M Scow

M Scow

Class symbol
Development
Designer	Johnson/Melges Boat Works
Location	United States
Year	1950
Builder(s)	Tanzer Industries Melges Performance Sailboats Windward Boatworks
Role	One-design racer
Name	M Scow
Boat
Displacement	440 lb (200 kg)
Draft	2.67 ft (0.81 m), with a bilgeboard down
Hull
Type	Monohull
Construction	Fiberglass
LOA	16.00 ft (4.88 m)
Beam	5.80 ft (1.77 m)
Hull appendages
Keel/board type	twin bilgeboards
Rudder(s)	dual internally-mounted rudders
Rig
Rig type	Bermuda rig
Sails
Sailplan	Fractional rigged sloop
Mainsail area	108.00 sq ft (10.034 m^2)
Jib/genoa area	39.00 sq ft (3.623 m^2)
Total sail area	147.00 sq ft (13.657 m^2)
Racing
D-PN	89.3

The M Scow, also called the M-Scow and the M-16 Scow, is a Canadian/American sailing dinghy that was designed by Johnson Boat Works and Melges Boat Works as a one-design racer and first built in 1950.^[1][2]

Production

The design was built by Tanzer Industries in Dorion, Quebec, Canada as well as by Windward Boatworks in Middleton, Wisconsin United States and Melges Performance Sailboats in Zenda, Wisconsin, also in the United States, but it is now out of production.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Design

The M Scow is a recreational sailboat, built predominantly of fiberglass, with wood trim. It has a fractional sloop rig with tapered or untapered aluminum or wooden spars. The hull is a reverse sheer scow design, with dual internally-mounted rudders controlled by a tiller and a dual retractable bilgeboards. It displaces 440 lb (200 kg).^[1][2]

The boat has a draft of 2.67 ft (0.81 m) with a bilgeboard extended. It can be transported on a trailer.^[1]

For sailing the design was originally equipped with end-boom sheeting to a mainsheet traveler, mainsail and jib windows for improved visibility. It also has a boom vang and Cunningham, barber haulers, and a jib traveler.^[2]

The dual rudders, rotating mast and the mainsheet traveler were done away with in a 1999 redesign. The hull and rigging were also changed to the MC Scow hull and rigging designs. In the 2020 the MC Scow remained in production, while the M Scow was no longer offered for sale.^[1][6][7]

The design has a Portsmouth Yardstick racing average handicap of 89.3 and is normally raced with a crew of two sailors.^[2]

Operational history

In a 1994 review Richard Sherwood wrote, "the M-16 scow is raced on the East Coast, in the Southeast, and in the Southwest, but most boats are found in the Midwest ... limiting specifications are issued by the Inland Lake Yachting Association, which holds a championship regatta with 60 to 90 competitors."^[2]

See also

• List of sailing boat types

Similar boats

• Melges 17

References

1. McArthur, Bruce (2020). "M-16 Scow sailboat". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
2. Sherwood, Richard M.: A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition, pages 70-71. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. ISBN 0-395-65239-1
3. McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Melges Performance Sailboats". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
4. McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Tanzer Industries Ltd. 1966 - 1986". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
5. McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Windward Boatworks". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
6. McArthur, Bruce (2020). "MC Scow sailboat specifications and details". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
7. Melges Performance Sailboats (2020). "The Melges MC Scow". melges.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.

External links

• Media related to M Scow at Wikimedia Commons