Design and Construction
The hull is solid fiberglass, laid up without a core, and the boat carries a ballast ratio of 33 percent against a displacement that places her in the "ultra heavy cruisers" category by her displacement-length ratio of 400 anchor. That heft is reflected in her immersion rate of about 640 pounds per inch, meaning she sits deep and steady under load. With a length-to-beam ratio of 3.23 and a wetted surface near 204 square feet, she is a beamy, volume-forward hull for her length, and the fin keel draws between 4.56 and 4.86 feet depending on loading, shallow enough to tuck into marinas that exclude deeper rivals.
Rig and Handling
Her masthead sloop rig is unusually robust for a boat her size — she carries more rig than 73% of all similar sailboats anchor, with a reference sail area to displacement of 14.9 that rises to 17.3 with a 135 percent genoa. The standing and running dimensions are generous: halyards run 74.2 feet at 5/16 inch, sheets and mainsheet at 3/8 inch, and even the cunningham and kicking strap are sized at 28 feet and 5/16 inch. That overbuild suggests a rig with large margins. Her theoretical displacement hull speed is 6.1 knots with a calculated maximum near 6.6, and a capsize screening value of 1.81 places her firmly in the cruising-safe band.
Accommodations
No interior arrangement details are provided by the available source, and the builder context confirms only the design lineage rather than cabin layout. What can be said is structural: at 7,716 pounds displacement with an 8.96-foot beam, the hull provides the volume one expects of a heavy small cruiser, and the Motion Comfort Ratio of 27.7 indicates a damped, easy motion in a seaway rather than a skittish light-displacement feel.
The Verdict
The Tripp Lentsch 29 is a thoughtfully engineered small cruiser whose numbers reveal a boat built heavier and stronger than her peers, with a rig sized for serious sailing. She rewards an owner who values stability and marina access over outright speed, and who appreciates a Dutch-built fiberglass hull from the early Tripp collaborations.
Pros
- Heavy-displacement hull with 33% ballast ratio and ultra-heavy-cruiser DL classification
- Masthead rig larger than 73% of all similar sailboats, sized for offshore use
- Shallow fin keel (4.56–4.86 ft) for marina access
- Capsize screening value of 1.81 indicates blue-water suitability
Cons
- Low SA/D of 14.9 limits light-air performance under reference sail
- No interior or systems detail available from the source record
