NS14 - Are they Good?

Does anyone have any experience of sailing NS14s?  What are they like to sail, compared say, to a RS200/400 or Tasar?   They look pretty cool and are undoubtedly efficient, but are they difficult/twitchy?  I imagine that the narrow waterline and unique rig may make them tippy.  I have been designing one for fun and may try to get it built over the winter, so any thoughts gratefully received.  I am toying with the idea of a swing-rig style set up i.e taking the boom forward of the mast so that the jib tack swings to windward.

I know we don't need any new classes in the UK, but I think they look more interesting than N12s - and cheaper than Merlins.

Yeah, the Tasar is an overgrown NS14 based on 70's state of the art.  It's longer with bigger sails, as the NS at the time was tending to be sailed by very lightweight teams.  I understand that the more powerful modern NS rigs have moved the optimum crew weight back up to roughly the same as the Tasar's.  Thirty years of further development must make the NS fairly decent.

Thanks Swiftsolo, that's very encouraging - those are precisely the conditions I sail in.

There are some NS14s in Germany, where Andrew Landenberger is selling a one-design version (with trap added) under the name of "Flight 4.3s" or something similar. The "Flight" is a long-standing run of designs.

I haven't sailed a Northie for ages, but they are much narrower on the water and considerably tippier than a Tasar. The more recent ones used distorted hulls to achieve a narrower waterline within the beam restrictions and these are, according to many designers, much more demanding than the old boats in that they slow down when heeled.

The top Tasars no longer have a chance against a Northie in terms of overall speed; downwind in light to moderate I understand (from experience and discussions) the two are comparable but the NS is clearly faster upwind, and also reaching in a breeze.

Originally posted by Chris 249 There are some NS14s in Germany, where Andrew Landenberger is selling a one-design version (with trap added) under the name of "Flight 4.3s" or something similar. The "Flight" is a long-standing run of designs.

Is the NS14 really a MG14 listed above?

I know the difference, I have sailed both.

For the northern hemi, The MG14 and the NS14 ARE the same but the MG has a kite and trap added. The sails are the same area but a bit more grunty on the MG.

Both are fun boats with close racing and were not real tippy are most had long, 6ft boards.