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Melges 24 vs. J80
Never having sailed a J80 the only observation I can make is that they are bigger.
The M24 requires a crew of 4 to be competitive but can be raced with three in a pinch. There are several one design fleets throughout the country. The boat can be raced PHRF but everyone will hate you because of the high downwind speeds of the boat. It''s a lot of fun to lap J24''s on windward/leward courses. It is possible to daysail with small kids if you leave the chute in the bag. The main is handled by the helmsman even in racing situations. The jib is small and easily handled by small crew. There is no provision to reduce sail area other than dousing sail so you will need crew weight to go upwind in anything over ten knots of wind. The retracting keel makes the boat easy to dry sail on a trailer. We do it every week.
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