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Yesterday I returned from St. Michaels from the annual Small Boat Festival that just celebrated their 35th anniversary. Spark, my GP14, made not only her debut there, but was the first time she had even touched the water since 1981.

Aside from having to tighten up the centreboard pivot, all went very well with no non-skipper caused issues. Yes, the really lose nut was at the tiller!

Honestly, I am very impressed with my GP. Even on her original 50+ year old sails, she was able to keep up with and pass many boats that most people would consider faster. Now I get to restore her and work on my list of issues I need to look after before she goes back in the water next spring.

Glad that you were able to get her back in the water before the end of the season. Thank you for the nice photos. Always happy to see another good old boat being back in the water, were they belong.

She is a thing of beauty!

She held together well after her long slumber on the hard. Many of the screws holding the floorboards to the ribs popped, but other than that minor problem, all went very well. I was most concerned about the mast considering two months ago it was in two pieces, split down the middle. The repair held, I am happy.

Now I get to remove all her woodwork and sand it down and re-varnish, rip up her decks and lay new ply, sand down the hull, fair it, and repaint. I will probably be adding more bronze too

Good looking boat. You should be proud.

Always fun to sail well!