49er
Description
Overview of the 49er Sailboat The 49er is a high-performance, double-handed skiff-type sailing dinghy renowned for its speed, agility, and role in Olympic competition. Named after its hull length of 4.99 meters (approximately 16 feet), it was designed to push the boundaries of dinghy racing, offering an intense and spectator-friendly experience. It's an evolution of traditional skiff designs like the International 14 and the Australian 18ft skiff, emphasizing planning hulls, trapeze work, and asymmetric spinnakers for downwind speed. Selected by World Sailing (formerly ISAF) as the men's high-performance double-handed dinghy for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, it has remained an Olympic class ever since. A women's variant, the 49erFX, was introduced in 2016 for the Rio Olympics, using the same hull but with a smaller sail plan optimized for lighter crews (target weight around 120 kg). LOA 16'4". Beam 5'7" (wings removed) 6'4" (retracted) 9'5" (extended). Draft 4'11". Weight 276 lbs. (fully rigged).
Construction Details
| Designer | Julian Bethwaite |
|---|---|
| Length | 16.330 ft |
| LOA | 16.000 ft |
| Beam | 6.330 ft |
| Displacement | 270 lb |
| Max Draft | 4.920 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
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| j | - |
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| e | - |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 |
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Documents
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite.