We are excited to add a new member to our junior sailing program for the 2008 season. The 29er came about due to the increasingly apparent need for a high performance youth boat following the success of the junior program. For its size and price it is simply the fastest and most thrilling boat available. The 29er is a 'no-holds-barred' skiff designed with sleek lines.

It is constructed from hi-tech composite foam sandwich; the hull is ultra-lightweight with a self-draining cockpit. The rig is pure skiff, fully battened Mylar sails with a self-tacking jib, supported on a composite-tipped mast that gives the ultimate in gust response and acceleration. The 29er designer, Julian Bethwaite, also designer of the 49er, retained all the brilliant simplicity of the rig design including a carbon fiber tip on this aluminum mast which neatly unloads the top of the sail in gusts.

The vang, a tube on a sliding car, is mounted above the boom. Thus the boom is pushed down achieving the same effect as an under-boom vang but leaving the cockpit wide open for the crew to scamper across. The spinnaker and sprit-pole are launched and deployed simultaneously with one line which snuffs the spinnaker and retracts the pole when pulled in the opposite direction.

Whilst not a beginners boats, the 29er provides sparkling performance at an affordable price, for crews between 110 - 135 kg, making this an ideal boat for more advanced sailors graduating from the 420.

http://www.29er.org/

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