Sailing a Windrush 14

image Windrush Assoc WA

Some great info from Windrush Australia with my thoughts thrown in at the end.

The west coast is the main domain of Windrush 14s in Australia, but that doesn’t mean you can’t race one on the east coast, even an old one. Just don’t expect to come first.

Info was plaigerised from https://windrushassociation.weebly.com/

The method of construction of Windrush hulls has changed over the years (although the shape has remained the same). The original hulls were standard fibreglass but built more heavily than the more recent types and are generally not used for racing.

Later, lighter hulls were made - also using standard fibreglass but that had plywood bulkheads level with each beam - hence these boats are referred to as 'bulkhead boats' (the minimum weight for competition is 76Kg without mast, sails, and rigging) and from this time onwards most boats were built to be around this weight).

The most recent type of hull (from about 8 years ago) is of fibreglass 'foam-sandwich' construction. This gives a more rigid hull for the same weight and is what you would get if you ordered one from the factory now (for around $4000 just for the hulls).

If you want to race you really need to get a bulkhead or foam sandwich boat, but if you just want to go pleasure sailing then any boat would do (the performance difference between the newer and older boats is small and wouldn't matter unless you are racing).

A couple of other things you'll need if you want to race rather than pleasure sail…
'Deep rudders': There are two types of rudders. The original rudders were wooden and a roundish shape. Later ones (fitted to bulkhead boats and foam-sandwich boats) are fibreglass and are long (about 2 feet) and narrow (approx 6 inches) and get dropped down into a vertical position after launching. You need deep rudders if you are going to race (all bulkhead and foam-sandwich boats have deep rudders plus a few of the later 'heavyweight' boats).

Mylar sails: Older sails were made of dacron (= common sailcloth - not see-through, a bit like a tough cotton fabric). These sails are numbered from 1 to 5900. Newer sails are mylar and you will want mylar sails if you are going to race (again, the performance difference is small but significantif if you are racing).

These are made of 2 layers of a transparent mylar sheet laminated over a criss-cross pattern of fibres. The result is semi-transparent. Mylar sails are numbered 6000 upwards. To recognise the different boats:

1. Old 'heavyweight' boats:

• are usually coloured (not white)

• inside the rear hull pockets usually have a plastic bin

• have no numbers on the horizontal part of the mounting plate where the rear beam meets the hulls.

• wooden/round rudders (although a few of the later ones had deep rudders)

• dacron sails (early numbers)

2. Bulkhead boats:

• Are nearly always white

• have numbers stamped on the horizontal part of the mounting plate where the rear beam meets the hulls. The number to the rear of the beam is the hull number. The number to the front of the beam is the hull weight (e.g. 26.7 = weight of that hull in kilograms). Hull numbers less than 1000 or with no weight stamped on them are not a good bet as they had a lighter construction that turned out to be a bit too light!) - Usually have nothing inside the hull pockets (i.e. are just openings into the hull).

• Have plywood bulkheads level with each beam (you can see them through the hull pockets). The plywood of these bulkheads tends to de-laminate over time so it's best to check any delamination is only slight, but they can be repaired with fibreglass if necessary.

• deep rudders

• dacron sails (up to number 5900) or mylar sails (number 6000 upwards)

3. Foam-sandwich boats:

• Are white

• I'm not sure of the hull numbers, but I think they are around 1200 upwards

• Are expensive ($5,000+ for a secondhand boat, $11,000+ for a complete new boat)

• Hull walls are rigid

• deep rudders

• mylar sails (number 6000 upwards)

• Price is a major factor here - new mylar sails are about $1100 (this is an old price) for a mainsail and about $400 for a jib. When you buy a second-hand boat you can allow $1000 (this is an old price) or more in the price for a boat with mylar sails. e.g. a second hand boat with dacron sails for $1600 will cost you a total of $3000 by the time you have bought new mylar sails for it (but you do then have new sails (good for maybe 10 years)), as opposed to a similar boat that already has mylar sails in fair condition for say $2700 (i.e. a large part of the sail price will be in the mylar sails).

Sorry it's a bit long but hope it helps. Text plaigerised from WA Windrush Association.

[edited by NickS (edited 14 May 2006).]

My thoughts.

I own a race a 40 year old W14 and sail in a mixed fleet. It isn’t the fastest boat, but I do alright in the club racing and I have fun which is the most important thing.

I purchased and older W14 with a newish Dacron mainsail. ( I only sail cat rigged and no trapeze).

The hulls needed some major work on them.

The top deck had split and the side walls were all soft, due to the double layer of horizontal stiffening foam breaking away from the old GRP hulls.

To fix the hulls, I removed the rear hatches and dug out the old plastic bucket and threw that away. Then I put in oversized hatch holes (fit them later) to the rear, and even bigger ones just behind the front beams.

This allowed me to put my arms inside the hulls and lift up both sections of foam stiffening. I then used strong Sikaflex, to rebond each section to the hulls, making sure to push them firmly into place. It’s a messy and horrible job with half the glue ending up on your clothes.

I also added marine ply sections under the top decks to strengthen them as well. On top of highest foam sections, i cut sections of pool noodle and jammed them in tight, vertically below the decks. This helps keep the foam in place.

All this has not added much weight, maybe a couple of kgs, but has made the hulls as good as a bulkhead version of the W14 at least. I stay with the dacron sails as there is another W14 in the fleet with the same configuration and it’s nice to sail together sometimes.

I also reglassed the bottom of the hulls and reglassed the rudders. I also tried to stiffen the cross beams. Still a work in progress as it’s not stiff enough for my liking.

There’s a lot of fun to be had in an older catamaran of any make and you can have fun at a club racing level. Don’t expect to win a national regatta though……

Hope some of this info helps
regards Jeremy