Considered as one of the fastest sailing boats the 49er is fast becoming a craze worldwide. The 49er class of boats which is an evolution of the International 14's and Aussie 18's is also a important part of the Olympics.
It is a double handed twin trapeze boat, meaning that it is sailed by a helm and a crew, the helm making many tactical decisions, as well as steering, and the crew doing most of the sail control. Designed by Julian Bethwaite, the 49er is an evolution of the International 14's and Aussie 18's
The high-performance dinghy class with a low hull and tiny wings, by skiff standards is also used for open competition in the Olympic Games. With a Portsmouth yardstick Handicap of 68.8 the 49er is the fastest two person one-design monohull dinghy.
Quick facts about the 49er –
Designed by - Julian Bethwaite
Crew Two (Double trapeze)
LOA 4876mm (16ft)
LWL Beam [w.o./w. wings] 1752mm/2743mm (5ft 9in /9ft)
Draft 1447mm 4ft 9in
Hull weight (with fittings) 74.25kg (210lbs)
Main and Jib area 215sq.ft
Spinnaker area 400sq.ft
Official website - http://www.49er.org
Current world champions - Nathan OUTTERIDGE and Ben AUSTIN
Seiko is also the official 49er class sponsor.
Design Features
The design of the 49er achieves an outstanding harmony of visual appeal, physical parts and dynamic ratios to achieve a miniaturized design of a new level of efficiency.
Drag
The drag of the 49er shape and assembled parts is far lower than that of any previous skiff. The following features all contribute to this:
Hull
This is due to both hydrodynamic (shape of the wet part of the hull) and aerodynamic (the hull is lower) features
The hull has no vertical or external bulkhead.
Wings
Wings are small and slender, blending smoothly into the hull with no bulky tube outlines or plug-in points
They are also low - well below the meter height above the water where the wind speed is slower because it is slowed by surface friction with the water.
Sails
The unusual design of the forward end of the mainsail foot both cleans up this area and greatly improves the efficiency of the jib/mainsail slot interaction
The diameter of the longer FRP topmast is tiny due to the spun alloy used
Foils are also state of the art
Ratio
The 49er s final ratios are also impressive. The 49er is a miniaturized and simplified design and yet it has achieved the superb performance level only recently achieved by the Grand Prix Eighteen footers. However, the 49er is affordable and easy to sail and is so efficient that it needs only 85% of the Eighteens relative power to achieve the same speed.
Below is a video of the 49er practice session before the China Olympics 2008
The Olympic Angle -
The 49er event is scheduled to sail 16 races. For each event the regatta will consist of an opening series and a medal race. The medal race will be scheduled on the day designated for each event's medal ceremony, if by that day six races of the full schedule have already been completed.
The 49er president is none other than our very own Malav shroff who is also an Olympian sailor himself. He was also a participant of the 49er during the 2004 Olympics where he along with his partner Sumeet Patel stood 19th in the final rankings. Click here to see the rankings
Olympic Racing Schedule 2008
16 races scheduled for 49ers (includes medal race)
Warning signal at 1300 each race day
• Aug. 9 - practice race
• Aug. 10 - racing
• Aug. 11 - racing
• Aug. 12 - reserve
• Aug. 13 - racing
• Aug. 14 - racing
• Aug. 15 - racing
• Aug. 17 - medal race
• Aug 18-19 - reserve for medal race
The 49er made its first Olympic appearance at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and has continued to grow in popularity ever since.
For all those interested in the technical aspects of the boat click here.
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