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Rankin Dinghy of Cork Harbour
Rankin dinghies are among Cove Sailing Club's Christmas fleet in Cork Harbour
Cove Sailing Club is holding a Christmas Dinghy Race this Saturday, 17th December in Cork Harbour.  Rankins, Optimists and mixed dinghies are lined up to take part. The First Gun is at 12.30 pm. The atmosphere will be festive as…
Rankin dinghy racing off Cobh waterfront in Cork Harbour
The leader at Cove SC in the GI Motors - event continues to be Gary Mills’ Shipman 28, Tonga, on 10 points after seven races in Cork Harbour. Nick O’Rourke’s First 32, Bright Wings, has moved up to second on…
A file shot of Rankin dinghies racing in Cork Harbour with 'R12' third from left
Two Rankins and a Solo share 34 points each at the forefront of the Wednesday evening dinghy league in Cove Sailing Club. The leader continues to be Rankin R12 sailed by Maurice and Francis Kidney on 15 points. Rankin R11,…
Cove Sailing Club's Angela, a First 260 Spirit sailed by Cathy Mullan
Two cruisers are tied at the top of Friday League racing at Cove Sailing Club, both on five points - the Shipman 28, Tonga, owned by Gary Mills and the Sadler 25, Netta J, of Des Corbett. They are six…
Creenan’s hostelry in Ballinacurra village near Midleton in East Cork was the mecca for Cork Harbour dinghy sailors on Sunday where the 75-year-old Rankin dinghy Cliodhna was the centre of attention
There were breezy conditions for the annual dinghy race from Cobh to Ballinacurra in Cork Harbour on Sunday. Organised by Cove Sailing Club in conjunction with the National 18 Class, the race started as usual from the Spit Bank area off Cobh. But…
“Keep calm and carry on….” Shannon One Design Senior Statesman Alan Algeo – a former Lough Ree YC Commodore – looking notably serene in the midst of a developing situation
While the sailing programme during the past two years has managed to be played out afloat in a truncated form whenever changing regulations permitted, anything which involved a significant shoreside element of socialising was either cancelled completely, or else moth-balled…
A fine turnout of revived Rankin dinghies raced in a Cork Harbour mist and drizzle to commemorate the class founders in Saturday's Cobh People's Regatta.  Fiona O'Connell's Rankin R21 was the overall winner of the 29 boat fleet after two races sailed,…
Gary Mills and family in their Rankin dinghy in Cork Harbour
The Rankin dinghy revival has positively impacted Cove Sailing Club and is a source of satisfaction to those who have made great efforts over the past few years to restore this historic fleet in Cork Harbour. Two of the stalwarts…
Rankin sailors in Cork Harbour Conor and Robbie English
The revived Rankin fleet dominates Cove Sailing Club's Wednesday night dinghy league in Cork Harbour, taking the top three positions of 22-boats entered. Owen O’Connell has pushed Maurice Kidney out of first and leads on 10 points after six races…
61 years after the 1st Rankin came off this very same mould a new Rankin is born. From right to left; the original mould, the new shell, and a finished product
Sixty-one years after the first Rankin came off a mould in Cobh, a new one has been built from the same mould. "From the roots of this revered dinghy class in Cork Harbour, a new boat has been built," the…
2019 Rankin World Champions - Conor and Robbie English
A tremendous welcome was extended to the Rankin Dinghy Class by Royal Cork Yacht Club last weekend at its DinghyFest Regatta. The largest fleet of Rankins ever gathered for the event. 21 boats assembled in the dinghy park, with 20…
Rankin dinghies in Cork Harbour
There is satisfaction in being associated with a good news story about sailing, so the latest step in the Rankin dinghy development, which we have followed for four years on the Afloat website is the announcement that the revived, restored…
Twelve of the revered Cork Harbour Rankin dinghies gathered for a commemorative sail. They launched at Whitepoint near Cobh and sailed across the harbour to Crosshaven. Choppy waters and a strengthening breeze created "interesting and testing conditions at times, but were enjoyable and well handled by the Rankins" according to those who took part. They gathered at the Hugh Coveney Pier in Crosshaven and in the village's Oar Bar made a presentation to Ida Hadley, sister of the brothers Eric and Dave Rankin. the builders of the Rankins. For Afloat,Tom MacSweeney sailed aboard one of the dinghies and describes the sail in his new MacSweeney's Podcast, starting this week on Afloat below
Welcome to my new series of MacSweeney Podcasts on Afloat, in which I’ll be reporting on sailing and all to do with the culture, history, tradition and development of maritime Ireland. These short Podcasts, about five minutes duration, will partner the…
Rankin Dinghies off Cobh. Listen to the podcast below.
There is more to sailing than racing, such as enjoyment, fun, cruising and bringing people together to enjoy each other’s company and the boats they sail. When those boats are dinghies that have a proud history and which a dedicated…
CSC Lay up 15

A short potted history of the Rankin Sailing Dinghy - a proud Cobh tradition. If anybody has any pictures of Eric or Dave Rankin or any of their boats I would love to get copy to enable me to complete a more detailed history.Eddie English - eddie@sailcork.com

Posted by Eddie English on Tuesday, 17 November 2015

The Rankin Dinghy of Cobh, Cork Harbour 

A Rankin is a traditional wooden dinghy which was built in Cobh, of which it’s believed there were 80 and of which The Rankin Dinghy Group has traced nearly half. 

The name of the Rankin dinghies is revered in Cork Harbour and particularly in the harbourside town of Cobh.

And the name of one of those boats is linked to the gunboat which fought against the Irish Volunteers during the 1916 Easter Rising and later for the emergent Irish Free State Government against anti-Treaty Forces during the Irish Civil War.

It also links the renowned boat-building Rankin family in Cobh, one of whose members crewed on the gunboat.

Maurice Kidney and Conor English are driving the restoration of the Rankin dinghies in Cork Harbour. They have discovered that Rankins were bought and sailed in several parts of the country.

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