B14 stand at the RYA Dinghy Show 2024 - Preview
by Crispin Taylor 15 Feb 2024 20:23 GMT
24-25 February 2024
The B14 class will be at the RYA Dinghy show © Lotte Johnson /
www.lottejohnson.com
The B14 class association will be at stand E20 with two boats on show, a nearly new Seavolution B14, 799 and an Ovington built B14, 769 which was class winner at the battle of the B's event at the Starcross Steamer in 2024. Lotte Johnson has produced great new video and photo graphics for the show that will be displayed on the stand.
With regular traveller's events through the year, the Nationals at Royal Torbay shared with the i14's in June and Worlds in January 25 shared with the Mustos at the birthplace of skiff sailing, Sydney harbour, this could be the year to go fast with a B14!
The for-sale list has been updated with a superb example of a Seavolution B14 with new sails & fully fettled, Ovington B's and lower cost Rondar's that are great entry boats to the class from £1.5k that are in excellent order. All updated details will be on the class Facebook page and website.
Why have we brought an older boat to the stand?
Ovington's built B14's from boat number 755 to 787, 32 boats. They redesigned the foredeck, pole arrangement and added epoxy to the build resulting in a stiffer hull with a very easy to use and manageable pole outhaul that was a vast improvement over the original inner pole setup. Build quality was consistent and there have been virtually no hull related problems reported.
Many of the Ovington boats are still down to weight and in great condition and win races at TT, national and world events and above all, are strong and reliable with no Ovington built boats reporting gear breakage in any recent sailing season.
769 is a superb example of an Ovington B14 that was carefully maintained by Dan Cowin before being purchased for Garda in 23 by Gaz Stuart. You can see for yourself that these are extremely well made and strong boats that represent good value for a competitive boat in the class. All Ovington B's now have Carbon mast and racks, so aside from sails, are very low maintenance propositions.
799 is one of the latest of the Seavolution built B14's that followed on from the Ovington built boats. With small tweaks here and there, they have all the positive attributes of the Ovington boats and are super quick, with Seavolution B14's taking the top three places in the European's and 4 of the top 6 at the Worlds at Lake Garda in 2023. Rumour has it that 801 is being launched in May 24.
Come and meet the class association on stand E20, they are super helpful, know the lots about these great boats and will answer any questions that you might have.
Class association website: www.b14.org