Melges 32

Sailboat specifications

The Melges 32 is a 31’10” (9.7m) one design sailboat designed by Reichel/Pugh Yacht Design (United States). She is built since 2005 by Melges (United States).

Melges 32's main features

Model: Melges 32
Hull type: Monohull
Category: One design sailboat
Sailboat builder: Melges
Sailboat designer: Reichel/Pugh Yacht Design
Sailboat collection: ISAF
Country: United States
Construction: Fiberglass reinforced epoxy:
Sandwich PVC fiberglass epoxy
First built hull: 2005
Last built hull: Still in production
Appendages: Lifting keel : fin with bulb, lifting
Helm: Single tiller
Rudder: Single spade rudder
Unsinkable: No
Trailerable: Yes
EC design category iThe CE design category indicates the ability to cope with certain weather conditions (the sailboat is designed for these conditions) A: Wind < force 9, Waves < 10m B: Wind < force 8, Waves < 8m C: Wind < force 6, Waves < 4m D: Wind < force 4, Waves < 0,5m: A
Standard public price ex. VAT (indicative only): About
174 000 €
(2016)

Melges 32's main dimensions

Hull length: 31’ 10”9.7 m
Waterline length: 29’ 10”9.09 m
Beam (width): 9’ 10”3 m
Draft: 7’2.13 m
Light displacement (M_LC): 3774 lb1712 kg
Ballast weight: 1709 lb775 kg
Ballast type: Carbon fiber fin with lead bulb

Melges 32's rig and sails

Upwind sail area: 699 ft²64.9 m²
Downwind sail area: 1747 ft²162.3 m²
Mainsail area: 445 ft²41.3 m²
Genoa area: 254 ft²23.6 m²
Asymmetric spinnaker area: 1302 ft²121 m²
Code 0 area: 774 ft²71.9 m²
I iFore triangle height (from mast foot to fore stay top attachment): 40’ 10”12.43 m
J iFore triangle base (from mast foot to bottom of forestay): 10’ 10”3.29 m
P iMainsail hoist measurement (from tack to head): 44’ 1”13.45 m
E iMainsail foot measurement (from tack to clew): 15’ 6”4.72 m
Rigging type: Sloop Marconi 7/8
Mast configuration: Keel stepped mast
Rotating spars: No
Number of levels of spreaders: 2
Spreaders angle: Swept-back
Spars construction: Carbon fiber spars
Standing rigging: PBO, forestay in Dyform discontinuous

Melges 32's performances

Crew: > 5, < 629kg
HN (French rating) iHN or "Handicap Nationale" is an empirical rating system used in France allowing various monohulls, of different sizes and designs, to race each other fairly. It is particularly suitable for cruiser and cruiser-racer. Therefore, by comparing these values, we can have an indication of the relative speed of 2 boats.: 36.5
Upwind sail area to displacement iThe ratio sail area to displacement is obtained by dividing the sail area by the boat's displaced volume to the power two-thirds. The ratio sail area to displacement can be used to compare the relative sail plan of different sailboats no matter what their size. Upwind: under 18 the ratio indicates a cruise oriented sailboat with limited performances especially in light wind, while over 25 it indicates a fast sailboat.: 488 ft²/T45.35 m²/T
Downwind sail area to displacement iThe ratio sail area to displacement is obtained by dividing the sail area by the boat's displaced volume to the power two-thirds. The ratio sail area to displacement can be used to compare the relative sail plan of different sailboats no matter what their size.: 1221 ft²/T113.41 m²/T
Displacement-length ratio (DLR) iThe Displacement Length Ratio (DLR) is a figure that points out the boat's weight compared to its waterline length. The DLR is obtained by dividing the boat's displacement in tons by the cube of one one-hundredth of the waterline length (in feet). The DLR can be used to compare the relative mass of different sailboats no matter what their length: a DLR less than 180 is indicative of a really light sailboat (race boat made for planning), while a DLR greater than 300 is indicative of a heavy cruising sailboat.: 65
Ballast ratio iThe Ballast ratio is an indicator of stability; it is obtained by dividing the boat's displacement by the mass of the ballast. Since the stability depends also of the hull shapes and the position of the center of gravity, only the boats with similar ballast arrangements and hull shapes should be compared. The higher the ballast ratio is, the greater is the stability.: 45 %
Critical hull speed iAs a ship moves in the water, it creates standing waves that oppose its movement. This effect increases dramatically the resistance when the boat reaches a speed-length ratio (speed-length ratio is the ratio between the speed in knots and the square root of the waterline length in feet) of about 1.2 (corresponding to a Froude Number of 0.35) . This very sharp rise in resistance, between speed-length ratio of 1.2 to 1.5, is insurmountable for heavy sailboats and so becomes an apparent barrier. This leads to the concept of "hull speed". The hull speed is obtained by multiplying the square root of the waterline length (in feet) by 1.34.: 7.32 knots