Design and Construction
The hull is a study in minimalism: a fitted weight of 72 kg with a length of 4.45 m and a width of 1.77 m. Class rules keep construction to fibreglass cloth with polyester resin and no carbon fibre or Kevlar, while minimal hull weight is achieved through a fiberglass-reinforced polyester and closed-cell foam sandwich. The hull shape carries narrow rounded sections forward that flatten to gently curved sections aft, with chines appearing about halfway along the length. The interior is clean, smooth and contoured, and the boat features an enclosed transom with safety foot and grab rails. Boats for North America were either built in England or Australia, but new tooling was later prepared for production in Montreal, where Bruce's shop — which also builds the Byte — was set to produce four boats per week to tightly controlled class specs.
Rig and Handling
The rig is pure skiff: fully battened mainsail and self-tacking jib on a composite-tipped mast that delivers exceptional gust response and acceleration. The three-part mast pairs aluminum mid and lower sections with a lightweight fiberglass tip to cut weight and add tip flexion, and a mainsail cuff plus ram kicker/vang round out the package. Upwind the skipper drives and works the jib while the crew trims the main; off the breeze the crew flies the gennaker and the skipper manages main and helm, keeping the main trimmed to the wing's aft corner. With almost no stability at the dock and 20-knot sailing speeds, the boat spends a lot of time planing and is pure dynamite downwind — but it is not for the sedentary sailor.
Development and Refinement
The design followed two years of drawing, prototyping and testing, and between the first and fifth prototype the floor of the self-draining cockpit was raised to keep the boat drier. The hull was also stretched slightly in length and width aft to lift weight capacity, and the rig was cut down for smaller crews to manage. The original larger rig had aimed to keep speed in the supersonic region, but testers found the reduced sail plan actually proved faster.
Equipment and Outfitting
A complete boat arrives ready to race: 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, rudderstock and tiller with carbon extension, a full set of sails, and a rig bag. The supplied sails use Mylar film with a nylon kite, and the package is light and tall enough that two people can step the mast and launch from trailer to water in minutes.
The Verdict
The 29er is a purpose-built youth skiff that translates Olympic-grade 49er DNA into a manageable, class-controlled platform. It rewards athletic crews with thrilling downwind planing and crisp gust response, yet demands constant engagement and offers no dock-side manners.
Pros
- Lightweight foam-sandwich hull with enclosed transom and self-draining cockpit raised early for dryness
- Composite-tipped three-part mast gives superb gust response and acceleration
- Ready-to-race outfitting straight from the box with trapeze, asymmetrical spinnaker and self-tacking jib
- Developed as a 49er feeder class and ISAF Youth Worlds replacement for the Laser 2
Cons
- Almost no stability at rest; unsuitable for sedentary or inexperienced sailors
- Single trapeze and 110–130 kg ideal racing weight restrict crew profile
- Class spec forbids carbon or Kevlar, capping construction refinement to GRP and polyester
