The Boat

The 49er is the one-design, two person skiff that has been chosen to be the Olympic skiff class since the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Its slender hull, wide wings and massive sail area allows the class to take on the title of being the Formula 1 of Olympic sailing today. Designed by Sydney based 18 foot skiff champion Julian Bethwaite, this class of skiff has been raced extensively across the world for the past 10 years, attracting the worlds top sailors and fierce competition.

With both the crew and skipper trapezing off the edge of the wide wings, this creates a large righting moment, allowing for the boat to carry an enormous sail area. With this big rig the 49er is powered up in as little as 8 knots. A flexible top mast allows sailors to continue sailing up to wind speeds of 25 knots, which is the upper limit for this class.

Specification