Melges 40
Premier Composites · Botín & Carkeek · 2016
Updated
The Melges 40 is a 11.99 m planing racing yacht designed by Botín & Carkeek and built by Premier Composites, first launched in 2016. It races in Class A.
Length
11.99 m
39′ 4″
Beam
3.56 m
Draft
3.20 m
Displacement
3.5 t
Sail area
123 m²
On the podium
Where a Melges 40 finishes when she goes racing.
Not enough data yet to show how this design finishes. It has not been found in the race results we have collected so far.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Melges 40 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
No regattas found yet.
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
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Not enough data yet: no races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
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Not enough data yet: no races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Melges 40 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Not enough data yet to say who this design races against. No result we have collected puts it on the water beside another design we track.
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
6.87
37°
Beam reach
13.01
90°
Broad reach
16.31
135°
Downwind VMG
14.05
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.
It needs pressure to show what it can do. 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 on the run when it blows, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage on a broad reach as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
There is no condition where it falls away badly, which is worth something over a season of mixed weather.
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 2.8 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a Melges 40
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 4.84 | 6.22 | 6.60 | 6.87 |
| 52° | 7.33 | 8.83 | 9.46 | 10.03 |
| 60° | 7.67 | 9.26 | 10.00 | 10.71 |
| 75° | 7.92 | 9.78 | 10.77 | 11.66 |
| 90° | 7.82 | 9.95 | 11.57 | 13.01 |
| 110° | 7.66 | 10.10 | 11.71 | 14.63 |
| 120° | 7.42 | 10.12 | 12.25 | 14.64 |
| 135° | 6.77 | 9.52 | 12.63 | 16.31 |
| 150° | 5.69 | 8.19 | 10.77 | 16.23 |
| Run VMG | 4.93 | 7.10 | 9.33 | 14.05 |
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 840 kg.
Rigging
Melges 40 rig and sail dimensions
A Melges 40 carries 18.00 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.98 m boom, a forestay 17.30 m above the deck and a 8.28 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 3 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails