Melges 24
ROWEN · Reichel/Pugh · 1992
Updated
The Melges 24 is a 7.51 m planing racing yacht designed by Reichel/Pugh and built by ROWEN, first launched in 1992. It races in Sportboat. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 70% of the designs it races against. It comes alive as the breeze builds, and gives time away in the light.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 70% of the boats it races against.
9th of 28 in its class.
Not verified. On planing hulls this score has no match in the race results we hold: designs scoring the same win anywhere from one race in ten to seven in ten. Read it as what the measurements say, not as a ranking.
This design has been found in real race results — 372 starts across 40 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
7.51 m
24′ 8″
Beam
2.49 m
Draft
1.52 m
Displacement
0.8 t
Sail area
34 m²
On the podium
Where a Melges 24 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
25%
of 372 starts by 42 boats
Wins
10%
Read from 372 starts by 42 boats between 2015 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Melges 24 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Kypello Voreiou Aigaiou2026- Οθα Cup 2026 Νοαθ2026
ORC prvenstvo Slovenije2026
Campionato Invernale Citta' di Bari2026- 54° Campionato Invernale Vela d'Altura del Golfo di Napoli2026
Raced one we are missing?
Report a regattaRound the buoys, or offshore
A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.
Round the buoys
17%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
29%
of these races end on the podium
Better the longer it gets. Boats that settle into a groove and hold it gain ground once the course stops turning.
Who she races against
The designs a Melges 24 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the Melges 24 has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.
Speed at every angle
The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.
Upwind VMG
4.89
39°
Beam reach
9.72
90°
Broad reach
13.42
135°
Downwind VMG
10.73
170°
Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.
Where it wins and where it pays
Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.
The stronger it blows, the better this design looks. Give it a fresh day and long legs and it delivers more than it promised; in a drifter it is working uphill.
Where it gains
Its best ground is cracked off in a strong breeze, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage running deep as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short on the beat in a strong breeze, giving away time it never gets back. That is a hull that wants to get up and go, and needs pressure to do it.
Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.
Full width is 4.2 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the broad reach.
How fast is a Melges 24
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.34 | 4.54 | 4.83 | 4.89 |
| 52° | 5.13 | 6.50 | 6.94 | 7.17 |
| 60° | 5.43 | 6.73 | 7.32 | 7.65 |
| 75° | 5.63 | 6.95 | 7.96 | 8.61 |
| 90° | 5.69 | 7.06 | 8.41 | 9.72 |
| 110° | 5.84 | 7.73 | 8.97 | 10.67 |
| 120° | 5.71 | 7.66 | 9.55 | 11.56 |
| 135° | 5.12 | 7.07 | 9.21 | 13.42 |
| 150° | 4.31 | 6.28 | 7.88 | 12.39 |
| Run VMG | 3.73 | 5.45 | 6.82 | 10.73 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Most run a fixed propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 510 kg.
Rigging
Melges 24 rig and sail dimensions
A Melges 24 carries 8.82 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.80 m boom, a forestay 8.62 m above the deck and a 4.11 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 70 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 46 to 56 m² depending on bowsprit and set-up. Before ordering a sail, read the figure on your own measurement record rather than the typical one for the design.