GP14 (dinghy)
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GP14 from astern |
The
GP14 is a 4.2m (14 ft)
sailing dinghy developed in
1949. Almost 14,000 GP14s have been built and the class is active in Britain, Ireland, Australia and South Africa. It is relatively heavy (133kg) but stable, and an ideal boat to learn to sail in. It is also raced competitively, and offers good close racing.
The idea behind the design was to build a General Purpose (GP) 14 foot dinghy which could be cruised, raced and rowed equally well. It can also be powered effectively by a small outboard motor. In the early 1990s a new internal layout was introduced in the wooden boats (the "Series 2"), with built-in buoyancy. This was further modified in 2005, led by boat builder
Alistair Duffin. New boats are currently available both in wood and in
glass-reinforced plastic.
The most recent GP14 World Chamionships, held at
Abersoch, north
Wales, in 2003, attracted an entry of over 170 boats. The 2006 World Champiosnhips are due to be held at
Sligo on the west coast of
Ireland.
People often wonder why the class symbol is a bell. This is because the boat's designer,
Jack Holt, designed it whilst in
Aberdovey, because of its famous submerged church bells. Or so the story goes. Then again the original manufacturer was "Bell Woodworking."
*Designer:
Jack Holt (1949)
*LOA: 4.27 m
*Beam: 1.54 m
*Minimum weight: 132.9 kg
*Sail area:
main &
jib 12.85 m² +
spinnaker 8.4 m²
*PN (2005): 1127
*
GP14 International Association
