Melges 24
Encyclopedia
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The Melges 24 is a one-design
One-design
One-Design is a racing method where all vehicles or boats have identical or very similar designs or models. It is also known as Spec series. It is heavily used in sailboat racing. All competitors in a race are then judged based on a single start time...
class of sailboat
Sailboat
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails. The term covers a variety of boats, larger than small vessels such as sailboards and smaller than sailing ships, but distinctions in the size are not strictly defined and what constitutes a sailing ship, sailboat, or a...
commonly used for racing. The boat is notable for its ability to plane over the water downwind in modest winds, and for its combination of a simple design that is highly tunable.
The Melges 24 is the most popular design produced by Melges Performance Sailboats, a United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
company founded by Harry Melges, son of former Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
sailor
Sailor
A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
Buddy Melges
Buddy Melges
Harry "Buddy" Melges, Jr., is one of the most successful competitive sailors in history, with dozens of national and international championships in many different classes, including ice-boating as well as conventional sailing...
. The boat was designed in 1992 by the Reichel/Pugh
Reichel/Pugh
Reichel/Pugh is a yacht design company based in San Diego, California, USA. It is led by John Reichel and Jim Pugh.Since the late 1990s, Reichel/Pugh-designed yachts have successfully competed in many major races, including the America's Cup...
design team, and went into production in 1993. Of the nearly eight hundred Melges 24s that have been produced, approximately half were sold in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
with the remainder in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and with fleets in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as well.. Fleets are now growing in the Asia Pacific with Northshore Yachts taking the role of building boats for the Australasian Countries. They have built 9 so far with a growing fleet of around 10 Melges 24 in Australia. Hope to grow to 30 by 2012
The boat is 24 feet (7 m) long and 8.2 feet (2.5 m) wide at the beam. It carries around 1000 square feet (93 m²) of sail area, main, jib and spinnaker combined. Upwind, it has a mainsail
Mainsail
A mainsail is a sail located behind the main mast of a sailing vessel.On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast....
and 100% jib
Jib
A jib is a triangular staysail set ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bow, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast...
. Downwind, it has a large 670 square foot (62 m²) asymmetrical spinnaker
Spinnaker
A spinnaker is a special type of sail that is designed specifically for sailing off the wind from a reaching course to a downwind, i.e. with the wind 90°–180° off the bow. The spinnaker fills with wind and balloons out in front of the boat when it is deployed, called flying. It is constructed of...
that flies from a retractable bowsprit
Bowsprit
The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a pole extending forward from the vessel's prow. It provides an anchor point for the forestay, allowing the fore-mast to be stepped farther forward on the hull.-Origin:...
.
The boat's hull is made from lightweight fiberglass. The mast
Mast (sailing)
The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
, rudder
Rudder
A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...
, bowsprit, and keel
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
fin are made from carbon fiber for light weight. The hull is generally flat on the bottom, making it plane easily. The 630 pound (286 kg) keel bulb can retract up to the hull bottom to make it easier to put on a trailer.
The boat is generally raced with a crew of four or five. Because the boat sails faster with a heavier crew, class rules for racing limit crew weight to 793 pounds (360 kg) total. Unlike most spinnaker-rigged keelboats, the Melges 24 is designed so that no foredeck work is required to fly the spinnaker; it is launched, trimmed, and doused from the cockpit.
Reichel/Pugh also designed other modern Melges boats, including the Melges 17
Melges 17
The Melges17 is a Bermuda rigged racing scow first launched in January 2004 by Melges Performance Sailboats. The boat's rig consists of a main with a large roach, a roller furling jib and an asymmetrical spinnaker.-Design:...
, Melges 32
Melges 32
The Melges 32 is a one-design class of sailboat commonly used for racing. The boat is notable for its ability to plane over the water downwind in modest winds, and for its combination of a simple design that is highly tunable....
and Melges 20
Melges 20
In September 2007 Melges confirmed rumors that they will release a 20 foot boat named Melges 20. The release is a group effort as the boat has been designed by Reichel Pugh Yacht Design and built by McConaghy Boats....
.
External links
- Melges 24 - Manufacturer's description
- IMCA - International Melges 24 Class Association - Owners racing class
- USMCA - US Melges 24 Class Association - Owners racing class
- UK Melges 24 Class Association - Owners racing class
- Melges Aus - Australian Melges Class Website
- NS - Northshore Yachting Services
- Marinepool Melges 24 World Championship