Inaugural Melges 15 Dublin Bay Meeting on Zoom This Tuesday, 7th Feb at 8.30 pm

6th February 2023

The Melges 15 won Sailing boat of the year in 2022 and has been Melges's best-selling design. With over 600 boats already built, they have quickly established strong fleets wherever they have been established

The Melges 15, a new double-handed dinghy, will launch in Europe this summer, with its first European fleet set for Dublin Bay. The drive for the new class is being led by John Sheehy of the Royal Saint George, who hosts a Zoom call about the class this Tuesday.

Eddie Cox of Melges, who has led the Melges15 from testing to launch, will join the zoom to give details about the boat and answer any questions.

John Sheehy (left) of the Royal Saint George Yacht Club at Dun Laoghaire Harbour who is leading the Melges15 class launch in Ireland with Eddie Cox of Melges Performance Sailcraft at the Boot Dusseldorf exhibition in January 2023

Sheehy tells Afloat: “In the zoom, I will give some more information as to my plans for the class and details of the launch pricing and then introduce Melges on to the call to answer questions about the boat, describe the design process, detail plans to launch the boat in Europe and describe how the class has gone in clubs across America. While I will be talking about launching the class in Dublin Bay, please feel free to jump on Zoom if generally interested in the boat; all welcome.”

Zoom details

Topic: John's M15 Meeting
Time: Feb 7, 2023, 8:30 pm Dublin

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86235568862?pwd=REd6TmtveGtBUk5SUlhJNTRFSks3QT09

Meeting ID: 862 3556 8862
Passcode: 076954

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About the Melges 15 Dinghy

The Melges 15 was designed by Reichel/Pugh and built by Melges.

The design prioritises stability, comfort, ease of use, and performance.

The Melges 15 is built to be sailed by everyone from friends and couples to families and kids. The design offers performance, comfort, and stability in one sleek package.

The Melges 15’s stable hull shape and ergonomic cockpit make it a suitable layout for adult racing and educational sailing. Easy conversion from a club configuration (non-spinnaker) to a one-design setup, provides more versatility to club programs and options for individual owners.

“The Melges 15 creates a clear pathway for junior sailors to get started and stay excited about sailing while also being comfortable and accessible enough for adults to learn, race, or cross-train,” according to Harry Melges III.

With the main design goals focused on stability and performance in various conditions, the boat features a narrow overall beam and a flat cross-section shape for stability, righting moment, and ease of planing. For a more forgiving feel upwind and to navigate larger sea states, the Melges 15 has just the right amount of fore and aft rocker.

Melges conducted extensive research and product testing to produce this layout factoring in cockpit depth, backbone height, and floor plan. The result, they say, is a comfortable environment for both the skipper and crew. The deeper cockpit takes the load off the sailor’s knees helping them feel locked into the boat while the high boom and gnav vang system work together to make the boat easier to manoeuvre.

The asymmetric spinnaker offers an additional performance element, while the single-pull launch and retrieval system makes handling the sail easy and fast.