Topper Dinghy

The Topper was designed by Ian Proctor in 1977. The Topper was originally designed to be built out of glass reinforced plastic but was re-engineered to be made of injection moulded polypropylene which was much more damage resistant and proved immensely popular in sailing schools in the UK and Ireland. At one point in the boats lifetime the Topper was the largest injection moulded mass production plastic component in the world. At 11′ the Topper is designed to be car “toppable” and the mast splits into two sections, allowing the spars (mast and boom) to be stored and transported.

The Topper Dinghy is sailed regularly by our 11-14 years beginner groups. Our fleet consists of over 80 Topper Dinghies.

Powerboats

We have a wide variety of craft available for teaching on all our courses.  From our most basic small yaks to the flagship of the fleet all craft are perfectly suited to teach every level from novices on their first day powerboating to the advanced driver going to sea in rougher weather.

Rash

Rash, the flagship of our fleet is a 9 metre boat built by Stingray Marine in South Africa to our exacting specifications. Including features such as a fully equipped Garmin electronics package, 13 person liferaft, stainless steel keel strip, 13 demountable jockey seats and twin Suzki 200hp outboard motors. Rash is certainly one of the highest specification RIBs in Dun Laoghaire and is fully licensed to P3 and P6 standards by the Department of the Marine. Rash is capable of speeds over 50 knots.

Rash is used for powerboat excursions, film and television and on our Advanced Powerboat Course.

Sting

STING is a 6.5 metre boat built by Stingray Marine in South Africa.  Sting was built from new to the exact specifications of the Irish National Powerboat School, she is fully equipped to P3 and P6 standards as required by the Irish Department of the Marine.  Fully equipped with a Garmin electronics package and a Suzuki 175hp outboard motor, Sting is capable of speeds of up to 42kts.

Ribtec 1&2

Our two smaller Ribtecs are the workhorse of the Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School, at 4.5 metres they are not the biggest boats in the world but they are ideal for introducing students to console controlled boats.  Both our Ribtecs are equipped with Yamaha 40hp engines that have proven to be the most reliable engines enduring tough work every day since their purchase.

Fjordstar 4.5m

Latvian built Fjordstars are sound, comfortable and spacious RIBs. Our 4.0m Fjordstar is equipped with a 40hp Selva Marine Engine and is used alongside the Ribtecs to introduce students to the console driven boats. Our 4.5m Fjordstar was new to the fleet in 2018, and will soon be joined by a larger 7m boat, expected to arrive in Spring 2019.

Yak

The Irish National Sailing School uses these small plastic boats as their main safety boat fleet.  On the National Powerboat Course, we use these boats to practise tiller arm manoeuvres and introduce novice drivers to power boating for the first time for a short period of the first day.  Equipped with a Yamaha 15hp engine, these boats are fast and nimble, perfect for sailing safety boat activities. Our fleet of Yaks numbers over 15 boats.