Comments on: Enterprise vs GP14 Vs Wayfarer

By: Andy Cryer

Andy Cryer — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:08:09 +0000

Hi there,

Other boats which you might consider if you are wanting something a little smaller are the Leader and the Wanderer, The Wanderer is the official smaller version of the Wayfarer whereas the Leader is actually more like a smaller version of the Wayfarer than the Wanderer, both boats are 14ft as are the gp14 and enterprise, but both display somewhat more forgiving characteristics than either the gp14 or the enterprise. The Wayfarer is and always will be the ultimate teaching platform, but due to there continued use in sailing schools still maintain a high resale value. If you are handy with maintenance you might be able to pick up an old wooden wayfarer which would be much lighter and easy to launch and recover.

Where are you based? As I have a boat sponsorship offer on my website which might be of interest to you?

By: Gareth harrison

Gareth harrison — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:13:26 +0000

Hi I have had both a ent and a wayfarer I my mind the wayfarer is one of the most versatile boats ever made. Its only drawback is its size makes it hard to launch and recover. Once on the water it will meet all your needs. An ent would be ok if your kids stayed small, but once they get a bit bigger the wayfarer would be great. The wayfarer is a better sailing boat than the ent, is less prone to capsize, is faster, and wont let you down.

Gaz Harrison
30 years working as a sailing instructor
Author Teach Dinghy Saiing

By: Darren Clayton

Darren Clayton — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:39:56 +0000

Nice to know that someone else is having the same debate.

Ron – did you ever come to a conclusion ?

I am stuck between the Gp and a Wanderer but and finding the latter hard to track down, there seem to be very few for sale so may end up going for the GP.

By: Phil Holden

Phil Holden — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:55:45 +0000

It depends what you mean by “the potential to do more if need be”. If you mean that you might like to get into club racing then there is one set of things to consider, if you mean that you would like to do a bit of dinghy cruising then there’s another set of considerations.

For club racing your best bet is to visit your local club and see what double handed boats they sail also if they have a mixed handicap fleet and what boats do well in that. GP14s and Wayfarers have a spinnaker and I always found it difficult to find a crew who was competent enough at spinnaker handling for my GP14 to make us competitive. If you want to keep sail handling simple for racing then another boat to consider is the Albacore.

If you want to do some dinghy cruising then I would look at the Wayfarer, Wanderer (the Wayfarers smaller, lighter, more easily launched and recovered sister) or even consider a Drascombe Lugger.

Cheers

Phil

By: CMM

CMM — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 11:14:29 +0000

I wouldn’t touch an Omega (as suggested above) with a bargepole. They are very unstable, have a huge freeboard, and the sail is far too big. Wayfarers are nice boats but you have to find a very loved example for it to be worth it. Laser Bahias are nice boats and are GRP, so very hard wearing. They’re also quite easy to sail.

By: Glyn Cheeseman

Glyn Cheeseman — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 18:57:00 +0000

Hi there, I learnt to sail in an enterprise and they are tippy and suitable really as a two person or three at a push. A GP 14 is a similar design but slightly smaller, A wayfarer is heavy larger and more stable, it’s ideal as a family boat but its slow and heavy to launch unless the trailer is well balanced. How do I know all this? Well I run 20 dinghies at our local yacht club for cadets and adults. I prefer a Kestrel. It roomy, fast, stable and lighter than a Wayfarer. I now own two as I like them so much. They are great for teaching adults and I have had six kids in mine once. They can be sailed with or without a spinacker. Oh yes they are lighter than a Wayfarer too. email me if you want more information, we also use larks, laser 2′s, Topaz, 470, Darts etc. glyn@cmx.co.uk I still have and love my Enterprise though – and it’s a wooden one.

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:36:22 +0000

Hi, what Dave says is correct however, other considerations are;- an Enterprise is quite ‘Tippy’ eg it’s more likely to capsize than either a GP14 or wayfarer and it is a little small, on the reverse though it is easier to right after a capsize as it sits quite low in the water on it’s side. A wayfarer is very roomy and very stable AND very heavy, a compromise is the GP14, as it’s name suggests it is a general purpose boat enough room for three adults or two and two children, the older fibreglass ones are reasonably light, can be sailed single handed if required. and easily repaired with halfords fibreglass repair kit, they need very little maintenance. The more modern GP14′s have flotation in the bottom of the hull and therefore sit very high in the water, so righting after a capsize it is a bit of a stretch to reach the centre board from in the water, the modern ones are also difficult to repair as they are made from a composite hull which would need specialist repair. Older Gp’s were made of wood and need a lot of TLC hope this helps
Brian

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 09:22:50 +0000

There is no contest in my view. The Enterprise is much easier to launch as it is small and light by comparison, but for your requirements that’s where the advantages end; it would rapidly become obvious to you that it’s too small for you to sail together, and it is a much less forgiving boat than a Wayfarer.

The Wayfarer is significantly larger and heavier, but once it’s afloat it is a more stable and roomy boat, inspiring your family with confidence rather than anxiety, and with enough room for everyone – at this stage at least!

I have owned an Enterprise and a Wayfarer for several years and sailed both of them on inland and coastal waters. I have no personal knowledge of the GP14, but would favour the Wayfarer if only on the basis of the extremely active and well-run class association (UKWA).

Good luck!

Dave.

By: Timbo

Timbo — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:26:24 +0000

Been looking into something similar myself for sailing with friends etc; although I’m not an expert, have you considered a Topper Omega, RS Vision or Laser Stratos? These are all day sailors and may be slightly bigger internally than the three you’ve mentioned.