Developed from the 49er as a youth trainer, the 29er replaced the Laser 2 at the ISAF Youth Worlds when it was introduced. Its larger, high-performance cousin had just gained Olympic status for the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia. The 29er neatly bridges the gap between that Olympic machine and the untrapezed Laser and Laser II. Canadian Boating captured the thinking behind it by quoting the designer's belief that the 29er “will be to sailing what snowboarding was to skiing”.
Design and Construction
At 4.45 m long and 1.77 m wide, the 29er has a fitted weight of just 72 kg. Class rules limit construction to fibreglass cloth with polyester resin, excluding carbon fibre and Kevlar. The low hull weight comes from a fiberglass-reinforced polyester and closed-cell foam sandwich.
The hull has narrow, rounded sections forward, flattening into gently curved sections aft. Chines begin about halfway along its length. Inside, the boat is clean, smooth and contoured, with an enclosed transom and safety foot and grab rails.
North American boats were initially built in either England or Australia. New tooling was later prepared for production in Montreal, where Bruce's shop—which also builds the Byte—was set to turn out four boats per week to tightly controlled class specifications.
Development and Refinement
The 29er followed two years of drawing, prototyping and testing. Between the first and fifth prototypes, the self-draining cockpit floor was raised to keep the boat drier.
The hull was also stretched slightly in length and widened aft to increase weight capacity. At the same time, the rig was cut down so smaller crews could manage it. The original, larger rig was intended to keep speeds in the supersonic region, but testers found that the reduced sail plan was actually faster.
Rig and Crew Work
The rig is pure skiff: a fully battened mainsail, a self-tacking jib and a composite-tipped mast that provides exceptional gust response and acceleration. The three-part mast combines aluminium lower and middle sections with a lightweight fiberglass tip, reducing weight while adding tip flexion. A mainsail cuff and ram kicker/vang complete the setup.
Upwind, the skipper steers and works the jib while the crew trims the mainsail. Off the breeze, the crew flies the gennaker as the skipper handles the main and helm, keeping the mainsail trimmed to the wing's aft corner.
The boat has almost no stability at the dock and can reach sailing speeds of 20 knots. It spends plenty of time planing and is pure dynamite downwind, but it isn't a boat for the sedentary sailor.
Equipment and Outfitting
The 29er comes ready to race. The package includes:
- A fully fitted and roped hull with an Allen fitout and Harken spinnaker ratchets
- A complete Bluewave mast with halyards, wires and trapeze
- A boom with vang shoe
- GRP foils
- A rudderstock and tiller with carbon extension
- A full set of sails
- A rig bag
The supplied sails use Mylar film, while the kite is nylon. The package is light and tall enough that two people can step the mast and launch from trailer to water in minutes.
Verdict
The 29er is a purpose-built youth skiff that brings the 49er's Olympic-grade DNA to a more manageable, class-controlled platform. It rewards athletic crews with thrilling downwind planing and crisp response in gusts, but it demands constant engagement and has no dockside manners.
Pros
- Lightweight foam-sandwich hull with an enclosed transom
- Self-draining cockpit, raised early in development to keep the boat drier
- Composite-tipped, three-part mast with excellent gust response and acceleration
- Ready-to-race package with a trapeze, asymmetric spinnaker and self-tacking jib
- Developed as a feeder class for the 49er
- Replaced the Laser 2 at the ISAF Youth Worlds
Cons
- Almost no stability at rest; unsuitable for sedentary or inexperienced sailors
- Single trapeze and an ideal racing weight of 110–130 kg restrict the crew profile
- Class rules prohibit carbon fibre and Kevlar, limiting construction refinement to GRP and polyester
