Spirit 29 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the used brokerage market for a Spirit 29 means looking at a low-volume Belgian cruiser-racer built between 1980 and 1988, with around 37 hulls produced. Jacobus de Ridder's 28-foot-11-inch masthead sloop is a solid-GRP coastal boat, not an offshore racer, and the examples that surface are almost entirely centered in one national market.
Layouts on the Used Market
The Spirit 29 carries a fin-keel, spade-rudder hull on a 23-foot-2-inch waterline with a 9-foot-11-inch beam, and the interior is a six-berth arrangement. Because fewer than 100 were built, you are not choosing among many layout variants — the boat is what it is: a compact coastal cruiser with modest wetted surface and a 495-square-foot masthead-sloop rig.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
On the used market, autopilots and chartplotters are commonly fitted to these boats, the two upgrades a buyer can expect to find already installed rather than added later. Beyond those, the baseline specification worth confirming is the 18-horsepower inboard diesel on a shaft drive, which remains the standard propulsion reference for the model.
What to Inspect
The practical inspection points are the boat's known configuration limits: the capsize screening value of 2.07 means the design would not be accepted to participate in ocean races anchor, so verify the hull has not been pressed into offshore service it was not built for. Confirm the fin keel and spade rudder are sound, the fiberglass hull and deck show no impact damage, and the 18-horsepower diesel and shaft drive are intact.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
The typical market for the Spirit 29 is Belgium, reflecting the boat's origin at the Van Heygen yard in Boom. For a buyer, the takeaway is straightforward:
- Expect a Belgian-market boat, rarely listed elsewhere
- Look for autopilot and chartplotter as standard fitted gear
- Confirm the 18 hp diesel and shaft drive are present and serviced
- Check keel and rudder integrity; verify no offshore-race modifications
- Treat low production volume as a spares-availability consideration
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Spirit 29. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 2 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 26 | 1 | $12,742 | — |
| Jul 26 | 1 | $15,638 | +22.7% |
Where they're listed
Spirit 29 listings appear across 1 country. Belgium has the most listings with 2.
Country view
2 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | $14,190 | 2 | 1 | 100.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
4 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hallbery Rassy 29 | 29.2' | $ 43,227 | 59 | 13 |
| BENETEAU First 29 | 29.67' | $ 21,943 | 34 | 4 |
| Westerly GK 29 | 29' | $ 12,407 | 8 | 3 |
| Spirit 29You are here | — | $ 14,186 | 2 | 1 |