Lido 14 Buyer's Guide
On the used market, the Lido 14 is a 14-foot molded-fiberglass dayboat and class racer from W. D. Schock Corp., with over 6,000 hulls cast since 1958 and an active class association keeping older boats on the water. For a shopper, the appeal is a beamy, hard-to-capsize dinghy that seats six yet trails a trailer easily—but the long production run means distinguishing a Classic from a 6000 series boat matters.
Layouts on the Used Market
Every Lido 14 shares the same essential plan: a roomy cockpit with wide bench seats for up to six, a foredeck, and internal seat tanks that double as buoyancy and seating. The 6-foot beam and 5-inch raised-centerboard draft make launching and shallow ramps easy; the 4-foot-3-inch lowered draft is for sailing. There is no cabin or belowdecks space—this is a pure open dayboat.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
The class is largely standardized, but the meaningful divide is rig hardware. Classic boats (pre-1995) use a boom that slides into a mast track and must be secured by a stopper or pin; 6000 series boats from 1995 on carry a fixed gooseneck. A whisker pole for wing-on-wing downwind sailing is period-correct equipment. Beyond that, buyers should look for a sound aluminum spar, a deck-stepped mast that erects cleanly, and the original fractional sloop sail plan of 76-square-foot main and 35-square-foot jib.
What to Inspect
On a Classic Lido 14, confirm the boom fixation: the boom slides into a track on the mast and should be fixed by a stopper or a pin through the front of the mast, so check that the stopper is present inside the track or the pin is intact and not wallowed out. On 6000 series boats the fixed gooseneck should be straightforward with no cracked casting. Inspect the hand-laid fiberglass hull for crazing or impact damage, and verify the internal seat tanks are sealed—puddling inside a seat is a buoyancy loss. The centerboard trunk and pendant deserve a look, since the board is raised to 5 inches for trailering and lifted partially in racing.
Buyer's Takeaway
- Confirm Classic vs. 6000 series by boom track or fixed gooseneck
- Check boom stopper or pin security on Classic masts
- Press seat tanks for water ingress or soft spots
- Verify centerboard raises to 5 inches and lowers to 4'3"
- Inspect hull gelcoat and deck-stepped mast step for stress