MC Scow Fleet #89 is Chartered at LMSC

Through out the Southeast US, new fleets of MC Scows are springing up. The MC is a very popular boat that can be sailed by one or two depending on the weather conditions. Lake Murray Sailing Club now has an active fleet of six MC Scows with a number of individuals closely looking at this boat as an alternative to the traditional single handed boat, the Laser.

The MC Scow was designed in 1965 by Harry Melges Sr. and his son Buddy Melges. The boat started to be an active one design class in the 1980’s. Today, there are over 2400 boats in fleets throughout the US, again with a good concentration in the Southeast. There are numerous fleets in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

The MC Scow is 16 feet in length, carries about 135 Square Feet of sail on a cat rig arrangement. The MC also has lee boards typical of inland lake scows where the leeward board is always lowered and the boat is sailed at about a 15 degree heel for maximum speed and optimum performance.

One of the many good features of the MC is it is easy to rig and launch. You can literally hook up the trailer, launch the boat and be sailing in around 10 minutes and the retrieval and putting the boat up is not much longer.

The boat is stable in good breezes, and gives a fantastic thrill planing downwind in moderate winds. Another good feature; the boat only requires one person to sail! At regattas, some individuals take along a crew member incase the wind blows, but the boat is easily sailed by a single person.

Our fleet has been participating regularly in Sunday afternoon racing and "playtime" sailing activities. As summer progresses, with warming water and longer daylight hours, we expect to add instructional events (think capsize drills) and midweek sailing/social activities in the cooling early evening hours.

For more information on the MC Scow and Fleet 89, call Allan Gowans at 345-1819, or visit the MC Scow web site.