Back in 2013, I received an email from a 16 year old Canadian who was restoring a 1960's International 14. That seemed somewhat odd. You don't often come across a teenager restoring a vintage racing dinghy... it's just not something that teenagers are into. She said it was a Grampian which indicated it would be a Buller II design. When I restarted up on this blog in September 2020, I sent out an email to some of the old contacts who mentioned they were restoring International 14's and I received one back from Nicole Armstrong-Smith, the teenager who was now a young adult.
"I did end up fully restoring the I14 – I’ve attached a .zip of photos to this email. It was a great high school project to do with my dad. I sold the boat in 2017 to another gentleman with a house on the lake in Port Dover, ON, Canada. Just a few weeks ago I saw a Kijiji advertisement with pictures of the boat saying he’s selling the masts, booms (I had 2 sets), sails, etc. because the boat hit the rocks and apparently there was nothing left of it. I shed a tear or two reading it..."As you can see with the before and after photos, Nicole and her Dad did a superb job on bringing this Buller II back to pristine condition. What a shame that KC-287 no longer exists!
Fred Buller was a renowned Canadian aeronautical engineer who was active in designing International 14's during the early 1960's. He added a lot to the history of the International 14 class and is worthy of a separate post later on.
Update December, 2020: More details on KC287 from Canadian International 14 historian Rob Mazza:
"[KC] 287 was John Robertson's boat that he sailed in the 1967 team racing in England. He never liked the boat because he felt it had a hollow in it's run, which made it difficult to get on a plane! He sold the boat to the Grundland brothers at Queen City Yacht Club... It really is a shame that this great piece of 14 history was lost, especially having been so lovingly restored."
John Robertson racing KC287 in the 1967 POW, England
