Review of Melges 40
Basic specs.
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The Melges 40 is equipped with a fractional rig. A fractional rig has smaller headsails which make tacking easier, which is an advantage for cruisers and racers, of course. The downside is that having the wind from behind often requires a gennaker or a spinnaker for optimal speed.
Fin keel
The Melges 40 is equipped with a fin keel. The fin keel is the most common keel and provides splendid manoeuvrability. The downside is that it has less directional stability than a long keel.
The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 3.20 - 3.30 meter (10.50 - 10.80 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
Sailing characteristics
This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.
What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?
The capsize screening value for Melges 40 is 2.40, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.
What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?
The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 8.1 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.
The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level.
The immersion rate for Melges 40 is about 262 kg/cm, alternatively 1470 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 262 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 1470 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.
Sailing statistics
This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.
What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?
The Motion Comfort Ratio for Melges 40 is 11.3.
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for Melges 40 is 3.40.
The ballast ratio for Melges 40 is 37%.
What is Displacement Length Ratio?
The DL-ratio for Melges 40 is 66 which categorizes this boat among 'ultra light racers'.
SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)
Indicates how fast the boat is in light wind:
- Cruising Boats have ratios 10-15
- Cruiser-Racers have ratios 16-20
- Racers have ratios above 20
- High-Performance Racers have ratios above 24
Sail-area/displacement ratio (SA/D ratio): 56.05
Maintenance
When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy.
The surface of the wet bottom is about 56m2 (602 ft2).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.
Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.
If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.
| Usage | Length | Diameter | ||
| Jib sheet | 12.0 m | (39.3 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 12.0 m | (39.3 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 30.0 m | (98.3 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 26.4 m | (86.5 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
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