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Displaying items by tag: Sun Fast 30 One Design

Saying they are “bound by common values”, French boatbuilding institutions Jeanneau and Multiplast are joining forces to develop a new high-performance and accessible sailboat: the Sun Fast 30 One Design.

It’s promised that the new design will offer “an intense sailing experience” while also aiming to become a reference one-design class for offshore sailing, with an ambitious and international racing programme to boot.

The project to design a new 30-foot one-design offshore racer was initiated by the UNCL-Racing Division from the Yacht Club de France, the Royal Ocean Racing Club in the UK and the Storm Trysail Club in the US, with the aim of making sailing more accessible for the next generation of offshore sailors.

Multiplast brings its expertise in the conception and development of offshore racing boats to the VPLP design, and will also manage relations with the clubs for the launch of the class as well as supervising sales to support Jeanneau’s distribution network.

Jeanneau, meanwhile, will manufacture the Sun Fast 30 One Design at its boatyard in Cheviré, near Nantes and provide all the services, guarantees and technical support offered by its organisation.

Beyond performance, respect for biodiversity and aquatic environments is at the heart of this joint venture, with the brands emphasising the use in its construction of Arkema’s Elium thermoplastic resin which is made of 20% recycled material and is itself recyclable.

As a result, Jeanneau and Multiplast are touting the Sun Fast 30 One Design as the first production recyclable sailboat.

Expect more news on the progress of the Sun Fast 30 One Design from Jeanneau, who are exclusively marketed in Ireland by MGM Boats.

Published in MGM Boats

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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