MC Scow
{{Short description|Sailboat class}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox sailboat specifications
|name =
|insignia = File:MC Scow (class symbol).jpg
|insignia size = 41px
|class_image =
|line drawing =
|line size =
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|image boat =
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|designer = Melges & Johnson
|location = United States
|year = 1956
|no built = 2,760
|design =
|class =
|brand =
|builder = Melges Performance Sailboats
Johnson Boat Works
|role = One-design racer
|boats =
|crew = 1-3
|trapeze =
|draft = {{convert|3|ft|m|abbr=on}} with a bilgeboard down
|air draft =
|displacement = {{convert|420|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}
|hulls =
|hull type = Monohull
|construction = Fiberglass
|loa = {{convert|16.00|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|loh =
|lwl =
|beam = {{convert|5.67|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|hull draft =
|hull weight =
|engine =
|appendages =
|keel type = twin bilgeboards
|ballast =
|rudder type = transom-mounted rudder
|rigs =
|rig type = cat rig
|I =
|J =
|P =
|E =
|mast length =
|rig other =
|sails =
|sailplan = Catboat
|sailarea main = {{convert|135.00|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}
|sailarea total = {{convert|135.00|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}
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The MC Scow is an American sailing dinghy that was designed as a one-design racer and first built in 1956.{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/mc-scow|title= MC Scow sailboat specifications and details|access-date= 8 September 2020|last= McArthur| first= Bruce |work= sailboatdata.com|year= 2020|archive-url= https://archive.today/20200909123701/https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/mc-scow|archive-date= 9 September 2020 |url-status= live}}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}}
The boat is a development of the John O. Johnson-designed J Scow of the mid-1950s, significantly re-designed by Melges.
Production
The design has been built by Melges Performance Sailboats and Johnson Boat Works in the United States since 1956, with a total of 2,760 boats completed. Johnson went out of business in 1998, but the boat remains in production by Melges.{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/builder/melges-performance-sailboats|title= Melges Performance Sailboats|access-date= 8 September 2020|last= McArthur| first= Bruce |work= sailboatdata.com|year= 2020|archive-url= https://archive.today/20200908184850/https://sailboatdata.com/builder/melges-performance-sailboats|archive-date= 8 September 2020 |url-status= live}}{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/builder/johnson-boat-works-usa|title= Johnson Boat Works (USA) 1896 - 1998 |access-date= 8 September 2020|last= McArthur| first= Bruce |work= sailboatdata.com|year= 2020|archive-url= https://archive.today/20200908225439/https://sailboatdata.com/builder/johnson-boat-works-usa|archive-date= 8 September 2020 |url-status= live}}{{cite web|url= https://melges.com/melges-mc/|title= The Melges MC Scow|access-date= 8 September 2020|author= Melges Performance Sailboats|author-link= Melges Performance Sailboats|work= melges.com|year= 2020|archive-url= https://archive.today/20200908193551/https://melges.com/melges-mc/|archive-date= 8 September 2020|url-status= live}}
Design
The MC Scow is a recreational sailboat, with the reverse sheer scow hull built predominantly of fiberglass, with mahogany wood trim. It has a catboat rig with anodized aluminum spars, a transom-hung rudder controlled by a tiller and dual retractable bilgeboards. It displaces {{convert|420|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}.
The boat has a draft of {{convert|3|ft|m|abbr=on}} with a bilgeboard extended and can be transported on a trailer.
For sailing the design is equipped with hiking straps and has a mainsail window to improve visibility. It also has a 2:1 mechanical advantage, four-part mainsheet traveler, a Cunningham, a 12:1 boom vang and a 3:1 outhaul.
It is normally raced by a crew of one to three sailors.
Operational history
By 1994 the boat was being raced in 21 fleets in Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, North
Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa. By 2020 it was being raced in over 100 fleets across the United States.
In a 1994 review Richard Sherwood wrote, "single-hander? Catboat? Scow? Well, it has bilgeboards. The
MC can be sailed single-handed, but it is a big boat and will easily carry more ... The MC is perhaps not quite as athletic as most single-handers."
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{Official website|https://melges.com/melges-mc/}}
{{Melges Performance Sailboats}}
{{Sailing dinghies and skiffs}}
Category:1950s sailboat type designs
Category:Sailboat types built by Johnson Boat Works
Category:Sailboat types built by Melges Performance Sailboats