Forums Forum Gp14 hull repairs

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    • #24041
      Jamie Barber
      Participant

      Hello all,

      I’m a relatively new gp14 owner, having taken ‘ownership’ of my grandads GP which has basically sat under a cover covered in ivy for 27 or so years, the intention was it was probably scrap but on inspection the actual damage appears limited to a few exposed areas where the cover has failed to protect it or become torn. So I thought I would restore it in the hope of using it to sail with my own children(in the same way I learnt to sail in the same boat)

       

      It’s a series 1 boat approx 1962 (although this could be incorrect as I’m only using the sail number and the dating spreadsheet),

      The repairs I’m aware I’m going to need to do are (in no particular order..

      • Small areas of the main ply hull which will need repairing around the transom and on the sides of the boat,
      • Transom will  need some repair (interestingly the boat has a raised arched track over the back of the boat to receive the mainsheet rigging so I’m keen to know a bit more about this as it certainly doesn’t feature on most GP’s)
      • Entire deck replacement.
      • Obviously I assume I will find a few more surprises once I start removing paint.

       

      I’ve yet to order a set of plans from the association and also need to get the history of the boat (beyond what I know from clearing through my grandparents affairs)

       

       

      My question is… what is he suggested order to tackle these repairs?  My thoughts were transom, hull sides then deck last. Is this a sensible order?

       

       

      Thanks for taking the time to read my data dump!

       

      Jamie

    • #24042
      Oliver Shaw
      Moderator

      >   (interestingly the boat has a raised arched track over the back of the boat to receive the mainsheet rigging so I’m keen to know a bit more about this as it certainly doesn’t feature on most GP’s)

      That sounds like the full-width sheet horse arrangement,  which became immensely popular in the sixties,  and was was for a long time almost the standard arrangement.

      Transom sheeting was normal at that time,  and kickers of the day were relatively simple affairs  –  none of your modern powerful cascade tackles  –  of only about 2:1 or 3:1 purchase.   So the kicker was used only to prevent the boom lifting unduly when off the wind,  and particularly during gybing;   spars were not expected to bend significantly,  and all flattening of the sail was done by the mainsheet.   Very different from today’s race rigs.

      The full width sheet horse allowed the sheet to pull down on the sail more vertically when the boom was over the quarter,  as would be the case primarily when off the wind,  but also when close-hauled if it was necessary to ease sheets because of the wind strength;  and thus it helped to flatten the sail.

      It was an excellent system,  but it became redundant when modern powerful kickers were introduced,  and when racers’ preferences moved from full transom sheeting to either centre sheeting or the hybrid system which is almost ubiquitous today.

      Hope this helps.

       

      Oliver

    • #24043
      Jamie Barber
      Participant

      Thanks Oliver, I think I spotted a similar arrangement on one of the pictures of your boats you posted in a reply to someone else’s question… one of about 3 pictures I’ve seen of similar equipped GP’s

       

       

       

      I’d like to retain it as it’s an original feature of the boat, I’m guessing it’s going to limit what I can and cant do with the transom as it appears to be an integral part of it.

      • #24048
        Oliver Shaw
        Moderator

        For a boat of that period I strongly suspect that it is merely screwed on.   Take off the metal track (aluminium if the previous owner was a cheapskate,  stainless steel if you are lucky),  which will be secured by small screws.   Then expect that the wooden former is secured by large screws,  whose heads will now be revealed,  driven down into the transom.

        I think it would be very unusual at that period for it to be glued or bonded in place.

         

         

        Oliver

    • #24044
      Anonymous
      Guest

      Hi I’m doing a transom replacement the traveller you have sounds like the one I have on mine

      To get it off unscrew and remove the track you’ll then see 3inch or so screws that hold the timber arch onto the deck and transom

      Hope this is of some help

    • #24045
      Jamie Barber
      Participant

      hi Karle,

      thanks for that, on closer inspection the transom and traveller are indeed separate items with the traveller sat on-top of the deck, that helps a lot, remove the traveller, repair the transom and surrounding an refit the traveller afterwards, simplifies it somewhat.

       

      thanks both.

       

      Jamie

    • #24046
      Windychippy
      Participant

      Hi Jamie,

      I have no experience with Series 1 boats but have recently finished a Series 2,  so in answer to your question  ( What is the suggested order to tackle these repairs?  My thoughts were transom, hull sides then deck last. Is this a sensible order?)       I’d say your proposed order of repair is the correct one to proceed with. All the best.

      Windy

      • This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by Windychippy.
    • #24049
      sw13644
      Participant

      Jamie,

      I’m sorry if I’m sounding a bit unsupportive of your venture, but there are other things to consider when contemplating the restoration of a wooden boat that has been stored for so long, and glue is quite fundamental.

      The glue used in the 1960’s to glue boats together is likely to be Cascamite, which is a powdered resin turned into a paste by adding water. It is a very good glue and lasts for a long time, but no one building wooden boats in the 60’s could have imagined that they were making something that would still be a thing 60 years later. There is a chance that the glue will have lost bonding strength over the years and every  joint in your hull may be currently held together with a brittle resin which will stand little effort to break. If you repair the bits that are obviously in need of attention, and then lovingly paint and varnish the boat, it could simply break apart on first sailing. I have had an old wooden boat which I spent hundreds on, replacing the hull, only for it to disintegrate while sailing it, and can attest to the death of a hull through wood glue ageing out.

      So my suggested order to tackle your issues is to have a good prod about and see if the boat is in fact still glued together. If it’s not, at least it’s easier to take apart to salvage the lovely wood that boats were made from in those days.

      There is a sentimental value to attempting to restore an old GP14, and it can take a lot of labour and money to do so, time that you could have spent buying a cheap GRP or FRP GP14 boat and sailing it.

    • #24050
      Chris
      Participant

      I think the first thing I’d do is try to sail it as is. Even if its for 20 minutes with holes taped up. This will tell you straight away whether you have a leaking case, split hog/keel and all sorts of other things that its much, much better to know before you start than to find after you’ve finished. Leaking case isn’t a drama to to with the boat in a million pieces, and there is an argument for re-bedding it anyway but I think id be tempted to leave it alone if its water tight.

      As for tackling the job, the order of business sounds sensible but id take the decks off before starting any on the other jobs. This will improve access enormously and will tell you how badly the glue has weathered. Depending on who built the boat the frames and panels will be glued with Resourcinol which is much, much better. Cascamite was (and frequently still is) used on the decks because its doesn’t leave glue lines.

       

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