HOW I GOT A GP-14

Around the end of April, 2007, I saw an ad for a 14' sailboat on Craigslist.com for $100. Thinking it might be a Sunfish, I called the number given. A woman answered and said she knew nothing about the boat but just wanted to get it out of her yard. I went to look at it, but didn't buy because it had no trailer, mast or boom. I did some research afterwards and found it to be a popular British GP14 racing dinghy. I had never heard of a GP14.

A few weeks later, a friend wrote and asked if I had any extra sails that I wanted to get rid of. I told him about the GP14, which had three sails with it. He bought it, painted the hull and fitted it with a mast. He now has a nice little boat.

About a week later, I saw a GP-14 advertised in the newspaper for $2,500. It had a trailer and sold immediately. Shortly after that, I saw a third GP-14 with three sets of sails on eBay and bought it for $720.

I refinished the mahogany wood work and made a new yoke to rest the mast on.

The trailer that it came on was too big, so I donated it to Camp Haluwasa and put it on another trailer.
Below: The last sail of 2007 on Union Lake

Another GP14 owner near us sent an email to his fellow sailors, saying that his future son-in-law had turtled the boat, and in the process, the mast was broken, the main torn, and the centerboard broken! He was out for the season! I felt sympathy for his predicament and offered to sell him my mast, a mainsail and centerboard for $500. I sold the hull and 2 sets of sails for $300.

GP-14 REGATTA in STONE HARBOR

Above: GP-14 Regatta in a light breeze (Stone Harbor)
Below: The way I like it!