The Howth 17 is a type of keelboat. It is a 3-man single-design keelboat designed to race in the waters off Howth and Dublin Bay.

How long is a Howth 17?

The Howth Seventeen is just 22ft 6ins in hull length.

Why are Howth 17s so famous?

The boat is the oldest one-design keelboat racing class in the world and it is still racing today to its original design exclusively at Howth Yacht club. It has important historical and heritage value keep alive by a vibrant class of members who race and cruise the boats.

How many Howth 17s are racing today?

Although 21 boats are in existence, a full fleet rarely sails buy turnouts for the annual championships are regularly in the high teens.

Who designed the Howth 17?

The plans of the Howth 17 were originally drawn by Walter Herbert Boyd in 1897 for Howth Sailing Club. The boat was launched in Ireland in 1898.

Who built the original Howth 17s?

They were originally built by John Hilditch at Carrickfergus, County Down. Initially, five boats were constructed by him and sailed the 90-mile passage to Howth in the spring of 1898. The latest Number 21 was built in France in 2017.

Why were the Howth 17s designed and built?

The Howth 17s were designed to combat local conditions in Howth that many of the keel-less boats of that era such as the 'Half-Rater' would have found difficult.

How many Howth 17s were built?

The original fleet of five, Rita, Leila, Silver Moon, Aura and Hera, was increased in 1900 with the addition of Pauline, Zaida and Anita. By 1913 the class had increased to fourteen boats. The extra nine were commissioned by Dublin Bay Sailing Club for racing from Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire) - Echo, Sylvia, Mimosa, Deilginis, Rosemary, Gladys, Bobolink, Eileen and Nautilus. Gradually the boats found their way to Howth from various places, including the Solent and by the latter part of the 20th century they were all based there. The class, however, was reduced to 15 due to mishaps and storm damage for a few short years but in May 1988 Isobel and Erica were launched at Howth Yacht Club, the boats having been built in a shed at Howth Castle - the first of the class actually built in Howth.

What are Howth 17s constructed of?

The basic wooden Howth 17 specification was for a stem and keel of oak and elm, deadwood and frames of oak, planking of yellow pine above the waterline and red pine below, a shelf of pitch pine and a topstrake of teak, larch deck-beams and yellow pine planking and Baltic spruce spars with a keel of lead. Other than the inclusion of teak, the boats were designed to be built of materials which at that time were readily available. However today yellow pine and pitch pine are scarce, their properties of endurance and longevity much appreciated and very much in evidence on the original five boats.

How many races do the Howth 17s sail in any given year?

It is always a busy 60-race season of regular midweek evening and Saturday afternoon contests plus regattas and the Howth Autumn League

Name a famous Howth 17?

The 1907-built Deiliginis have recently made it four in a row for the national title that Deilginis has won at least six times in all.

What are some big recent events in the Howth 17 class?

In 2017, a new Howth 17 Orla, No 21, was built for Ian Malcolm. The construction of Orla began in September 2016 at Skol ar Mor, the boat-building school run by American Mike Newmeyer and his dedicated team of instructor-craftsmen at Mesquer in southern Brittany. In 2018, Storm Emma wrought extensive destruction through the seven Howth Seventeens stored in their much-damaged shed on Howth’s East Pier at the beginning of March 2018, it was feared that several of the boats – which since 1898 have been the very heart of Howth sailing – would be written off. But in the end only one – David O’Connell’s Anita built in 1900 by James Clancy of Dun Laoghaire – was assessed as needing a complete re-build. Anita was rebuilt by Paul Robert and his team at Les Ateliers de l’Enfer in Douarnenez in Brittany in 2019 and Brought home to Howth.

What is the sail area of a Howth 17?

The total sail area is 305 sq ft (28.3 m2)

Displaying items by tag: Senior Eight

16th July 2017

Commercial Retain Senior Eights at Irish Rowing Championships

Commercial (middle) about to win the senior eights from fast-finishing Skibbereen and NUIG (top)

#Rowing: The big crowds saw a close and exciting senior men’s eight final at the Irish Rowing Championships. Commercial carved out a small lead early on, and despite pressure from NUIG and Skibbereen, they held on to win.

In the women’s senior eights final, UCD/Old Collegians had to wait until the middle stages to take over in the lead, but once they did they built and built on it. They had over three seconds at the finish over Skibbereen/UCC.

Winners of senior men’s eights (Commercial)

Winners of senior women’s eights (UCD/Old Collegians – Claire Lambe not included)

NUIG took their ninth title as they lifted the women’s club eight, while Enniskillen brought a very successful end to a good regatta for them by taking the men’s junior pair through Aaron Johnston and Nathan Timoney.

Three Castles also had a fruitful Championships and their junior quadruple won.

Lee and Clonmel won the women’s junior quad and the men’s intermediate double respectively and Bann’s Hannah Scott took the women’s intermediate single sculls title.

Irish Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Day Three (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Senior: 1 Commercial 5:46.04, 2 Skibbereen 5:47.95, 3 NUIG 5:48.39. Novice: Queen’s 6:21.56.

Four – Club, coxed: NUIG A 6:43.38.

Pair – Inter: NUIG 6:56.09. Junior: Enniskillen B 6:52.04.

Sculling, Quadruple – Junior: 1 Three Castles 6:21.53, 2 Shandon 6:22.75, 3 Clonmel 6:23.05.

Double – Inter: Clonmel 6:37.17. Junior: Three Castles A 6:50.22.

Single – Lightweight: Skibbereen (G O’Donovan) 7:22.32. Inter: Clonmel (D Lynch) 7:10.25.

Women

Eight – Senior: 1 UCD/Old Collegians 6:24.84, 2 Skibbereen/UCC 6:27.96, 3 NUIG/Cork 6:33.67. Club: NUIG 6:46.97.

Four – Inter, coxed: NUIG 7:23.65.

Pair – Senior: UCD (A Crowley, E Lambe) 7:37.41. Junior: Fermoy 7:53.37.

Sculling, Quadruple – Junior: Lee 6:54.96.

Single – Senior: Old Collegians (S Pupsure) 8:02.64. Lightweight: Skibbereen (D Walsh) 8:09.96. Inter: Bann (H Scott) 7:55.58. Club One: Carlow (C Nolan) 8:15.22.

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28th April 2017

UCD Senior Eight the Afloat Rowers of the Month

#Rowing: The Afloat Rowers of the Month for April are the UCD men’s senior eight. The crew, stroked by David O’Malley, beat Commercial, the champions of Ireland, at Skibbereen Regatta. They went on to Trinity Regatta and beat the hosts with another fine performance.

The winning crew at Skibbereen Regatta was: Sam Bolger, Shane O’Connell, Tiarnan Doherty, Max Murphy, Shane Mulvaney, Andrew Griffin, Eoin Gleeson, David O’Malley, Orlagh Reid (cox). James O’Sullivan replaced Shane O’Connell in the crew for Trinity.

Rower of the Month awards: The judging panel is made up of Liam Gorman, rowing correspondent of The Irish Times, and David O'Brien, editor of Afloat magazine. Monthly awards for achievements during the year will appear on afloat.ie. Keep a monthly eye on progress and watch our 2017 champions list grow.

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15th April 2017

UCD's Senior Eight Impress in Final Flourish

#Rowing: UCD’s senior eight beat Trinity by two and a quarter lengths at Trinity Regatta today. The very strong crew, stroked by David O’Malley, fashioned a lead after the second bend and held off the hosts. This may be the last time this crew rows together competitively as O’Malley, Shane Mulvaney and Shane O’Connell (who did now row at Trinity) will be called up for international duty.

In a cracking junior 18 eight final, Commercial just pipped neighbours and rivals Neptune. Garda’s Damien Kelly and Piers Ryan won the senior doubles race. Commercial, who won the women’s senior eight, also took the women’s junior 18 eight.

Trinity Regatta, Islandbridge (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Senior: UCD bt Trinity, 2 ¼ l. Club: Trinity bt UCD did not finish. Inter: UCD bt Cork BC row over. Novice: Queen’s bt Trinity easily. Junior: Commercial bt Neptune half canvas. Masters: Neptune bt Commercial ½ l.

Four – Inter, coxed: UCD bt Cork row over. Club, coxed: Neptune bt UCD A disq. Masters, coxed: Neptune bt Graiguenamanagh easily. Junior, coxed: Commercial bt Neptune row over.

Pair – Senior: UCD bt KSRV Nord easily

Sculling,

Quadruple – Nov, coxed: Commercial bt Sligo easily. Jun 18B, coxed: Commercial bt Blackrock easily. Jun 16: Commercial bt Three Castles 2l.

Double – Senior: Garda bt Tralee/Shandon 3/4l

Single – Inter: Sligo (Patterson) bt Commercial (Casey) easily. Club One: Portadown (N Hull) bt Shannon (C Carmody) 2 ½ l. Jun 18: Neptune (J Butler) bt Commercial (K Brown) 4l. Jun 16: Three Castles (Keogh) bt Three Castles (Flynn) easily. Masters: Athlone bt Commercial 3l.

Women

Eight – Senior: Commercial bt Trinity 3 ½ l Club, coxed: Commercial bt Trinity 2l. Nov: Trinity A bt KSRV Njord 2l. Jun 18: Commercial bt Graiguenamanagh easily. Jun 16: Graiguenamanagh bt Athlone easily.

Four – Inter, coxed: Trinity B bt Trinity A 1l. Club, coxed: Commercial B t Commercial A 3l.

Sculling – Quadruple – Novice, coxed: Commercial bt UCD easily.

Double - Senior: Neptune bt KSRV Njord easily.

Single – Inter: Neptune (Feerick) bt Athlone (Curley) easily. Club: Neptune (A Clark) bt Garda (J Ryan) 3l. Nov: Commercial (Ballot) bt Graiguenamanagh (B Hennessy) 3l. Jun 16: Neptune (Clarke) bt Neptune (Daymon) 2l.

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2nd April 2016

Commercial Senior Eight Best at Neptune Regatta

#Rowing: Commercial beat UCD in the men’s senior eights final at the Neptune Regatta in Islandbridge today. The winners had taken on and beaten Trinity in a fine race in the semi-finals, while UCD had beaten Trinity’s second crew. Commercial also won the men’s junior 18 quadruple.

Neptune Regatta, Islandbridge Saturday (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Senior: Commercial (C Dowling, M Maher, R Peguet, S McEoing, F Groome, D Burke, W Hurley, N Gahan; cox: M Crockett) bt UCD 3l, 3 mins 25 seconds. Club One: Commercial B bt St Michael’s 2l, 3:44. Novice: Trinity bt UCD, disq. Junior 18: Neptune bt Commercial 1¾ l, 3:40. Jun 16: Portora bt Blackrock. Masters: St Michael’s bt Neptune ½ l.

Four – Senior: Trinity bt UCD 1¼ l, 3:50. Intermediate, coxed: Trinity bt Commercial 2l, 4:23. Club One, coxed: Trinity bt Commercial 1l, 3:57. Masters, coxed: Carlow, Athlone, Northridge bt Neptune 3l.

Sculling, Quadruple – Club Two, coxed: Belfast RC bt Commercial A 3l, 4:06. Jun 18: Commercial bt Castleconnell 2l, 3:44. Jun 16, coxed: Commercial bt Castleconnell, disq. Jun 15, coxed: Castleconnell bt Portora 3l, 4:23.

Double – Jun 16: Killorglin bt Graiguenamanagh easily, 4:25. Jun 15: Three Castles bt Blackrock easily, 4:34.

Single – Senior: Trinity (M Corcoran) bt Neptune (K Coughlan), 2l 4:23. Inter: Clonmel (D Lynch) bt Castleconnell (E Whittle) 1l, 4:15. Club One: Castleconnell (E O’Connor) bt Commercial (J Healy), canvas; 4:29. Club Two: Trinity (S Addison) bt Clonmel (J McKenna) 3l, 4:40. Jun 18: Graiguenamanagh (A Lennon) bt Commercial (N Beggan) 1½ l. Jun 16: Clonmel (O’Donnell) bt Commercial (Browne) 2l, 4:38.

Women

Eight – Club One: Commercial bt Trinity 1l, 4:20. Novice: UCD bt Trinity B 4l, 4:22. Jun 16: Portora bt Carlow easily, 4:28.

Four, Club One, coxed: Commercial B bt Commercial A 3l.

Sculling, Quadruple – Club Two, coxed: Athlone bt St Michael’s 1l, 5:15. Jun 18: Commercial bt Belfast RC easily, 4:50. Jun 16, coxed: Portora bt Graiguenamanagh B, 5 min 16. Jun 15, coxed: St Michael’s A bt Offaly 6l, 4:56.

Double – Jun 15: Killorglin A bt Killorglin B 3l.

Single – Senior: Killorglin (M Dukarska) bt Garda (J Ryan) easily, 4:42. Club One: Killorglin (M O’Connor) bt Commercial (A Rodger) row over. Club Two: Garda (Ryan) bt Garda (Moore) easily, 5:14. Jun 18: Neptune (Feerick).

Jun 16: Belfast RC (A Hall) bt Castleconnell (L Mulligan) easily, 5:22.

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29th April 2014

Trinity Senior Eight are Afloat Rowers of the Month for April

#ROWING: The Trinity men’s senior eight are the Afloat Rowers of the Month for April. The crew won at the Irish Universities’ Championships at the National Rowing Centre in Cork, beating UCD, and they were convincing victors over NUIG/Gráinne Mhaol at the first Grand League regatta of the year, Skibbereen Regatta. Gráinne Mhaol/NUIG, in some combination, have won four of the last five national titles.

In March, Trinity had been beaten by UCD in a stirring battle in the Gannon Cup and they had also been joint winners of the Dublin Head of the River, dead-heating with a composite crew of Commercial, Gráinne Mhaol and Old Collegians.

Rower of the Month Awards: The judging panel is made up of Liam Gorman, rowing correspondent of The Irish Times and David O'Brien, Editor of Afloat magazine. Monthly awards for achievements during the year will appear on afloat.ie and the overall national award will be presented to the person or crew who, in the judges' opinion, achieved the most notable results in, or made the most significant contribution to rowing during 2014. Keep a monthly eye on progress and watch our 2014 champions’ list grow.

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