Any GP14 advocates out there..?

[Reptile Smile]

So I've gradually come to change my sailing. I used to say I wasn't a racer, I just liked messing about in boats, and that's still actually broadly true. I love the idea of cruising but the reality is I hardly ever spend any nights on board, and I'm much more of a day sailor.

I currently have two boats - one is a Caprice, and one a Hurley 24/70. One of these (and possibly both) need to go, and the main reason is I have two 4-month old twins. The actual time I have to go sailing is vastly reduced, and even when I can, it's much less about getting out on the Severn estuary (I live in Bristol). I do very much want to sail with my girls from as early as is reasonable, practical and safe, and that's still some way off.

But rather than going out for half the day on the estuary, I could get a lot more sailing done in the Harbour in my local dinghy club. I can get rid of both or at least one of the bigger boats (knackered tubs that they are), and keep a dinghy in the compound for a weekly bash about the harbour, the odd race, the odd cruise, and the ability to trailer-sail when I want.

I recognise that the boat that in some ways makes most sense is a Wayfarer, of which I have some experience. Race-able, cruise-able, trail-able - what's not to like? Well, the ability to launch and recover single-handed without a car. I have no problem with single-handing them, but recognise that precisely the thing that makes them so stable and safe is precisely what makes them a nuisance to recover when I'm by myself (though I do wonder how often that would be), and also (heaven forfend) if I needed to right a capsize by myself.

I've never sailed a GP14, but am aware that it on paper looks like a good alternative. Lighter, easier to recover single-handed. Rowable, and capable of taking a small outboard. But on the downside, less stable and less roomy. Can one recover a capsize single-handed? Anything else I should be aware of?

Cheers

 

[Motor_Sailor]

I think the GP still lives up quite well to it's 'general purpose' design brief.

I think it's only if you plan of lot of dinghy camping cruising would the Wayfarer get the edge. But that's not to say the GP is not capable, - I think a number of them have circumnavigated Sri Lanka!

However the outboard will be a pain - I think you should exploit its light airs sailing performance and your prowess on the oars.

 

[Bobc]

If you have 4 month old twins, and hence a lack of time, I would suggest you look at the rotomoulded efforts from Laser RS or Topper. Something like the RS Vision of Topper Omega or Laser Bahia.

 

[lw395]

The GP is a good boat, with a proper racing class behind it.
But, it's not the lightest thing on the slipway.
133kg minimum hull weight AIUI
Add rig, trolley, the fact that many are over weight etc etc.
Depending on what your slip is like and how big you are, you may struggle.

There are many good boats which are lighter.
If you are a big chap, you won't want a Mirror, but for singlehanding or sailing with small people, the likes of Miracle, Firefly, Enterprise, N12 etc etc spring to mind. Alternatively a Solo or Vareo is a singlehander which can take a passenger.

Here is a handy list from one of the insurers:
http://www.noblemarine.co.uk/dinghydatabase.php3

Maybe have a think, do you want to race s/h? Do you want a spinnaker? Asymmetric?
Do you want to row/outboard? Picnic boat or more sporty?
And of course budget....

If you buy a good class of dinghy a few years old, it's relatively painless to sell it on and buy something different, so if you are canny you can trade across to suit your wants as the kids grow. I've had my dinghy about 12 years and I think it depreciated from about £4k to £2500 in that time.

 

[Caer Urfa]

I normally sail my Colvic Watson but also sail with my son in his GP14 at the local lake,( I personally find dinghy sailing is completely different from sailing offshore boats)

Unless you have plenty of experience trying to sail a GP14 single handed would be a right handful and best with two of you, at 133kg plus the trolley is also a handful to pull up a launching ramp on your own and a Wayfarer at 169kg plus trolley would not be any easier.'

Although a great safe boat the GP14 is no slow coach even with two of us aboard both 90kg and very responsive, buy one with built in buoyancy tanks and a GRP hull is a must unless you like maintenance

As to righting a GP14 its best done with two of you is my personal opinion, yes it can be done single handed with experience but not for the light hearted

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

Back in my dinghy days (sixties!) I used to race an Enterprise (E-3356). At that time the GP14 had a very generous PY rating and regularly did well in handicap races.
However, it is a relatively heavy boat and righting it when on your own would be quite a task (for me, anyway).
If I were in your situation I would consider a Miracle: Easy to sail solo, quite fast, roomy enough to have the twins on board. As they get older they will get a buzz from sailing on the Miracle and can then either 'crew' for you on the Miracle or go on to something of their own like an Opi...

 

[dom]

Just spotted this thread: a couple of tips as I sailed these boats years at National level+ years ago. Briefly:

1. Fab boat, but not all are competitive or even close thereto. There'll prob be a significant difference in price here, though I'm no longer up to date on this. Duffins in Northern Ireland used to make great boats.
2. As lw395 says; the attraction will be largely dependent on whether there is a decent fleet nearby and the GP14 fleet certainly used to be very competitive indeed - at least I thought it was back in the eighties!
3. Weight wise; well it's no size-zero boat -- in fact it's a big old lump that needs careful sailing and a light handed touch at lower wind speeds. I really liked it though, perhaps it's an acquired taste, dunno.
4. Crew weight is very important: too light and you're dead upwind; too heavy and you're a dog downhill. One decent sized adult and a kid/light-wife would be perfect.
5. Re righting after capsize: dead easy single handed for a fit adult although the boat is slow to come up and rights itself with lots of water inside, which then requires bailing. Basically, capsize and your race is bunched but nothing to worry about safety wise.
6. Engine: careful here. The transom comes (or at least came) in two types: (i) a small vertical upstand to which one could attach an o/b, (ii) flush finish transom which could not take an o/b. The choice is yours, but FWIW I used to use an ancient GP14 (racing discard) as a kid to go trout fishing on the Shannon lakes. Seaworthy little thing and the weight helps here.

I think I've just talked myself into borrowing one for a race or two. Good luck and great choice

Oops forgot: boat has no trapeze so you will fry those thighs uphill and the hiking position isn't (or at least wasn't) the Mae West !! That's why in Australia they used to give a dispensation to use trapeze as the prevailing winds there made it a real struggle for lighter crews.

 

[KevinT1]

If you like the Wayfarer, but it's too big - then have a look at it's baby brother the Wanderer designed by Ian Proctor as well.

It does everything that a Wayfarer can do but a single person can pull it up the slip way - ours had also had a removable flotation cushion in the head of the mainsail so it wouldn't turn turtle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanderer_(sailing_dinghy)

Kevin

 

[bikedaft]

got an old gp14 for £100 2-3 years ago - great to get out sailing when wouldn't be going to the "big" boat, or for trailering to eg holiday destination for a week or two.

pretty easy to launch/recover/sail singlehanded.

not raced her, suspect she/i would not be great!

have also sailed a wayfarer - GP14 definitely easier to launch etc. GP14 not much smaller either. plenty space to stick tents etc if that's what you fancy

go for it. what's the worst that happens - you sell her on again in a year or three?

 

[ex-Gladys]

Like a lot of Jack Holt designed boats, unless the class has allowed changes to the rudder, they can be a handful, as the chine digs in and puts them onto rails.... They are also hugely heavy for a 14' boat

 

[blackbeard]

I have a real wood Mk 1, have owned it for years and I have had a great deal of sailing and a great deal of pleasure from it. It's a really robust construction, but some wood boats now are showing their age. Mine has spent most of its off-duty time under cover in my garage (car does not approve), wood boats stored outside can suffer. Later designs with under-floor buoyancy can recover more quickly from a capsize but can be harder to right - more likely to turn turtle.
Can be sailed single-handed but much better with two.
Basically it's not hugely different from many other designs of about the same length, with a tendency to be more versatile and more robust at the expense of being on the heavy side.
Any dinghy not intended solely for racing should be able to reef the mainsail easily while afloat. Slab reefing is the only way to go. Not hard to set up but you will need to get a sailmaker to put the reef points in. If you have only one set of reef points, make the reef a fairly deep one. GPs have a choice of big genoa or small jib, jib is useful if it's blowing but of course racing types will only ever use the genoa.

 

[underdog]

Had a wooden Mk 1 Gp for a number of years, Have now changed to early grp version reducing the maintenance by 90%.
In comparison to one of the latest Duffin built wooden boats, which are a work of art, it is a dog. But for my purposes launching off the beach in Donegal and messing about on Sheephaven bay it is ideal. Fitted a seagull removable outboard bracket having having strengthened the transom with additional wood she motors nicely with a 3.5 outboard. Sails very well solo. Have only capsized once but managed to right her without too much bother single handed. Very good for going out of an evening to catch mackerel, or going round to the secret beach for a picnic. Another advantage it cost me less than £300.

 

[tyce]

How about a laser 2000.
But,do not sell the yachts, I have twins and yes initially time onboard was reduced but from about 2 years on the kids fell in love with it. Our boat really is part of the family it does not get masses of use but enough and the memories wrapped up in it are great.

 

[duncan99210]

No real practical opinions but I do have a fondness for the GP14, as that's the boat that got me interested in sailing. My godfather had one on the river Dee at Chester and my introduction to sailing was tacking down the river into the wind - every couple of minutes as the river was not very wide! That was a good few years ago but the memory remains. No idea how the boat handles or how easy it is to recover from a capsize, just the excitement of a new experience, moving from one side of the boat to the other, handling the jib sheet and the wish to keep on doing it.....

 

[Seajet]

The GP 14 is incredibly heavy - especally on slipways, and we were a fit teenage crew when I last sailed one - not very responsive either.

As mentioned, find a laser 2000, almost zero maintainence - or even a Scorpion; 14', fast-ish but not skittish, much lighter and more fun.

A Miracle could be good fun, and very cheap ( 12'9" ISTR ), designed for families with young kids.

Lots of good dinghies going cheap at the moment, have a look around - and try moving them on their trolleys, thinking of sand & gravel...

 

[Alfie168]

I was an Enterprise man, and sailed a few Wayfarers...but never a G.P. I did take my kids out in a Laser 2000 on Derwent Water in the Lake District many moons ago and found it a very family friendly boat with enough space, as much 'go' as you wanted and generally quite a likeable boat. I didn't have to drag it on the trolley though, so weight wise I have to defer to others.

Tim

 

[spannerman]

My first boat was a wooden GP14, I sailed it on the sea in Devon where I lived and had a lot of fun in it until the shroud plate screws pulled out of the wooden mast while under full sail dumping the jib over the bow and leaving the mast under full sail with no support, you have never seen a sail come down so fast. Luckily I had my Penta 3.9 outboard with me which fitted on the transom to port after removing a hatch in the deck. I took down the mast while afloat and we motored back.
I then bought a 2nd hand aluminium mast and re rigged it and fitted a trapeze and self bailers as we did capsize it from time to time and it was slow to get righted with only buoyancy bags, often we righted it but it was half full of water so we sailed it while hanging on to the sides until the self bailers dumped enough for us to get back in, this meant we sailed in wet suits if we planned use the trapeze!
But all in all great fun and fond memories.

 

[Alfie168]

My first boat was a wooden GP14, I sailed it on the sea in Devon where I lived and had a lot of fun in it until the shroud plate screws pulled out of the wooden mast while under full sail dumping the jib over the bow and leaving the mast under full sail with no support, you have never seen a sail come down so fast.

Pretty well exactly the same happened to me just off Nefyn in N. Wales in my old Enterprise in 1978. It was a nice gentle day and the first time sailing for my then girlfriend.......out pulled the forestay fitting......down came the mast, quite gracefully really in the circumstances. Once I had regained my composure a bit the girlfriend asked " is that supposed to happen ?" Then a nice man with a Prout cruising catamaran gave us a tow back into the beach. Mucho embarrassment. The front fitting was alloy and the build up of oxide underneath it had pulled the screw threads through the wood.

Tim

 

[Daydream believer]

Why not keep the Caprice for the days when there are 2 or more & go for a fun performance light single hander. Something light quick to rig & launch & have a blast
Laser, cheap second hand
OK dinghy- bit more specialised
Blaze - fun
Phantom- specialised but a fast performance dinghy ( had to mention that as I have one It is great to knock the cobwebs off)
There are several more all can be tipped over & righted easily but the point is that you can got for a one&half hour blast on a Sunday morning & feel really invigorated & pack it all away & get back home for lunch & family by early afternoon. No complicated rig/derig & heavy boats to lug about.
You may have a club that caters for that sort of thing. Our club ( there are others) Does 2 races back to back & members can be showered & on their way home by 13-30 hours on a Sunday to do the chores at home. It is all intense fun
Then if you want to go 2 up then use the Caprice

 

[Atnglas]

I'm in my Seventies, but as a kid in Oban, Argyll we sailed all summer long in GP14s. It seemed like there was a huge fleet of them and nobody thought of them as heavy or difficult to sail singlehanded or unsafe in rough weather. Rose tinted memories?