Morgan 454

I purchased a Morgan 454 center board version one year ago and have been working on it to get it ready to sail. It is at the dock and I am now down to finishing some interior varnish and small chores to get the sails on the boat. I have not sailed the boat yet and would like to hear about your experiences.

Thanks
Mike

 

I have a N/M 45 (also known as Morgan 456) tall rig IOR warhorse in San Francisco Bay. Lots of fun, lots of work. Beetle is one of the original race versions, not the cruising version.

- rob

 

hi guys

I haave had the WANDERING STAR since 1988. am in Saint Aug. Fl now. looking for installation solutions for a genset. Any ideas? also marine air?

 

Generator AC System

I have a Northern Lights 6.0 kw gen set. It is mounted behind the aft bunk. The AC system consists of two units. One is under the front bunk. This includes the air handler and compressor. The other is in the aft cabin. The compressor for this unit is in the aft lazar ret, mounded on a plate attached to the port side bulkhead. The air handler is in the starboard locker in the aft cabin on the bulkhead next to the head.

 

I've had Slider since 2001. It's a 454 cruising hull with the race rig. Hull #47. Just finished rewiring and now have 32 dc breakers and 9 ac. Next project is to pull the stick and go thru the rigging, paint mast and add wind inst. It's been a lot of fun and sails like a witch.

 

I purchased a Morgan 454 center board version one year ago and have been working on it to get it ready to sail. It is at the dock and I am now down to finishing some interior varnish and small chores to get the sails on the boat. I have not sailed the boat yet and would like to hear about your experiences.

Thanks
Mike

I bought the WANDERING STAR in 1988. I was in the Chesepeake then and still working as a Firefighter in DC. I learned to sail in the Bay. I took her to Bermuda in 89. Had a beautiful sail, found the island (no gps back then), and had a vision of God's wrath on the way back. The boat will take a horrible pounding!
Left the Bay towing my dingy. A 25 foot Donzi cigarette boat. Went down the Inercoastal Waterway. After many experiences arrived in the Keys .
The boat is able to sail in the Bahamas with due dilligence to shallow water and coral reefs.
Have returned to the Bay several times but don't have to do the Intercoastal (the aluminum has a tendency to grow as you approach those bridges)
I have been in Margerita Island (Ven) with her for an extended stay. Had to do a single handed nonstop passage to the Bay it was long but uneventful.
I haven't done much to her. I installed an inverter 3000w Hart, increased her battery capacity (8 6v - 880A), put on a wind generator and basic electronics. The only thiing complicated was the battery bank. I removed the floor under the rear bunk, lowered it, and relocated the water heater to starboard. there is a battery with the long axis alond the starboard side, and then a row aft with a double row along the port side. The water heater is snugged up to the forward area of the new box area.

 

thecapnken

Thanks for the info. On an average day say 10-15 knots of wind and light seas what would be an average distance traveled in 24 hours. I trying to get a feel for how long it would take to go from Charleston SC to the Abacos.

 

Windermere

Hello! My boyfriend and I just bought a '84 Nelson Merek 45. We have a ton of questions, are the other owners still out there?! Jane

 

Hello! My boyfriend and I just bought a '84 Nelson Merek 45. We have a ton of questions, are the other owners still out there?! Jane

Ha to know?ve had your sistership for 15 years. What do you want

 

Still here but don't know much.

 

Greetings Morgan 45 Owners

I have owned my 45 N/M since October of 2000. We have done all kinds of work to it. We added 2 Air Conditioning units, Davits, Solar Panels, Isotherm Refrigeration, Just re-powered with a new Yanmar 75, Windlass, New Water Heater, New Instruments, New Harken furler, Mast Pulpits, second anchor roller, New Jib, Lazy Jacks, Drop top Dodger, New Bimini, New 50 Amp Power and cord. We already had a generator, mounted over the main engine. Most of the old systems have been replaced and we are beginning a crise along the gulf coast next week hope to be around to The Chessapeake area next summer. The baot sails great and we really love the way it motors now that we have replaced the old Perkins 4-108.

 

Looking to buy a Morgan Nelson Marek 45



I am looking at a number of Morgan NM 45. I have been on one in Annapolis and one in Charleston. The two I've seen are in very good condition. There are about 10 currently for sale. Asking prices are $99,000 to $145,000. One of them is a 1985 Catalina Morgan NM 454.

I have been told that Catalina improved the boat and corrected a problem with the hull structure supporting the mast. Does anyone have information about this issue?

I am planning to live aboard with a dog for the next two years until my wife can retire. The Catalina version has a sugar scoop stern.

I think I will by the Morgan with the lease equipment aboard so I can equip it with the latest technology. A MaxPower fuel cell or WhisperJet can be used in place of a generator. If it is time to repower, conversion to electric propulsion is not such an expensive option.

I currently have TackTiicks sailing instruments on my current boat. It was a simple and quick installation and no wires. I works great.

Any thoughts?

 

Morgan N/M 454

I've owned PROMISE, 1982 Morgan N/M 45, for sometime and went through all the mast issues among other things. Feel free to contact me. There are a couple of options if the repair has not been made.

PROMISE is currently birthed near Baltimore.

 

N/M 45 Keel Issue ?

I've owned PROMISE, 1982 Morgan N/M 45, for sometime and went through all the mast issues among other things. Feel free to contact me. There are a couple of options if the repair has not been made.

PROMISE is currently birthed near Baltimore.

Hello,,, new to the forum. I have an 83 N/M 45 and love the boat. This past wknd I sent a diver down to do a bottom scrub. The diver noted a small crack/separation just in front of the keel on the flat of the hull (keel is center board version). I have been told in the past that this separation issue is just a gap in the hull and keel 'tab' that is not structural. I plan to have boat hauled and inspect/repair this cosmetic (I hope) issue.
Anybody out there familiar with this problem?
Thx, Pete

 

I'm writing a feature article for a regional sailing magazine and would like input from Nelson/Merek 45 owners, their impressions of the boat, good and bad, experiences, names and, if possible, photos. I crew on Hallelujah out of St Pete; it's a racer with 14 winches on deck, tall rig and centerboard.
Thanks,
Harmon

 

Nelson/Marek 45 owners

Any N/M 45 owners out there that want to share info,stories, tips etc?

 

Hey up - welcome to SN dude! I've been looking at tons of boats over the past year - and I have to say that the N/M 45 is my favorite. I'm sure it has its issues - but that is just a cool freakin' boat.

I saw one go for less than $30K a few months ago in Florida. It needed work - but was a great deal from what I could see. Killed me that I wasn't ready to buy at that point.

After that, I decided to charter instead of buy right now and try out as many boats as I can. But what a classic!

Are they comfortable for extended cruising? And how much of a pain was the cb? That's always a big question mark for me.

 

the cb is nice. adds to upwind sailing but it's a ***** to get up and down. I'm not sure if it's just my boat, but there are way too many bends in the centerboard line pipe. I have spectra line and when i bring the board back up (grunting) on a winch i can see my deck flex (jumping on it doesn't create any flex)... seeing as you can lift the board up by hand with the boat hauled, there's some serious friction somewhere. it's a new boat and i still haven't figured out if this is because the piping is ripped up by the old wire hoist.

but the cb is awsome upwind. i just kept up with a beneteau 36.7 with worn racing sails and 4 people on the rail for them, and me solo. we were close hauled and i was surprised i could match point and speed for over 20min. had i been trimming i would be gone. my genoa is blown out and i won't make any comments on my batten less main with no roach and "really nice" leech twist.

 

Hey wru - welcome to SN dude. And thanks for the reply. I wonder if someone like Jeff_H has some insight on that cb friction issue?

But that performance you point out is exactly what makes me love this boat. How would you rate the comfort?

 

i live aboard with my wife and 2yold son. we're in florida, so i'm really happy with the insulating 3/4" ply core in the deck. the boat is like a home now, so it's really comfortable for us. storage space is tight because of the water tanks/fuel but ours is outfitted with more cupboards in the aft as well as in the old pilot berth. when we have visitors for day, we're happy with 6 adults inside and it's not crowded. overnight is another issue but that's only because of our son and his schedule. Overall, i'm impressed with the layout

 

Very cool. Thanks wru - that's great first-hand info to have. I do envy you, dude! Nice ride!

Anything that drives you crazy?

 

question to cedoyle

I've recently purchased a 1983 N/M 45' and while we had a great time delivering it from Lake Erie to Lake Michigan I just noticed a "settling" in the main cabin floor near the forward head. In "cedoyle's" posting he mentioned a mast issue. I was wondering what the problem was and what was the fix. Any info anyone could forward to me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
VP719

 

Mast issue

I've recently purchased a 1983 N/M 45' and while we had a great time delivering it from Lake Erie to Lake Michigan I just noticed a "settling" in the main cabin floor near the forward head. In "cedoyle's" posting he mentioned a mast issue. I was wondering what the problem was and what was the fix. Any info anyone could forward to me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
VP719

A couple things about the N/M and her IOR hull. She's flat on the bottom...so what happens is when the mast is compressing down she tends to flex a bit. You can do a couple things the offset this issue. Make a tie to deck from mast base to mast ring with a piece of rod riggiing the same size as the standing rigging or a bit larger. When the mast compresses it then tries to compress deck at bulkhead. Second you can remove mast and floor as I did and completely rebuild the mast step. I had to do this because of some water found its way into the step softening it. I also tied my mast base into the grid system so the compression is distributed throughout the hull as it should have been. If you go the the route that I did it a lot of work but it addressed the problem completly. I contacted an old Morgan Engineer and was told that this is what they did on the raciing versions to eliminate the issue. The real problem was that the grid system was not made high enough at the mast base to take the compressions on a flat hull.....after thousands of cycles the grid would actually start to break their tabs. But again this only happened on the racing versions of the boats.

 

been reading some of the comments on the NM 45, can anyone out there tell me is the hull design on the race version is different than the cruise style or is it just the interior. also, if the 80's version by morgan different from the later 90 catalina version? thanks for any feedback

 

N/m 45

Hey VP, (WVU & SM) I have an 84 N/M 45 CB version. It's a great boat , sails fantastically . I race it occasionally and always do well. It's a little tender past 17 wind speed, needs a reef to stay on its feet , but it points like crazy!
I have no issues with the CB. It is easy to raise and lower. There is no friction in the line/pipe. I could raise it without the winch if I wanted to.
I do have the floor sag that you speak about right at the forward bulkhead at the door sill to the forward head. I don't like it, but am not overly concerned about it. I would like to know if my boat has the upgraded mast step though. I don't have another boat to compare to, so maybe we all can share pics/notes on what the mast area/step looks like. I have sent a note to 'cedoyle' who appears to have the answer, but as yet I have not recieved a reply.

 

N/M 45 race vs cruise

Hello Skibum,,, my understanding of the differences between the race vs cruise versions of the N/M 45 are primarily the keel design and weight. The race version has a deep keel foil design and the interior of the boat was pretty spartan. All stripped out with plenty of bunk space and room for sails. There is a guy on this forum out of San Fran I believe who owns 'Beatle' . It is the racing version.

 

After everything I've seen over the past year or so, I still love this boat. Do you have any gripes with it, up?

 

u still out there?

Cedoyle,,, you still have your N/M 45? If so, can I contact you regarding one of your posts? Regards

 

N/m 45

SMK Daddy, I have very few gripes with the boat. Like all boats it has its design and personality quirks. I would say that it is a bit tender in winds above 20. You have to reef to keep it sailing flat, but it really moves well when you have the right sails up.
The other thing I don't like too much is the large flat bridge deck . It can make for a nervous transition from cockpit to cabin in a blow with some heal on the boat. But it is designed that way to make for a larger aft cabin which I love,,,, so its all a compromise.
Regards, Pete