International Mirror Class Association of Ireland

How do I acquire a Mirror?  

Click this link to see some simple advice on how to choose your boat

Or here to see a more detailed version

The origin of the Mirror Dinghy was as a home built kit, made from pre cut sections of marine grade plywood, stitched together with fibreglass tape and glue, and sufficiently simply to build that it was within the skills of any reasonable home DIY enthusiast. Thousands of boats were built in this way at a very economical cost.

Boats are now available in Wood and GRP (Fibreglass).

Today, you have many choices about buying your Mirror Dinghy

• You can still buy the kit from any ISAF approved manufacturer, and with complete instructions build the boat from scratch. Kits can be acquired from Trident UK the supplier in this hemisphere. The Mirror specification gives reasonably wide tolerances to cope with the fact that it is being built by amateurs. The Kit comes with all parts pre cut and ready to assemble, and includes all materials to put the parts together. Sails cost about Stg£700 to Stg£ 800 and there are several suppliers. The cost of the various kits from Trident UK is as follows (May 2004 prices):

• Wooden Kit (with all tape and glues)                            Stg£  975
• Wooden Kit (as above with paint & standard fittings)       Stg£ 1,665
• Wooden Kit (as above with Race Package)                    Stg£ 3,400
• Completed Boat (Race Package, painted)                      Stg£ 4,995

• There are several expert wooden boat builders who will build the kit for you, and who will deliver a beautifully finished wooden boat, and whose skills have identified the best shape for Mirrors within the specifications and can build boats to that shape. The price of such boats varies by builder, some of whom are craftsmen making boats in their spare time, others who make their living from boatbuilding. Alistair Duffin, of Samuel Duffin Ltd, Belfast (phone 028-90457381) duffinmarine@aol.com has recently (May 2004) quoted the following prices:

• Wooden Hull, ready to paint, with all wood parts included (Gaff, Boom, Centreboard and Rudder)                                                 Stg£ 2,415
• Race Specification Mirror, with sails, painted, measured and ready to race (all fittings etc)                                                     Stg£ 4,570

Prices will vary by specification, and by builder, and will depend on the cost of the raw materials. Other builders include Edwin Brennan in Dunlaoghaire, who builds beautiful wooden boats, and has an extensive business looking after the classic boats in Dublin.

  Wooden boats are beautiful and need constant care and attention (especially storage during summer and winter alike) to keep them to their build standard. If well maintained they can look and perform well for years. Wooden boats require special skills to both maintain and repair, both of which are in short supply and take time to complete.

• In recent years, the GRP (Fibreglass) Mirror has come of age but is only now being delivered in numbers because of past difficulties in getting both the weight and design problems sorted out. These are built to a tighter specification than the wooden boats (because they can only be made by professionals) but are now competitive with the wooden race Mirror. In this hemisphere only Trident UK, the local Mirror stockist & specialist, has the licence for GRP Mirrors. Trident is based in Gateshead (phone +44 191 490 1736) and has an extensive website www.trident-uk.com which gives lots of useful information on Mirrors generally. GRP Mirrors come in 2 specifications as follows:

• School or Training Mirror      (ready to sail)                    Stg£ 2,995
• Race Specification Mirror      (ready to race)                  Stg£ 4,399
• Both boats can be purchased Hull only

The advantages of GRP are that it is lower maintenance, but it still requires a lot of care and attention, and it is more easily repaired than wood. The disadvantages are that no GRP boat can match the beauty of a well maintained wooden boat and that GRP can deteriorate with age and exposure to UV light.

  With its smaller tolerances, GRP Mirrors are more one design than available with wooden boats.

• Finally, with any large class, there are always second hand boats available for purchase. The IMCAI has a website where we try to list available boats, and where prospective sellers can post ads for their boats. Word of mouth is also a useful source and if you are interested, call any member of the IMCAI Committee who should be able to put you in contact with interested parties in their area. You should be careful to have the boat surveyed and carefully check the condition of the boat. Any boat showing signs of neglect may have hidden problems so “caveat emptor”

  In summary, there are many choices for the purchase of both new and used Mirrors, and with a strong a vibrant class in Ireland your budget and interests should both be satisfied.

  Good sailing!