Lapstrake 14 Uncovered in Cincinnati - KC 142

Mark Merritt came across this beauty on Ebay; the 14 having been stored inside a Cincinnati airplane hanger for umpteen years.  Mark now has ownership and has been doggedly researching the origins of this interesting lapstrake 14 for several months.  (Mark only obtained the hull; there was no rig or centerboard/rudder with the 14.) What he has dug up so far:

• There is KC 142 written on the battens that were in the hull.
• There is the name "Whirley" and "RCYC" on the transom.
• He has tracked the hull as being registered in Toronto Harbor in 1955 to a person "Alvey".
• She is identical to the International 14 "Brooke", a lapstrake 14 restored by Woodwind Yachts and now residing on a New York lake.

The hull is in remarkable condition. (Click on the photo for a hi-resolution image.)

A snubbing winch for the jib. An interesting cleat under the main thwart. (See another photo further in this post.) Stringers are on 8 inch centers.

Whirly has a long jib track which Mark has determined is original. The fairlead appears too big to accommodate a block though it matches the jib track on "Brooke".

The transom bridle is consistent with the metal transom bridles fitted to the L.S.S.A cat-rigged 14's.

The design has the typical transom tumble-home of a pre-WWII Uffa 14.

This is an odd cleat, sitting under the main thwart. It seems to work by pushing the back in or out. The rope leads up to the bow stem - a jib downhaul?

From the side view the design doesn't appear to be as deep-chested as the Uffa designs of this period.

The gunwhales are relatively wide and there is a mini-mini-foredeck at the bow stem.

I've sent out some inquiries to various contacts. Bruce Kirby confirms my initial impression, that Whirly is probably a George Corneil design. George Corneil was a one-man shop in Toronto who had a reputation for producing fast L.S.S.A 14's in the 1920's and 1930's.

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Update October, 2020: Mark sends along this email.

"Been recreating the rudder and centerboard from existing plans, and reverse engineering the insides of the centerboard trunk. Since there is a shock cord rig to hold the centerboard arm up(centerboard in down position), but give it some give, if it struck something underwater, I'm going with a non-weighted all wood centerboard. Have found period correct bronze(tufnol also) blocks etc. that were missing. Still haven't found original rig. For the sake of getting WHIRLY underway, I just might temporarily use my Tasar rig. Also have a Windmill rig; slightly smaller but all wood. We shall see."

A 1964 Wyche and Coppock Proctor V on the East Coast?

Michael Storey started a thread over at the Woodenboat Forum about an unknown International 14 he found in a garage near Annapolis. Given his description, it sounds tantalizing similar to a Wyche and Coppock Proctor V, built in lapstrake, one of a small batch built by that famous English dinghy builder. There was one known Wyche and Coppock Proctor V that made it to the U.S., that one being US 782 that was originally owned by Jim Wachter in Seattle Washington. This 14 was built in 1964. So far no pictures and I haven't been able to contact Michael but it looks to be a very intriguing find.

The Wyche and Coppock builders tag (lifted from the National 12 website):

Another Mallette Lapstrake 14 has been found

Andre Cloutier of Ravenwood Canoes sends along pictures of an original Mallette International 14. Supposedly four were built around the Gananoque area of Canada before World War II with one known to be, at the present time, in the small boat collection at the Antique Boat Museum. This one has been stored under a cabin somewhere in the Canadian wilds, though it certainly looks like a good candidate for restoration. Unfortunately the owner has not been inclined to sell this Mallette.

I did a post a while back on Simon Watts building a reproduction of the Mallette with an intention of publishing plans at some point.

Some pictures of the current Mallette discovery.

US 915 - The Lowman Mk 1 - A 1970's clinker design

Clinker or lapstrake designs are a rarity in the International 14, particularly from the 1950's onward (we do have the lapstrake designs of the Canadians, from the period just before and after WWII, during the transition from the LSSA 14 to International 14 - see this previous post). There was several Proctor 6's that were built in clinker by Wyche and Coppock from England during the 1960's but that was about it. Thus US 915, home designed and built by Seattle 14'er Rich Lowman as a clinker design, is an anomaly.  US 915 surfaced on the Internet recently when owner Marcus Raichle put her up for sale. It is a plywood 6-planker, the hull form described as somewhere between a Kirby 4 and Kirby 5; a Kirby 4 1/2. The interior tank layout is typical of this period but leading the jib outside the hull and then to a turning block to re-enter the hull was certainly unconventional. This one-of-a-kind 14 has found a new owner.

Photos sent along by Marcus.

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Update 07/16: Eli Semke writes to say he has purchased US 915

"I recently purchased International 14 hull US 915. Cool boat! This is my introduction to International 14’s, though I remember more modern ones sailing out of Shilshole. Thought I’d reach out, let you know where she’s at (Port Townsend). I’d love to learn about the history of this boat.

Canadian LSSA 14 foot dinghies from 1914 Yachting Magazine

I came across some old Yachting magazines that Google Books has digitized into the public domain. From 1914, here is an image of the 14-foot cat-rigged L.S.S.A dinghies racing on Toronto Bay.