49er

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