This is what I remember most about my GP14, the acres of lovely varnish...

Lovely to look at, but ***** to maintain. Being the plywood version, the whole boat, except the outside of the hull, was varnished.

She was a very large dinghy, weighing around 400lbs, so quite difficult 'solo' when loading onto the combi trailer.

The aluminium bermuda mast was 23ft long, and originally fitted in a foot on the floor in front of the CB case, and held in place by a slot in the foredeck with a swiveling 'gate', (and then of course, by the shrouds & forestay). Raising and lowering was therefore something that required two people, and plenty of space !

Buoyancy bags were fitted under the side benches, and a large triangular one under the foredeck.

There was masses of room for 'passengers', and they did feel that they were sitting 'in' a boat, rather than 'on' it, like so many other dinghies.

Having said that, she was a high performance dinghy, despite the single chine construction, due to the large sail area.

Although still a lightweight for towing, the long mast made things tricky. It had to be elevated at the front to clear the car, so would be difficult with an MPV or Range Rover etc. (Height barriers are cropping up all over the place now.)

I admit to a mistake in this photo, when I replaced the rotten duckboards I used pine. It really sticks out like a sore thumb. I would always use Mahogany or Teak in the future, despite the price....