Thanks for the clarifications guys. My comments were slightly tongue in cheek, and I do appreciate that it is the people in the boat that makes all the difference. Nonetheless, I hadn’t realized that the tolerances in the rules would allow such disparities in hull shape, and that’s still disappointing.

As a child I had wanted to build a Mirror, but my father was never interested. Now that I have the means, and my own son and daughter are up for it, I don’t feel very motivated. I know that my sprogs and I would derive a great deal of satisfaction, but with so many cheap boats around, building a new one doesn’t make sense on my personal time/cost/pleasure balance sheet. In an age of CNC laser-cut self- jigging manufacture, the thought of cobbling together a kit designed 50 years ago is not very appealing. I guess I shall just have to be content restoring my rattly, water stained and soggy sailed 300 quid beauty. Fortunately I’m a very talented natural born dinghy helm and frequently win even if I’m towing an anchor…<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

Quotes from "Cush"
"Fortunately I’m a very talented natural born dinghy helm and frequently win even if I’m towing an anchor"

"Perhaps I’ll get the kids interested in something moulded. At least then it will be purely down to their ability and not the depth of my pockets"

It won't matter if your name was Ben Ansley and you were the best sailor in the world, a £300 Mirror will not win the Nationals. Take up the chalenge, build a Mirror or buy a fast Mirror for you or your kids and lets see how good you are! The racing is great whether you are an adult or child, as mentioned before many top saiors started out in a Mirror, just look at the list of champions from this year, most have sailed the Mirror. The Mirror has been around for 40 years, lets see how long some of our moulded friends last.

Two words- l'Equipe!!

Is that really 2 words <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>
Come on Cush build a new one <img src=icon_smile.gif border=0 align=middle>

I assume by “the teamâ€

No, the l'equipe boat was going to blow the mirror out of the water about 10-15 years ago. Attendances at the Irish nationals peaked at 9 boats, and the last remaining one was written off in a car crash about 5 years ago!! They're still big in France, but the fact you'd never heard of them demonstrated pretty well which way that particular class went!!

Sorry, I haven’t paid much attention to the dinghy world since I was in my teens many, many, many years ago - I was just trying to be clever using my schoolboy French to translate – probably wrongly.

Have a good weekend, it looks like the weather might be OK – even in Dublin.

One of the reasons that the Mirror has survived and prospered over the years, despite lots of competitions from new classes, is the rules have allowed some flexibility. This has helped the design to evolve in to a very refined sailing dinghy, a mini thoroughbred in fact.

Our rules also allow sailors to personalise their Mirrors.

It has taken the Laser class thirty years to sort out their sail controls as the strict rules forced them to use very antiquated systems.

Amazingly no one has bettered the Mirror, the new designs are all too heavy, cumbersome and shallow cockpit so you sit on them.

MCA Secretary

Looks like the mirror's a perfect design... Bit like the shark- it'll remain unchanged for millions of years

Actually, what's interesting about the l'equipe is I think it was sponsored by the French sports magazine l'Equipe as a mirror-type boat in France.

The cheque is in the post for my new Duffin Mirror kit <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
I am told that as I am not building on a jig I will have to modify some of the panels by up to 20mm ?
Anyone built a Duffin recently ? Any advice on the build ? Any traps to beware of ?