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2024 Spring Updates!

June 18, 2024 – NCASA Nationals Notes :

We are planning an epic event as we help LGYC celebrate 150 years of incredible racing. Early reports are that we will have great turnout. Our new NCASA Commodore, T. Freytag, looks forward to welcoming all of you at this event.

UPDATED Regatta Details: We are planning similar logistics as our ILYA Championship at LGYC last August. We will dry sail and launch by crane at the LGYC Facility. The event will take place starting Thursday evening June 20 th with a Special Race at 5 pm . The Thursday race will compete for the Wacker Trophy (see below). A six-race series is scheduled with first warning at 11 am on Friday morning with 2 more races scheduled for both Saturday and Sunday at PRO Mark DeGuire’s discretion.

Social: The Lake Geneva Yacht Club has a couple of parties planned for us on Friday and Saturday both of which include live music. Please be sure to come and help our friends at LGYC celebrate their 150 year anniversary as a club and enjoy old friends and new! After haul-out on Sunday, we will have lunch available and present our awards. NEW for 2024 – some event specific information:

• We will once again be using the Vakaros RaceSense starting system which we used last year at the ILYA Championship with great success!  Per the NOR all boats are required to use the Atlas 2 device. If you own one you will need to take it to the Vakaros tent at LGYC and have the event’s application uploaded to your device prior to racing. If you do not own one, you may rent one from the class for $120 for the event which you will need to do when you register before   June 1 st  or you can contact Andy Burdick or Eddie Cox at Melges Boat Works to purchase one BEFORE APRIL 21, 2024 . See the sale flyer below with the purchase discount they have kindly offered to our fleet.
• Following our fleet meeting last year and the recent boat owner polling, our NCASA Board recently voted to allow one throw-out race in a series where six races have been completed. This will be reflected in the regatta documents.

Contact Andy Burdick or Eddie Cox at Melges Boat Works to purchase the amazing Atlas 2. See the sale flyer above with the generous purchase discount they have offered in support of our fleet.

Regatta Gear: You may order your team event long-sleeved performance fabric hoodie t-shirts when you register.  If you order upon registration before June 1 st they will be delivered at the event. If they are ordered after that date they will be delivered post event.

Rated UPF50 to help combat harmful UV rays, this Tee also performs with Dry Zone® moisture-wicking technology to keep you cool, dry and comfortable.

• 3.8-ounce, 100% polyester
• Removable tag for comfort and relabeling
• UPF rating of 50
• Raglan sleeves
• Sizes S-XXXL

Regatta Schedule:

Registration, Vakaros Programming, Check-in, Practice Race (17:00 Warning Gun – 5 pm): Thursday, June 20, 2024 Race 1 and 2: Friday, June 21, 2024 Race 3 and 4: Saturday, June 22, 2024 Race 5 and 6: Sunday, June 23, 2024 Awards: Following the last race on Sunday

Registration is open . Please help us out by registering early – Thanks! NCASA Executive Director: Todd Haines 414-881-4119 [email protected]

The 38 foot (11.58 meter) Class A Scow is the largest, fastest, and most powerful inland scow sailboat. Originally designed in the late 1800’s by John O. Johnson of Johnson Boat Works (White Bear Lake, MN) the boat retains the same shape and size as the original boats. With the move to fiberglass and carbon construction, the addition of a bow sprit and a massive asymmetrical spinnaker, combined with a carbon fiber swept-spreader rig, the class is stronger than ever.

Today’s A Scow, produced by Melges Performance Sailboats of Zenda, WI, has all the modern, sophisticated rigging and gear (from the good folks at Harken ) needed to make this unbelievable boat simply rock on the water. Powered by the latest sail designs, able to pull water-skiers, and having been clocked at over 25 mph in a good blow, the A Scow is a worthy challenge for even the most experienced sailors. Unlike keelboats of this size, the A Scow uses only dual bilge boards for stability and thus requires a skilled crew of 6 or 7 people to keep her upright in heavy air.

We hope you will explore our website and see what makes the A Scow so much fun !

A Scow Events

2024 A Scow National Championship Regatta – Lake Geneva, WI Set-up and Check-In Date: Thursday June 20, 2024 Race Dates: Friday June 21 – Sunday June 23 Location: Lake Geneva Yacht Club, Fontana, WI Registration: Click Here Official Event Website: NCASA 2024 ILYA Annual Championship Regatta – Clear Lake, IA  Set-up and Check-In Date: August 11, 2023 Race Dates: August 11 – 17, 2023 Location: Clear Lake Yacht Club Registration: Not Open Yet Official Event Website: ILYA Future Venues: 2025 A Scow National Championship Regatta – TBD Set-up and Check-In Date: always the Thursday after Father’s Day Race Dates: Always the Fri-Sat-Sun after Father’s Day.

Recent NCASA News

• 2018 National Championship Wrap-up
• ILYA – #FairSailing Initiative
• Spring 2018 News and Updates
• NCASA Store is Online
• ILYA Championship 2017 Wrap Up
• Summer 2017 News and Updates
• 2017 National Championship is in the Record Books
• Remembering Deonna Haines

Copyright 2018-2019 National Class A Scow Association, All Rights Reserved.

Yachting World

• Digital Edition

5 new sailing scows aimed at the cruising market

• Toby Heppell
• October 25, 2023

There has been a raft of new sailing scows announced this year, with the cruising market following the racing world in design philosophy

Those who followed the early stages of this year’s Rolex Fastnet Race will surely have been intrigued by how well the front runners in the Class 40 fleet appeared to handle the brutal wind against tide conditions that caused problems for a lot of other boats. Conventional wisdom has it that a slim, narrow hull is ideal for sailing upwind in a blow. Yet the recent Class 40s carry their immense beam well forward of the mast, with a bow that’s closer to a square shape than a conventional point.

However, when heeled these boats present a relatively narrow immersed section that doesn’t slam into a head sea with the intensity that the flat saucer-like hull might suggest. At the same time they have enormous righting moment, which gives power to punch over big waves and reduces the total time spent sailing to windward. This stability is also an important factor in the boats’ behaviour in strong gusts: an increase of wind that would have many of the rest of us scrabbling for another reef is often handled simply by depowering the top of the mainsail with a bit more twist.

Although this hull form has only been in existence for little more than a decade, since David Raison won the 2011 Mini Transat in a boat of his own design, it has quickly gained traction across the Mini 6.50, Class 40 and IMOCA 60 fleets. It’s now increasingly appearing in designs for cruising yachts, which also have potential to offer considerably more internal volume than other vessels of a similar length.

Skaw Paradise

The Skaw Paradise is a very beamy 11.3m foiling scow bow cruiser with its roots firmly in the racing scene, but with the concepts reworked to produce an ultimate cruiser. Skaw CEO and founder Benoit Marie is also technical director, coach and co-skipper (when racing double-handed) for Caroline Boule, who’s notched up a string of impressive results in the Mini 6.50 class this season in her full flying Sam Manuard-designed Nicomatic.

Marie co-designed the Skaw Paradise with naval architect Clément Bercault of Berco Design. “We could not find any boat on the market suiting our needs, so we started designing our own perfect boat,” he says.

“It’s one to take our friends and family around the world to unseen places, in the safest, easiest and fastest manner.”

The Skaw Paradise differs to Nicomatic in that it has fully retractable C-foils that are intended to act like motion dampeners, giving a smoother ride, while also increasing both stability and speed. While much is borrowed from the racing world, this boat has been simplified as much as possible, so it’s not complicated to sail.

SailScow 37

Much of the drive towards scow bow cruising yachts is driven by top level racing sailors. Armel Tripon, who raced the then radical Sam Manuard-designed IMOCA 60 L’Occitane de Provence in the 2020 Vendée Globe, has lent his name to the SailScow brand that’s working on a range of four designs from 28-42ft.

“The hull I was able to test racing around the globe delighted me,” says Tripon. “I can easily imagine myself cruising on a scow to take full advantage of the sailing performance, the ease of passage through the sea and the incredible comfort at anchor – I can’t wait to try it out.”

The first SailScow model is a 37ft cruiser designed by Gildas Plessis, a strong advocate of this hull shape. It’s primarily of marine ply and epoxy and offers a step change in internal space compared to other yachts of this length. Options include a four cabin layout, with two doubles forward, both with rectangular beds, while aft there’s a further double, plus a twin cabin with bunk beds. Alternatively there’s space for a giant owner’s cabin forward, plus one aft double port and a generous technical and stowage area to starboard.

VPLP Fast Cruising Scow

PLP’s carbon Fast Cruising Scow is a 40ft concept that aims to maximise both performance and comfort. It has a covered and glazed saloon/cockpit area like those found on cruising catamarans. On the same level as the working areas of the cockpit, it provides shelter from sun and water both when used as a dining area and as a watch keeping zone on passage.

Air draught a fraction over 20m (67ft) helps provide a big rig that will produce plenty of power, while retractable foils will reduce heel angles thanks to the righting moment they generate, at the same time as cushioning the passage of the boat through waves.

Breton yard IDB Marine was one of the forerunners in producing a cruising boat based on a scow bow design. The Mojito 650 uses the same extreme scow bow hull as the phenomenally successful David Raison-designed Maxi 650 that won the series division of the last Mini Transat race, taking five of the top nine places.

The Mojito 650 is a detuned boat with a new coachroof that gives a panoramic view, plus a six-berth interior with a full-size rectangular double bed forward. There’s also plenty of stowage and all that’s lacking compared to many significantly larger craft is standing headroom and a separate heads compartment. A smaller and simplified rig compared to that of the Maxi 650 makes this an easy boat to sail and a lot less tweaky than the original, yet it’s still one that will happily plane at speeds well into double digits and hold its own upwind against boats 10ft longer.

La Rochelle-based RM Yachts has been forging a different path to mainstream yards for more than 30 years with its range of distinctive fast plywood/epoxy performance cruisers. The latest model – a sixth generation RM designed by Marc Lombard, is directly influenced by today’s raceboats, with the aim of producing a spacious, fast and dry 36-footer that can cover long distances at fast average speeds.

“It offers greater safety, more interior and exterior space and greater ease of movement,” says lead designer Eric Levet. “The hull is powerful and voluminous but not excessively so at the bow, for a good passage through the waves.”

The first example is scheduled to start construction in January next year and is expected to be afloat in July 2024.

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Welcome to the MC Sailing Association

Upcoming Events

2024 regatta results.

“HISTORY OF THE SCOW”  Film Proposal Woody Woodruff has been sailing scows a long time and is using his talents as a film producer to make a documentary film on scows:  The Project    Donate Here

Notice of Election & Annual Membership Meeting

As part of its annual rotation, the Board seeks nominations of candidates to fill the positions of retiring members of the Board of Governors. Nominees must be current MCSA members and available to actively serve a three year term of office beginning January 1, 2025.  The elected individuals will fill the expiring term of Scott Slocum, Scott Harestad, & Natalie Sinn. When contemplating prospective nominees, consider the value of maintaining a Board balance in sailing, administrative, and leadership skill sets as well as a geographical representation of MCSA members.

The following member has accepted a nomination to fill one of the three open positions of the retiring Board members and will be placed on the ballot for a verbal vote:   The following is a list of the current Board members whose terms expire on December 31st of the year indicated:

Natalie Sinn      - Minnetonka YC, MN (2025) Dana Nelson    - Club de Voile Deux-Montagnes, CN (2025)

Kevin Neal       -  Florida (2025) Christy Will      -  Beulah YC, WI (2026) Matt Fisher       - Hoover SC, OH (2026) Sean Bradley   -  Barnegat Bay YR Assoc, NJ, (2026)- Commodore Chris Kubicek   -  Lake Beulah YC, WI (2028) - Vice Commodore Scott Harestad - Spring Lake YC, MI (2024) - Rear Commodore

The election will be held during the Annual Membership Meeting to be held at the MCSA National Championship August 21-24, Lake Geneva YC, WI.   Inquiries should be submitted to Chris Kubicek at [email protected]

© MC Sailing Association, Inc. 2024. All Rights Reserved.

National Class A Scow Association

Class contact information.

Click below

Class Email

Class Website

One-Design Class Type: Dinghy

Was this boat built to be sailed by youth or adults? Both

Approximately how many class members do you have? 30

Photo Credit:

Photo Credit: One van der Wal / melges.com

About National Class A Scow Association

The 38 foot Class A Scow was the first scow designed and built by J.O. Johnson of Johnson Boat Works in 1895 in White Bear Lake, Minnesota USA. The boats were originally built of wood, but transitioned to fiberglass hulls in the 1980’s. Carbon fiber spars, foil-shaped rudders and transition to an asymmetrical spinnaker with bow sprit was completed in the late 1990’s.

The boat has dual rudders and dual bilgeboards (no fixed keel) and therefore requires a crew of six or seven to keep her upright in a blow. The A Scow is now built in Zenda, WI by Melges Performance Sailboats – the fastest and largest of the Melges Scow family. With over a century of heritage, delivering a combination of raw power, speed and performance unmatched in one-design sailing the A Scow is a true classic. A full length feature film documentary called “The Ultimate Ride” was released in 2006. Gary Jobson remarked on the class in this article: https://www.sailingworld.com/racing/ultimate-ride-indeed/

Boats Produced: Records are sketchy, but there have been several dozen built over over the past 125 years. There are probably 40-50 active boats with most of them racing at this time.

Class boat builder(s):

Melges Performance Sailboats P.O. Box 1 N598 Zenda Road Zenda, Wisconsin 53195 USA

Phone +1 262 275 1110 Fax +1 262 275 8012

Email [email protected]

Approximately how many boats are in the USA/North America? Almost all the boats are in North America. There are perhaps 3 in Europe and 1 in Australia that we have heard of.

Where is your One-Design class typically sailed in the USA? List regions of the country:

Typically in the upper Midwest of the USA (Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan) but races have been held in the east and in Texas.

Does this class have a spinnaker or gennaker? Yes

How many people sail as a crew including the helm?  6 or 7

Ideal combined weight of range of crew:  1100 – 1500 lbs

Boat Designed in  1895

Length (feet/inches): 38′ (11.582 m)

Beam: 8’3″ (2.515 m)

Weight of rigged boat without sails: 1,850 lbs (839.146 kg)

Draft: ~6′ with bilgeboard fully extended

Mast Height: 40′

Back to One-Design Central

Copyright ©2018-2024 United States Sailing Association. All rights reserved. US Sailing is a 501(c)3 organization. Website designed & developed by Design Principles, Inc. -->

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In Good Company with the MC Scow

• By Dave Powilson
• Updated: October 19, 2021

When Scott Harestad describes sailing MC Scows, his eyes light up with the expectation of a kid on Christmas morning. You can almost feel the exuberance. “The acceleration in the puffs is just amazing!” he says gesturing outward, his face slightly reddening with excitement and eyes widening like he’s suddenly been transported onto a wild reach on some distant lake. His speech quickens, and he shifts his weight from one foot to the other. “And,” quickly catching a breath, “you’re constantly working the controls—cunningham, vang and mainsheet—to keep it there.” Then he’s suddenly on dry land again and just as quickly asks, “Have you sailed one?”

I have, so he pivots to Jen Edney, our photographer, who is standing nearby.

“How about you? Ever sail an MC?”

And before Edney has a chance to finish saying she hasn’t, he’s at work, trying to set up a time and place to make it happen.

Harestad is no fly-by-night MC Scow proselytizer. He’s earned his stripes through 40 years of participation and is on his fourth boat. From Spring Lake, Michigan, Harestad travels a lot, living by the adage “you go to their regatta and they’ll come to yours.” And as current class president, he’s eager to tick off the latest class success stories to anyone who will listen. Recently, he notes, they have five active sailmakers and a New Jersey fleet that’s blossomed from five boats to 30 in a year and a half. And now, at the class’s 50th Anniversary National Championship held at Clear Lake, Iowa, where there’s 119 boats, is a class record.

Anniversary regattas are nothing new in the one-design ­sailing landscape, but only a few draw such big fleets. When that happens, it’s not just a testament to longevity, but also a ­barometer of the class’s future. The MC has come a long way from its first national championship, held in early October 1971 in Shreveport, Louisiana. That event—won by hull No. 10—drew a dozen sailors, all with wide-eyed optimism about the future of this new Melges-designed scow. Andy Burdick is the president of Melges Performance Sailboats and holder of a Tom Brady-like record of 12 MC national titles. He says: “It wasn’t until the 1980s and ‘90s that production numbers started to get really big—over 100 MCs a year. Lately, it’s averaged around 50 a year.”

Still, that’s a number most classes can only envy.

Part of the MC’s success lies with the Melges traveling road show, where a trailer would be loaded up at the factory in Zenda, Wisconsin, and the driver would be given marching orders not to come back until the trailer was empty. It worked. There are now more than 2,800 MCs, with 662 of them holding class ­memberships—up from 574 in 2020.

As another indicator of the class’s well-being, if you want a new boat, the going wait is three months. And good used boats are rare as hens’ teeth. In fact, at the championship’s Saturday-night annual meeting, Harestad pushed the idea that everyone should buy new boats so the market would get an injection of affordable used boats. The demand is certainly there, and the boats hold their value, so why not? Dan Allen from Clear Lake, who has a new boat on order, sold his boat right after the regatta for just a few hundred dollars less than he bought it for six years ago.

Designed as a scaled-down, simplified version of the C Scow, the MC (the “M” is for Melges) is basic: a three-stayed rig and only five sail controls—mainsheet, traveler, cunningham, outhaul and vang. It’s easy to transport on a small trailer and simple to rig. It’s the least expensive of the Melges scows and, because it’s not sailed flat, is easier to hike on than most dinghies. Consequently, the class continues to draw a lot of master sailors. Witness the 2020 Masters National Championship, which drew 109 boats, also held at Clear Lake.

The class, however, is doing well at attracting racers from the opposite end of the age spectrum. “Some of the kids coming out of the junior program seem to feel that this is an old person’s boat,” says Dan Quiram from Pewaukee Lake, “but then they try a C Scow, which takes a lot of strength, and quickly realize this is a great boat for them.”

More than a half-dozen youth skippers are sprinkled into the 50th anniversary fleet.

Conceived as a singlehander, MC sailors regularly bring a crew aboard, especially when the wind is above 10 knots. In fact, unless you’re well over 200 pounds, you probably need to have a crew to be competitive when the wind’s up. The ideal total weight in a breeze is 210 to 380, which means it works well for a lot of husband-wife and parent-child teams.

The crew option has also been a great promotional tool. “I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve taken people with me on the MC who’ve never sailed before because all they really have to do is switch sides when we tack or jibe,” Burdick says. “They can get involved as much as they like with the sail controls and boards. I’ve seen a lot of people get into the sport just because they’ve gone for that ride.”

One case in point is Annie Samis, a 14-year-old junior sailor from Chicago, whose background includes Optis and Lasers. Never having sailed an MC, she was convinced to put her name on the 2021 Nationals crew list and was paired with Richard Blake, from the Hoover Sailing Club in Ohio. She got a chance to first sail with him in the practice race, but it didn’t take her long to get hooked.

“It’s so much fun!” she gushes with the enthusiasm of a high-school cheerleader. Samis and Blake already have plans to sail in a future Nationals as well as at the Hoover SC. As a bonus, her name was drawn in the raffle at the Saturday-night party that produced five winners of new sails, one from each of the class’s sailmakers—not a bad way to enter the class. The five sailmakers donated the sails, and raffle proceeds went to Clear Lake Youth Sailing.

Although the controls are basic, the MC is a bit like a saxophone—easy to play, but difficult to play really well. Excellence can sometimes take years. Maybe that’s why some of the best in the fleet are those who’ve been at it the longest—those in the masters, grand masters and mega masters groups. Almost 70 percent of the 2021 Nationals fleet were masters.

Quiram started racing MCs when he was 21, and at the time, he says, he thought to himself, “‘I hate those old masters bastards!’ Then I became a master, and I said, ‘I hate those old grand masters bastards!’ And now I’m an old grand master.”

There are also idiosyncrasies unique to scows. Former Finn sailor Andy Casy from Oklahoma says: “It’s challenging because you have a leeboard going out at one angle and the mast at another angle, and you have to get the right dynamics going to make it all work. You can have two boats in the same wind, and one will be 15 degrees higher than the other, just because that boat has ­everything working right.”

Matt Fisher points to the challenge of a blunt bow and big ­mainsail. “It can be a tough boat to sail downwind in a big breeze, as it’s easy to submarine the bow,” he says. “You have to go more by the lee than you’d think and really work to steer around the waves.”

Still, as Dan Wilson from Indianapolis points out, there’s a wide range of abilities at regattas. “No matter where you are,” he says, “you can find a group to race against at your level.”

The MC has one builder, Melges, which has been the case since the beginning, except for a period in the 1980s and ‘90s when Johnson Boatworks began building them, but it went out of business in 1998. Having one builder has added stability to the class, something highly valued in most one-designs.

There have been subtle changes over the years, such as the ­addition of a mast-base pivot plate, which allows one person to raise the mast instead of two. And from around 2010 through 2017, Melges produced a sealed-cockpit version, in part to minimize the amount of water in the boat when capsized. The builder then went back to the open-cockpit layout but removed the aft deck, which, among other things, made it easier to roll and store the sail. “Melges has been good at responding to what we want,” Harestad says, “and that’s been a real plus.”

Admit it or not, there’s more to a regatta than just the racing. Iowa’s Clear Lake YC proved this over a three-day national championship that was never completed, thanks to a rotation of no wind, rain, severe winds and thunderstorms. On this particular weekend, sailboat racing throughout the Midwest encountered similar conditions. Up north, A Scows were skunked on the first day of their US Nationals on Wisconsin’s Pewaukee Lake, eventually getting in four races over the next two days, and Chicago fleets racing on Lake Michigan reported tornadoes. For the purely race-centric, the apocalypse was surely at hand.

But from a broader perspective, the MC Scow 50th Anniversary event demonstrated resiliency to uncooperative weather and the ability to still chalk up a win of sorts, presenting a model for how to do a lot with just a little. While the weather allowed completion of just one race (the class minimum is three for a championship), the emphasis Clear Lake YC had placed on the nonracing side was the regatta equivalent of a winning lotto ticket.

Understand that this is no large yacht club, neither in numbers nor size—the 150 members occupy a small building on the site of a former Jaycee’s bathhouse at the base of Main Street. The building blends in well with the lakefront, evoking a late 19th or early 20th century railroad station, complete with wide roof overhangs around the perimeter. Founded in 1935 by “Cookie” Cook and a few others, it’s on public property, which makes it accessible for junior sailing lessons. There’s one ramp and a single dock with three fingers. Membership is $170 a year. Juniors are free. That the club’s volunteers pulled off the logistics of managing 105 visiting boats plus the home boats is nothing short of remarkable. Certainly, there was a ton of work, but they take it all with a dose of Midwestern modesty.

“We started organizing this right after the masters championship here last September,” says Stu Oltrogge, the event’s co-chair, “so we had the highway basically already built.”

Oltrogge’s wife, Judy, recruited 55 volunteers to handle the onshore activities—meals, registration, etc.—while another 25 took care of launching, haul-out and spectator boats. That’s a ­considerable volunteer corps given the size of the membership.

Clear Lake is just over 5 miles long, and the racing area at the south end of the lake is 2 miles in diameter, with an average water depth of 12 feet. It’s unique in that the water level is 100 feet higher than the surrounding area, which, in normal times, should increase the chances of good winds. Apart from sailing, Clear Lake is most known for the Surf Ballroom, where, in 1959, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper last performed before their plane crashed a few miles outside of town. While those musicians put Clear Lake on the map, it’s a vibrant, iconic Midwestern town with lots of activities every week, ranging from concerts at the lakeside band shell, to boat tours on a stern-wheeler, to farmers markets on Main Street.

There was also an intentional effort by Clear Lake YC to keep this event “small town.” “We decided we wanted to put groups of folks all around the lake,” says Mark Tesar, Oltrogge’s co-chair counterpart, “having them stay with host families or at an Airbnb.” Such a move was in part a muted response to lingering pandemic concerns, but also just a large dose of Iowan hospitality. The result was a handful of encampments of sorts. For instance, 13 Michigan sailors stayed at the unique “Pyramid House” along the lake’s north shore, a crew that included three national champions.

And then there was “the Compound,” where I was lucky enough to land a spot. I’m not sure whether it was a group of three houses based around three docks full of scows or whether it was three docks full of scows based around three houses. Either way, Mark Tesar, his brother Todd, and Mr. and Mrs. Oltrogge opened up their homes to MC sailors and made it available as a base for other boats. With plenty of food, beverages and shade on the porches, it would be tough to find a nicer place to hang out when the wind doesn’t materialize. With 17 MC Scows in front of their houses, there were more one-designs than you might see in front of a lot of YCs.

With visiting as well as local boats in the water and on vacant hoists along their docks, one could be sailing in less than 10 minutes and efficiently to the race area. Even better, with the racing area so close at hand, box lunches were available each morning at Clear Lake YC for people to take to their lodgings, and the plan was to sail a couple of races in the morning, come in for lunch, then sail an afternoon race. It was all very civilized.

Each private home, like most along any inland lake, has the requisite lakeside deck ringed with chairs and chaise-style lounges, with coolers readily at hand, and those became the hangouts during nonracing times, which meant they got a lot of use at this year’s event.

No doubt, the MC 50th Nationals will go down in class history as the regatta that wasn’t. Yet it was an opportunity for those who hadn’t seen each other since pre-pandemic days to reconnect—a reunion of sorts. So, it certainly was a regatta for the sailors looking to visit after a year of COVID-19 social denial. For Todd Tesar, it all felt normal. “We usually travel to a lot of the lakes around here and see the same guys all the time,” he says. “We stay at their homes; they stay at ours; we go to their weddings.”

Cam McNeil, who decisively won the event’s one and only race, says, “Despite the lack of races, it was still great to see old friends and meet new people.”

And that really is what this particular national championship is all about—gathering with friends, in honor of a beloved boat that loves you back.

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WELCOME TO THE

NATIONAL C SCOW SAILING ASSOCIATION

2024 nationals rankings, the c scow is a fast, tactical, and dynamic boat, race against some of the best sailors in the county, join the community of sailors nation wide, - grow the fleet - free registration f o r youths see youth tab.

The National C Scow Sailing Association (NCSSA) is the national organization for the C Scow supported by sailors across the country. Each year the NCSSA sponsors a championship regatta and has been doing so since 1981. The NCSSA also publishes national rankings. Any sailor can be ranked by sailing a minimum of three r egattas. There are over 19  regattas each year. Get ranked and compare your rankings against some of the best sailors in the country!

The C Scow is a dynamic boat that provides for fast, tactical, and fun racing. The C Scow origins date back to 1906 in the midwest. There are now over 70 inland lakes across the United States with fleets.  

The mission of the NCSSA is to promote and grow the C Scow fleet. Come join us and start sailing a C Scow!

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About the E Scow

The elegant and sleek E Scow is the pinnacle for high speed one-design racing for sailors in North America, from lakes and bays to protected ocean harbors. With 70+ boats regularly hitting the starting line at the National Championship, the E Scow is an ever-growing fleet driven by a design that’s always innovating.

Melges Performance Sailboats is the quality builder the class enjoys for creating these magnificent race machines. They have provided many of the innovations built into the boats, all carefully guarded by tight class scantlings and an experimental project process. With all the control lines led to the deck and an asymmetrical spinnaker launch and retrieval system, the boats are exciting and relatively as easy to sail as they have ever been. Melges continues their multiple decades worth of expertise building excellent products, including new E Scows.

The National Class E Scow Association manages the class and the National Championship regatta. Membership is across North America and include both active members and associates.

In 2023, the E Scow celebrated its 100th birthday. There were multiple celebrations across the country, culminating in the National Championship regatta in Madison, WI, where 128 boats participated – all on one starting line. The Race Committee did an amazing job of creating four segment starting lines that extended for over a mile. It was an event for the ages.

As the class looks forward to the next 100 years, the focus is on increasing the size of our regatta participation at local and regional events, along with engaging anyone interested in learning more and participating in E Scows. Here are a few ways you can get involved:

• Review the regatta schedule on e-scow.org and attend an event near you.
• Find out the name of the fleet leader close to you, under committees on e-scow.org, send them an email and ask about schedules and ways to get involved
• Send a quick note to the class secretary at [email protected] or any of the class officers.
• Call Melges Performance Sailboats to find out about purchasing new or used
• Review the classified ads on e-scow.org for used boat listings

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• Sailboat Guide

M-16 Scow is a 16 ′ 0 ″ / 4.9 m monohull sailboat designed by Johnson/Melges Boat Works and built by Tanzer Industries Ltd., Windward Boatworks, and Melges Performance Sailboats starting in 1950.

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

Since 1999, all new M-16’s have been built using the MC SCOW hull and deck molds and now shares other rigging, such as a single rudder, with the MC SCOW. The main sheet traveller has been done away with and the mast no longer rotates.

Sail Area Main: 108 sq.ft. Jib: 39 sq.ft.

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Carbon Spar, Asymmetric Spinnaker, High Aspect Sailplan

The inland 20 is a high performance scow for two people. it is one of the most modern scows on the sailing scene today, with active racing fleets from the east coast to the midwest. if you enjoy exciting sailing, it's time to get on an inland 20, latest news & events, register for 2024 i20 champs.

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2024 National Calendar

I20 hull and deck kit manufacture begins january.

The Inland 20 Scow Sailing Assoc. has recently found an accomplished boat builder that will be using resin infusion to construct I20 “kit boats.”

Lynn Wins 2023 Champs in Feather Light Air

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Find a Fleet!

Tips and tuning.

Aaron Lynn, 2017 class champion has provided the following guide for tuning the Inland 20.

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2019 rehoboth bay regatta, 2018 spring regatta, spring regatta-2012, 2016 national regatta, used boats for sale, 2023 windward demo boat: $43,045, i20 converted from m20: $4500, 2007 windward i20: $8900, crear boatworks i20: $10k, like what you see.

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The Barnegat Bay Yacht Racing Association

About the E Scow

The E Scow is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by Arnold Meyer Sr as a one-design racer and first built in 1924. 

The design was initially built by Johnson Boat Works in White Bear Lake, Minnesota United States, but that company closed in 1998 and production passed to Melges Performance Sailboats, who continue to build it.

The modern Melges E Scow is elegant and sleek, the pinnacle of high speed one-design racing for sailors in North America, from lakes and bays to protected ocean harbors. With over 70 boats regularly hitting the starting line at the National Championship, the Melges E Scow is an ever-growing fleet driven by a design that’s always innovating.

National E Scow Association

News and updates, upcoming events.

E Scow Tuning Guide (pdf)

Melges E Scow How-To: Takedown Line Re-Lead in Backbone (pdf)

Melges E Scow Promo (pdf)

Fleet Representative

Carl horrocks, photo gallery.

Copyright © 2024 Barnegat Bay Yacht Racing Association  (a 501c3 organization) - All Rights Reserved.

• Flying Scot
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RACE WITH SCOW

Sailing is truly a lifetime activity. Once you learn how to sail, you have a lifetime skill that you can enjoy and share with friends and family. You never stop learning. Sailboat racing is a sport in which people of all ages can compete and excel in the same game under the same rules. It is one of the few sports in which men and women, young and old, can compete against each other directly, on an equal footing. If you are looking for a sport you can play for the rest of your life, that's also highly social and team oriented, then come join us on the water. Contact the SCOW Racing Director at [email protected] to get started.

You must be a SCOW member to race as skipper or crew on a club owned boat.

We encourage sailors of all skill levels to participate in racing events to learn and have fun. Many SCOW members learn to race with us, which opens up all kinds of racing opportunities for them in our region or around the country. Safety, fun competition, and good sportsmanship are the hallmarks of the SCOW racing program.

No racing experience is needed to crew on a boat during our Wednesday night informal races or to assist on the race committee for our races and regattas. Many of our members actually learn to race by crewing on Wednesday nights. Please contact the Racing Director regarding opportunities to race or to serve the club by supporting the racing program.

As an all-volunteer sailing club, everything we do relies on club volunteers, including conducting our racing seminars as well as running our own races and clinics.

Important - Special Wednesday Night Racing (WNR) Protocols and Crew Registration - Changes in Process - Stay Tuned

Special Wednesday Night Racing (WNR) Protocols and Crew Registration

Due to COVID 19 risks, we are modifying the format for WNR slightly. Skippers must have prearranged crew assignments prior to arrival at the marina for all racing activities until further notice and skippers intending to race must notify the Racing Director via email prior to race day. Until further notice, we will not be able to accommodate members who show up unannounced at the docks for WNR like we have always done in the past. To reduce the risk of infection, we are recommending that all skippers and boat crews self screen and agree to sail together as well as agree to any additional individual boat protocols prior to arriving at the marina. This includes decisions on whether or not to wear masks. The waterfront is not the place for this deliberation.

Sailing is a risk sport and this year we have an additional risk factor that must be considered. All sailors, skippers and crew alike, assume all risk and must make responsible decisions regarding their own health and that of other members they could impact.

In addition to current SCOW COVID 19 protocols promulgated by our Commodore, the following protocols apply to SCOW WNR and any other racing events.

All skippers arrange crew prior to arrival at marina for WSM  DO NOT SHOW UP AT THE DOCKS LOOKING FOR A BOAT WITHOUT PRIOR ARRANGEMENT WITH A SKIPPER  Skippers intending to participate will notify SCOW Racing Director via email in advance mailto:[email protected]  Prospective crew (any crew looking for a spot on a boat) sign up here: WNR Crew Registration  Boat crews conduct informal health status assessment prior to arrival at WSM  Maintain maximum social distancing possible on land and on the docks  All members, skippers and boat crews are expected to comply with all guidance promulgated by the SCOW Commodore.  All skippers and crew sailing on a club boat please sign the required waiver of liability that is in the boat sign out books in the sail locker prior to sailing.  Masks are recommended on land. 

NOTE: depending on how many skippers desire to race, we may have to implement a skipper sign up for the club boats to ensure that every skipper has a fair opportunity to race.

WNR Crew Registration

Racing programs include 

Racing sign up and results:    Click here  >>

Questions about the scow's racing program c ontact the racing director at [email protected].

• Melges A Scow
• Melges E Scow
• Melges C Scow
• Melges MC Scow
• Melges X Boat
• O’pen Skiff
• Skeeta & Nikki
• Melges RIB 625C
• Melges Power 26
• About Melges
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MELGES SAILBOATS

FUN. MODERN. EASY TO SAIL.

Designed by Botin Partners Naval Architecture and built by Premier Composite Technologies, the Melges 40 is a weapon for windward/leeward, inshore and coastal racing. Fresh off the design line, the Melges 40 strengthens a unique sailing/racing experience.

The Melges 32 ®  is one-design racing at its best. Since 2005, it has successfully delivered bigger, better sailing that is fun and competitive. Complementing its sporty attitude, it possesses one of the most fun regatta schedules that includes many prestigious venues supported by an organized and well-established class association.

The reputation of the Melges 24 ®  precedes itself. Best known for its very competitive disposition and easy-to-sail personality, this modern sportboat maintains its status as a leader in high-performance, one design yachting. With more than 850 boats sold, it continues a humbling tradition of America's Cup, Olympic Medallists, Volvo Ocean Race recruitment. Looking to improve on tactics and boat handling skills? The Melges 24 builds better sailors.

Simple, fun world-class racing at yachting's most celebrated venues. Corinthians and professionals alike. Year after year, that's what the Melges 20 Experience is all about. The Melges 20 fulfills the need for a more compact, yet spacious, fast, well-built sportboat. With its introduction, Melges Performance Sailboats delivered the next generation of sailboat racing and competition. An exclusive Reichel/Pugh keelboat design, it is advanced in every respect. Made with high-quality materials and easy to rig, the Melges 20 enjoys a well-established worldwide fleet and fan base.

Designed by Reichel/Pugh and built by Melges, the Melges 15 prioritizes stability, comfort, ease of use, and performance. The Melges 15’s stable hull shape and ergonomic cockpit make it a suitable layout for adult racing and educational sailing. Easy conversion from a club configuration (non-spinnaker) to a one-design setup, provides more versatility to club programs and options for individual owners. With the main design goals focused on stability and performance in a variety of conditions, the boat features a narrow overall beam and a flat cross-section shape for stability, righting moment, and ease of planing.

Designed by Reichel/Pugh, the Melges 14 is a modern singlehanded one-design with the ability to sail with two. With its large and open transom, there’s never a need to bail. The carbon mast and boom complement its flexible sail plan with three different size rigs. With boats in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa, the Melges 14 is a one-design fleet for the masses. Sailors can order a custom Melges 14 dolly, easily car top it or tow it behind any vehicle. It’s a perfect beach boat, family sailboat or a one-design racing platform. It is speed, quality, durability, comfort and fun wrapped into one dynamic sailing package.

MELGES A SCOW

With six to seven crew, the A Scow is the fastest and largest of the Melges Scow family. Nothing compares to its century of heritage, delivering a combination of raw power, speed and performance unmatched in one-design sailing. A true classic, the A Scow is monumental to watch, not to mention powerful to race.

MELGES E SCOW

The elegant and super sleek Melges E Scow™ delivers an electrifying ride. The ever-growing fleet of Melges E Scows boasts both impressive world-class competition and accessible family fun for everyone. For more than 80 years, the E Scow has founded the tradition of fun and fast sailboat racing all over North America, from lakes and bays to protected ocean harbors. More than 50+ boats can be seen on the starting line.

An alternative, double-handed scow, the Melges 17 has a reputation for being fast and fun in light or heavy air. The rivalry pairings range from husband and wives to teamed siblings, making the Melges 17 the ultimate family racer!

MELGES C SCOW

The C Scow was the first class of scow built by Harry C. Melges, Sr. in 1945; it quickly became an all-time speed favorite. Inspired by more than 100 years of competitive racing, this cat-rigged, maneuverable sailboat is great fun and a total pleasure to sail. A modern, versatile and easy-to-sail boat, it accommodates 2-3 crew and is super-charged with a large, powerful mainsail. Built with integrity, the Melges C Scow™ is fast and calibrated superlatively for speed. It is one of the most friendly and popular classes in the Melges Scow family, producing as many as 80+ boats on the starting line.

An original design by the Melges family, the Melges MC is cat-rigged boat with one of the largest one-design fleets in all of North America. It is unique in the fact that you can sail single-handed or double-handed – Sailing solo is easy, taking a crew is fun! There are more than 100 fleets nationwide with more than 2,700 MCs actively racing each year.

MELGES X BOAT

The Melges X Boat® makes learning to sail fun, easy and addictive. For youth sailors, it is a rewarding experience that ultimately fosters a deep passion for the sport. Boasting a regular showing of over 100 boats at the X Inland Championship, it is one of the most active youth sailing fleets in North America. The Melges X Boat Experience not just about the racing. It’s about the community – Making lifelong friends through sailing, volleyball, and just plain fun. The Melges X Boat is the perfect, uncomplicated trainer designed specifically to be safe for novice sailors yet competitive & fun for aspiring junior racers. Fast and super smooth, it truly enables concise development and instruction of basic boat handling skills, maneuvers and racing tactics.

O’PEN SKIFF

Designed specifically for juniors, the little dinghy has blown a big breath of fresh air through our sailing world, close to the new-generation skiff concept, very fast and very simple. 100% open, self-bailing, rapid and responsive, with an up-to-date versatile rig, the O'pen Skiff offers kids a machine that delivers maximum fun while helping them learn the skills and reflexes to enjoy racing on current, high-performance equipment. Hundreds of sailing clubs around the world have opted for the O'pen Skiff, for a new, fun way of teaching sailing to appeal to youngsters attracted to new sail sports.

SKEETA & NIKKI

The Skeeta and Nikki are singlehanded foiling designs built by Jim and David French in Melbourne, AUS. The scow’s stability and ease are only further enhanced by the performance and durability of the wings and aluminum foils. Melges Performance Sailboats is the exclusive dealer for the Skeeta and the Nikki in North America.

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