GP14 Sailing Forums Forum Series 1 advice

Viewing 2 reply threads
  • Author
    Posts
    • #21993
      Ed Downs
      Spectator

      I have recently bought a series 1 from ’57. It seems completely original and unimproved. It may even float.

      One thing it does not appear to have is a kicking strap. This leads to the question: is this missing or did the early boats not have one?

      Thanks in advance

       

    • #21994
      Oliver Shaw
      Moderator

      I cannot be 100% certain about the very earliest boats,  but I do know that by the late fifties most dinghies  –  of all classes  –  had kickers.   I moved up from rowing to sailing in 1958,  and kickers were certainly in general use by that time.

      Typically just a 2:1 or 3:1 purchase (see attached photos),  and they were intended only to prevent the boom rising when off the wind,  and especially during a gybe,  not to actively bend the mast in order to depower the sail.  By the late fifties or early sixties the full width mainsheet horse had become popular as a means of controlling sail twist in stronger winds when off the wind;   and if your spars are commensurate with the age of your boat I would strongly suggest that you follow that lead  –  i.e. content yourself with quite modest kicker purchase and use a full width sheet horse to control sail twist.    Spars of that age may well not be strong enough to safely handle the loads imposed by modern high-power kickers.

      Hope this helps,

       

      Oliver

      Attachments:
      You must be logged in to view attached files.
    • #21997
      Ed Downs
      Spectator

      Great. That  tells me what I wanted to know.

      I am not looking for high performance and will fix up a very basic kicking strap in due course.

      Meanwhile I will be content if it does not leak too much and the sails don’t rip apart (they are the original red sails).

      Thank you

Viewing 2 reply threads
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.