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Anyone Interested in Antique GP14 Revival?

11th January 2022
GP14 dinghy 5458 is looking for a loving new home
GP14 dinghy 5458 is looking for a loving new home

A ready to go vintage GP14 dinghy restoration project has gone online that might be suitable for a Dublin-based renovation.

Facebook poster Tim McAuley asks on the GP14 Facebook page "Is anyone here based in Ireland (Dublin better) and interested in antique GP14 revival?"

McAuley says he has boat number 5458 "sitting in dry storage, in reasonable condition and what seems to be all original attachments, including wooden mast (probably not serviceable) and boom"

He adds the boat is 'Looking for a new loving home".

There is no road trolley, just a basic trolley. 

McAuley says the boat built in 1960 has been in the family since it was built. It hasn't been sailed properly since 1970. It was built by Blackburn in Dunbarton. 

It won't be the only antique GP14 restoration of the pandemic, however. 1955 built Belfast built Ventura was brought back to life last year as Afloat reports here

See his Facebook post here

Published in GP14
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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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