The club has sailed and raced a range of dinghy classes and the club owns some of these dinghies which can be sailed for a small annual fee.
Lightning 368
This is the most popular dinghy at Cookham Reach Sailing Club, it was formed as a class at CRSC in 2007 and the dinghies are represented in class series in the Spring, Summer and Autumn.
The club has the largest fleet of Lightning 368s in the country and hosts a Lightning 368 Open which is part of the Noble Marine Insurance Lightning 368 Travellers Trophy Series in early summer which attracts a lot of visiting Lightning sailors to compete against our club members. This dinghy is a popular choice amongst our young sailors moving up from Optimists as its an excellent and cheap entry into sailing on the Thames and elsewhere. Lightnings can be purchased from as little as £300 for an early series boat up to £6350 for a new boat from builder John Claridge Boats and old boats can be competitive with brand new boats.
The club owns 3 Lightning 368 dinghies which are available for club members to sail in social sailing sessions and in races.
OK
Another popular choice at Cookham Reach which sail in the Handicap class in the club’s series. The dinghy was designed by Knud Olsen (hence OK from his initials in reverse) in 1957 with the specification to build a fast and light single-handed sailing dinghy. OKs can be built in plywood, GRP or composite construction with all forms enjoying racing success and there have been thousands of OK dinghies constructed by many different builders.
The OK is a popular boat with adult sailors at the club of all abilities who enjoy close fought racing each weekend in cup races and Handicap series. The club hosts an OK Open every Summer which is part of the HD Sails Inland Series and has a club OK which is used by club members in social sailing and racing events.
Solo
Several sailors at the club own Solos and its one of the most popular classes in the UK, the dinghy was designed by Jack Holt in 1956 and is sailed all over the world. Solos were originally made from wood but are now either FRP or composite.
Optimist
The Optimist is a small single-handed dinghy intended for use by children up to the age of 15. It is one of the most popular dinghies in the world, with 85% of sailors at the 2016 Olympics being former Optimist sailors.
The club has a large fleet of club-owned (seven Optimists) and privately-owned boats. It is an ideal dinghy for beginners and capable of being sailed by a wide age range.
Enterprise
The most popular crewed dinghy at the club. The club owns three Enterprise dinghies and there are also lots of Enterprises owned by club members and raced regularly in the Handicap class of the club’s racing series and Cup races.
Merlin Rocket
Cookham Reach Sailing Club has a long history of sailing the Merlin Rocket as one was owned by one of the founding club members. Several club members have been winners of the Merlin National Championships and the club has held a Merlin Open for decades, although it has not held an Open meeting for a few years.
Topper
The Topper is a one-design dinghy built from polypropylene and is popular at the club for both racing and training. It is popular for young sailors upgrading from Optimist sailing and the club has five club Toppers. These are used by our young sailors on CROK days, training days and raced by young and older members.
Laser
One of the most popular sailing dinghies in the world, although there are only a few of them at Cookham Reach Sailing Club.
