Puma 29
NAO GLASS · Angus Primrose · 1979
Updated
The Puma 29 is a 8.93 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Angus Primrose and built by NAO GLASS, first launched in 1979. It races in Class C.
Length
8.93 m
29′ 4″
Beam
3.24 m
Draft
1.75 m
Displacement
4.2 t
Sail area
51 m²
On the podium
Where a Puma 29 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
25%
of 12 starts by 1 boat
Wins
17%
Read from 12 starts by 1 boat between 2023, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Puma 29 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Lliga Creuers2023
Raced one we are missing?
Report a regattaRound the buoys, or offshore
A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.
Round the buoys
—
Not enough data yet: 8 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
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Not enough data yet: 2 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Puma 29 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the Puma 29 has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.
Speed at every angle
The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.
Upwind VMG
4.58
39°
Beam reach
7.08
90°
Broad reach
7.68
135°
Downwind VMG
6.86
170°
Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.
Where it wins and where it pays
Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.
This design is even-tempered. It rewards preparation and crew work more than it rewards picking the right day.
Where it gains
Its best ground is upwind in a strong breeze, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short on a broad reach in a strong breeze, giving away time it never gets back. That is weight that has to be driven rather than released.
Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.
Full width is 0.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the downwind.
How fast is a Puma 29
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 2.91 | 3.95 | 4.43 | 4.58 |
| 52° | 4.45 | 5.77 | 6.23 | 6.43 |
| 60° | 4.67 | 5.94 | 6.37 | 6.61 |
| 75° | 4.81 | 6.07 | 6.53 | 6.91 |
| 90° | 4.71 | 6.15 | 6.66 | 7.08 |
| 110° | 4.74 | 6.27 | 6.87 | 7.52 |
| 120° | 4.57 | 6.21 | 6.87 | 7.71 |
| 135° | 4.14 | 5.96 | 6.72 | 7.68 |
| 150° | 3.58 | 5.45 | 6.46 | 7.34 |
| Run VMG | 3.10 | 4.73 | 5.92 | 6.86 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Most run a fixed propeller. Crew weight is declared around 390 kg.
Rigging
Puma 29 rig and sail dimensions
A Puma 29 carries 10.40 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.15 m boom, a forestay 12.08 m above the deck. Typical figures across the 6 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 59 to 74 m² depending on bowsprit and set-up. Before ordering a sail, read the figure on your own measurement record rather than the typical one for the design.