Neil Barrett and Sophie Jones wins the Enterprise inlands in a newly purchased Enterprise dinghy from Paintcraft boats. The boat was refurbished and tuned by our team and we always new it was a fast boat and this has now proved it. Congratulations to Neil and Sophie from everybody at Paintcraft Boats . Y&Y article .We now have a similar Ent ready for sale please contact Nigel if you are interested.

Scopion Newsletter Sept2012 click here

Paintcraft adopts Durepox paints

Durepox is a unique marine paint. It can be used as a high-build, a primer and a topcoat all in one, saving litres and hence kilograms worth of paint layers - making your boat lighter and therefore (importantly!) faster in the water.It's an epoxy urethane which means it's extremely hard while still being flexible and highly durable - perfect for the marine environment (as well as an array of other applications). Durepox has superior adhesion to carbon fibre, fibreglass, wood and concrete. Professional boat builders / painters value Durepox's fast dry properties, sandability after three hours with no shrink back, and the ability to apply a further coats without sanding between dry times.

This weekend 24 Scorpions braved chilly temperatures, killer shrimp and Feva parents to attend the first Scorpion Open of the year at Grafham. 6 races were sailed over the weekend on a triangle/sausage course shared with the Flying Fifteens and Larks. A number of the fleet have bought new boats over the winter and are also experimenting with new twin-pole systems so it was to be an interesting event to see what effect these changes had on the results. Read more

Albacore Nationals won by Herbert and Penfold

Glorious sunshine, light breezes and not a cloud in the sky greeted the

Albacore fleet, which was treated to perfect sailing conditions for the Albacore
National Championship held over three days in July.

Royal Torbay Yacht Club excelled in presentation and organisation and
delivered a stunning championship for the 43 boat fleet.

Light winds and a flat sea state saw race one go to Nev Herbert and Steve
‘Ten Stone’ Penfold, sailing their GT Hyde Albacore. Nigel Potter from ‘Paint
Craft’ claimed second with multiple national champion Mike MacNamara third.

The breeze stayed light and shifty for the next three races with tidal
effects and line bias all playing their part. The next three races saw three
separate winners with the current Inland Champions, Judy and Paul Armstrong
winning race two in fine style from MacNamara. Olympic Star sailor John Gimson
sailing with Edd Clayson took race three leading from start to finish. Jerry
Rook claimed race four with an impressive victory keeping MacNamara and Gimson
no more than a boat length behind them the entire race. Race five saw Nev and
Steve port tack the fleet for a comfortable win to narrow the points gap from
overnight leader MacNamara.

Going into the last day the sun continued to shine, with the breeze slightly
up on the previous day. Any of the top four could clinch the title. It was local
sailor Norman Halstead who led race six at the first mark, only to be caught on
the second reach by eventual winners Nev and Steve. The final race had start
line dramas galore, but once again went to Nev and Steve, enough to give them
the championship.

The winning team was using the latest Hyde
Albacore sails. Nev Herbert said: “We had a great regatta with four firsts
and what would have been a fifth before our jib halyard broke at the shackle
whilst leading race four. The new mainsail was outstanding, we probably had the
best upwind speed of the top four boats and extended further on each of the
downwind legs. The high aspect jib was great in the lighter breezes and we
changed up to the low aspect when the breeze got above eight knots. Big thanks.”

For more information on Hyde Sails, its products and how Hyde can work with
your class, contact Paul Austin (T: +44 (0) 7801 907458) or see www.hydesails.com

GP14 Training Boat No 14114



If you have a coaching session booked this summer you may be
surprised to see a brand new Winder GP14 coming through your club gates. This
boat has recently been purchased by the Association, with the help of generous
sponsorship from  Paint Craft

The Association believes that the boat will not only help the coaches with their
sessions, but will also promote the Class by showing clubs around the country
what a fantastic boat the modern GP14 has become. 14114 has been chartered by
one of the overseas competitors at the Worlds, so look out for it at Looe!

If you would like to book a
coaching session for your club, please contact the GP14 Association,
either at admin@GP14.org or
by phoning 01257 251 222.

New internet site

Great news - we now have a new website. Check it out now for details about boat sales and our company!

GP14 Koru claims Concours d'Elegance trophy at RYA Volvo Dinghy Show 2009 

2009 saw the first awarding of the ‘Spitfire Premium Ale Concours d’Elegance’ trophy for the boat of the show at the RYA Volvo Dinghy Show. To be eligible for the trophy boats must be displayed by a class association and have been sailed at least once.

The judging panel of David Townshend (Shepherd Neame), Gael Pawson (Y&Y) and Mark Jardine (YachtsandYachting.com) visited every class association stand at the show on Saturday afternoon, scoring every boat and coming up with a final three boats; the GP14 ‘Koru’, the Asymmetric Canoe and the classic International 14 from 1929. A second look round each of these resulted in the panel unanimously deciding to award the ‘Spitfire Premium Ale Concours d’Elegance’ trophy for 2009 to Mandy Mitchell’s GP14 ‘Koru’.

The award was presented during the Exhibitors’ Party sponsored by Shepherd Neame and Wildwind where the exhibitors enjoyed Spitfire Ale and music from Wildwind’s ‘Spencer Horton’s Armada’.

The GP14 class were thrilled to win the award, proudly displaying it on their stand on Sunday. The judging panel found ‘Koru’ to be a true sailor’s boat, taking part in multiple national championships and open meetings over the past 4 years, yet being kept in immaculate condition and lovingly built.