Reflections And Mirrors Part 2 : Red Rash Redux

 It’s a good time to revive The inexpensive ply kits. Mirror enthusiasts from the 1960’s and 70’s are now parents and grandparents wanting to share Mirror Love with a new generation.

In Part II SWS re-claims the Mirror dinghy as the ideal family training boat, worthy of a revival.  All photos with this article are courtesy of Rob Owe-Young taken at the Mirror World Championship 2019, Woollahra Sailing Club, Sydney NSW.

COMPETITION

Active competition is a great reflection of class health with Mirror regattas attracting large turnouts of all ages and genders from around the world. The Australian National championships include categories for Open, Junior, Sub-junior, Ladies, Veterans, Masters, Classic and Family. The hotly contested Open category shows a pattern of success for adult skippers with junior crews. In 2014 the winner was a woman skipper with junior crew. In both 2015 and 2017 the champ was a father with junior daughter and in 2019 a father with teenage son were the champions.

The first Mirror World Championship was held in the Netherlands in 1976. The 4 year cycle was reduced to every 2 years in 1995 to reflect the huge following and interest. Timber and contemporary fibreglass Mirrors compete on equal terms, with a timber Mirror winning the 2013 and 2015 Worlds. Australia has hosted and also produced a champion four times.

The most recent World Championship was held at Woollahra SC in 2019. This was the venue for the Sydney2000 Olympic dinghy events. 59 entries came from the UK, Ireland, South Africa, New Zealand, Netherlands, Japan and Australia. Most top boats had adult skippers with children as crew.  The next most common combinations were teenage crews of all boys, all girls or a mixed crew.  There were adult crews and many parents crewing for their children. Some families had multiple boats competing with mother, father and child combinations. The championship was a true family event with the mixes of ages and categories making a very exciting series.

Mk2 timber and fibreglass Mirrors made up 40% of the fleet. The best placed timber Mirror was skippered by Jessie Andrewartha from Tasmania in 9th place. Jessie sailed with her father and is a former National Mirror Champion. Their FOXY LADY III was built in the early 2000’s, so was almost 20 years old. This highlights that a well-built timber boat in the hands of talented crew can be competitive on the world stage. Mk3 fibreglass Mirrors made up the remaining fleet. 

Alle Roodbergen, a Mirror enthusiast from the Netherlands was unable to compete in the Worlds after being injured in a sailing accident during the preceding Nationals. He generously offered his boat RUMBLE FISH to John Dransfield and son Tyler, who after the late call-up came out on top. John is no stranger to the Mirror having grown up in Melbourne sailing a Mirror with his sister at Albert Sailing Club.  He also competed in the 2011 World Mirror Championship in Albany WA, where he finished 9th sailing with his other son Jesse.

CURRENT FLEETS

Large fleets of Mirrors are still active in the UK, South Africa and Australia. Mirrors race at Woollahra, Hunters Hill and Belmont Sailing Clubs in Sydney with 30 active boats at these clubs.  In Tasmania 15 boats race at Deviot SC on the Tamar and Kingston Beach SC on the Derwent. In Victoria, the original Mirror stronghold, 10 active boats are at Williamstown SC, Albert Sailing Club and Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron. Henley Sailing Club in South Australia has a strong fleet after a recent influx of interest in the class, with some 20 Mirrors being active. In Western Australia there are 30 Mirrors sailed at Royal Freshwater Bay YC and Maylands YC on the Swan River and Princes Royal YC at Albany. Overall numbers are down like most double handed dinghies as popularity of single-handed classes like the Optimist, Laser and Sabre has increased.

JUNIOR BOAT OPTIONS

Working out the best starter and graduate boat for very young kids and teenagers is an ongoing discussion. Traditional rivals in the two-handed adult and child training classes are the Jack Holt Mirror, Heron or Pacer that are all struggling for numbers. The Heron seems to be holding up the best of the three classes despite the Mirror being the only dinghy that offers truly international competition with a World Championship.

There is no real equivalent for the Mirror that offers a lightweight boat with 3 sails to teach traditional sailing skills. She can be sailed by an adult and child or light weight juniors not heavy enough for more powerful classes like International 420s. Flying 11 or International Cadets are an alternative for double handed sailing, although the spread of these classes is limited in Australia. Strong fleets of flying 11’s sail in New South Wales, but are non-existent in other states, whilst International Cadets are only active in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania. Sailing in competitions with your children is not an option with the International Cadet, as they are a youth junior class only.   

MIRROR DESIGN DEVELOPMENTS

Since the early 1960’s Mirrors have developed to keep pace with other boats. Most Mirrors are either timber or fibreglass Mk2’s with the familiar storage compartments at the front of the cockpit, inner gunwales and a rubbing strip along the top edge of the bow and the signature stem piece to attach a painter. A foam sandwich fibreglass Mirror was developed by Vasco boats in WA in the 1990’s that proved to be very competitive on the international circuit but these are no longer available.

In 2007 a Mk3 fibreglass Mirror was introduced. The hull shape of these boats “should be” the same as the Mk2 with a simplified deck moulding to reduce construction costs.  The storage compartments and internal gunwales are removed, foredeck lowered and the deck bevelled to make hiking more comfortable. The two manufacturers using the ISAF approved foam sandwich mould are Winder Boats in the UK http://www.winderboats.com/ and Dinghy Sports in Sydney http://www.dinghysports.com/

2006 rule changes allowed the use of aluminium spars with a Bermudan rig. The same sails fit on both the original Gunter and Bermudan rig, so new sails didn’t need to be purchased to keep costs down. Popular masts are Super Spars M9 which is a stiff section suited to heavier crews while the more flexible Seldon 2420 is better suited to lighter crews. Most boats in local fleets use a Goldspar that has now ceased production.

The only minor sail change since the 1960’s is the spinnaker, which is now allowed to be constructed with full width horizontal panels resulting in a fuller shape.  Steve Walker sails are popular with a long history of producing quality race sails from his loft in Wynyard Tasmania. Steve has been involved in Mirror sailing since the 1980’s as coach to Mirror teams and also producing tuning guides.  http://www.stevewalkersails.com.au/ Doyle Sails, Scott Sails in Sydney and Hill Sails in Perth also make racing suits for Mirrors. 

The layout of the modern Mirror has been designed to prepare crews for faster international classes such as the 420 and 470. The original running rig was deliberately simple and inexpensive giving minimal tuning capability. New layouts are more sophisticated with mainsheets centred and the boom vang, Cunningham and outhaul leading back to cam-cleats on the thwart. Many top boats have added spinnaker chutes, launching spinnaker poles and tweekers for fine control. 

All these features allow Mirrors to be a perfect introduction to sailing for children. The boat can be effectively sailed single handed by an experienced skipper and as children develop confidence and interest, they can take on responsibility that contributes to boat handling and sail tuning. The original boat design remains stable and forgiving to sail and the “sit-in” nature of the cockpit helps make young crew feel secure.  Children as young as 5 or 6 years can be very capable crew, years before they are big and strong enough to sail junior single handers like the Optimist. The Mirror is an ideal introduction to sailing and a great way of spending quality time with your kids that was part of the original family dinghy idea.

Most of the top crews sail Mk3 fibreglass Mirrors, although well-built timber boats are still competitive. A new fibreglass Mk3 Mirror is approx. $15,000 while a good 2nd hand Mk3 sells for about half depending on quality of equipment. Mk2 Mirrors sell for $3 - $4,000 whilst competitive Mk2 timber dinghies sell from $1 - $3,000.

BLOCKEY REDUX & REMIX

There is plenty of competitive activity at club, national and international levels and various price entry points into the Mirror dinghy. However, to re-boot the family boat building project, as originally intended by Bucknell and Holt, enthusiastic boatbuilders and sailmakers in Sydney and Melbourne have been working to re-introduce the Mirror ply kit.

Timber kits have not been available in Australia since the retirement of Bob Cruse, who ran Heart Small boats in WA until the early 2000s. Importing a kit from Trident in the UK is the only option for home builders in Australia https://www.tridentuk.com/gb/product-mirror-wooden-hull-kit-tbkt.html

The trend for original, authentic and retro continues with manufacturers of all things quick to respond (think vinyl records, furniture and cars). Similarly demand for the Mirror kit from sailing clubs, school project groups and Mirror enthusiasts wanting to re-live their 1960’s Blockey childhood with their own kids and grandchildren appears strong. The ply kit can now be quickly produced to meet demand and would be some 40% cheaper than a moulded hull. Further Winder and Dinghy Sports are only producing some 4-5 fibreglass Mirrors each a year.

There is a worthwhile business model for contemporary ply construction built around CAD (Computer Aided Design) to draw perfect kit templates that feed a CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machine cutter. Drive Marine Services http://mail.boatcraftnsw.com.au/ and South Eastern Sails https://www.southeasternsails.com.au/ and http://www.marinetimbers.com.au/ have already done the necessary ground work and are ready to go.

Drive Marine and SE Sails mapped the computer templates and built a Mirror hull. Curiously the CNC templates followed the still popular Mk2 Mirror dimensions but was non-compliant when measured by IMCAA (International Mirror Class Association of Australia). Here “Horse might follow Cart” as the top competitive boats are based on the Mk3 Winder fibreglass mould that must vary from the Mk2 and has by default re-set some measurements (to be confirmed). Regardless, the joy of CAD and CNC is the variation discovered in beam dimensions could be quickly recalibrated and fixed. The template ply Mirror Redux has now been adjusted and measured for class compliance. She’s quietly sitting and waiting in a Seaford shed. Phil Johnsons’s SWALLOWS & AMAZONS was also built using the CNC templates (see Mirrors and Reflections 5th May). Here he’s used a mix of ply veneers to really show off his Mirror buiiding experience and skills.

Once approved for a license, the hull kit can be quickly ramped up to meet demand with stock and supply. Unlike Blockey the Boatbuilder’s standard delivery of a complete sailing package, the type and quality of spars, rig and sails would now be sold as a mix of options, depending if you want a competition, club or family boat. Let’s hope there will still be those who want the authentic original timber Gunter rig. 

NEXT STEP

World Sailing (prev. IYRU and ISAF) has authority to issue a license to particular manufacturers to build Mirrors. The Mirror is a registered class with World Sailing and their approval must be given to make the hull if it wants to be registered with the class. However, WS do not control Mirror spars, rig and sails that can be supplied by anyone. After several approaches over recent years by the Australian kit promoters, WS approval is not yet forthcoming. We simple enthusiasts and yachties live in a world of “rules & regulations”, often managed by over-zealous sports administrators but let’s see https://www.sailing.org/classesandequipment/MIR.php

It’s a good time to re-introduce inexpensive ply kits. Mirror enthusiasts from the 1960’s and 70’s are now parents and grandparents wanting to share Mirror Love with a new generation. The time taken with a kit project engages kids with all aspects of sailing. Building the boat gains understanding of form and structure and might develop patience for the work to read instructions, assemble, glue, sand, paint, wait, sand and paint again and finally screw on the fittings. Launching the boat then invites that talk about forces between sails and centreboard that moves the boat forward. As the French say about the English “what good is something that works in practice if it doesn’t work in theory”.

// By Charlie Salter & Jaemie Wilson

Photo Credits: Rob Owe-Young

NOTE: SWS has not contacted WS and IMCAA for comment but will follow up.

SWS recommends: JACK de CROW. The versatility of this little boat means it has been used for dinghy cruising over the years including the remarkable journey of the Mirror Jack de Crow from the UK to the Black Sea by Australian Sandy McKinnon in 1997. A journey of almost 5000km. https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/conversations/sandy-mackinnon-rpt/12199356.