One-design

When I was a kid one of my very favorite magazine issues was the late summer issue of Yachting that had the results of the Yachting One of a Kind Regatta. In this regatta, each class was represented by one entrant and the boats were broken down roughly by size and they just raced boat for boat, simple as that. There would be no doubt as to who had the fastest boat. These were all un-ballasted boats as I recall and included the 24-foot Raven class, a large planing dinghy, and the various scow classes of the day in addition to some of the early catamaran models.
The class scow was always the fastest boat around the course followed by my favorite, the Raven. I crewed on a Raven when was I was young and I loved that big dinghy. But there was no question, boat for boat in un-ballasted dinghies the fastest ride was the biggest scow. Scows of all sizes were fast. But the scow classes remained in the inland lakes of the Midwest: in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Michigan. There was one big scow in Seattle but it just sat and rotted on
the dock.

The term scow refers to the bow shape. These boats have blunt and broad bows. They are not pretty by any standard. But it may be an acquired taste. Scows combine a very long sailing length due to that peculiar bow shape with a very flat bottom and light displacement. The Melges 17 weighs 300 pounds. The 17 is stiff, and when heeled over presents a needlelike footprint to the water. The 17 will plane effortlessly, and when planing is very docile and easy to handle.
Upwind you have two asymmetrical centerboards for lift. These boards are extruded aluminum and about 48 inches deep. The asymmetrical shape means that each board can be maximized for lift over drag. Symmetrical boards require an angle of attack to induce high-and low-pressure sides but an asymmetrical board gets its high -and low-pressure sides through the geometry of the camber. Asymmetrical boards are much more efficient than symmetrical boards. You just need two of them.

The rig is big with a fat head main and no backstay. If we imagine a crew weighing 375 pounds, and add that to the 300-pound weight of the 17, then use the entire sail area of the mainsail and jib we get an SA/D of 45.7. There is 280 square feet in the masthead asymmetrical spinnaker. You deploy the chute and the retracting carbon sprit all with the spinnaker halyard. One line pulls the chute up and the pole out into position. When you drop the chute you pull the douse control line and the spinnaker comes down and the pole retracts. It could not be much easier than that. Now all you have to do is keep the 17 on its feet under all that sail area. The rig is amazing. Mast, spreaders and rigging all weigh 16 pounds. It's hard to believe, but carbon makes it possible.
The Melges 17 is all about "edge of your seat" one-design racing on protected waters. These boats can go upside down but they are relatively easy to right. One-design fleets are already starting up and I think we will be seeing the Melges 17 around for a
long time.