Evolution of the Modern Catamaran Multihull classes prosper at Caribbean sailing regattas
When sailors picture a racing multihull, they often think of a fantastic sailing boat with spartan accommodations. On the other end of the multihull spectrum, one finds production catamarans with luxurious living spaces but limited performance potential. There has not been much to choose from between those extremes… until now.
Multihull design technology has come a long way in recent years. It is now possible to design and build luxurious sailing catamarans that achieve high performance. In order to realize the performance potential of these very special craft, structural weight must be kept to a minimum. Advanced rig, hull, and appendage geometries must be carefully chosen to compliment each other. Holistic design and engineering of the complete package is essential.
Several examples of this concept are proving themselves to be very successful. Multihull design experts, Morrelli & Melvin Design & Engineering, Inc., are on the forefront of advanced multihull technology and have developed an award-winning range of high performance cruising catamaran designs.
While their new breed of cat is fully capable of crossing any ocean in the world with a high degree of safety and comfort, they are also capable of out-performing most racing monohulls of similar length. These catamarans typically have three or four luxury staterooms and huge saloons and cockpits.
It is inevitable that the owners want to race these fantastic boats. There will be six of the Morrelli & Melvin designed high tech carbon fiber GUNBOAT catamarans racing at Stanford Antigua Sailing Week this year. This will be the second year of participation for the GUNBOAT class in this prestigious event.
Morrelli & Melvin will have two of their designers sailing on GUNBOATs. M&M provided VPP based ratings for the class at Stanford Antigua Sailing week in 2007 and 2008, and for the Heineken Regatta held last month in St. Maarten.
M&M founding partner Pete Melvin has participated in all GUNBOAT class events to date. Senior Design Engineer, David McCollough, will be joining Pete in Antigua this year.
“It is exciting to see multihull classes prospering at prestigious events such as Stanford Antigua Sailing Week and the Heineken Regatta in St. Maarten. There seems to be a critical mass of interest in racing multihulls at these events.
These events represent an excellent opportunity for us to validate the performance and structural integrity of our design work. Pushing these fantastic high performance sailing yachts to their limit during racing provides us with boatloads of great feedback, which we leverage into continuous design and engineering evolution back in our design office.
It has been a pleasure to work with the folks at GUNBOAT and to get to know the owners and crew on the boats. The racing is plenty exhilarating, but there is a relaxed atmosphere at these events which makes it fun for everyone.” said Pete Melvin.
Morrelli & Melvin design a wide range of racing, cruising, and commercial yachts. Their designs have won the America’s Cup, numerous World and Continental championships, Round the World and Transatlantic records, and multiple industry awards.
Morrelli & Melvin Design & Engineering, Inc. Huntington Beach, CA USA 714.861.1320 ph, 714.840.0538 fax
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Six Gunboats had a competitive week in the 2008 Heineken St. Maartin Regatta. Congratulations to the Gunboat class winners Safari, Cream and Lickity split. See the CNN video coverage and details of 2008 Gunboat event
The Gunboats' good engineering is proven on the water in the 2008 Antigua Sailing Week. Pete Melvin and Dave McCoullough of Morrelli & Melvin are measuring Gunboats' performance while racing. The Gunboat luxury and perfomance is emerging as a modern standard for multihull racing. See Morrelli & Melvin's press release and pictures of the Gunboats racing at
A fleet of high-performance, luxury Gunboats will be racing in the 28th St. Maarten Heineken Regatta to be held March 6-9, 2008. The elite and comfortable Gunboats designed by Morrelli & Melvin are expected to be some of the top finishers at the regatta.
MORRELLI & MELVIN DESIGN & ENGINEERING, INC.
4952 WARNER AVE., STE. 205, HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA 92649 USA
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| TEL: (+1) 714.861.1320
| FAX: (+1) 714.840.0538
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