GP14 Sailing Forums Forum New to GP 14’s

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    • #16828
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      Morning,

      ive just bought a GRP GP14 and know very little about them. I will be joining our local sailing club after Christmas but wanted to get a start on doing her up a bit.  I know a little about boat and fibreglass work, so should be OK. She is however missing floorboards and wondered if anyone has any suggestions – thinking 6mm marine ply, epoxy and a splash of deck paint.  Any photos of the floorboards would be most welcome.

      I don’t seem to be able to insert an image on my I pad – the boat is sail number 10846 and has fibreglass benches on either side. Don’t even know how old or what model she is at this stage.

      Cheers,

      Tony

    • #16831
      Oliver Shaw
      Moderator

      Welcome to the Class;  you have chosen a boat of superb design.

      According to my records your sail number 10846 was issued towards the end of 1974.   Since you also tell us that she is a fibreglass boat this would seem to place her as a Mark 2.   Major identifying features to look for to check this will be:   the visible vertical framing above the side benches (between side benches and under side of deck) is GRP and of rectangular section,  rather than the exposed metal tubing of the Mark 1 boats;    the side buoyancy tanks (with the wooden seating slats on their top surfaces) extend aft,  under the stern deck,  as far as the transom;  the inside face of the transom is clearly visible and accessible between the side buoyancy tanks,  unlike the Mark 1 which had shorter side buoyancy tanks plus a single stern buoyancy tank right across the transom;   she may have  circular transom scuppers,  although this was optional,  albeit that the facility to have them was the raison d’etre of the Mark 2 design,   and very occasional Mark 2 boats do not have them  –  indeed I saw one such in Norfolk only a couple of weeks ago;   and,  provided it has not been removed (which would be major surgery) she will have a former for a full width mainsheet track across the transom.    The last of these is a discriminator for the mark 2 as against the otherwise almost identical Mark 3 (which had no such former),  together with the sail number and date  –  the first mark 3 was sail no. 11487.  produced in 1977.    Underneath the boat,  the bilge rubbers are now part of the GRP moulding,   whereas on the Mark 1 they were wooden units screwed onto the GRP.

      The definitive first step for your floorboards is the Class Rules,  available in the Members’ Area of this site;   Rule 3.9 refers,  especially with reference to width and thickness and material.    However Rule that does refer to them covering “the area shown on the plans”,  and I am not sure whether any plans as such for the early GRP boats still exist.    But in broad terms they should extend the full length of the cockpit,  and laterally they should extend more or less from the centreboard case to the side buoyancy tanks (subject to the maximum width under Rule 3.9(a) of 380 mm),  with access holes for the self-bailers (if fitted),  and other permitted apertures (Rule 3.9(c))  –  and of course any gap between them abaft the centreboard case must not exceed 25 mm (again Rule 3.9(a)).

      It is important for the structural health of your boat that you do fit floorboards,   properly supported,  rather than stand on the bare skin of the hull.   But for a boat of this age I don’t really think that in practice you need to be too pedantic about getting exactly the original shape and area;   just use the previous paragraph as a broad guide.

      Hope this helps,

       

      Oliver

      • This reply was modified 5 years, 8 months ago by Oliver Shaw.
    • #16832
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      Thanks – been reading one or two of your posts, you really know your stuff! It does have circular scuppers and a raised former on the aft deck so mark 2 I think. I have already re-thought my original plan and am thinking 9 or 12mm ply for additional weight low down (I don’t intend to race with any seriousness). Also thinking of a battery box mid ships and a trolling motor on a clamp that spans the aft deck with a little reinforcing….it’s either that or oars (the exercise would do me good though).

    • #16834
      Oliver Shaw
      Moderator

      Crossed in the post;   I have added a little while you were posting,  so you may like to re-read my reply.

      Good luck,

       

      Oliver

    • #16835
      Oliver Shaw
      Moderator

      Before you do anything about an outboard motor,  whether electric or otherwise,  you might like to read my paper on Fitting an Outboard.    There are pros and cons,  and there are also issues of how to mount it.

      Personally I have always found oars a sufficient alternative means of propulsion,  but that is not necessarily the right answer for everyone.

      This paper should be available in the Members’ Area.

       

      Oliver

      • This reply was modified 5 years, 8 months ago by Oliver Shaw. Reason: Typo
    • #16837
      Oliver Shaw
      Moderator

      >  … you really know your stuff!

      Credit for the detail on the history of the hull really lies with Roy Nettleship,  a past President of the Association,  who wrote the definitive guide.    Most of what I wrote above is merely borrowing from Roy’s document.

       

      Oliver

    • #16838
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      Oliver…and a gentleman as well, crediting your sources!

    • #16839
      Oliver Shaw
      Moderator

      Roy’s other great claim to fame is an answer he reportedly gave to a question at the Boat Show (or perhaps the Dinghy Show) in about 1990.

      He was asked how long a GP14 would last.

      “I’ve no idea”,  said Roy,  “the design’s only forty years old!”

      And the follow-up to that is that the design is now approaching seventy years old,  and some of the very first boats are still sailing …

       

      Oliver

    • #16840
      norman
      Participant

      Hello Tony

      Panels of plywood, 2′ wide by 8′ long (requiring  half of a standard sheet) will meet your requirements.  Be wary of using too thick a panel as getting it into position may involve a bit of fiddling threading it between the aft deck and the thwart; it will require to flex a bit to follow the curvature of the hull.  You then need a strip to fill the gap from the centreboard case back to the aftermost frame, not necessarily ply, unless you have a bit to hand.

      Consider how you will secure the panels to permit reasonably easy removal.  One approach is to attach a slightly greater than”floorboard thickness” block, oval or rectangular in shape, to the lowest frame which I think is beneath the thwart.  This engages with a similar-shaped hole in the floor panel to provide location.  The panel is secured down by a turnbuckle screwed to the block.  You will also need to cut holes to access the self balers.  Unsecured ply floorboards will float if you are unfortunate enough to capsize!

      Enjoy

      Norman

    • #16844
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      Thanks Norman, there is already a block with a turnbuckle in place. I tend to use thin strips of wood and a hot glue gun to make templates – maybe 6mm ply then for the flex, with a couple of stringers to sit inside the lengthwise indentations in the moulding for positioning and strength.

    • #16845
      Oliver Shaw
      Moderator

      If you can hold fire for a few days,  I think on reflection that there may be a Mk 2 boat at my sailing club.     If so,  I will have a look at her floorboards,  if of course she still has them(!),  and photograph them for you.

       

      Oliver

    • #16846
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      Thanks Oliver, been putting blinds up (really don’t like home based DIY) all day and have quite a bit to be getting on with in the meantime with the boat, so will hang fire.

    • #16860
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      I have just aquired the exact same kind of boat and in the process of doing it up, the floor was intact but rotten..I have managed to get a template from them, they are 12mm marine ply with holes for the scuppers and also the turn buckle, they have 5 stringers running width ways up the boards, I will attach a photo of what I have done so far and try get you more if you Nedd

      John

    • #16863
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      Thanks John,

      i suspected the boat was missing some stringers as well rather than the ply just laying directly onto the inside of the hull, but could see no evidence of them ever having been there on my boat. This is going to turn out to be complicated as I have no template. I assume the stringers are glassed in and the ply boards butt up to the side of the cockpit and the centre plate?

      Look forward to the photo’s, that will help a lot.

      cheers,

      Tony

    • #16889
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      Hi Tony..im reall struggling to get these photos to the size reqired..the stringers are not glassed into the hull..they are on the plywood itself..if you are desperate i can email or whats app them to you..

      John

    • #16890
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      Thanks John, really appreciate your help.

      my e mail address is tony@contractorunlimited.co.uk

      Tony

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