R61

Owner

Dan O’Connell & Family

Provenance

The second of the new series of boats. She was launched in 2022, having been built over the previous 16 months as a lockdown project by Dave O’Keeffe and Owen O’Connell (See New Rankin blog series for more info.). Her number, R61, was chosen as she was built 61 years after the 1st production Rankin came off the jig. Dan bought her in late 2022 and had additional side seats fitted between the thwarts to accommodate the younger members of the family. She won the “Rankin Worlds in 2024”.

Her main design features are:-

• Planking is 6mm Robbins Super Elite ply (5 layers of Sapele).
• Centreline timbers are Iroko.
• All the thwarts are Iroko with laminated knees.
• Centreline box tied into the mast thwart.
• Four bottom boards either side of the hog made of Iroko
• The gunnels are made up of 3 contrasting runs of Sapele Larch and Sapele.
• Side seats of Iroko have a down stand beam of Larch for stiffness.
• A triangular raised bow floorboard in Honduras Mahogony (courtesy of a wardrobe donated by Eddie English).
• Canadian Sitka Spruce spars and foils of Siberian Larch.

Fig.1 - R61, maiden sail, May 2022.

Fig.2 - R61, finished internals, December 2022.