Too fast/too furious- the Melges 24 has arrived

by Helen Hopcroft on 17 Mar 2007 In little over a week the first Australian built Melges 24 will emerge from Northshore’s Gosford factory. With only one Melges 32 in the country so far, and another on order, the Melges are set to hit the Asia-Pacific racing scene like a fleet of small, perfectly formed tornadoes.

Late last year Northshore Yachts secured the exclusive license to build and distribute the Melges 24 and 32 in Australia. They also hold the license for the entire Asia Pacific region.

The Melges 24 was introduced by designers Reichel/Pugh in 1993. They are considered the most popular one design racing yachts in the world, with a large following in the States and Europe. Trailerable, with a simple layout and easy to rig, the boats have a reputation for incredibly fast downwind performance.

Generally sailed by a crew of four, they fly a 670 square foot asymmetrical spinnaker off a carbon fiber bowsprit. ‘Exciting’ is a word that gets used nearly every time the Melges 24 is described.

Sail-World asked Northshore CEO Heath Walters why he thought the Wisconsin based company offered them the license to build the Melges?

‘…They were looking for an iconic name in boatbuilding. Which Northshore obviously is. It’s been operating since 1973. So Melges Boat Works were very interested to take that on. We’re a well known brand name in Australia. And we’re known for our quality boat building.’

Melges was interested in giving the licence to a boat builder that could raise the profile of the class in the Australian and Asia Pacific Region.

‘Our enthusiastic staff and myself are keen yachties, which is a benefit .They are looking forward to not only building the boats, but also promoting the class in Australia and the Asian Pacific region.’

The first Melges 32 was imported into the country and arrived just before Christmas Day. Walters said that the new owner was ‘ecstatic’ with what effectively became his Christmas present.

‘It actually arrived here pretty much Christmas day.’

The owner of the Melges 32 has christened his boat ‘The Business’. It was raced in last weeks Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta and performed well against some of the larger boats. The owner is an early Sydney 38 owner who has chosen to move to a lighter displacement racing boat.

‘In terms of the marketplace; the Melges 32 has an emphasis on speed and fun. It’s a lower cost, exhilarating pure race boat with One Design capacity- local and overseas. As with the M24, it’s a class that offers the ability to tow your boat to Geelong, pick up some amazing rides then roll up your sails and fly to Miami to compete.’

‘The best thing about it is that is goes like a rocket; just behind the Farr 40s and around Sydney 38s. It’s obviously a very exciting boat, downwind, and very powerful.’

Walters reports strong interest in the smaller Melges 24. The first two Australian built boats have been brought by owners based in Perth and Geelong. Northshore has three more boats on order and production booked till July.

‘The interest is Australia wide. We’ve got a couple in Victoria, in Melbourne. One in Perth, a couple in Sydney and Brisbane. They will come together in the inaugural Nationals planned for Geelong 2008 with ten M24s. The International Melges Class Association (IMCA) has expressed interest in a World Titles in Australia in the future.’

Interest is spreading rapidly across the wider Asian region. The first yacht was just shipped to Korea and there has been a strong response from Japan. There are currently 12 second hand Melges in Japan and Northshore has been selling rigs and equipment to these owners. Enquiries have been coming in from South Africa who has a new fleet which is quickly increasing.

‘We’ve actually just sold a rig to a guy in Taiwan. Taiwan Yachting is looking to buy Melges 24s as their training boat.’

'The Asia Pacific sailing scene has always been keen on sport boats, but no single design has been able to gain class size beyond their own countries.’

'The Melges 24 is a class that has established a strong presence within the United States and Europe, which in turn will allow sailors within our local market to enjoy such a boat, simultaneously racing them on the international circuit.'

From a practical point of view, the popularity of the class may be partly attributed to its ease of transportation and this will be a major plus across Australia. The retractable keel has been designed specifically to make transport easier, and the boat will reportedly fit behind all vehicles.

At the same time as building up the Melges fleet, Walters has been working on ways to improve communication between existing Northshore yacht owners. There are currently more than 750 Northshores sailing in Australia, which is more than any other modern production boat, either imported or Australian made.

Walters has just launched a website which is basically a chat room for Northshore owners; wwww.club.northshoreyachts.com.au

The site allows owners to talk to each other and to post photos, messages, news and race results.

As well as improving online communication, Walters has been working hard to connect the Northshore community in the real world.

‘We’re also actively going out to all the yacht clubs and actually trying to get the Northshores closer together to each other. So we can have all the owners in touch with each other a bit quicker and easier. Everyone can be better connected and we can do some regattas and social sailing’

‘With our whole range of yachts, they’re very raceable. Originally a Northshore 38 was brought out to be a cruising club racer. It has obviously stood the test of time because it’s still a fantastic boat for that purpose. The boats are designed with sailing performance and safety as their primary focus, rather than many of our competitors who are floating caravans with sailability, balance and tracking as an afterthought.’

Perhaps partly as a result of its work on the Melges, Northshore is looking at introducing more racing features to its existing designs. Walters is aware that there is a big cross section of people who like the comfort of a cruising boat, with the performance and speed of a racer. He says that their new NSX36i offers both, with one due for completion in a few months time.

‘What we want to do is steer more towards a twilighter, day racer sort of mentality. Most people don’t tend to go away on their boats as much as think they might when they first buy them.’

‘We’re looking to take a bit of the extra weight that is not necessary in some of those boats out by putting better products in. Better composites, glasses and things like that. Products that have come onto the market since the boats were originally designed.’

Walters (as a Shipwright himself) is also keenly aware that people love their boats, but can’t always afford to spend additional time on non essential maintenance. So some of the simple, streamlined aspects of racing boat fit outs are flowing across into the cruisers. The end result should be cruising boats which are comfortable to sail and sleep on, but faster and easier to maintain.

‘We’re taking some the maintenance out of the internal fit out. So having a little bit less timber to varnish downstairs and things like that which just end up being maintenance issues in the long term for the boat.’

As if not busy enough with the introduction of the Melges and production of Northshores, the company is taking on a diverse range of other projects. Walters said that they are currently doing all the mouldings for Trakka campervans and architectural glasswork for other clients.

However this work is li