Four Early Canadian 14's

North American International 14 history kept trickling in during my hiatus at posting to this blog. Interesting history of four early Canadian 14's popped up over the last three years.

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KC-166

Mark Merritt has been pursuing the history of his Corneil International 14 and reached out to Rob Mazza, Canadian International 14 historian, who sent this email and photos of Peter Jarvis's Corneil, KC-166. From Rob's email:

"I finally heard back from Peter Jarvis, who I ran into at the Toronto Boat Show in late January. He sent me the attached photo and note on his George Corneil Fourteen KC 166 from 1956. This was the 2nd to last 14 built by George Corneil. So that KC 142 sail number on the battens in the boat may not be that improbable!

I have in my records:

KC 127 - Nimbus - Paul McLaughlin - 51 Bourke
KC 133 - Moonbeam - Harvey Bongard, Bruce Kirby Harry Jemmett - 51 Bourke
KC 144 - Wee Irish? - Bud Whitaker - 54 Bourke
KC 166 - - Peter Jarvis - George Corneil - 1956
KC 173 - Soo-perb - Mike Pruett, Dick Vine? - 1st Proctor 1 in Canada - 1954 in England?

Mark, there seems to be no question that the boat you have is indeed a George Corneil, and probably dates from the early 1950s, and may well be the 3rd to last Corneil built if the 142 sail number is to be believed.

Rob"

Peter Jarvis KC-166

And Peter's note to Rob  Mazza.

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KC-5

Maureen Flagler sends along photos and a history of two Bourke "bones" boats that have been in their family, KC-5 and KC-25.

"My sister... was able to find some photos. In addition she has attached photos of an earlier I14 that my Mother and Father sailed from Ottawa during WWII. It was originally named Alisada and renamed to Eagle II. The registration for that one is KC5. We don’t know when that boat was sold or to whom."

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KC-25

"After the war, our parents lived in Oakville and we believe the Chinook (KC25) was built there with Bill Gooderham... We think he is from the Gooderham family of Gooderham and Worts Distillery. KC25 (Chinook) has small ribs throughout the interior. The photo shows the interior of Chinook – KC25."

Maureen says that KC-25 was last splashed into the water in the 1980's. (The date that this photo was taken.)

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KC-26

Ryan Grinnell from Toronto Canada sent this email and photos about a famous Canadian 14.

"...International 14 that has been in my family for over 50 years. Her name is Conneda and I even saw a reference to this name linked to Charlie Bourke. Could this be the same boat? The sail number is US 424 and according to my dad, via my late grandfather, it was the first molded plywood I14."

Ryan Grinnel's grandfather sailing.

Again, from Rob Mazza's International 14 history, published in the RCYC newsletter, we have the history of Conneda.

"In 1946, with the help of Prof Parkin and technician Jack Noonan (a Brittania member and dinghy sailor, as was probably Parkin). the National Research Council hot-moulded three Bourke designed 14's and, according to Kirby, a very special fourth one for Bourke himself, called Conneda. Her clean rib-less interior was admired by all. "You don't take a sponge on board, just a duster," said Paul McLaughlin. The first three boats stayed in Ottawa to further build that fleet, while Conneda went to RCYC and was later sold to sailmaker Colin Ratsey in New York."

My records indicate that sail number US-424 was indeed registered to Colin Ratsey, so it is a good bet that Ryan Grinnel's family does indeed own the famous hot-molded Bourke "Conneda".

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From Tom Vaughn's International 14 history, here is a photo of Conneda. Certainly the most naked 14 ever. There couldn't be a more stark difference between the Uffa and Bourke "bones" 14's of the pre-war era and this new-fangled hot-molded 14.

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."

Old and New; RCYC

The Royal Canadian Yacht Club held the 2013 International 14 Worlds this past September. I lifted this neat photo taken during the regatta showing the juxtaposition of a Classic 14 versus the modern.