Both International 14's Now Sold: Other Vintage Boats Wanted

We have two International 14's for sale for restoration. The International 14's of the 1930's were regarded as the pinnacle of wooden boatbuilding craftmanship in the world at the time, if not since. The fact that these boats still are in existence is testament to the build quality and materials used in their construction. As they were a development class of dinghy and each year saw new improvements in the design the pre-war dinghies quickly gained a level of performance through rapid innovation which lay the foundations for dinghy sailing for generations to come. 

​

 This one is K400 Dragonfly which was designed and built by the legendary Uffa Fox in 1937. See Nicholson International 14 here. 

​

International 14's were among the first of the truly planing dinghies and opened up an popularised the sport of fast and competitive racing.  The Prince Of Wales Cup was keenly contested each year, and as this was a development class of dinghies each year the leading designers would modify and improve their designs to gain advantage over their competitors and friends.   

​

They  1937 was an important evolution in the design of these dinghies, in this year Uffa Fox built Thunder (K388) for Peter Scott which he won the POW cup of that year in. Dragonfly is a close stable mate to that famous boat. There were only 19 International 14 built that year, and 15 of those were Uffa Fox boats. The shape at this time was very similar to the pioneering Alarm which was the current winner of many of the top races the previous year. Alarm was being raced by Stewart Morris,  at the time and he had won the 1936 POW cup. 

Stewart Morris would go on to win Gold Medal in the Swallow Class at the London Olympics directly after the war in 1948.

​

The hull shape of Uffa Fox International 14 of this 1937,  tended to be fine bow and a long clean run aft. The centre boards as I can testify are heavy things, weighing up to 60 lbs. the boat is supplied with centre boards, centre board lifting gear, rudder and sails. The class was reaching its perfection in the design of the class of the pre-war years. 

​

The construction of Dragonfly is Honduras Mahogany planks with the many fine ribs made from Canadian Rock Elm. The knees are grown oak. The transom is also of Honduras Mahogany.  The hull is made from double skin of diagonal inner planks with outer longitudinal planks/strakes. The fastenings throughout are copper rivets. The Sails are for this boat and are cotton and are a second set made sometime in 1950 by the famous classic sail maker Ratsey specifically for this boat, so are absolutely original. The mast and spars are unfortunately not with the boat.  

​

The boat represents a very important evolution in the design of the pre-war International 14 and is collectable as its is an Uffa Fox original. It is in need of sympathetic and expert restoration, with the best quality materials to bring it back up to sailing condition. 

​