MacKay Boats Ltd. 49erfx

BoatsMacKay Boats Ltd. 49erfx

See her sail

The MacKay Boats Ltd. 49erfx, on the water

The fleet's own footage — the truest look at how she really moves.

Is it for you?

Character

Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.

TrailerableBeam 1.93 m — inside the 2.55 m no-permit tow width across most of Europe, and the 2.59 m US and Canadian limit. About 123 kg of hull, so roughly 700 kg on a trailer: check that against your own towing rating.Ramp-launchableAbout 123 kg of hull, with a keel that raises or a draught shallow enough to float off a trailer — she can go back on the trailer at the ramp, not only into the water.

CoastalBluewater

At 3.92 she sits above the 2.0 line — beamy for her weight, and happiest coastal.

Capsize screening 3.92

EasygoingPowered-up

79.4 — a lot of sail for her weight; powered-up and eager, a real performer.

Sail area / displacement 79.4

Powered-up and quick to accelerate — this one likes to sail.

Draws more than ~96% of boats her size on file
Beamier than ~83% of boats her size on file

Compared with 350 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.

What the fleet has seen

The MacKay Boats Ltd. 49erfx, as the fleet has seen it

Derived from the videos the fleet has analysed of this model. ▶ marks open the moment aboard.

The MacKay Boats Ltd. 49erfx is a 4.9-meter fractional sloop centerboard dinghy designed by Julian Bethwaite and built by MacKay Boats Ltd. from 2010 to the present. It uses the 49er hull with a slightly smaller rig, designed by John Clinton for lighter sailors, and can be retrofitted onto an existing 49er hull. The 49erfx has a beam of 1.9 meters, a draft of 1.5 meters, and displaces 122 kg. Its mast height is 7.5 meters, with a mainsail area of 13.8 square meters, a jib area of 5.8 square meters, and a gennaker area of 25.1 square meters. The 49erfx was sailed as a separate class in the 2016 Olympics. Aboard SEILmagasinet, Pia Dahl Andersen and Nora Edland earned a bronze medal in Palma, Spain, attributing their success to strong boat speed in challenging offshore wind conditions.

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Seen 2 times across one channel of the fleet.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

The record

Full specifications

The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.

Dimensions

Weights

Rig & sail area

Rig

Fractional Sloop

Ratios

SA / displacement

79.4

Capsize screening

3.92

Hull

Hull type

Centerboard Dinghy

Construction

Fiberglass

Production

Years built

First built 2010

Designer

Julian Bethwaite, Bethwaite Design

Builder

MacKay Boats Ltd

Boats like this, on the water

More boats like her, on the water

Comparable boats the fleet has on camera: same type, within a quarter of her length. Open the boat, or watch the video — a timestamp means she only appears in passing.

LaserPerformance 49er4.88 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthAn Olympic-class high-performance skiff featuring a massive sail-area-to-displacement ratio for elite racing

From Olympic drama to flying motorboats: Petter Mørland Pedersen in "Peiling på Seiling"11:34 from SEILmagasinet

Fairey Marine Firefly3.66 mSame hull family1.2 m shorterThe 1948 Olympic single-handed class, this Uffa Fox design was the first sailboat ever produced by Fairey Marine

Mikkel Thommessen on a long life as a sailor0:53 from SEILmagasinet

CL Sailboats 144.32 mSame hull family0.6 m shorterA 109-kilogram fractional sloop built since 1980, offering a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio for lively handling

Sailing Is Way Scarier Than You Think - Ep 353 - Lady K Sailing6:44 from Lady K Sailing

Lido 144.27 mSame hull family0.6 m shorterA fractional sloop dinghy designed by Barney Lehman, updated in 1995 with a modern mold for improved longevity and safety

Restoring covid-quarantine project boats - a Lido 14 sailboat and Seaflite 179SS ski boat0:03 from Ravenswing

Finn (Monotype)4.50 mSame hull family0.4 m shorterA Richard Sarby-designed Olympic single-handed dinghy featuring an unstayed cat rig and a long history of competition

SEILmagasinet TV Episode 3 - 202551:39 from SEILmagasinet

Spindrift 134.06 mSame hull family0.8 m shorterA Hubert Vandestadt-designed centerboard dinghy with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio for lively, responsive sailing

Our Boat Got Stolen 😡… So We Built a New One (in just ONE Week)from WhiteSpotPirates

The family

Boats like this

Nearby designs by size, type, and era — worth a look alongside her.

LaserPerformance 49erAn Olympic-class high-performance skiff featuring a massive sail-area-to-displacement ratio for elite racing Ovington Boats 59erA high-performance fractional dinghy from Bethwaite Design, intended as a more accessible alternative to the 49er Hobie FX OneA 5.18-metre single-handed catamaran featuring a rotating fractional rig and an exceptional 56.56 sail area-to-displacement ratio

Keep asking

The fleet has more to say

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