Equipment

Men’s Skiff

The 49er, named after its hull length of 4.99 metres, is a two-handed high-performance skiff. It is a one design class where athletes compete with identical equipment built by a limited number of manufacturers. The two sailors onboard take different roles; the helm generally makes the tactical decisions and steers the boat, while the crew undertakes more of the physical work and controls the sails.

Both of the crew are equipped with their own trapeze, and sail while cantilevered over the water to the fullest extent, to balance against the sails. The mast can support a combined crew weight of up to 165kg from its dual trapeze.

The spinnaker, one of three sails along with the mainsail and jib, is decorated in each country’s flag at the Olympic Games, making this class one of the most visually appealing to watch.

Women’s Skiff

The popularity of the 49er continued to grow after it became an Olympic class at Sydney 2000, and so the 49erFX was introduced as a women’s skiff.

from Rio 2016 onwards. The 49erFX is a one design class where athletes compete with identical equipment built by a limited number of manufacturers.

The hull is the same as the 49er, but the mast and sail plan were designed by Mackay Boats, with the aim of developing a skiff to provide the correct amount of power for the lighter crew target weight. This was achieved with a scaled-down rig, which can be adjusted for optimum performance in a variety of conditions.

Mixed Dinghy

The 470, named after the overall length of the boat at 4.70m, is a doublehanded monohull planing dinghy.

It is a one-design class where athletes compete with almost identical equipment built by approved manufacturers. Any differences in the designs

between boats are within the permitted variations included in the class rules. These permitted variations allow athletes to compete with equipment that they consider best fitted to their style of sailing, adding a technical element to the competition.

Equipped with a spinnaker and trapeze, teamwork is key to success in this boat. The optimum weight for the crew is between 120-135kg.

Mixed Multihull

The Nacra 17 is a performance catamaran, exciting to sail and to watch in action, and became the first mixed sailing discipline on the Olympic sailing programme in 2016. It is a one design class where athletes compete with identical equipment built by the same manufacturer.

For Tokyo 2020 and beyond, the Nacra 17 has been converted to a sailing hydrofoil.

Around 17 feet long – hence its name – the Nacra 17 features hydrofoil daggerboards and winglets on the bottom of the rudders. Light in weight, it has been designed to cut through the water with minimum drag and maximum stability, it is an agile but challenging boat to sail.

When fully foiling, a fleet of Nacra 17s soaring above the water as they race around the course is a sight to behold.