18ft skiff champion Julian Bethwaite designed the B14 in 1986. The design of the boat is modelled on his two-handed 18ft skiff ‘Prime III’ which incorporated many innovative concepts such as the asymmetrical spinnaker and the two-man crew. The blend of skiff ideas, such as hiking racks, retracting spinnaker pole, asymmetric spinnaker, flexible topmast and a dish-like cockpit makes the B14 an attractive boat. In the initial development of the boat a weight equalisation system was used. This however was proven to be of no benefit.
In 1987 the B14 was launched in Australia. Since then fleets have also grown in Japan and Hong Kong. In 1993 Rondar Race boats Ltd launched the B14 into Europe. There has been quite a bit of development in the class over the last few years with the British pushing for a larger sail plan and a few other refinements. The performance of the class has increased considerably through this. The most recent development of the class is the introduction of the carbon mast in season 2005/6 for the Sydney world championships. The mast should help the class stay with new technology that is advancing 21st century sailing into the future.
