Dragon
Description
The Dragon sailboat is a classic 29‑foot (8.9 m) one‑design keelboat created in 1929 by Norwegian designer Johan Anker, renowned for its elegant overhangs, narrow beam, and fine entry that give it a distinctive, “yacht‑like” appearance despite being a racing class. Originally built in wood and now widely in fiberglass with wooden spars and trim preserved for aesthetics, the Dragon is known for its demanding but rewarding handling, rewarding skilled crews with excellent upwind performance and a smooth motion in waves. Sailed by a crew of three, it carries a tall fractional rig with a mainsail, jib, and spinnaker, and has remained an active international class with strong fleets in Europe and beyond, including a history as an Olympic class from 1948 to 1972. Its combination of strict one‑design rules, technical sailing, and enduring beauty has made the Dragon one of the most respected and long‑lived keelboat classes in the world. Over its lifetime, more than 1,400–1,600 sail numbers have been issued in some fleets, and the worldwide fleet today is commonly estimated in the low thousands, with active fleets in the UK, Scandinavia, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, and Australia, among others.
Construction Details
| Designer | Anker and Jensen |
|---|---|
| Builder | Several Builders |
| Length | 29.190 ft |
| LOA | 29.190 ft |
| LWL | 20.000 ft |
| Beam | 6.600 ft |
| Displacement | 4000 lb |
| Max Draft | 4.300 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 26.30 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 6.70 ft |
| p | 33 ft |
| e | 12 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26.30 ft | 6.70 ft | 33 ft | 12 ft | - | - | - | - |
Documents
Sails
Dragon - MAINSAIL
| Luff | 30.18 ft - (9199 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 11.32 ft - (3450 mm) |
| Leech | * 30.96 ft - (9437 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 84.34 ° |
| Diagonal | 31.17 ft - (9501 mm) |
| Head (inches) | 4.5 in - (114 mm) |
| Area | * 174.82 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator | |
Dragon - JIBSAIL
| Luff | 21.65 ft - (6599 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 7.05 ft - (2149 mm) |
| Leech | 19.68 ft - (5998 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 94.33 % |
| Length Perpendicular | 6.32 ft - (1926 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 11.15 ° |
| Area | * 68.92 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator | |
Dragon - GENOA
| Luff | 21.65 ft - (6599 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 11.65 ft - (3551 mm) |
| Leech | 20.01 ft - (6099 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 158.96 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 10.65 ft - (3246 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 9.57 ° |
| Area | * 115.33 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator | |
Dragon - SPINNAKER
| Stays | 22.97 ft - (7001 mm) |
|---|---|
| MidGirth | 15.75 ft - (4801 mm) |
| Foot | 16.67 ft - (5081 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 180 % |
| Area | * 325 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator | |
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.