Mirror (dinghy)

Mirror

Class symbol
A Mirror on Combs Reservoir in Derbyshire
Crew	2
Draft	0.70 m (2 ft 4 in)
Hull weight	45.5 kg (100 lb)
LOA	3.30 m (10 ft 10 in)
LWL	2.95 m (9 ft 8 in)
Beam	1.39 m (4 ft 7 in)
Mainsail area	4.6 m2 (50 sq ft)
Jib / Genoa area	1.9 m2 (20 sq ft)
Spinnaker area	4.4 m2 (47 sq ft)
D-PN	113.1
RYA PN	1385

The Mirror is a popular sailing dinghy with more than 70,000 built.

The Mirror was named after the Daily Mirror, a UK newspaper with a largely working class distribution. The Mirror was from the start promoted as an affordable boat, and as a design it has done a great deal to make dinghy sailing accessible to a wide audience. Although most popular in the UK, Mirrors are also sailed in other countries, notably Australia, Ireland, Sweden, Canada, the Netherlands, South Africa, New Zealand, the Philippines and the United States.

The Mirror was designed by Jack Holt and TV do-it-yourself expert Barry Bucknell in 1962. It employed a novel construction method where sheets of marine plywood are held together with copper stitching and fibreglass tape. This is called tack and tape or stitch and glue construction. Buoyancy is provided by four independent integral chambers rather than by bags. It was originally designed to be built with simple tools and little experience, and this meant that the design was quite simple. For example, the characteristic 'pram' front reduces the need for the more complicated curved wooden panels and joinery needed for a pointed bow, and a daggerboard is used instead of a hinged centreboard. The result is a robust, versatile and fairly light boat that can be easily maintained and repaired, and can also be launched into the water very quickly from storage or transport. Although most experienced sailors would carry a paddle rather than oars, if necessary it rows well. If the transom is strengthened, an outboard motor can be used for propulsion.