Jack Holt designed the GP14, originally sponsored by the Yachting World magazine, in 1949 for home construction from the then comparatively new material of Marine Plywood.
It was conceived as a General Purpose dinghy, and although equipped with wooden mast and boom, and cotton jib and mainsail, it was also excellent to row, and had a standard conversion for fitting a small outboard motor.
Since its initial launch there have been considerable changes to the boat but the outer hull shape and deck have remained basically unaltered.
The Wooden Series Mk1 was built to Jack Holt’s original design and had buoyancy tanks fitted under the slatted seats (see photo).
Some have a full buoyancy tank under the fore deck and/or a full buoyancy tank under the rear deck. The mast sat on top of the hog and had a square heel plug.
In 1983 modifications were approved to bring older boats down to weight by replacing original centreboard by one of 6mm ply and the transom by 5mm ply and reducing beam and seat slats.
A Mast Step Conversion was approved in 1991 to alleviate problems with heavy loading concentrated on a short length of hog. A tenon heel, which sits in a track mounted on top of a spline and pad, could replace the square heel.
GRP Mk1 boats were produced from 1967 initially by Bourne Plastics with white hull and light blue decks. Some were completed with wooden decks, similar in specification to those on the Series 1 Wooden Hull and became knows as Composite Boats. Updated versions were produced by Thames Marine, McComb Boats and Bourne Plastics from 1969 that had the rear deck tank removed, side tanks enlarged and the bilge keel became part of the GRP moulding.
A further refinement of the basic design appeared in 1977 with many being fitted with a glass-fibre mast step and a king post to give more support to the deck around the mast slot. There were a variety of colours for the deck but no moulding was provided for the sheet horse at the transom. These were built by Bourne Plastics, McNulty Boats and Spectrum Boats. In 1983 Fibredon produced an FRP boat. A radical departure from previous practice they came with the inclusion of foam, as well as glass, reinforcing. All wood, with the exception of floorboards, was dispensed with. Deck and hull were bonded with rollover fibreglass rubbing bead and the keelband, except alongside the centreboard slot, becoming part of the moulding.
In 1989 two prototypes of a Wooden Series Mk2, were produced in an attempt to modernise the interior whilst reducing cost of production. The design was approved and whilst outward appearance is changed little, buoyancy bags and floorboards were dispensed with whilst a new raised floor is fitted and sealed to provide under floor buoyancy. This design has remained popular with Mk2 wooden boats still being constructed mainly by Duffin and Harper.
Amos FRP Boats were the first to respond to the Mk2GP14 design where buoyancy was provided by tanks enclosing the space under the floorboards. The square mast step was retained with a deep recess around the step between the bow tank and the underfloor buoyancy. Fibredon then responded to the Mk2 wooden hull in 1992 by adding a new tray to their successful FRP hull and deck designs, producing a boat with full underfloor buoyancy and Series II mast track. It retained the original higher centreboard case.
Holt FRP boats were first produced in 1996 with a rational redesign of interior layout to rival modern race developed dinghies. Richard Estaugh of Speedsails showed the competitive nature of the boat and soon started selling these state-of-the-art FRP boats under his SpeedSails name. These Speed FRP boats remain a best-seller and provide close competition in GP14 fleet racing.
