open class 14 foot racing boats that were the forerunners of the official class. In 1923 Uffa Fox built his first 14-foot racer and by 1925 was creating designs for them. Fox introduced the first planing hull-equipped 14, named Avenger, in 1927.

The International 14 is a racing sailing dinghy. Over time the hulls have mostly been built from wood, glassfibre and more recently, carbon fibre reinforced polymer,