I have been sailing for 9 years on a variety of boats including toppers, lasers, laser 2s, (occasioanal crew 505). I am currently sailing a Topaz Race X singlehand but am looking to get back into two man sailing with my brother. Looking for a hiking aysmetric. Our total crew weight will be around about 170kg

I am considering to buy a second hand b14 or 59er. Does anyone have any opinons on this? Anything I should look for when buying one of these?

If you are getting a B14, which I would very much suggest, 708 has just come on the market, its in immaculate condition, barely been sailed for the last two years and had little use before that.  more details on that one on the UK message board on the class website: http://www.b14.org - www.b14.org

In general however the boats are built very stiff (glass epoxy sandwich) so provided it does not leak , hull surface is in good nic, and all the fittings work you should have nothing to worry about.  The only place they can go is the foredeck on the rondar/LDC hulls can delaminate from having the crew up there a lot, but the internal structure has been improved, many boats have been retro fitted and if the one you get has not then its resonably cheap to get done (having said that mine has not had it done and its still stiff and up the front of the fleet).  Look at the condition of the sails you are getting too, most boats will have two or more sets, if you can try and get a set of the more recent Hyde or North designs.  Expect to pay between £2500 and £3000, but be quick there are not many second hand boats about at the moment, most have been snapped up in the last 6 months. 

P.S. I have messaged you with some extra info. 

hope to see you on the circuit soon

I currently sail a 59er and it is a great boat. Looking at the list of boats that you have sailed you are about to really jump up in sailing speeds. You will find going downwind completely different to anything else you have sailed. Apparent wind sailing and the angles you need to take a while to get used to.

Both boats are great. I think the 59er is a little easier to sail. As has been pointed out the B14 has better class racing going for it.  

weight on the B14 is not as big an issue as with other boats, because of the racks crew weight effectively self-equilises, and racing the boat becomes more about getting a feel for it.  To put it another way, the weight range in the top five at this year's nationals was between 125 and 165kg i think, so you would not have a problem. 

Do not get me wrong, the 59er is a good boat, but because the class is new second hand boats are rare and are still close the the price of a new one.  The 59er is probably better suited to smaller places, in part because its kite is smaller, and flatter enabling you to sail the reaches you get on club courses.  Also the dagger rudder is a god send in shallow water (B14's can be converted).  The B14's kite is, by modern designs, very big (29.2m2 compared to only 21 on an 800 for example) so sailing on other than deep reaches becomes a 2-sail affair.  Having said that the B14 also has a large jib, and believe me 2-sail reaching in a B14 in breeze is about the most fun you can have in a boat!! 

Go for the B14.  It will open up a whole new chapter of sailing to you.  The B14 looks deceptively simple but has a sophisticated rig which helps account for the wide range of crew weights being competitive without all that weight equalisation stuff.   Phil talks about "getting a feel for it" and this means "a very steep learning curve"  But heh ! You want a challenge don't you ?   And when you do, you will really understand the meaning of  "have wings, will fly". 

Just check out the PYs.  The B14 sails off 880 whereas other speedy boats sail off not much faster PYs ( except the 49er) 

Int 14  850,  Int Canoe 873,  FD 879,  49er  747,  59er  905,  Musto Skiff 875,   rs 700   857,  rs800  822. 

So, the B14, a 1985 design,  can still mix it with some of the quickest monohulls  around and not a trapeze wire in sight. 

I'd say take the B14 anytime.  It may also qualify as being the best skiff but thats another topic......

Many thanks for all the replies

I over estimated our total crew weight by about 10kg and the boat will be sailed in open water (the sea)

From reading seems as the B14 will be a good start

Hoping to see/try a B14 soon