced.
Bell’s catalogs over the years are the model of inconsistency; I have only the one catalog with photos, and one catalog has no depictions at all, just model names and specs. Really? Why even bother with a catalog?
On the plus side of Bell depictions a couple of the long skinny “From the Heart of Canoe Country” catalogs do show the canoe in a horizontal bow-on depiction with gunwale, max and various waterline measurements. And, more importantly to me, those catalogs show the shape of the hull bottom, something I wish every canoe company catalog illustrated. Bell was also pretty consistent in listing the length to waterline ratio, another important-to-me spec.
Hands down Wenonah has consistently produced the most informative catalog, and the older ones, up to at least 2008, all show the bow-on profile and bottom shape, and much more.
Really “informative”, the first 8 or 9 pages of a Wenonah catalog are all dedicated to explanations of materials, designs, rec/touring/cruising/expedition categories, cross sections, bottom shapes, chines and tumblehome vs flare explanations. Those Wenonah catalogs are the Cliff Notes of canoe design.
And Wenonah usually dates their catalogs on the front cover. I’d have a lot more Wenonah catalogs if I hadn’t given random selections to novices looking to buy a canoe, saying “Read all of this first. You may not buy a Wenonah, but you’ll understand a lot more about canoe design and materials”.
Yeah, I enjoy the occasional peek at old canoe company prose, sometimes the verbiage is akin to a J.Peterman catalog:
“It was risky; time was beyond tight. But the day was perfect and the opportunity not to be missed. Putting in a Fish Creek after lunch, running the Saranac Lakes, under the state bridge and down river to Oseetah and across Lake Flower to meet Jan for dinner in Saranac Lake. You fly past the tennis courts; there’s the landing”.
ID that make and model and you win gold braid for the epaulets on your PFD.
The one catalog that does have photos, (undated, most Bell catalogs are undated) shows the carry handles only on a RX Wildfire photo. In that photo the little vee point on the carry handles each face towards the center of the boat.
The distinctive Bell thwarts with the little vee point are consistent; in solos the point faces away from the paddler, in tandems the point faces the nearest paddler seat, presumable for easier gear storage in the middle between thwarts and yoke.
I wouldn’t count on any of that as a factory built orientation guarantee; I have seen a couple of new canoes with the yoke installed backwards, including a carbon Bell from ORC. The worst factory miscue was an OT Northern Light solo; that canoe had a sliding seat/yoke combo, designed with the yoke curves at the back of the seat, to be used with the seat slid all the way forward. Not only was that seat put in yoke forward, the slider was positioned so that no matter which way the yoke faced the hull was badly imbalanced.
Bell’s catalogs over the years are the model of inconsistency; I have only the one catalog with photos, and one catalog has no depictions at all, just model names and specs. Really? Why even bother with a catalog?
On the plus side of Bell depictions a couple of the long skinny “From the Heart of Canoe Country” catalogs do show the canoe in a horizontal bow-on depiction with gunwale, max and various waterline measurements. And, more importantly to me, those catalogs show the shape of the hull bottom, something I wish every canoe company catalog illustrated. Bell was also pretty consistent in listing the length to waterline ratio, another important-to-me spec.
Hands down Wenonah has consistently produced the most informative catalog, and the older ones, up to at least 2008, all show the bow-on profile and bottom shape, and much more.
Really “informative”, the first 8 or 9 pages of a Wenonah catalog are all dedicated to explanations of materials, designs, rec/touring/cruising/expedition categories, cross sections, bottom shapes, chines and tumblehome vs flare explanations. Those Wenonah catalogs are the Cliff Notes of canoe design.
And Wenonah usually dates their catalogs on the front cover. I’d have a lot more Wenonah catalogs if I hadn’t given random selections to novices looking to buy a canoe, saying “Read all of this first. You may not buy a Wenonah, but you’ll understand a lot more about canoe design and materials”.
Yeah, I enjoy the occasional peek at old canoe company prose, sometimes the verbiage is akin to a J.Peterman catalog:
“It was risky; time was beyond tight. But the day was perfect and the opportunity not to be missed. Putting in a Fish Creek after lunch, running the Saranac Lakes, under the state bridge and down river to Oseetah and across Lake Flower to meet Jan for dinner in Saranac Lake. You fly past the tennis courts; there’s the landing”.
ID that make and model and you win gold braid for the epaulets on your PFD.
Yes, he does. The hole spacing on one of my seats is 8.5 inches measured from the center of each rail (my nomenclature for seats defines the two long pieces as rails and the two short bits as struts). A standard Conk has rail stock that is 1.5 inches wide and struts 7 inches long. An 8 inch hole spacing will work but for the anal among us I make a Bell retrofit seat with a 6.5 inch strut.
Rapidfire?
Thanks Conk! I plan on putting one of your seats on my Christmas list this year. If you can let me know the specifics of how it should be ordered (size, etc) that would be much appreciated.
Also, I spent the better part of the morning and early afternoon in the Merlin and really enjoy that little boat. The Prospector pulled duty as the perfect babysitter for new paddlers (stable and easy to paddle) and I was able to keep pace easily in the Merlin.
It's a sweet little boat and I cant wait to spend more time in it.However, there may be a fight brewing... my husband paddled it and very quickly decided he liked it too. (Woohoo!)
Thanks again to all of you for the encouragement to pick it up and get it back together. It really is the perfect compliment to the Prospector.
Hi Everyone, It's been a long time since I've been on the board. Life sort of happened.
I'm reaching out to you guys for your opinion - I need to sell Bell Merlin II and was wondering if you had any idea what I should list it for sale for.
I'm currently located in Bend, OR
I'm reaching out to you guys for your opinion - I need to sell Bell Merlin II and was wondering if you had any idea what I should list it for sale for.
I'm currently located in Bend, OR
Thank you Alan!
We need to know what layup it is, what trim, and what condition. One state over, but the last time I saw a Merlin 2 for sale here, it was Black Gold and went for $900 in perfect condition - about ten years ago. A couple years ago, a Northstar Phoenix of similar construction and condition here also went for $900. I considered both of those to be very good deals at the time. (Don't want to talk about why I bought neither
)I sold my 2002 Merlin II Kev-lite for $1700 two years ago and shared a similar ad on this Forum for one at Oak Orchard canoe in Rochester NY for $1800 last year. If you search the threads there were some other discussions about Merlin II prices on this Forum as well. Solos seem to be hard to get in the PNW from what I have read, so you should have an easy sell if priced right.
@FartherWest - when reading my post above, keep in mind that Bend is more "canoe friendly" than Southern Idaho. But at the same time, as @M Clemens mentions, solo canoes are still uncommon there. (I know - I've watched pretty closely).
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Well FW, I think it's worth between $1500 and $2000.
I'm still not positive about the lay-up, I thought only black/gold boats had walnut thwarted like yours but my 1999 black/gold Merlin II does not have a foam core like yours. So if you weigh it that might help. It's either carbon/kevlar or all kevlar; both are desirable.
My take on price is that it is a screaming deal at $1500 regardless of whether it is white/gold or black/gold. I think the sales points are that Bells are higher quality than the newer Northstars, plus it has a gelcoat which adds a little weight but also allows it to take all kinds of abuse, plus the Merlin II is a VERY quick and efficient boat since it's a bit narrower than most of the newer more beginner-friendly boats like Northwind Solo.
I would not take $2000 for my 1999 Merlin II since the quality and toughness are better than newer boats but I doubt that there are many customers that would recognize and appreciate the virtues.
I'm still not positive about the lay-up, I thought only black/gold boats had walnut thwarted like yours but my 1999 black/gold Merlin II does not have a foam core like yours. So if you weigh it that might help. It's either carbon/kevlar or all kevlar; both are desirable.
My take on price is that it is a screaming deal at $1500 regardless of whether it is white/gold or black/gold. I think the sales points are that Bells are higher quality than the newer Northstars, plus it has a gelcoat which adds a little weight but also allows it to take all kinds of abuse, plus the Merlin II is a VERY quick and efficient boat since it's a bit narrower than most of the newer more beginner-friendly boats like Northwind Solo.
I would not take $2000 for my 1999 Merlin II since the quality and toughness are better than newer boats but I doubt that there are many customers that would recognize and appreciate the virtues.
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