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Sailing Anarchy's Fifteen
Questions with Harry Melges.
Harry |
If
there is such a thing as the Great American Story, the Melges family are
it. Midwestern and home spun, they have created and fostered their place
in sailing folklore by developing great boats, great sailors and great
support. Did we mention that they are great folks as well?
Their
work in Scows is legendary, the Melges 24 is nothing short of phenomenal,
and with their North Sails affiliation they continue to be truly a full
stop shop.
Following
the legend created by patriarch Buddy, Harry Melges is quite admirably
carrying the mantle for the clan. We thought it fun to get caught up with
Team Melges, so we snagged a few minutes with Harry for your reading enjoyment.
The
Melges 24 is one of the all-time great one-design boats, yet you guys
can't be building many new 24's, can you? How are the Euro sales on M-24'S
doing, as compared to Zenda?
Melges 24 |
HM:
The
Melges 24 is a great boat! There are on average between 50 and 60 new
boats built annually worldwide. Europe definitely gets the nod in terms
of producing the most boats each year. The sailing market in Europe is
much larger than in North America and when countries like France take
off it is amazing how many boats can be sold in one year. For example,
at the Melges 24 Worlds last year in La Rochelle France, we had 126 boats
attend. At this year's Worlds in Key West, we saw 78 boats attend making
it the largest M24 regatta ever held in North America. The trend is definitely
positive and growing. If you look at all the one-design keelboat classes
in the world in the size range of the Melges 24, I doubt there are any
that produce 50-60 boats per annum.
The
Melges 30 will go down as one of Sailing Anarchy's favorite boats, one
that is very cool, very fast, and a bit of a breakthroughs, but also as
one of the biggest disappointments in terms of number of boats sold. We
reckon they were a bit pricey and the keel problem experienced by a couple
of the boats didn't help. Your thoughts?
HM:
The
Melges 30 is a really cool boat. I think the keel problems early on and
the price point definitely hurt the M30 sales compared to other 30 footers
that came out at the same time. We continually receive numerous inquiries
about the Melges 30. Right now, our company is so busy building Melges
24's and the six different classes of scows that we just don't have the
capacity in our plant to produce the 30. Someday maybe, as it is an awesome
boat and is still the best 30 foot sport boat on the water
Melges 30 |
Given
the wild success of the 24, and the innovation of the 30, might we see
another Melges stab at the sport boat market?
HM:
Right
now we have no plans. We continue to work on the development of the Melges
24 class and our large family of scows. We have a lot of great ideas that
will someday surface in new designs, but right now we are working hard
to grow the seven classes that we presently produce.
You
wear a couple of pretty big hats, President of Melges Performance Sailboats
and also owner of North One-Design, Zenda. How do you go about handling
and doing both jobs well?
HM:
We
have a great team of people here in Zenda so my job is pretty easy. Teaming
up with North has made my job easier as well. I can now concentrate on
sail design and selling and not have to worry about production. I can
fully concentrate on boat production. We have worked very hard to produce
the highest quality, fastest boats and sails available and this always
makes selling easier. We also place customer service at the top of our
list of priorities and attending as many regattas as possible with a full
service program makes a big difference.
You
guys haven't always been a North loft. There was a time, it must seem
like a lifetime ago, when you were Sobstad. I too worked for Sobstad along
with Mark Reynolds, so I have my own Sob stories. But tell us what life
was like working with Peter Conrad, and tell us what brought about the
switch.
HM:
We
were a Sobstad loft for several years. We had a great relationship with
all the other Sobstad lofts. We didn't work too often with Peter, but
we were always treated fairly. When the Sobstad group fell apart our best
option was to team up with North and concentrate primarily on one-designs.
Why
didn't you guys then become a part of the Quantum group?
Harry at the 2001 Melges 24 Worlds |
HM:
We
looked at the Quantum program, but it just didn't make sense for us with
the direction we wanted to move with our sail loft. We were looking to
more heavily concentrate on the one-design classes that we produce boats
for, and North had the strongest one-design program. Also, the big boat
projects that we were involved with were very keen to have access to the
3DL product and North's years of experience and technology.
On
the sailmaking theme, are you guys doing much with 3DL?
HM:
Occasionally
when we sell an inventory to a big boat or grand prix project we do. The
3DL technology is incredible. Most of the one-design classes have not
fully developed the 3DL sail shapes yet. North is now working on the ability
to produce smaller one design sails at an affordable price utilizing the
3DL technology. This is sure to revolutionize one-design sails for boats
under 30 feet.
How
is your dad? What's he up to?
HM:
Buddy
is doing great! He has been busy this winter building a new skeeter iceboat
for me to race along with refurbishing a big class A stern steerer that
we own called "Ferdidand". Buddy still gives a lot of speeches
and as always spends a great deal of time in the duck blind.
What's
next for you personally, and Melges specifically?
"A" Scow |
HM:
We
have a new 9 month old baby boy, Harry IV which we are excited to get
on a sailboat. I will continue to race all of the boats that we produce
with a Melges 24 World Championship win as the most immediate goal. As
a company, in the short term, we will continue to improve what we presently
do and grow the seven class that we produce to new levels. In the long
term, I am sure there will be some new projects on the horizon. We will
have to see what the market dictates, and what new ideas we come up with.
We
asked readers to send in questions, and as always there are plenty. Here
are a few:
From
Stinky, What is the next commercially viable major innovation that the
masses would accept (buy) to come out in the next few years? Or will the
masses not accept anything from the basic norm?
HM:
It
is getting harder and harder to develop a new product, especially in the
small one-design sailboat range. So many classes are well established
and to grow a new class you have to win some people away from already
strong classes to be a success. Much will have to do with how well existing
classes keep up with the times and change as technology changes. Those
who do will remain strong, those who don't will be replaced by more advanced
product and those classes that do. I have no idea what the next innovation
will be, if I did I don't think I would tell you. Sorry!
Ned
asks, Why Melges no longer provides spare parts off the shelf for the
older boats. Specifically the spinny pole bushings which are different
from the newer boats?
Ice B(rrrr)oat |
HM:
We
try to supply parts for the older boats in most cases. We can in fact
supply the pole bushings for the older longer poles that have the bushings
glued on the pole, that is no problem. We can supply pretty much any part,
sometimes it may cost more due to the volume factor as many of the parts
are computer machined and we have minimum order numbers. If you are looking
for a special part and you are not getting what you need, make sure you
speak to me.
From
Scott, Is there any truth to the rumor of a smaller Melges 24 (20') to
compete with what J-Boats is prototyping now. i.e. small sprit boat like
the Ultimate 20 to displace the J-22?
HM:
We've
discussed the idea, but we have not wanted to dilute the classes that
we are presently producing. We have a lot of great ideas for a really
great boat, so someday you may see it.
From
DB, What happened to the Melges 40 design that R-P was working on years
ago?
HM:
We
had several customers who wanted us to develop a Melges 40, but it was
mostly just talk. I don't think R/P ever did any design work on a Melges
40
From
Solo, Why in your opinion are there no more Star builders in the US?
Flavio Favini winning the 2001 Worlds |
HM:
The
European boats became cheaper than the US boats because of the strength
of the dollar. The US builder market dried up because of this and to re-tool
and start up again is very expensive. There are a lot of variables in
a Star boat for a one-design so it is expensive for a builder to remain
competitive without making constant changes to molds and design. It is
also very difficult to break into the market with a new boat unless it
goes out and dominates the regatta circuit.
This
also from Solo, Can you give us some basic info on MC scow class, what
kind of skipper it requires, and where the fleets are?
HM:
The
MC is a great boat that can be sailed single-handed or with two people.
The class allows you to change crew from race to race, so if it is windy
you can through on your girlfriend, wife, child, etc. Or if you are a
woman, you can sail with two most of the time so you are not overpowered
by the larger skippers. Any size skipper can race the MC that is why the
class is so popular. We presently build around 100 new MC per year making
it the fastest growing one-design over 15 in the country. There are fleets
from coast to coast. Florida, Texas, Georgia, North and South Carolina,
Maryland, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa,
the Dakotas, Colorado, Louisiana, California (Alameda), I am sure there
are more, as new fleets are popping up all the time. The MC is a very
fast cat rigged scow that is very stable at the dock and a thrill to sail.
Go to Melges.com and check out the MC, there is a link to the MC website
from there as well.
From
SG,
-
What areas of the US are seeing the greatest growth in the Melges 24
fleet and why?
-
North just came out with a "runner" and "reaching"
spinnaker to replace the all-purpose "VMG" spinnaker. Is it
necessary to carry both spinnakers and, if so, what are the wind ranges
where the reaching spinnaker is necessary for best VMG on the Melges
24 and why?
"A" Scow cockpit |
HM:
- The
Midwest and the Southeast and Florida. The Melges 24 is a great boat
for these areas. The boat is easy to sail and trailer and launch. The
boat is faster than most 30 footers so a lot of people are moving out
of their bigger boats into the Melges 24. I think that it is the best
bang for the buck in terms of simplicity and pure sailing enjoyment
and thrill! There is no other kee boat like it! Once people sail one,
they have to have one!
- It
is not absolutely necessary to carry both spinnakers. Most people do
carry two kites to have a back-up spinnaker on board. It is difficult
to have one spinnaker that will excel in all the different conditions.
If you are going to only use one spinnaker, the North max runner (previously
the vmg) is the best all-purpose sail available. This sail will go the
entire range very well. If you want to fine-tune your inventory and
get the edge in very light winds 0-5 and again in 15 on up when you
can plain you want to have a North power zone reacher. This sail allows
you to press up and reach to get the boat planing without getting the
boat all bound up and overpowered. This sail is more geared toward reaching
than running and is definitely a really fast sail when the breeze is
up, especially when there are big waves.
Finally,
unk wants to know, was Knarly Melgeson at this year's N.Y. RIDE-IN?
HM:
I'm
sure he was, he wouldn't miss that!
Thanks Harry!
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