29er crew weight

[Tabarly]

Hi,

I (the driver of the boat) am 150 pounds and my crew is 125 (I know that's kinda backwards in that the skipper should be lighter than the crew but we've sailed in high school and college for years). Anyways, I've read that the competitive crew weight for a 29er is 260-310 pounds. Together, we are 280. Do we fit in the weight range? Also, I just turned 19 at the end of August and my crew just turned 18. Are we too old for 29ers? Could we compete in 29er events? Would we be the old guys on the block? I know that 29ers have solid fleets in NE and Canada (my crew is Canadian) so it seems like it would be the best boat to match fleet size, our weight, and fun factor what with the skiff nature of the boat. Thoughts? Thanks guys

 

[doghouse]

Hi,Also, I just turned 19 at the end of August and my crew just turned 18. Are we too old for 29ers?

Yes! Get a 49er!

 

[mustang__1]

no, definetelly not too old. 280 i think would be a pretty good weight. I felt a little bit light around 265 at BBR this past summer, so i think you are in the range. However, you may have to work pretty hard to keep the ass from dragging in the lights if you are that much heavier.

 

[Tabarly]

Really? I don't think we're big enough and there aren't really that many fleets around here

 

[Tabarly]

no, definetelly not too old. 280 i think would be a pretty good weight. I felt a little bit light around 265 at BBR this past summer, so i think you are in the range. However, you may have to work pretty hard to keep the ass from dragging in the lights if you are that much heavier.

What do you think about the weight balance of the boat, i.e. that more than half the weight is in the back? I suppose I'll have to deal with this with any boat but would a 29er deal with that alright? I heard BBR was pretty kickass weatherwise this year, especially the last day. How'd you do? Also, are there 29er sailors who aren't under 18?

 

[mustang__1]

well, there's only one way to get fleets. The 49er is the boat that im going to when i have the means. Eitherway, it'd probably be best to put some time into the 29er to learn assyms and the quirks of a skiff-like boat.

 

[Tabarly]

well, there's only one way to get fleets. The 49er is the boat that im going to when i have the means. Eitherway, it'd probably be best to put some time into the 29er to learn assyms and the quirks of a skiff-like boat.

true stories. are you from mass?

 

[TeamFugu]

Just keep sailing the 29er until you start to fall out the back on a consistent basis. You'll probably have to sail the boat while sitting farther forward than most for a good share of the time but I wouldn't worry until you no longer enjoy sailing the boat or need to replace it. I think the competative weight for a 49er is close to 360# so you still have some room for growth. I'd only move up to a 49er if there was a fleet close and the wind is usually light. I think too much emphasis is given to weight.

At probably the heaviest Swift sailor, I've done well in light and shifty winds when my weight should kill me. I've also seen some light weights do well in stronger winds. I seem to suffer the most in light and choppy conditions but I think it probably has more to do with my attitude than weight. I absolutely hate sailing in light winds with lots of chop so my concentration is very poor.

As long as you enjoy sailing a 29er, you should. Only switch when you no longer enjoy the boat. You might look at switching with your crew. I had to with my 505. I weighed 185 and my brother, crew at the time, was maybe 150. After the switch, we did much better when the wind was up. Cross training is also a good idea because it will give you a better sence of timing for the crew. It also keeps things new and exciting.

 

[mustang__1]

What do you think about the weight balance of the boat, i.e. that more than half the weight is in the back? I suppose I'll have to deal with this with any boat but would a 29er deal with that alright? I heard BBR was pretty kickass weatherwise this year, especially the last day. How'd you do? Also, are there 29er sailors who aren't under 18?

i did ok for jumping into helming the boat. I had crewed for most of the time that i owned the boat, but lost my helm a week before the event, so i hopped into the back. We did about midfleet or so. I think you may end up sitting farther forward than other helms, but i think you'll be ok. If you are down in FL, i'd be happy to give you a ride, im only about 130 so im not that much heavier than your crew. When i did midwinters it was actually about the same as you, now that i think about it. I was a little lighter then and the helm was about 150lbs or so. We did ok for the most part, especially considering that he wasnt my normal helm and had only sailed the 29er a week prior to the event. Would have done a lot better if my boat didnt fall apart around me (i had like 3lines give up on me in 2days...)

Oh, and im not under 18 as of this past june.

 

[doghouse]

As long as you enjoy sailing a 29er, you should. Only switch when you no longer enjoy the boat.

Best advice right here. If you are having fun, keep doing what you are doing.

 

[Tabarly]

Thanks for all the replies guys, very helpful. I will probably look into buying a 29er more aggressively now that these questions have been answered. I was a little nervous about dropping a few thousand on a boat and then finding I was too old or heavy, but this definitely allays my fears. I'm also sure from all of the enthusiasm that a 29er is a fun boat!

 

[doghouse]

Thanks for all the replies guys, very helpful. I will probably look into buying a 29er more aggressively now that these questions have been answered. I was a little nervous about dropping a few thousand on a boat and then finding I was too old or heavy, but this definitely allays my fears. I'm also sure from all of the enthusiasm that a 29er is a fun boat!

Definitely. High Performance sailing is the tits.

 

[mustang__1]

Thanks for all the replies guys, very helpful. I will probably look into buying a 29er more aggressively now that these questions have been answered. I was a little nervous about dropping a few thousand on a boat and then finding I was too old or heavy, but this definitely allays my fears. I'm also sure from all of the enthusiasm that a 29er is a fun boat!

bingo. Very versatile. Way more fun than 420's in the lights almost no matter what the weight is and a real hoot when you are passing waves without any effort at all. Oh, and its a fun singlehander too for those light-medium air days when the crew cant make it.

 

[29ersailor]

me and my crew weigh 320-330 together and we are still competitive. you start planing far later than a lot of the teams and its an immediate disadvantage when sailing against lighter crews. that said, if you work hard with the boat you can easily keep up in the light stuff, and when it starts blowing you're depowering way later. I wish my crew and I were only 280.

 

[swanee]

My skipper weights about a buck40, I'm a buck70, and we still blast around in the 29er on a consistent basis. In fact, we can both trap (yes we added a second wire, which has been explained in another thread here) in 15kts of wind comfortably. Plus when it blows 20kts we don't shy away, we like it even more.

Doghouse has it right though, as long as you have fun who cares? I know one day I am going to step up to the 49er, or the I14, but our 29er is still consistently fun and challenging every day, whether we have 5kts or 25kts.

Oh, and the best thing about skiffs: So there we are, working on the skiff, putting the fuzz back in the daggerboard trunk, shirts off, sunglasses on, drinking cheap watery beer with the music blaring. Not one, but two(2!) people come over and say," Holy shit, what the hell is that thing? It looks awesomely fast!" I tell you, our dicks grew 8 sizes that day. B)

 

[Captain Bad Ass]

your crew should be a little bit heaver, but they dont have to whey more, my crew is 5 lbs less than me so in the light shit i just move,

i fat ass forward, and we do pretty well And yes there are 29er sailers under 18, it was designed as a something that a begginer skiff sailer could handle,

but not have there ass's kicked in say the 49er.

 

[foilr]

I (the driver of the boat) am 150 pounds and my crew is 125 (I know that's kinda backwards in that the skipper should be lighter than the crew but we've sailed in high school and college for years). Anyways, I've read that the competitive crew weight for a 29er is 260-310 pounds. Together, we are 280. Do we fit in the weight range?

The last 3 World Champion teams have all been over approx 300 pounds.

 

[will746]

hey i sail a 29er in aus so im not too sure about pounds...but me and my skipper are way underweight at about 100kgs combined...we do ok in the windy stuff though.

ur deffinately not too old and 280lbs looks perfect after i did the conversions

 

[TeamFugu]

The big thing to remember about age is that you are old as you feel and act. Sailing a skiff makes me feel much younger and I start acting like a kid. The problem, for me, comes one to two days after I have a kick ass day and the endorphins and adrenaline is finally spent. :lol:

I'll stick with my earlier statement. As long as you love sailing the 29er, keep sailing it. Hang the weight issues, hang the age issues, and keep on loving sailing. Leadmines and gin and tonics are highly over rated!

Keep the stick in the air.