Morrelli & Melvin Design & Engineering Inc.
- Address:
- 412 29th Street
- Phone:
- +1 949 723-7640
- Email:
- info@morrellimelvin.com
Formed in 1992 by Gino Morrelli and Pete Melvin, the company started out mainly specializing in designing performance sailing multihulls. Later they diversified into multihulls of all types (including power) and now the company develops a varied range of leisure and commercial vessels, including sailing race boats and sports fishing craft, as well as certified passenger boats and work boats.
Morrelli and Melvin also supply marine engineering services, do legal maritime work and offer project management.
Internationally, Morrelli and Melvin are renowned for designing the 125 ft maxi catamaran PLAYSTATION (later GERONIMO), winner of over 10 WSSRC world records including the fastest non-stop round the world by Steve Fossett and his crew in 2004.
Among other sailing boats from the design firm are 12.5 m ALINGHI, a championship winner on lake Geneva; the Lagoon 35 charter catamaran and the Gunboat series of performance cruisers from 42 to 62 ft.
Morelli and Melvin also collaborated with Randy Reynolds on the R33 catamaran design.
Gino Morrelli has designed multihulls since 1975, before this he was a boat builder. In 1988, he gained world-wide notoriety as a leading member of America's Cup's STARS & STRIPES design team. His designs include the Climax 18 m catamaran, the 60' catamaran REGION DE PICARDIE, and multiple Formula 40 shapes. He has 12 sailing world and race records to his credit.
Pete Melvin has a long and continuing career of sailing competitively at the highest levels. He started out sailing Optimists and won several national and one world title in this class. Then he moved to Tornados and in 1988 he competed in the Olympic games. In 1997 he won the A-Class world championships.
After graduating from Boston University in aerospace engineering, Pete Melvin worked as a design engineer at McDonnell Douglas in California. He quit the job after several years in 1990 to skipper the Little America's Cup C-class catamaran which Gino Morrelli had been hired to design. Pete Melvin ended up working on the design of the wing sail of this boat. In 1992 he and Gino Morrelli decided to go into partnership.
