Melges 15 Promotional Pricing Continues for March 2024

20th February 2024

Promoted

Not the HYC you are thinking of as a Houston Yacht Club Melges 15 dinghy fleet cut quite a dash on starboard tack Credit: Morgan Kinney

As part of the ongoing promotional pricing to launch the Melges 15 dinghy class in Ireland, new customers who order a boat by the end of March will receive a free full deck cover and launching trolley writes Irish agent John Sheehy.

Orders by the end of March will enable new teams to have their boats well in advance of the Summer season.

There are multiple options for delivery, but a neat way to collect your new boat might be via a quick holiday road trip to Portugal, where boats would be ready for collection in time for the second Winter Series event in Cascais on April 12-14. New owners would get the chance to get up to speed with their new boat in the warm Portuguese waters under the careful eye of the experienced team at Sail Cascais and Melges15 expert Eddie Cox. As there are 8 Irish crews competing in the first event in 2 weeks time there will be plenty of advice to share for sailors competing in the April event.

The Melge15 boats in action in Cascais, Portugal

With the second container of 12 boats due to land in Howth next month, the boat being launched in the UK next weekend and further deliveries to Ireland this year, it is hoped that the National championships on August 24th 25th should see 30 boats on the start line.

"Orders by the end of March will enable new teams to have their boats well in advance of the Summer season"

The Melges 15 offers the possibility for many crew combinations due to its stability and large easily handled sail area. So far in Ireland, many of the fleet are family members sailing together, and the class also has all-female and teenage crews making it a truly versatile boat for the future. A quick, easy to learn boat, the Melges 15 is perfect for parents who want to race with their children, and offers the ideal design for students, first-time sailors, and anyone else seeking an affordable, approachable and fun boat.

So far in Ireland, many of the fleet are family members sailing together, and the class also has all-female and teenage crews making it a truly versatile boat for the future

Meanwhile, as the class grows worldwide, a new trend has developed of clubs beginning to buy fleets of club boats as they look to retain and grow membership. Another HYC, Houston Yacht Club is the latest such club with nine boats delivered in January. The stability, performance and versatility of the M15 has proven a real hit across all ages of club membership.

For full pricing and further information contact John Sheehy of Melges Ireland, [email protected]

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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.