The Melges 40 is an American

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

that was designed by the Spanish design firm of Botin Partners as a one-design racer aimed at the European Grand Prix yacht racing circuit and first built in 2017. The design was named ''Yachts and Yachting'' magazine's 2017 Keelboat of the Year.

Production

The design is built by Premier Composite Technologies in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

, for

Melges Performance Sailboats Melges Performance Sailboats, is an American sailboat manufacturer founded by Harry Melges, father of former Olympic sailor Buddy Melges. Melges Boat Works, Inc. was founded by Harry C. Melges, Sr. in 1945. The company was originally named ''M ...

of the United States. It has been in production since 2017. The company sells the boat with an optional

turnkey A turnkey, a turnkey project, or a turnkey operation (also spelled turn-key) is a type of project that is constructed so that it can be sold to any buyer as a completed product. This is contrasted with build to order, where the constructor builds ...

program whereby the owner pays a monthly fee and the company manages the boat's maintenance, technical requirements and logistics, allowing the owner and crew to "simply show up and race".

Design

The Melges 40 is a racing

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open wat ...

, built predominantly of epoxy infused carbon fiber with a foam core. It has a fractional

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

rig with a square-topped

mainsail A mainsail is a sail rigged on the main mast of a sailing vessel. * On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast. * On a fore-and-aft rigged vessel, it is the sail rigged aft of the main mast. The sail's foot ...

. The hull has a

plumb stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

, an open plumb

transom Transom may refer to: * Transom (architecture), a bar of wood or stone across the top of a door or window, or the window above such a bar * Transom (nautical), that part of the stern of a vessel where the two sides of its hull meet * Operation Tran ...

, an internally mounted spade-type

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

controlled by a

tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn the rudder. ...

and an electrically-actuated canting fin

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

with a weighted bulb. The keel may be canted up to 45° to either side to provide additional righting moment with a lighter ballast weight or for operation in shallow water. The boat displaces and carries of ballast, of which is in the bulb. The boat has a draft of with the canting keel fully extended. The boat is fitted with a

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

of with a retractable propeller, for docking and maneuvering. The fuel tank holds . For sailing downwind the design may be equipped with an asymmetrical

gennaker A gennaker is a sail that was developed around 1990. Used when sailing downwind, it is a cross between a genoa and a spinnaker. It is not symmetric like a true spinnaker but is asymmetric like a genoa, but the gennaker is not attached to the for ...

of , flown from a retractable carbon fiber

bowsprit The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a spar extending forward from the vessel's prow. The bowsprit is typically held down by a bobstay that counteracts the forces from the forestays. The word ''bowsprit'' is thought to originate from the Middle L ...

. The design has a

hull speed Hull speed or displacement speed is the speed at which the wavelength of a vessel's bow wave is equal to the waterline length of the vessel. As boat speed increases from rest, the wavelength of the bow wave increases, and usually its crest-to-tro ...

of and is intended to be sailed by a crew of eight to nine

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

Operational history

In a 2016 review in ''Sailing World'', Dave Reed wrote, "the boat is technical, yes, for it will be all carbon and epoxy, with a canting keel and yards of sail area aloft, but it also comes with a class-management plan that's founded upon delivering a turnkey experience for owners. That'll include class management, dedicated race officers, and assistance with logistics." In a 2019 review in ''Yachting World'', noted, "The Melges 40 is something of a slow-burn success story. As the only canting keel, all carbon, strict one-design grand prix racer it remains unique. It is very much an elite, niche class. It was never targeted at the wider horizons of the one-design production racing class, such as is the new Melges 37. So far it appeals only to a small cross-section of experienced, competitive owners who want electric downwind speed, and quick and efficient upwind sailing. The canting keel adds a whole new dimension to windward-leeward racing. Melges 40 owners want to go quicker than anything else of a similar size, and to travel and race internationally with their team. They are owners who might otherwise be in the

TP52 The Transpac 52 (TP52) is a class of yacht used for competitive 52 Super Series yacht racing, and the Audi MedCup previously, besides the world championship of the class. The class is recognised by the International Sailing Federation which entit ...

fleet, but perhaps don't want to employ full-time shore crew or to be running a development programme."

References

External links

* {{Melges Performance Sailboats Keelboats 2010s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts One-design sailing classes Sailboat type designs by Botin Partners Sailboat types built by Melges Performance Sailboats

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References

External links