29er
| Crew | Two (skipper plus one crew on trapeze) |
|---|---|
| Length overall | 4.45 m (14 ft 7 in) |
| Hull weight | 74 kg (163 lb) |
| Sail area (upwind) | 12.5 sq m (135 sq ft), plus a 15 sq m asymmetric spinnaker |
| Typical sailor | Youth racers training toward skiff sailing and the Olympic 49er class |
Designed by Julian Bethwaite and first built in 1998, the 29er is a double-handed, single-trapeze skiff with a self-tacking jib and an asymmetric spinnaker, built to plane and to teach the balance and speed control that bigger skiffs demand. It's faster and less forgiving than a Club 420, which is exactly the point: it's the boat that trains sailors for the Olympic 49er, not a beginner's first double-handed dinghy.
History
Julian Bethwaite designed the 29er, and it was first produced in 1998 as a smaller boat derived from the Olympic 49er. It was aimed at youth sailors training for the larger skiff, and the Youth Sailing World Championships adopted it to replace the Laser 2.
How it's built
- Hull: fibreglass-reinforced polyester in a foam sandwich
- Beam 1.77 m and mast length 6.25 m, as the class association lists them (Wikipedia gives slightly different figures)
- Fully battened mainsail and jib in transparent Mylar laminate
- A three-part mast: aluminium sections with a polyester-fibreglass composite tip
- A fractional asymmetric spinnaker and a self-tacking jib
How it sails
It is a high-performance skiff. It planes readily, and it can exceed the wind speed when planing both upwind and downwind.
The family
The 29erXX uses the same hull with two trapezes and a larger rig. The 29erXS, announced in 2012, has a smaller rig for younger or lighter sailors.
Class and racing
The class holds world and European championships, with open, boys and girls divisions at the youth level, and it is especially popular in Oceania.
Checked against its sources on September 20, 2026.