Men's Two Person Dinghy High Performance
49er

Visitors to Fremantle during Perth 2011 will have the opportunity to witness the 49ers in action. These boats provide quite a spectacle when racing – they are fast and exciting.

Type
Centreboard Boat
No. Of Crew
2
Opt. Crew Weight
145-165
Designer
Julian Bethwaite
Hull Material
GRP
Year Designed
1995
Number of Trapeze
Twin
Hull Length
4.995m
Beam Length
2.9m
Mainsail Area
16.1 m²
Headsail Area
5.1 m²
Spinnaker Area
38 m²
Sail Area (Upwind)
21.2 m²
Hull Weight
70kg
Advertising Cat
C

The 49er is one of the newer one-design small sailing dinghies.

The 49ers were designed by Julian Bethwaite, son of Frank Bethwaite. Based on the Aussie 18s, Julian Bethwaite made several changes to the evolution of high performance sailing.

This is a double-handed twin trapeze boat, meaning that it is sailed by a helm and a crew.

The 49er is slightly unusual as crew does most of the sail control.

In September 1996, a group of top sailors travelled from around the world to Lake Garda, Italy for a trial of many different classes, to see which would go forward as the new twin-trapeze skiff for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. After an intensive week of trialling various designs, the 49er proved to be the clear favourite with the sailors and by November 1996 it had been ratified as the new Olympic skiff.

Therefore, this boat made its debut at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and since its inclusion in the Olympic Games sailing programme, is experiencing ever increasing popularity worldwide.