The
Didi 29 Retro was commissioned by a client in Cape Town, to build for himself for competition in the classic yacht races in the Caribbean. He wanted a boat with modern underbody and appendages but with a large gaff rig of classic configuration, to race in the modern classic division.
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| Underbody of Didi 29 Retro |
Last year I was asked to draw a more conservative cruising gaff rig for the design, to better suit those who have no aspirations to race with a big crew or simply want to cruise. That resulted in the cruising gaff rig with about 20% less sail area on the same foretriangle height.
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| Didi 29 Retro racing gaff rig at left, cruising rig at right |
This year I was asked to draw a more modern rig for it, which developed into the squaretop Marconi rig. This one will better suit most sailors, being easier to handle and easier to understand for those who don't know gaff rigs. On sail area, it fits between the two gaff rigs and it will be interesting to see how the three compare on the water.
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| Didi 29 Retro with squaretop Marconi rig |
The squaretop Marconi rig suits the aesthetics of this hull rather well. It would be my choice if I were building this boat for myself. Should be an exciting boat to sail too, able to take advantage of the power of modern stable sail fabrics.
To see more of this and our other designs, go to
http://dixdesign.com/
Hi Dudley,I have just seen your Didi 29 with the retro rig .
ReplyDeleteI like
Thirsty
Thanks Thirsty. I sailed on this design with the smaller of the two gaff rigs last year. On flat Carolina Sounds water and light breeze, speed to windward was similar to true wind speed. Reaching with asymmetrical and main in 3-4 knots of breeze, boat speed topped out at 8-9 knots. It is a very quick little gaffer.
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