So I just bought an I-14 today...

[skiffboy]

You also need to read this. It primarily relates to the Kiwi R Class, which is probablty a bit more extreme than the 14, beoing lighter and shorter, but it mostly still applies.

LMAO That was last weekend perfectly! :lol:

 

[Planing Along]

I had a OD 14 GP for a few years in the '90s with my girl friend as crew. And yes, she is my wife now....
All of the above apply, but some comments were I-14 speciffic.

Check the hull for leaks. The boat has internal ring frames. To get all the water out you will have to stand it sideways/inverted.

Do tie off the shroud adjuster after tightening it. You don't want this to slip in a blow...

A newby mistake is to sail the boat like it is doing a wheely. Keep the knuckle down near the water by moving foreward as long as possible. Obviously you will want to get aft under chute once powered up. You will know when that is...

Watch your trapeze hook on the inside skins when climbing back in. They ding easily.

Buy knee pads until you learn to stay off your knees...

Helm traps always. In light air move crew forward and leeward so the helm can trap. My the girlfriend once fell assleep there during a light air day sail. That pretty much was the time I knew she would be my wife....

My wife -- then girlfriend -- loved the 14 as well. We had a OD14 GP for several years as well, along with a ~new rules 14. It was our first twin-wire dinghy. When we decided to join the keelboat racing crowd, her only stipulation was that it be as fun as the 14. We ended up with a Henderson 30, which is about as close as you can get and still invite 8 of your friends... Now we are looking to the day when we can get another skiff and get our daughter into it.

What we learned about the boat:

If she bruises easily, wear a wetsuit all the time -- for the padding more than the warmth. Even with a wetsuit, my wife would end up looking like she just came from a cage match. The knee pads are in addition.

The kite has a lot of load on it for the size of the boat, so make sure you run the spin sheet through the ratchet blocks the right direction...

Keep the entire kite system well-lubed.

On the douse, the crew should haul the entire kite into the cockpit, bundle it up as tightly as possible, then tuck it back forward under the trampoline. This makes it much more likely to stay under control through the wipeouts.

Tie a loop of string around the tiller to the top pintle on the rudder. When you are really flying off the wind and all the way back on the transom, the tiller extension has a nasty habit of pulling the tiller UP, which led to some of our more spectacular wipeouts.

You'll know you've got it when you are flying along off the wind, two-wiring, and you only have two fingers on the tiller extension. The boat is that smooth.

Check out the Chicago group. We raced with them at Lake Pepin this summer and they are a great bunch of people. They have several OD14's.

 

[MR.CLEAN]

A quick questions for you more astute I-14 folks out there. Someone mentioned to me that most of the I-14's they've seen have the heavier crew on the helm. I've intended for the girlfriend (<120 lbs or 54 kilos) to drive, assuming my 210 lbs (95 kilos) would be better used getting out on the wire quickly, whereas she can concentrate on driving and gradually work her way to the wire (she has zero trap experience).

What say you all to the weight distribution with big guy/small girl combo?

 

[Raz'r]

much better - crew work is tough stuff in any breeze. You can still get far enough back when you need to by overlapping your legs.

 

[Liquid]

I thought the lighter person was best on the stick?

T

 

[MR.CLEAN]

I thought the lighter person was best on the stick?
T

I think that's what Mitch just said. Thanks for the reply. I'd rather be the one to deal with getting gored by a spreader anyway.

 

[aA]

I thought the lighter person was best on the stick?
T

was more of a fact in the pre-foil days. t-foils have really equalized the weight differential (crew v. driver) issue. for example t, look at our local fleet... myself, big l, pinky, mr. h (not bobby), one of the morrison owners, and i believe jt are all larger than our crews. my preference is to have the weight in the back of the bus. if it gets gnarly, you're gonna want weight way aft downhill, and uphill in all conditions, the weight is all riding on foil anyway.

 

[ADK]

I'd agree on puting her on the helm. My ex crew has pointed out several times to me how much safer the back of the bus is since she bought the boat and has been driving! If she has no trap experience, you'll probably want to give her a chance to get comfortable on the trap crewing a few times before she tries it driving. Driving from the wire is pretty easy, it's getting out there and back in that will cause the adventures. So, maybe start out w/ her driving but switch it up a bit before she tries it from the wire. Plus, you'll both have a lot more patience w/ each other having switched jobs for a bit! Sounds like you're going to have some great fun!

 

[Pete M]

in the best of all worlds, bigger aft would be my choice. The last world champ was big aft (well, both big). But as the others say, with the foil it seems to matter little. The top US boat has a small helm, and there's us too. The front is defo more work - even more work with a self tacker, when the crew takes the main.

Pacific fog, thx Sean

 

[Raz'r]

Jeesh - I need to take a clarity in writing class. What I meant is - put her in the back of the bus - cause the workload on the crew is pretty high. The weights not really the issue.

 

[Liquid]

I thought the lighter person was best on the stick?

T

I think that's what Mitch just said. Thanks for the reply. I'd rather be the one to deal with getting gored by a spreader anyway.

Mr. Clean, I think you'll find out that in a big crash, no one is safe from sudden impact syndrome with the rig or other parts of the boat!

T

 

[Craic]

Any others out there with penultimates that are interested in coming to the worlds in Sept in Long Beach. Separate class?

 

[Hanne]

With a T-Foil you can get more lift on the foil with the heavy one aft as max lift is limited by longitudinal stability (No good to do a nosedive). Who goes out first depends on course (up helm, down crew).

 

[skiffboy]

With regards to big crew/skipper, its not really a drama as to the weight distribution. you can always move your body weight to where it is needed. What is far more important is that the stronger person plays with the kite - the front end of a 14 is a very physical job, especially when it comes to setting and dropping.

The only thing is - get her to jump out on the wire first downwind. Upwind is not so important and the crew should be out first however downwind is different. As soon as you gybe and you hit the wire, the boat will immediately take off, the apparent will come around, the boat will need to go away with it and she will have to gingerly creep out onto the side, at speed while sliding the tiller through her hand and keeping her balance. you need to be forward enough to give her the room to do this and the whole situation is perfect for sticking the nose in, soon to be followed by a close inspection of the centreboard. She weighs bugger-all anyway so she should be able to jump out pretty happily.

Speaking of weight, you will be a fairly light combination. It shouldn't be a significant disadvantage if you have very good boat-handling skills, it'll just be a little frustrating until you acieve those skills. A crew with a combined of 140kg (310lb) came 11th in the recent Australian titles, they were very fast in all conditions but its taken them a while to get to that stage.

So anyway, thats my convoluted 0.02c thinking back over this topic, you have had the boat for a while now so how have things gone? or has winter beaten you to the sailing?

 

[skiffboy]

Any others out there with penultimates that are interested in coming to the worlds in Sept in Long Beach. Separate class?

Interesting point, at the aus nationals this year, they decided not to award handicap places. Instead, prizes were awarded to the top 3 'non-racked' boats. Still something to race for, and therefore a good reason to buy an older boat.

 

[MR.CLEAN]

Speaking of weight, you will be a fairly light combination. It shouldn't be a significant disadvantage if you have very good boat-handling skills, it'll just be a little frustrating until you acieve those skills. A crew with a combined of 140kg (310lb) came 11th in the recent Australian titles, they were very fast in all conditions but its taken them a while to get to that stage.
So anyway, thats my convoluted 0.02c thinking back over this topic, you have had the boat for a while now so how have things gone? or has winter beaten you to the sailing?

Unfortunately, the ice beat me to the lake. We tried to have her before thanksgiving so we could pull her to Lake Lanier and do some dicking around, but the seller is a slack bastard and never got her ready. (hear me, maddog?)

I think we'll try to pull her somewhere in April, after all the bills from key largo and key west have been successfully...umm...amortized.

Thanks for the tips. We don't have T-foils, and we'd probably buy a current I-14 rather than foil up the old one if we got that serious about it. I don't know whether that'll happen. I guess it depends on how much fun we have!

 

[MadDog 570]

Speaking of weight, you will be a fairly light combination. It shouldn't be a significant disadvantage if you have very good boat-handling skills, it'll just be a little frustrating until you acieve those skills. A crew with a combined of 140kg (310lb) came 11th in the recent Australian titles, they were very fast in all conditions but its taken them a while to get to that stage.

So anyway, thats my convoluted 0.02c thinking back over this topic, you have had the boat for a while now so how have things gone? or has winter beaten you to the sailing?

Unfortunately, the ice beat me to the lake. We tried to have her before thanksgiving so we could pull her to Lake Lanier and do some dicking around, but the seller is a slack bastard and never got her ready. (hear me, maddog?)

I think we'll try to pull her somewhere in April, after all the bills from key largo and key west have been successfully...umm...amortized.

Thanks for the tips. We don't have T-foils, and we'd probably buy a current I-14 rather than foil up the old one if we got that serious about it. I don't know whether that'll happen. I guess it depends on how much fun we have!

Ok 'Richard'! I have had that f-ing boat in my garage for the last 6 weeks, with my car in the f-ing driveway gathering ice every morning just so your new boat won't get wet and snowy! By the way, your storage fee is $1400!

As far as weight goes, you would be better in the crew position with Mer concentrating (very hard) on driving. One tiny incorrect tiller movement (like when she's trying to steer and climb out at the same time, as stated above) and you two are meeting the water via the mast/sidesays/centerboard/etc... Tea bagging is always a fun thing to do also! With your fat ass (well a little less fat now ) out on the wire you will be going more than fast enough for tow people learning how to sail such a boat.

Here's a pic of your boat. Just a few touch ups left and she'll be ready to go.



PS; since I'm such a slack bastard, I'm not gettin shit all done a work. I'm pretty much completly in KWRW mode right now... Also, I talked to Scott on his way down to KW last night. Sounds like a great find! Thanks!

MadDog

 

[Peter Johnstone]

Mr Clean,

This is the first time I have seen this post. While coaching at Noroton YC in 1987, I drew an asymmetric rigged doublehander for juniors. My college roomate at the time was Jonathan Pudney, son of then World I-14 chairman Jeremy Pudney. Jeremy suggested I hook up with Jay Cross, the designer of the Cross 3 World Champ I-14 hull at the time.

Turns out Jay had done an asymmetric with a retractable pole pretty much as I had drawn. Together we refined the first retractable bowsprits ever. At the time, the I-14 class was dominated by the UK politicos, and were not going towards asymmetrics. That changed pretty quickly as I launched with the One Design 14 with two different rigs. The std rig was about Laser 2 sail area or a little more and aimed straight at the 420 market. It was used in the Bemis Trophy for 2-3 years under Jack Caldwell's forward looking Junior Champs committee (unusual for a US SAILING COmmittee).

The Grand Prix rig was a state of the art (at the time) Superspars alum I-14 rig. Sail area was max'd out, and we opted for a frac hoist asym to avoid the costs and complexity of the mh shrouds and spreaders. The GP rig took on a life of its own as soon as the Ziploc Ultimate Yacht Race adopted it. The list of characters that sailed the OD 14 GP in various regattas between 1989-1994 is a good read:

Mark Mendelblatt

Will Baylis

Steve Rosenberg

Chris Larson

Chris Dickson

Ed Baird

Kevin Burnham

Duncan and Neal MacDonald

Knut Frostad

Jack and Peter Dreyfuss

Cam Lewis

My much older bro, Stuart

Larry Tuttle

Russell Coutts

Bobby Wilmot

Crisp brothers from OZ

Morgan Larson

McKee brothers

Allison Jolly

Zach Leonard

Pete Alarie

Saffer bros

Charles Stanley (UK) sued a ferry at Corpus Christi and won...very American

Hans and Harry Melges

Kevin Mahaney

Paul Forester

Martin Bergstrom

Krister Bergstrom

Magnus Gravare

Christophe Auguin

JC Besnard

I spent a year trying to get the I-14 to endorse the OD14 as an olympic class bid to no avail. More on that later.

I started Johnstone One Design in late 1987 while still at Connecticut College. And kept at it through late 1990. Drove 180,000 miles in that time. Went through 4 Suburbans. Some success, some heartbreak, and learned everything needed to survive in the boat business. This was my grad school. I am still very grateful for the support of my old man, and for Jay Cross' faith in me. I guess my old man got a nice payback in the whole sprit-boat series for J-Boats, and at least one family member not asking for a job in the family business!

Seahorse Magazine ran an article years ago that gives the OD14 project huge credit for starting the asym craze and sportboat segment. While we did pioneer the first retractable bowsprits, I feel uncomfortable with this sort of credit. Julian Bethwaite opened my eyes to asyms at the 1981 Silhouette Vodka 18' skiff series in Newport. His PRIME skiff looked awesome. If it carried a third crew, he would have been untouchable. Watching that asym 18' is still burned in my memory.

Spencer is correct above in his recollections. The Saffers purchased the OD14 biz from me, and did a nice job. I think that if Marshall was not so bright, and hadn't gone off to med school, the OD14 might have had a longer run. The Saffers are really great people.

I took 6 months off to recover from burnout, then purchased Sunfish Laser out of bankruptcy in 1991. In July 1991, I presented Julian Bethwaite (he visited me to be sure the Laser 2 royalties would still be paid to his old man) the design parameters for a 2 person 18' skiff to be only 16'. Julian asked if he could design it. It tooks us a few years to get it going. He applied his learnings from the B-14, and I applied my learnings from the OD14. ALong the way, we picked up Dave Ovington and Takao Otani as equal partners in what became known as the 49er, named after my then favorite football team. I mention all this, as the both the OD14 and Julian's B-14 directly led to the 49er.

I always wonder what would have happened if the I-14 class had backed the OD14 as an Olympic bid before the Laser 5-tonner, Boss and others were created. Oh well, the current I-14's are awesome! I went for a quick sail a few weeks ago during the Orange Bowl with each of my children on Tracy and Ezra's new Beiker I-14. Great boat. Brought back a flood of great feelings.

I am absolutely amazed that these OD14's are still around and getting good use. Have fun with it. I hope all of this gives you an appreciation for the OD14s.

 

[Jib Man]

What an awesome story! Great read... thank you for posting that.

I had my first I-14 ride recently, and am also hooked.

 

[MR.CLEAN]

The dickhead who I bought the boat from finally got around to cleaning it off. I picked it up yesterday, and I can't wait to go play.