Didi 29 Retro Cruising
Description
The Didi 29 Retro Cruising is a plywood pocket cruiser designed by South African naval architect Dudley Dix in the mid-2010s, blending classic aesthetics with modern performance. Part of the Didi Retro series, it’s a larger, more cruising-oriented sibling of the Didi 27 Retro, inspired by 1930s-1940s gaff-rigged racers but built with lightweight radius chine plywood for amateur construction. Optimized for coastal cruising, weekend getaways, or occasional club racing, it offers a spacious interior for 2-4 people, excellent stability, and responsive handling for short-handed crews (1-2 sailors). Its retro styling—low sheer, plumb bow, and gaff or Bermudan rig—hides a modern hull and keel for speed and efficiency, making it a versatile trailerable boat for lakes, bays, or nearshore waters. As of October 2025, approximately 10-15 plan sets have been sold, with a small but growing number of completed builds noted for their comfort, seaworthiness, and DIY affordability.
Construction Details
| Designer | Dudley Dix |
|---|---|
| Length | 29.000 ft |
| LOA | 29.330 ft |
| LWL | 24.750 ft |
| Beam | 8.170 ft |
| Displacement | 3306 lb |
| Ballast | 959 lb |
| Max Draft | 5.580 ft |
| Min Draft | 1.670 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | - |
|---|---|
| j | - |
| p | - |
| e | - |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Blueprints
Sails
Didi 29 Retro Cruising - JIBSAIL
| Luff | 23.56 ft - (7181 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 9.58 ft - (2920 mm) |
| Leech | 26.97 ft - (8220 mm) |
| Area | * 111.04 ft² |
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Didi 29 Retro Cruising - GENOA
| Luff | 30.183 ft - (9200 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 17.06 ft - (5200 mm) |
| Leech | 25.92 ft - (7900 mm) |
| Area | * 220.72 ft² |
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Didi 29 Retro Cruising - ASYMMETRICAL
| Luff | 34.5 ft - (10516 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 20.5 ft - (6248 mm) |
| Leech | 30 ft - (9144 mm) |
| Area | * 530 ft² |
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Didi 29 Retro Cruising - YANKEE
| Luff | 30.183 ft - (9200 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 13.78 ft - (4200 mm) |
| Leech | 21.65 ft - (6599 mm) |
| Area | * 135.16 ft² |
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Didi 29 Retro Cruising - GAFF MAIN
| Luff | 17.72 ft - (5401 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 15.42 ft - (4700 mm) |
| Leech | 32.8 ft - (9997 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88.4 ° |
| Diag (clew/throat) | 23.162 ft - (7060 mm) |
| Head | 13.78 ft - (4200 mm) |
| Area | * 270.12 ft² |
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Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.