Merlin first appears in the diplomatic maneuvering that helped manufacture a pretext for the Third Anglo-Dutch War. Her small size helped create a dispute over whether Dutch ships owed her the salute required by maritime custom, illustrating how precedent could carry great weight even without complete codification. From 1681 to 1693, Captain Grenville Collins then employed her to survey the British coastline for Great Britain's Coasting Pilot. Although Collins used some Dutch material and inherited some errors, the work added substantial new information and established an important model for Royal Navy coastal hydrography.
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HMS Merlin and Britain's first dedicated coastal survey
The tiny warship HMS Merlin links a diplomatic pretext for war with Grenville Collins's landmark survey of Britain's coast.