Mirror 16 foot Sailing Dinghy

[POLLYMIRROR16]

Hi all,
Just an update on my progress with Mirror 16 "NEMESIS" no 258.
It has unfortunately been a very wet summer here even though the hose pipe bans are still in place! so I have not been able to get any work done at all yet, I have however been contacted by someone here in the UK who has just had his Mirror 16 restored.. I belive that it is number 64 and named Puff, I am just about to make further contact so hopefully all will go well. Thankyou to goolawah for sending him in my direction..one day we may have enough for a get together.
I am contacting the new Mirror association website to have the Mirror 16 re-included as they seem to have consigned us to History.and.Hey WE'RE BACK!!
Best Regards
Terence

[POLLYMIRROR16]

Hi goolawah
very interested as always in the output
Thankyou for sending people my way.
Best regards
Terence

[POLLYMIRROR16]

Not Mine!!
There Is A Mirror 16 For Sale On The Msn Groups Site, However I Do Not Yet Know Where In The World That It Is Located, Or Its Number But One Of You May Want Her..
Regards
Terence

[POLLYMIRROR16]

Not Mine!!
There Is A Mirror 16 For Sale On The Msn Groups Site, However I Do Not Yet Know Where In The World That It Is Located, Or Its Number But One Of You May Want Her..
Regards
[url]http://groups.msn.com/MirrorDiscussionForum/boatsforsale.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=784&LastModified=4675587868826235782&all_topics=0

[ostosix]

Originally Posted by goolawah

I'd be interested to know of any Mirror 16s still sailing, or under restoration, out there.

We have a small group of about 4 boats here in Brisbane and I get the impression there are very few left - anywhere.

Would this be an appropriate forum to share ideas/experiences about repairs, restorations etc?

Hi goolawah, I own sail number 489 of the Mirror 16 dinghy fleet built in '73.I believe I am the fourth owner and I boughtSN 489 from an old chap in Norfolk, UK, around six years ago. It hasn't been in the water for some years though. This is my second round of repairs.

It was damaged on launch recently and on repair attempt it was rotted in some areas under the floor as well as damaged though age and trailing. It is undergoing deep strip and restoration currently, I am replacing the centreboard case and floor support ribs, four on each side have broken.

Once this is finished it should be back to it's full glory. Incidently, I have many original posters and articles about the mirror as well as the original kit building instruction and parts inventory supplied with the kit. The kit was supplied from Bell Woodworking Company who I believe supplied the kits for thr Mirror (10'10'') dinghy for a time.

It's great to atlast find some other mirror owners and I look forward to sharing some idea's and experiences.

Regards, ostosix.

[POLLYMIRROR16]

Hi Ostosix and welcome,
I am located in Farnborough UK and am embarking on the voyage of restoration for Mirror16 "Nemesis" sail no 258 .. You seem to have the only remaining set of plans in the UK.. if not the world..! There are a few of us now in the UK and Australia and also one in Canada.. Many thanks again to Goolwah who set this forum in motion, It seems to be gathering pace!

[Rosabella]

Hi all

I've recently bought sail no. 333. I brought her home yesterday. Incredibly she came complete with all the original paperwork including building instructions, bill of sale, and a number of magazine articles. She's actually in sailable condition and hopefully will be taken into the water again this coming season. I don't think she requires any repairs only some repainting. Would be interested in exchanging info or meeting up with any local owners. If I can help with any information from the paperwork I have, then please let me know.

Andrew

[goolawah]

Welcome Andrew to our little, but rapidly growing group. We have quite an active email correspondence between members in the UK, USA and Australia. We look forward to seeing some pictures and hearing some stories about Rosabella. If you send a private message with your email address I will add it to our list.

[wes75]

Hello all,

Just registered into this forum. Have been having some conversations regarding the Mirror 16 with some of the members but thought this public formum would be a good place to be as well.

We have two Mirror 16s: one built in 1971 and one completed in 1987 which was a Christmas present from grandfather to my daughter last year. It is aptly named "Dream Come True" ; we call her "Dream" for short.

Very interested in sharing information; I'm giving very serious consideration to building yet a third for the family -- good things come in three's, don't they?

Yours in sailing,
Wes

[Rosabella]

Thanks for message Goolawah. I can't PM you my email details yet as the forum doesn't let you send pms until you've posted five posts so just as soon as I'm able I'll send you the details.

Cheers

Andrew

[goolawah]

Regarding email from Wes:
| When do you forsee having the plans put together?

It might be a few months yet. I have to give priority to the demands of my business (self employed), domestic obligations, and other commitments (like being the treasurer for the Wooden Boat Association of Queensland). It would would be helped enormously by collaboration with willing hands and enthisiastic supporters.

Here's where it's at....

The original plans I am working from are clearly not 100% accurate. They didn't need to be as they were only intended as an illustration to accompany the kit. On the plans I have, the shapes of the Transom and Stn4 seem fine, but Stn2 seems wrong and the shape of the forward bulkead is not shown. Clearly this is critical. The next step for me is to measure, and re-create, the shape of this bulkhead. If anyone else would like to do this it would be helpful to have the measurement off several boats. I would use a "jog-stick" for this. If you want to have a go, but don't know how to use a jog-stick, let me know and I will provide instructions. The task is complicated by the floor and side tanks.

The next step is to construct a scale model (about 1:20) out of stiff paper. I tried this over the weekend and it looks pretty good, but it proved the need for accurate dimensions of the forward bulkhead. This is an intriguing experience and well worth doing as preparation for building the real thing. I personally would not want to start cutting big sheets of ply unless I was certain is was all going to fit perfectly. If anyone would like to do this, please let me know and I will post the cutting plan, once I have resolved the issues with the forward bulkhead.

[goolawah]

Hope you enjoy these photos. This is 3 generations of our family match
racing, August 2006, on the Castle Rock Lake in central Wisconsin. This was
the first time the hull 458 was ever raced and the first time for hull 445
since the late 1970's. Surprisingly, both were fairly even (although the
same couldn't always be said for skipper and crew) even though 445 weighed
more and the sails were used considerably more. Fun was had by all, however.

(See earlier post by Wes75)

[goolawah]

Barrie emailed me this nice story...

My Mirror 16 is called “Puff” after the children’s song about Puff the magic Dragon!. She was built in 1967 and is No 64. I bought her in 1968 and raced her, winning the UK National Championships then sold her in 1977. I found her again last year about 50 miles from where we live. She was in a terrible state. Decks rotted, the floor rotted and the lower chine all rotted. I thought she was a hopeless case but just could not leave her lying uncared for where she was, so I bought her.

I am not very good with wood but our local boat yard did a magnificent restoration, not unlike what you have done for LuluBelle. She now looks great and I am sailing her again, even racing her although I am now 74 years old.

Barrie supplied a couple of pics of Puff. The first is how she was in 1970’s, the second one is just after she was launched this year.

[goolawah]

Apologies if I seem to be dominating this thread. But I am keen to share the stories and have added a few posts on behalf of others.

The great news that we now have official permission from Holt to "reverse engineer" the Mirror 16 and create a set of plans for amateur use. Thanks to Barrie for following this through.

The work of developing plans is progressing and should be useful for those who would like to build a Mirror 16 from scratch, or those who are restoring one.

To get it right we need to be able take careful measurements off our existing boats. Initially, precise dimensions of the forward bulkhead are a critical requirement.

One way to do this is with a "jog-stick". As this is a generally useful tool, I thought it best to share it on this forum.

[Bill hyde]

Hi folks,
I last contacted you on the evening I bought my first ever boat, which turned out to be Mirror 16 number 270, and was much more boat than I had gone to buy. She was all there, but a bit shabby and rotten here and there. When I got her home I found more rot that I thought around the bow, and the plywood on the transom was history. I had a long term plan to restore her, and a short term plan to get her on the water. I sawed the bow off and restored it, and the transom ply was pretty easy. The foredeck was also replaced. A coat of paint, a dab of varnish here and there and off to Lyn Tegid (Bala) in North Wales for our first outing. The RAF were practicing low level flying on the lake, and my story is that one of those two C130s clipped the top of the mast and over we went(first time out). It was a good job I had read the book, so getting her back up was no problem, but I hadn't attached the rope ladder that was one of the bits and pieces which came with the boat(the previous owner must have had the same problem with his wife), and getting her majesty the crew back in was a bit problematical. she then wouldn't empty(the boat), and sailed like a brick and it was clear that there was a problem. She was full of water between decks so I took her home and found that the centre board box had rotted on both sides under the two drains(technical word?)-big holes. Off came part of the deck and I have just finished fixing the box. The new bit of deck has encouraged me to do a proper job over the winter and put a whole new deck on, it looks lovely. Anyway, I'm hoping to get one weekend's sailing in before the lake freezes over, you Ausies don't know you're born! I have tried to attach some pics, but for some reason it aint working.
Bill hyde