THE versatility of the MELGES 15

Picking a boat for your yacht club is not easy. With so many options available, it’s hard to decide what is the best fit for your members. Decades of experience have shown that making sailing easy and accessible to everyone on an exciting and intriguing platform is a recipe for success. The Melges 15 is a boat that serves as your club’s primary teaching platform and a fun, exciting platform for adults and junior sailors to sail and race.

Offering an exciting, easy-to-use boat at your club will attract new members, add value for existing members, and spur on new club activity.

The Melges 15 bridges the gap between youth programs and adult club sailing. Easy conversion from the club configuration (non-spinnaker) to a one-design setup (spinnaker) allows the boat to be a multi-use platform for your program. Unparalleled stability and cockpit ergonomics allow the Melges 15 to be sailed by a broad cross-section of sailors, from two adults to younger sailors.

How the Melges 15 Fits Your Club

The Melges 15 is modern fast dinghy which allows for all shapes and sizes, and helps to keep youth sailors in the sport. Taking the leap from a youth boat to an adult class can be intimidating for many young sailors. The Melges 15 eases the transition by offering a platform to learn to sail and race, as a kid or an adult. Teach beginner sailors to sail on the boat that the club offers adult and youth racing in, and you are more likely to retain those sailors down the road.

We envision it being used as a teaching boat during the day and in the evening for club racing. It is perfect for couples, parents with children, and teenagers. Multigenerational/family sailing is the cornerstone of the Melges 15 Class. Adopting the M15 will promote the family aspect that sailing has been missing recently.

The boat has experienced rapid growth with over 950 boats worldwide (since launch in 2020) and 25 now in Ireland, the Melges 15 takes advantage of all the advances in boat design and thus will remain relevant and appealing to your members for years to come.

TEACHING

With a focus on durability and stability, the M15 is better suited for club use than any other option on the market. Other small dinghies used for teaching are often tailored for youth sailing or only raced on youth circuits. The Melges 15 can be a teaching platform for both adults and kids and can be raced by both. This flexibility gives sailing programs a platform where youth sailors can easily transition into adult sailing, and beginner adults have a clear pathway to racing or future sailing opportunities.

Junior Sailing courses

The Melges 15 is well suited to teaching beginner to advanced junior sailors. Instructors can easily take a group of kids out and easily teach all the skills. A large open cockpit lets you put up to six small sailors in the boat and have fun learning together. A more stable boat with less ropes means no intimidation for new sailors when they step on board.

Adult Learning

The Melges 15 is designed to foster a comfortable environment through its stability and deep, ergonomic cockpit. New sailors feel like they are in the boat rather than on top of it, allowing them to focus on sail trim, rudder movements, and weight placement.

By using the M15 as the primary teaching platform for adult programs and then offering weeknight club races, you can present an easy and clear path for adults to become more involved in your club and develop a love of sailing.

family sailing

Already in Ireland we have seen the same trends that are established in the States. There are a large amount of family partnerships sailing. For example at the 2024 Irish nationals, the winners were brothers in law, second place was an uncle niece combo and third place was father and son team. Fifth and Sixth overall were two husband and wife teams. The fact that the boat allows a broad combintaion of sailing weights and styles to be competive makes this possible.

RACING

The Melges 15 offers an affordable way for clubs to increase interest in racing.

Club Racing

One of the biggest perks of a club fleet is the opportunity for more club racing, which increases local activity and helps drive member revenue. Dedicate a weeknight to Melges 15 racing and offer your club boats for charter or use by members. Consider a rotation-based system that allows sailors to watch, socialize, and sail.

Howth Yacht Club has used this program to offer an easy way for new members to get involved in racing. They have seen other dinghy classes benefit as a result too as a result of this extra activity.

Other ideas include; an annual charter/lease program for those who want to participate in club racing but don’t own a boat, or maybe a weekly clinic/regatta for members which also invites the adult sailing program students. These activities helps build community and incorporate new sailors with established club members.