MELGES 14 ON TEST

Back in 1945 in Zenda, Wisconsin, when Harry Melges first thought about building one of the scow designs that had been knocking around in his head, he probably never imagined that 74 years later his name would be emblazoned on the bow of a moulded GRP dish vying for Olympic selection. The Melges 14, produced by the company that’s still based in Zenda and is now run by Harry’s grandson, Harry III, recently went up against the Laser, the RS Aero and the Devoti D-Zero as the boat of choice for the Olympic single-hander class.

For UK sailors, the Melges 14 may have been a curious choice as a potential successor to the Laser, as the boat is hardly known this side of the Atlantic. But there are Melges 14 fleets across north America and the first US national championships was held