GP 14 National Championships

GP 14 National Championships   20 - 26 August 2016

Originally designed by Jack Holt in 1949, the GP14 is easily recognised by the distinctive bell on the mainsail. This is thought to be  a reference to the legendary bells of Aberdyfi, North Wales, where Jack Holt is alleged to have designed the GP14.

The boat was initially designed with a mainsail and small jib as a comfortable family dinghy. The jib is still available, and it can be particularly useful when using the boat to teach sailing or for lighter crew weights, but these days the GP14 is more commonly seen with the full rig of mainsail, genoa and spinnaker.

In the early 1990s a new internal layout was introduced, with built-in underfloor buoyancy. One of the great benefits that this introduced is that following a capsize the boat comes up with very little water in it. This has been further modified in the following years, led by boat builders Alistair Duffin, who builds in wood, and Speed Sails, who manufacture in glass reinforced plastic (GRP) and fibre reinforced plastic (FRP).