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New Lease of Life for 32-Year-Old GP14 Dinghy in Restoration Project

26th December 2020
Nigel McNeely working on the restoration of the GP14 dinghy Nigel McNeely working on the restoration of the GP14 dinghy

Nigel McNeely was a motorboat man who had also enjoyed sailing a Leisure 17. But with two young boys reaching the age at which they could learn to sail, Nigel bought a second-hand GP14 called Alchemellia (no 12819) originally owned by the late Brian Edgerton. Nigels's intention is to sail it at Donaghadee Sailing Club on the North Down coast and at weekends taking it to Kesh on Lough Erne where the family has a caravan. The name has been changed to Two Buoys.

The 32-year-old GP built by the renowned Alistair Duffin, was bought by Nigel in 2019. He and his friend Tom Bell (who he calls the Skipper) have been restoring it to its former glory and look forward to getting on the water this coming season at Kesh where Tom also has a caravan.

Nigel is excited about Two Buoys " I'm looking forward to finishing the restoration and getting out on the water".

The 32-year-old GP built by the renowned dinghy craftsman Alistair DuffinThe 32-year-old GP built by the renowned dinghy craftsman Alistair Duffin

And Lough Erne Heritage enthusiast Fred Ternan commented " `Great news indeed. Another wooden GP14 saved and restored which will now become a Classic Boat and add to the growing fleet of new build and restored wooden boats in Ireland and in Fermanagh. This is something that Lough Erne Heritage set out to encourage and support and great to hear that it will be sailed on Lough Erne especially in the north-west corner of Lower Lough Erne in Kesh Bay which was once one of the major areas of wooden boat building on Lough Erne".

Betty Armstrong

About The Author

Betty Armstrong

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Betty Armstrong is Afloat and Yachting Life's Northern Ireland Correspondent. Betty grew up racing dinghies but now sails a more sedate Dehler 36 around County Down

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The GP14 is a popular sailing dinghy, with well over 14,000 boats built.

The class is active in the UK, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and parts of north-eastern USA, and the GP14 can be used for both racing and cruising. 

Designed by Jack Holt in 1949, with the assistance of the Dovey Yacht Club in Aberdyfi. The idea behind the design was to build a General Purpose (GP) 14-foot dinghy which could be sailed or rowed, capable of also being powered effectively by a small outboard motor, able to be towed behind a small family car and able to be launched and recovered reasonably easily, and stable enough to be able to lie to moorings or anchor when required. Racing soon followed, initially with some degree of opposition from Yachting World, who had commissioned the design, and the boat soon turned out to be an outstanding racing design also.

The boat was initially designed with a main and small jib as a comfortable family dinghy. In a design philosophy that is both practical and highly redolent of social attitudes of the day the intention was that she should accommodate a family comprising parents plus two children, and specifically that the jib should be modest enough for "Mum" or older children to handle, while she should perform well enough to give "Dad" some excitement when not taking the family out. While this rig is still available, and can be useful when using the boat to teach sailing, or for family sailing, and has some popularity for cruising, the boat is more commonly seen with the full modern rig of a mainsail, genoa and spinnaker. Australian boats also routinely use trapezes.

GP14 Ireland Event Dates 2023

  • O'Tiarnaigh (Apr 22-23) Blessington Sailing Club
  • Ulsters (May 20-21) East Antrim Boat Club
  • Munsters (Jun 17-18) Tralee Bay Sailing Club
  • Leinsters (Jul 7-9) Dun Laoghaire Regatta
  • SOYC (Aug 19-20) Rush Sailing Club
  • Nationals (Sep 1-3) Sutton Dinghy Club
  • Hot Toddy (Sep 30-Oct 1) Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club

 

At A Glance – GP14 Dinghy Specifications

Crew 2
Draft 1,200 mm (47 in)
Hull weight 132.9 kg
LOA 4.27 m (14 ft)
Beam 1.54 m
Spinnaker area 8.4 m2
Upwind sail area 12.85 m2

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