49er (dinghy)

	Class symbol
	+
Crew	2 (double trapeze)
Boat
Crew	2 (double trapeze)
Draft	1,447 mm (4 ft 9 in)
Hull
Hull weight	94 kg (207 lb)
LOA	4,876 mm (16 ft)
Beam	without wings:; 1,752 mm (5 ft 9 in); with wings:; 2,743 mm (9 ft 0 in)
Sails
Spinnaker area	37.16 m2 (400 sq ft)
Upwind sail area	19.97 m2 (215 sq ft)
Racing
D-PN	68.2
RYA PN	710
Current Olympic equipment
	[edit on Wikidata]

The 49er and 49er FX is a two-handed skiff-type high-performance sailing dinghy. The two crew work on different roles with the helm making many tactical decisions, as well as steering, and the crew doing most of the sail control. Both of the crew are equipped with their own trapeze and sailing is done while cantilevered over the water to the fullest extent to balance against the sails.

The 49er was designed by Julian Bethwaite (the son of Frank Bethwaite) and developed by a consortium consisting of Bethwaites, Performance Sailcraft Japan, Peter Johnston, and Ovington boats.^[3] The boat has been an Olympic class since it was selected by the International Sailing Federation to be the men's high performance double handed dinghy Sydney Summer Games of 2000. Its derivative featuring a re-designed rig, the 49er FX, was selected by World Sailing to be the women's high performance double-hander at the Rio Summer Olympics of 2016.

History[]

The 49er's name comes from its hull length of 4.99 metres (16 ft 4 in). It incorporates ideas developed in Julian Bethwaite's 18ft Skiffs, notably the Prime Computer series of boats, which were double handers.^[4]

To handle a large and powerful sail area, the mast uses a square topped sail that causing the upper main to twist off and flatten, allowing a controllable sail with fast gust response and reducing the heeling moment. The use of solid wings, rather than tubes as on similar boats (RS800 etc.), makes it easier for the crew to run across the deck from gunwale to gunwale during maneuvers.

49er skiffs in a race

49ers at the Extreme Sailing Series in Boston harbor preparing to race, 4th of July, 2011

The 49er made its first Olympic appearance at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and has continued to grow in popularity ever since.

With a Portsmouth yardstick Handicap of 740 the 49er is the fastest two person one-design monohull dinghy.

In 2009 the boat received a new rig design, including a larger fully carbon mast (replacing the aluminum mast) and square top (roach) mainsail.^[5]

Construction[]

As a one design class, the 49er has two licensed suppliers, Mackay Boats in Oceania and Ovington in Europe.

Hull[]

The hull is made of Epoxy GRP and foam sandwich laminate with carbon fibre in high load areas. It includes two solid wings, also called racks, that clip into the side to increase righting moment of the trapezing crew.^[6] Its length was fixed at 4.99 metres because the ISAF brief for the high performance Olympic class dinghy called for a 5-metre boat, but Tokao Otani, a member of the development consortium, pointed out that there was a tariff in Japan for boats over 5 metres long.^[3] It has a fine entry to efficiently transition between the low speed displacement, and high speed planing modes.^[7] According to the International 49er class rules, the minimum hull weight including all permanent fittings can not be less than 94.0 kg.^[8]

49er at the 2012 London Olympic Games

Racing[]

49er and 49erFX racing is incredibly competitive. Team race for Olympic glory, with the pinnacle sought being the Olympic Games every four years. Some of the biggest superstars of sailing have emerged from 49er sailing including: - 1997-1999 World Champion Chris Nicholson who went on to lead multiple Volvo Ocean Race campaigns - 2002, 2004, and 2010 World Champions Iker Martinez de Lizarduy and Xabier Fernández who each went on to lead multiple Volvo Ocean Race campaigns - 2009, 2011, and 2012 World Champion Nathan Outteridge who lead the ArtemisAmerica's Cup team and the Japanese Sail GP team - 2013-2016 World Champions Peter Burling and Blair Tuke won the 2017 America's Cup and each narrowly lost out on winning the 2018 Volvo Ocean Race

Racing for the 49er class can best be followed via 49er.org

Spars[]

Southern Spars, part of the North Technology Group, is the licensed supplier of the 49er mast. It is a three piece male-moulded assembly made from 100% standard modulus carbon.^[9] It is 7.0 meters tall and capable of supporting a combined crew weight up to 165 kg from its dual trapeze. The mast is braced by three sets of shrouds that connect to a fitting on the side of the boat. The crew is able to adjust them by tightening or loosening them, depending on the wind speed and sea states.^[10]

The boom is made from an aluminium alloy extrusion.

Foils[]

The rudder and daggerboard are made out from a composite of epoxy, carbon and glass, covered by a hard gelcoat surface. The head of each class legal foil carries the embossed 49er logo and the ICA label.^[8]

Sails[]

The 49er contains three sails: a main sail, jib, and spinnaker. The main and jib are 20 square meters, fully battened and made of reinforced Mylar (film polyester). The main was redesigned in 2007 from a full, curved roach plan to having a square on top in order to provide more sail area and to control more shape adjustment. The spinnaker is 38 square meters in a tri-radial asymmetric shape.^[6]

Events[]

Olympics[]

Men's 49er[]

Games v t	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2000 Sydney details	Finland (FIN) Thomas Johanson Jyrki Järvi	Great Britain (GBR) Ian Barker Simon Hiscocks	United States (USA) Jonathan McKee Charlie McKee
2004 Athens details	Spain (ESP) Iker Martínez Xabier Fernández	Ukraine (UKR) Rodion Luka George Leonchuk	Great Britain (GBR) Chris Draper Simon Hiscocks
2008 Beijing details	Denmark (DEN) Jonas Warrer Martin Kirketerp	Spain (ESP) Iker Martínez de Lizarduy Xabier Fernández	Germany (GER) Jan-Peter Peckolt Hannes Peckolt
2012 London details	Australia (AUS) Nathan Outteridge Iain Jensen	New Zealand (NZL) Peter Burling Blair Tuke	Denmark (DEN) Allan Nørregaard Peter Lang
2016 Rio de Janeiro details	New Zealand (NZL) Peter Burling Blair Tuke	Australia (AUS) Nathan Outteridge Iain Jensen	Germany (GER) Erik Heil Thomas Plößel
2020 Tokyo details	Great Britain (GBR) Dylan Fletcher Stuart Bithell	New Zealand (NZL) Peter Burling Blair Tuke	Germany (GER) Erik Heil Thomas Plößel

Women's 49er FX[]

Games v t	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2016 Rio de Janeiro details	Brazil (BRA) Martine Grael Kahena Kunze	New Zealand (NZL) Alex Maloney Molly Meech	Denmark (DEN) Jena Mai Hansen Katja Salskov-Iversen
2020 Tokyo details	Brazil (BRA) Martine Grael Kahena Kunze	Germany (GER) Tina Lutz Susann Beucke	Netherlands (NED) Annemiek Bekkering Annette Duetz

World Championships[]

Men's 49er[]

Year v t	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1997 Perth	Australia Chris Nicholson Daniel Phillips	United States Jonathan McKee Charles McKee	United States Morgan Larson Kevin Hall
1998 Bandol	Australia Chris Nicholson Daniel Phillips	Great Britain	United States Morgan Larson Kevin Hall
1999 Melbourne	Australia Chris Nicholson	Australia Adam Beashel	United States Morgan Larson Kevin Hall
2000 Sonora Bay	Spain Santiago López-Vázquez Javier de la Plaza	Germany Marcus Baur Philip Barth	Finland Thomas Johanson Jyrki Järvi
2001 Malcesine	United States Jonathan McKee Charles McKee	Spain Iker Martínez Xabier Fernández	Ukraine Rodion Luka George Leonchuk
2002 Kaneohe Bay	Spain Iker Martínez Xabier Fernández	Great Britain Christopher Draper Simon Hiscocks	Great Britain Paul Brotherton
2003 Cádiz	Great Britain Christopher Draper Simon Hiscocks	Norway Christoffer Sundby Frode Bovim	Ukraine Rodion Luka George Leonchuk
2004 Athens	Spain Iker Martínez Xabier Fernández	Great Britain Christopher Draper Simon Hiscocks	Germany Marcus Baur Max Groy
2005 Moscow	Ukraine Rodion Luka George Leonchuk	Great Britain Christopher Draper Simon Hiscocks	Italy Pietro Sibello Gianfranco Sibello
2006 Aix-le-Bain	Great Britain Christopher Draper Simon Hiscocks	Greece Athanasios Pachoumas	Great Britain Stevie Morrison Ben Rhodes
2007 Cascais	Great Britain Stevie Morrison Ben Rhodes	Austria Nico Delle Karth Nikolaus Resch	Australia Nathan Outteridge Ben Austin
2008 Melbourne	Australia Nathan Outteridge Ben Austin	Great Britain Stevie Morrison Ben Rhodes	Ukraine Rodion Luka George Leonchuk
2009 Riva del Garda	Australia Nathan Outteridge Iain Jensen	Great Britain	Italy Pietro Sibello Gianfranco Sibello
2010 Port Lucaya	Spain Iker Martínez Xabier Fernández	Australia Nathan Outteridge Iain Jensen	Italy Pietro Sibello Gianfranco Sibello
2011 Perth	Australia Nathan Outteridge Iain Jensen	New Zealand Peter Burling Blair Tuke	Denmark
2012 Zadar	Australia Nathan Outteridge Iain Jensen	New Zealand Peter Burling Blair Tuke	Denmark Allan Nørregaard Peter Lang

Women's 49er FX[]

Year v t	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2013 Marseille	New Zealand Alex Maloney Molly Meech	Brazil Martine Grael Kahena Kunze	France Sarah Steyaert
2014 Santander details	Brazil Martine Grael Kahena Kunze	Denmark Ida Marie Baad Nielsen Marie Thusgaard Olsen	Italy Giulia Conti Francesca Clapcich
2015 Buenos Aires details	Italy Giulia Conti Francesca Clapcich	Brazil Martine Grael Kahena Kunze	Denmark Ida Marie Baad Nielsen Marie Thusgaard Olsen
2016 Clearwater^[11]	Spain Támara Echegoyen Berta Betanzos	Denmark	Germany Victoria Jurczok Anika Lorenz
2017 Matosinhos^[12] details	Denmark Jena Mai Hansen Katja Salskov-Iversen	Brazil Martine Grael Kahena Kunze	New Zealand Alexandra Maloney Molly Meech
2018 Aarhus^[13] details	Netherlands Annemiek Bekkering Annette Duetz	Austria Tanja Frank Lorena Abicht	Great Britain Sophie Ainsworth
2019 Auckland^[14]	Netherlands Annemiek Bekkering Annette Duetz	Brazil Martine Grael Kahena Kunze	Denmark Ida Marie Baad Nielsen Marie Thusgaard Olsen
2020 Geelong^[15]	Spain Támara Echegoyen Paula Barceló	Great Britain Charlotte Dobson Saskia Tidey	United States Stephanie Roble Maggie Shea
2021 Wudam Al Sahil^[16]	Netherlands Elise de Ruijter	Norway Helene Næss Marie Rønningen	Brazil Martine Grael Kahena Kunze

Related boats[]

The 49er FX was developed by Mackay Boats to be a women's Olympic class. It consists of a 49er hull, wings, and foils, with a scaled down rig designed to suit the weight of an elite female crew.

The 29er is a smaller, single trapeze trainer to the 49er. It has become popular in North America, Europe and Australia as a fast youth boat. Recently the 29erXX, a twin trapeze version of the 29er, has been produced with a rig very similar to the 49er.

The 59er dinghy was put into production in Australia and the UK in 2002. It is a non-trapeze, 4.7m (15 feet 5 inches) sailing dinghy, rigged with an asymmetrical spinnaker. It is designed for a crew weight of 145 kg to 180 kg (320 lb to 400 lb).

References[]

^ "Centerboard Classes". US Sailing. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
^ "Portsmouth Number List 2017". Royal Yachting Association. Archived from the original on 23 March 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
^ ^a ^b Bethwaite, Frank (2008). Higher performance sailing. London: Adlard Coles Nautical. ISBN 9781408101261. OCLC 854680844.
^ "Prime Computer Skiff".
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ ^a ^b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Design Elements".
^ ^a ^b http://www.sailing.org/tools/documents/49er2015CR160115-^{[permanent dead link]}[18262].pdf
^ http://www.mackayboats.com/mackayboats/assets/File/49erUsers%20Manual%202010%20%20%5BCompatibility%20Mode%5D.pdf
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 June 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "2016 World Championship". 49er.org.
^ "2017 World Championship in Porto". 49er.org.
^ "2018 World Championship in Aarhus". manage2sail.com.
^ "2019 World Championship in Auckland".
^ "2020 World Championship in Geelong".
^ "2021 World Championship in Wudam Al Sahil".

External links[]

[UScb-1] "Centerboard Classes". US Sailing. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.

[RYA2017-2] "Portsmouth Number List 2017". Royal Yachting Association. Archived from the original on 23 March 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2017.

[:0-3] Bethwaite, Frank (2008). Higher performance sailing. London: Adlard Coles Nautical. ISBN 9781408101261. OCLC 854680844.

[4] "Prime Computer Skiff".

[5] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[ovingtonboats.com-6] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[7] "Design Elements".

[sailing.org-8] ttp://www.sailing.org/tools/documents/49er2015CR160115-^{[permanent dead link]}[18262].pdf

[9] ttp://www.mackayboats.com/mackayboats/assets/File/49erUsers%20Manual%202010%20%20%5BCompatibility%20Mode%5D.pdf

[10] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 June 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[11] "2016 World Championship". 49er.org.

[49er.org-12] "2017 World Championship in Porto". 49er.org.

[13] "2018 World Championship in Aarhus". manage2sail.com.

[14] "2019 World Championship in Auckland".

[15] "2020 World Championship in Geelong".

[16] "2021 World Championship in Wudam Al Sahil".

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v t Olympic sailing classes
Current classes	470 49er 49erFX Finn Laser Laser Radial Nacra 17 RS:X
Former classes (In order of first use)	Ton classes (0–½, ½–1, 1–2, 2–3, 3–10, 10–20, 20⁺ & Open) 6 Metre 7 Metre 8 Metre 12 Metre 10 Metre 12 foot dinghy 18 foot dinghy 6.5 Metre 8.5 Metre 9 Metre 15 Metre Skerry cruiser 30 m² Skerry cruiser 40 m² French National Monotype 1924 Snowbird Star O-Jolle Firefly Swallow Dragon 5.5 Metre 12 m² Sharpie Flying Dutchman Tempest Soling Tornado Windglider Division II Lechner A-390 Europe Mistral One Design Yngling Elliott 6m
Youth classes	Nacra 15 Techno 293
Former youth classes	Byte

v t Classes of World Sailing
Current Olympic classes	470 49er 49er FX Finn Laser Standard Laser Radial RS:X Nacra 17
World Sailing centreboard classes	29er 420 505 B14 Byte Cadet Contender Enterprise Europe Fireball Flying Dutchman Flying Junior GP14 Int. 14 Laser 2 Laser 4.7 Lightning Mirror Moth Musto Performance Skiff O'pen BIC OK Dinghy Optimist RS Feva RS Tera RS100 RS500 Snipe Splash Sunfish Tasar Topper Vaurien Zoom 8
World Sailing keelboat classes	12 mR 2.4 mR 5.5 m 6 mR 8 mR Dragon Etchells Flying Fifteen Hansa 2.3 Hansa 303 Hansa Liberty H-boat International One Design J/22 J/24 J/70 J/80 Melges 20 Melges 24 Melges 32 Platu 25 RC44 SB20 Shark 24 Soling Sonar Star Tempest Viper 640 Yngling
World Sailing yacht classes	Class40 Farr 40 IMOCA 60 J/111 International Maxi Association Soto 40 Swan 45 Swan 60 TP 52 X-35 X-41
World Sailing multihull classes	A-Class Dart 18 Formula 16 Formula 18 Hobie 14 Hobie 16 Hobie 17 Hobie Dragoon Hobie Tiger Hobie Wildcat Nacra 15 Nacra 17 Nacra F18 Infusion Nacra 20 Carbon M32 SL 16 Topcat K1 Tornado Viper F16
World Sailing windsurfer classes	Formula Windsurfing Mistral Speed Windsurfing Techno 293 IQFoil
World Sailing kiteboarding classes
IRSA remote-control classes	10 rater A Class Marblehead One Metre
Former World Sailing classes	11:Metre One Design 29erXX Buzz C-Class Division II Elliott 6m Farr 30 (Mumm 30) Farr 45 Farr Maxi One Design Hobie 17 Hobie 18 IOD ISO Laser Vago Lechner A-390 Mumm 36 Open 50 ORMA 60 Sydney 40 Ultimate 20 Windglider X-99

Boat
Class symbol
+
Crew	2 (double trapeze)
Crew	2 (double trapeze)
Draft	1,447 mm (4 ft 9 in)
Hull
Hull weight	94 kg (207 lb)
LOA	4,876 mm (16 ft)
Beam	without wings: 1,752 mm (5 ft 9 in) with wings: 2,743 mm (9 ft 0 in)
Sails
Spinnaker area	37.16 m² (400 sq ft)
Upwind sail area	19.97 m² (215 sq ft)
Racing
D-PN	68.2^[1]
RYA PN	710^[2]
Current Olympic equipment
[edit on Wikidata]