The little Mirror dinghy may not be the ideal cruising boat for us all, but it's manageable both in and out of the water, you don't need a trailer or a trolley and it’s cheap. After a couple of years with a homemade sailing canoe, I bought a Mirror early last season, sailed it, liked it but felt it could be improved for cruising. So I wrote (with s.a.e.) to D.C.A. members listed as sailing 11' Mirrors and asked for advice and information on modifications they had carried out.

I had 13 replies; nearly all were several pages long with detailed drawings. My congratulations to the DCA, they have the right type of member. My thanks to all who replied, your information has been so helpful that I felt we all ought to share it. I'll have to be brief but if any member wants more detail please write or phone.

MAINSHEET JAMMING ON TILLER HEAD

Most members agreed this was a dangerous nuisance in the Mirror and suggested screwing/glueing tiller and rudder together and fairing off. A popular alternative was to fit a hood around the problem area. I thought glueing up was rather drastic so tried fitting a hood. This helped but did not cure. A couple of members suggested moving the mainsheet block on the boom forward. I tried 9" and it worked. The mainsheet, on tacking, now falls forward of the tiller head. But that created a new problem; the mainsheet then jammed under my standard tiller extension when it was in the stowed position. Refitting the extension under the tiller cured the fault.

MAINSAIL REFFING

The problem falls into two parts; how to stow the reefed part of the mainsail and how to keep the gaff, when lowered, close to the mast. Also, the reefing should take little time, enable use of the kicking strap, mainsheet block on boom, tack downhaul/clew outhaul to keep a flat sail and perhaps(some members took an opposite view point) one should be able to avoid lowering the mainsail completely.

A few members suggested rolling the sail around the boom, but John Perry found it produced a baggy sail and strained the gooseneck. So he fitted a reef point system. Several members suggested reef points and quoted a Mirror Association 'Reflections' article on this subject.

But on the other half of the problem, keeping the gaff close to the mast, 'Reflections' advocated not lowering the gaff but lowering/raising the mainsail with an extra halliard to the peak of the mainsail. However, this leaves a heavy chunk of wood high up and not doing anything useful and would you trust your mainsail not to jam in the gaff.

So John Perry and other members suggest lowering the mainsail and gaff and refitting halliard to alternative anchorage points on the gaff. A personal suggestion, theory only at the moment, which would seem simple and quick; use one line of reef points only, either above or below the lowest batten. Just below would give 25/30% reduction in area, probably enough and will save removing/replacing batten; then using a light rope, attached to the gaff above existing gaff band, run through an eye or small block near the top of the mast and down to a cleat near the foot of the mast. After lowering the gaff enough to put in the reef, a pull on this rope should bring the gaff close to the mast again with the weight still carried by the halliard.

SLEEPING ON BOARD

Four members gave details of sleeping overnight on a Mirror. Peter Glover uses a tent over his mast which is laid from the bow to a crutch fitted into his rudder pintles, the others used a boom tent. John Perry literally sleeps ‘on board’ using his centreboard and a sheet of 3/8" ply laid across sidetanks with an airbed on top. Albert Cole used a caravan rollup stretcher type bunk, but ingenious Peter uses his 7' oars fitting into pockets in a canvas sheet to give same result with easier stowage and less cost. While admitting that it can get a bit damp at times, Charles Proudfoot just slept on the floor.

Personally I like to get ashore, put up a small tent and stretch the legs; but perhaps I'm luckier in my cruising area than most, or less concerned with trespassing.

STOWAGE OF GEAR

Even single-handed there's a lot of equipment needed for a weekend, almost as much as for a week. Some members fitted watertight hatches in bow and stern buoyancy tanks to take lightweight gear, but waterproof kitbags or heavy duty plastic bags on foredeck or under thwart gave biggest stowage space. Unfortunately no member mentioned how he lashed or strapped bags and other equipment in place and the Mirror is lacking in anchorage points at floor level. A matter to which I'll have to give some attention this winter as I lost a lot of gear at the end of this season in a capsize.

There were lots of other useful ideas and modifications suggested, including a self stowing kedge at bow, lifelines under gunwales to assist in righting after a capsize, a lifting centreboard, etc.; thought provoking suggestions to cruising 11' Mirror Members.

Suppose you bought a new kit to build a Mirror, how would you modify it on the building to make a better single-handed cruising boat? For example, a lifting centreboard? Less buoyancy, more storage space? Longer skeg and more rubbing strips? I'd welcome your ideas.