29er
| Who: | MITNA Regular Members |
| Boats: | 29er |
| Prerequisite: | Helmsman Rating Dockstaff permission |
The 29er is a two-person high-performance sailing skiff designed by Julian Bethwaite. Its design is derived from the Olympic class 49er class. The 29er reaches high speeds fairly quickly by having a sleek, lightweight, and hydrodynamic hull, and will often exceed the wind speed when planing both up and downwind.
The 29er has two sailors, the crew on a trapeze. The rig features a fractional asymmetrical spinnaker; a self-tacking jib decreases the crew’s workload, making maneuvers more efficient and freeing the crew to take the mainsheet upwind and on two-sail reaches. The spinnaker challenges crews to be skilled and coordinated, and maneuvers in the boat require athleticism due to its lack of inherent stability and the high speeds that the boat easily achieves.
There are not currently organized classes to learn the 29er. However, there is a dedicated cadre of high-performance sailors. If you’re experienced with the 29er or interested in learning, make yourself known to them and the staff. This boat is more fragile than most others in our fleets, so we require that you demonstrate your sailing skill by qualifying for the Helmsman rating and having permission from the dockstaff.
