sounds like a vintage 14

[Ed]

Sounds wonderful.

that centre-board sounds typically 'Holt' and much the same as the first Merlins had, like Iska, Works remarkably well.....you just pull it back and it falls through the slot at bottom. Only issue I had was with grounding banging the board back onto the rear of case, as there is nothing to stop it.

I wouldn't of thought Oak was right for inwhales.....but that is just me....Rock Elm would be better if you can find it.

You say the planks are 'tongue and groove', but is there just the one layer or two? presumably not 3 as there wouldn't be room for the t&g.

Would be interested to know what that foam was?? Are you sure that the foam buoyancy was not added at a later date?

Out of curiosity, you didn't see what the number was on the sails? There certainly were a few clinker 14s, but not that many and most of them very early. (although I think that 531 was a later clinker boat).

Does sound wonderful....and if I had time, money and space, all of which are low in availability at moment for me, I would certainly be chasing her.

cheers

eib

[Ed]

Just about every type of building technique has been tried with 14s

Wonder what happened to the ali one?

eib

[Hotspur]

You say the planks are 'tongue and groove', but is there just the one layer or two? presumably not 3 as there wouldn't be room for the t&g.

Two layers, separated by oiled calico (I suspect). Not sure I understand about room for the tongue and groove? Each plank has a v-shaped groove on its leading edge and a corresponding tongue on its trailing edge, so each plank literally slots into the next and take up no more space than butt-joined planks.

Not sure about the foam and whether it was added later I'm afraid. I imagine if the boat is postwar it could be original. It almost sounds like the tanks were built around the layers of foam. Sorry, didn't see the sails.

I didn't know there was a clinker 14 era. Weren't they (at least mostly) carvel rght from the start?

IIRC there were a small-ish number of clinker 14s mainly built as a cost-saving measure. Some if not all were just after the second world war when no doubt the supplies of wood and the will to spend such vast amount of time and effort building the double-diagonal carvel jobs were in short supply. I had thought that all Holt 14s were clinker but I could be wrong.

Some Rockets (before the merger with the Merlin) were rigged as 14s too I believe, and were quite successful.

[Michael Brigg]

Not sure about sails - there are evidently some with it but they came from another boat as the sail number equates to a clinker hull. I didn't check if the owner intends to include them, I'm afraid.

I didn't know there was a clinker 14 era. Weren't they (at least mostly) carvel rght from the start?

Not at all, and especially in the east conference.

The Ultra light, double skinned, million ribbed boats were for their day the equivalent of titanium and carbon with moulded mylar etc which is todays financial arms race. Also only the richest could afford such extravagance on a development hull.

As I understand it, the very oldest carvel built boats were made as single layer solid wood on much heavier ribs, and the idea of diagonally laid layers of timber to give greater strength to the hull really only developed as a construction in a few experimental big yachts in the early 1900's, and was taken up by Uffa as a technique to produce a lighter, smooth hull. It was later used extensively in construction of minesweepers and MTB vessels (built of wood to counter magnetic detonator devices, but needing to be lightweight also for speed.)

Up until then the clinker construction produced a much lighter and stiffer weight for stength ratio. This was considered "worth it" for the extra surface area of the planking, and indeed some suggested that the clinker strakes improved directional stability and acted as lots of "mini keels" in reducing leeway when going upwind.

Of interest, and not infact an i14, there is a Reverse clinker boat, the "Solent Seagull," but this construction was used not to make the construction streamlined, but more because it does not require the boat to be built up from the keel, rather it is built up from the gunwhales, with the keel tapped onto the finished product.

Many clinker boats are decked on a heavy lay-up, so we think of it as a heavy duty work boat type of structure, however without the decks etc it can be surprisingly light. Racing rowing shells were routinely made of clinker construction until ply technology and construction technique developed.

[billytwiglet]

I believe that Wyche & Coppock built a clinker I14 or few and that this was relaunched as the Rocket in 1950 which subsequently merged with Merlins. There is mention of this on the GBR I14 website.
Does anyone know if there is a register of I14s? Merlin class of course has records of every boat name, number, design, builder and current owner if known since 1946; just wondered if there was similar for the I14s. The boat in question as mentioned earlier is Blue Peter. I think the I14 class assoc started in 1950.

[Ed]

" The International Fourteen 1928-1989" by T.J Vaughan Published: 1964,71,89, Published by Biddles Ltd, Guilford & King's Lynn.

Goes up to 1269

Beyond that...I guess the 14s have a register, but I don't think it is online anywhere.

eib

[billytwiglet]

The owner has had several people look at this boat and it had to be cleared by 15th October, so I went up and collected it on 14th. Mr Bowles had rescued it from a boatyard in Norfolk ten years ago and has stripped the structure and transon and scraped out the insides. Never had the time or resources to finish.

Blue Peter is now sitting at the back of the queue behind merlin 220 typhoon which is well under way, and fairey finn K95 terrapin which I collected last saturday.

As previously reported she is 'Blue Peter', K483 and one of two Holt I14s from 1946, built in Watford by Buss & Elston. Tom Vaughan has supplied this and other information; many thanks.

As all the guts have been removed some time ago, she has dried out and is quite loose. However, I am gently easing her back into shape with webbing cramps so she can 'take up' dry before replacing all the structure and getting a bit of moisture back in. Looks like the original mast in quite good shape, good original foils but no boom or sails.

Potentially a stunning boat and will regain some of her former glory, but alas not for her 65th of Jack Holt's 100th!

Not without some drama though as the towing electrics fell apart (new lead; thanks Ring/Halfords) so I it towed back 130 miles in the dark with only dodgy side lights on the towing board! Mind you, when I was towing merlin 220 back from Kingston round the M25, a chunk of delaminated rear deck ply flew off and landed on the bonnet of a following Police landy disco. I was waiting for the blue lights to come on but I think they were too busy wiping the tears of laughter from their eyes; at least someone saw the funny side of it!


I will put up some pictures in the near future.

[Ed]

Brilliant,

I am thrilled that you have got it and we know it is in safe hands.

I have to say that of all the 14s on the market recently it was this one that interested me most of all.

I think it is a really great project. Of course.....I do think you should drop all the others and bring this boat right to the very front of the list of projects!

Please.....please....do think about trying to get it done for the Holt centenary events next year. It would be such a great boat to have there.

We could get a cvrda stripping party together to help!

Anyway, thrilled to hear you have got it.

Well done!

eib

[Nessa]

excellent news. looking forward to seeing how it goes.

[Hotspur]

Brilliant, I'm so glad someone has taken this on. After going to see it I knew it would be too much for me, and although there seemed to be a lot of interest in the boat, I still harboured a sneaking fear it might end up broken up. Would love to get progress reports as and when!

[billytwiglet]

Ed, the thought of a cvrda stripping party is almost too much to bare

[Michael Brigg]

Ed, the thought of a cvrda stripping party is almost too much to bare

It was always my intention to bring my clinker to a national rally with a barrel of beer and several scrapers.

...with free beer for participants, it was to be the "Strip bar!"