As another ‘fairly new’ Mirror sailor, I would like to say that I am grateful to John Gray for initiating his enquiry, which confirms that one can cruise singlehanded even in such a small and not exactly convenient boat. However, I would like to make a comment on his last paragraph, where he asks for suggestions in modifying a Mirror when building it from a standard kit.

Regrettably from the cruising viewpoint, the monetary value of a Mirror dinghy lies in the fact that it is standard, being almost inherently built within the tolerances of rather a lot of rules, so it is not in the owner’s interest to carve the hull about. But one can do quite a lot by attaching highly non-standard fittings (as the plugged screw holes in M29667, relics of old experiments, bear witness). For the present, the attachment and proper rigging of the new mizzen mast are producing some interesting problems, but why should the gentleman from Dun Laoghaire have all the fun? However I digress; what I really wanted to say was that I don’t think we, in our keenness, should induce (for example) a new member to mutilate and virtually destroy the value of a class boat in good condition. Not, at least, without a gentle warning that they are likely to lose a lot of money thereby! Tom Davis - member 739

(As an old-fashioned dinghy cruiser, I always thought a great part of the point of owning a boat was to be able to adapt and alter it to make it one’s own. What a pity to see boats regarded like mass-produced cars, as properties valuable for their resale value and only for resale as a replica of thousands of others. Editor)

11ft Mirror Modifications (2)

John Gray’s letter about Mirror modifications prompts me to send you a copy of what I have sent to him about reefing a gunter rig, as follows:- my solution to the problem of reefing a gunter rig is to fit an alternative halyard (as well as the original) through a 2nd mast head sheave (below the original, to allow the un-reefed sail maximum height) fastening it to a second gaff band, which, of course, is higher than the original. How much higher depends on how much you want to reef: down to the first batten may well give sufficient reduction in sail area, and minimises the number of jobs to do at reefing time!

You may not like the clutter of a second halyard, but it does act as ‘belt & braces’ — if one halyard carries away, the other will keep the gaff off your head and out of the sea, and will probably save the gaff jaws from splitting as the gaff blows out of line with the mast.

There is one further bonus for the cruising sailor; if the ‘reef-down’ halyard is fastened to the upper gaff band by means of a small snap shackle (small to pass through the mast sheave) it can be detached and used as a topping lift for a boom-up camping cover. David Fraser