Competitive big-boat one-designracing is clicking up a notch at NewYork Yacht Club (NYYC) and soonelsewhere around the world with the new Mills-designed IC37. Thisaffordable, strict one-designspeedster will be making itscompetitive debut in the 2019season, and the order books atMelges are already filling up fast.

It’s been 20 years since the lastbig wave of offshore-sized one-designs hit the marketplace andhelped foster a revolution in big-boatracing. The excitement andenthusiasm of these designs andtheir class-managed racing broughtthousands of sailors around theworld into competitive sailing at a level hitherto enjoyed only by ahandful of Grand Prix enthusiasts.Since then, most other new one-

designs have focused on highperformance at an athletic level thatis out of reach for many otherwisecompetitive pro-am sailors. Perhapsjust as important to NYYC’s vision ofthe sport, as reflected in the IC37design itself, will be the emphasisplaced on class rules to giveincentives to a diverse array ofCorinthian sailors. Women, juniorsand other emerging sailing talent willall be encouraged to join in the fun sothat the next generation will be giventhe opportunity to continue to enjoythis great game.

When the NYYC initiated thesearch for a new keelboat designthat could be raced competitively in a fleet of 20 boats for its seconddecade of racing in its premierCorinthian event, the biennial RolexNew York Yacht Club Invitational Cup,

a veritable dream team of marineindustry talent was assembled tofulfill the NYYC’s mandate.

Mark Mills and his team at MillsDesign were chosen due to theirsuccess in everything from the high-speed, yet affordable C&C 30 one-design to custom designs for varioushigh-tech superyachts,demonstrating their ability to beabreast of the latest technologyin addition to being well-versed inworking with builders to help createefficient and cost-consciousproduction designs.

Westerly Marine’s meticulouscraftsmanship in creating fast raceboats is world-renowned, and, withhelp from SDK Structures, they werechosen to put this expertise to use in crafting production one-designyachts with custom-quality features.

Thought through

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And in every respect… The launch of the IC37 by Melges marks not just the appearance of a very tidy new raceboat but the start of a new classwhich has been tailored from the start to ensure maximum participation

An out-and-out racer, thenew MelgesIC37 isdesigned toget up on theplane in aslittle as 15knots of true wind. The designbrief for theIC37 hadabsolutely notruck withcruising, butcomfort ondeck whenracing wasstill a keyconsideration– ensuring allthe crew haveroom to workefficiently

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Other suppliers – Southern Spars,North Sails, Garmin and Harken –were also selected for their ability todeliver reliable, high-quality productsto the discerning performance sailor.

To tie all of these elementstogether into an effective one-designclass with strict rules that work wellfor both competitors and raceorganisers, Melges PerformanceSailboats was chosen to help notonly in these tasks, but to bring theboat and its design concept to thebroader market. With decades ofsuccessful international one-designclass experience as both a builderand class manager, Melges isuniquely positioned to help managethe new class’s anticipated highgrowth rate worldwide.

This strong demand in the broadermarket has led to the nomination ofa second, equally quality-consciousbuilder, Fibre Mechanics, based atLymington in southern England.

A boat length of 37ft was chosenas the right balance point, beingsmall enough to not require a largecrew nor have a large footprint inlogistics, but still large enough toprovide solid and competitive big-boat racing both inshore and inlimited coastal/offshore racing aswell. At this size, the systems onboard can remain simple andtherefore easy to manage andmaintain. The 37ft hull length alsohelps keep the new IC37 by Melgeswithin tight budget parameters.

There is no cruiser/racer duality in the design brief. Given the racing-only use intended for this boat, theNYYC specified three importantcharacteristics to be included in the design: rudder authority formanoeuvrability in close quarters;longitudinal stability for confidentcontrol while planing in closequarters; and a high-lift keel withadequate surface area for quickacceleration out of tacks, plus theability to hold a lane upwind off thestarting line in a large fleet.

The IC37 is fast racing yacht, yet itis not a sportboat, and has inherentstability from a low-VCG carbon keelfin with a large bulb, and a powerfulhull form that maximises crew-

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A 37ft hulllength wasidentified asthe rightbalance point,being smallenough tosail without a large crewand relativelycost-effectiveto transport,yet largeenough to deliver proper bigboat racing. All rigs aresupplied bySouthernSpars and all sails byNorth. Thefirst 20 hullsout of themoulds willbe owned andmanaged bythe New YorkYacht Cluband madeavailable forits membersto charter. A key aim ofthe NYYC’sdesign briefwas to createa fast andmodern boatthat offers agenuine ‘turn-key’racingexperience

induced stability without resorting toextreme droop hiking to produce thisperformance. The forward sections inthe hull form are full enough to allowfor easily-initiated planing speeds in as little as 15 knots of true wind,while remaining under full controland discouraging the bow fromsubmarining.

The net result is a stable,seaworthy platform that is easier tosail at higher-than-average speedsand through a more diverse range of conditions than conventionalsportboats can manage.

Another dream team member,Barry Carroll, brought to the IC37decades of experience in efficientproduction and build techniques,class marketing and projectmanagement, as well as years ofexperience in working with MillsDesign. Carroll knows the New YorkYacht Club and its culture well, andhe helped the club in the selection of the last NYYC-inspired design, the ClubSwan 42.

‘We needed a fast and relevantmodern boat,’ says Carroll, ‘but alsoone that would be easy to race,maintain and fix for an active andcompetitive club membership.’

This is an important andsomewhat unique aspect of theMelges IC37 Class. The first 20 boatsare owned by the club and managedby its staff for chartered use by clubmembers, who are typicallyexperienced big-boat owners, butwant to have a turn-key easyexperience when going racing on theIC37. Because the intent is to adhereto strict one-design rules that willlimit their ability to customise, theIC37 team had to put great effort intothinking through all the systems fortheir efficiency of use, with no furthercustomisation needed.

The layout was therefore designedand engineered with substantialinput from several top sailors such asKen Read of North Sails, who wasdirectly involved in optimising allaspects of the rig, sails and decklayout for efficiency and simplicity.

The goal was to construct aneffective platform for a crew of eightskilled amateurs to perform any andall manoeuvres, with everycrewmember having a job and amplespace to perform that job efficiently.To save on construction costs andkeep the interior watertight, allcontrol lines are kept on deck, andthe choice of deck hardware and itslocation has been carefully decidedto maximise efficiency in functionregardless of cost.

The structural elements of thisboat were devised by SDKStructures, who are renowned fortheir skills as composite engineers in the world of custom boats. Their

attention to detail has contributed to robust and durable structures forsafety, economical maintenance andlong life. Nothing is included in thestructures that does not contribute tostructural integrity, sea-keeping, boathandling or durability.

The materials and processes usedin construction therefore representthe best blend of strength versusvalue, including the use ofunidirectional and biaxial E-glassfabrics, Corecell foam with high-density core block at all hardwareand fittings, integrally mouldedbacking plates for all fittings andcarbon fibre used where appropriatethroughout the structure, such as inframe capping, in the keel fin, therudder, and the mast. The WESTepoxies in the laminates are vacuum-consolidated, with components post-cured in an oven.

The clever structural simplicityinherent in the design from SDK hasalso led to cost-effective constructionand lighter weight, making uniformityand compliance to strict one-designstandards easier to achieve. The goal is to have each boat in one-design trim be interchangeable withall of the others. No more speculationon who has or does not have “thefaster boat.”

Even the sailplan had to be thoughtthrough carefully, with a class rule-mandated single option mainsail,soft-hanked headsail and asymmetricspinnaker constructed by North Sails.The upwind sails are built usingNorth’s 3Di design technology to finda suitable balance in not just size, but in having mould shapes that areadaptable and functional through thefull range of varied wind strengthsusing just simple on-deck controls of backstay, fairleads, inhauler andcunningham for the jib, and outhauland cunningham for the main. Belowdecks is a mast jack with shims forfast adjustment of rig tension.

And since North Sails worksclosely with Southern Spars in theirrespective design spaces – bothcompanies being parts of the sameumbrella organisation – thecharacteristics of the carbon fibrespar are anticipated in the saildesigns, and vice versa. This meansthat no re-cuts for tweaking luffcurves should be necessary.Politically, this arrangement of onesailmaker for the class also ends the “sail design wars” that pit rivalsailmakers against each other, with the yacht owners bearing thebrunt of the costs.

Moreover, with one supplier ofmast and sails, the advent andrefinement of an authoritative classtuning guide should be fast and easyto digest. www.MelgesIC37Class.com �