Newbie mirror questions

Welcome a-online!
I am not the absolute guru but here are my solutions that have worked well for me:

1) I do not use paddles, I have a pair of oars which I tie down with a lanyard laced to the unused (usually the forward ones) "chainplate" eyes. A slip knot (like shoelaces) makes sure that I can release them quickly in case of an emergency). See the picture on the home page. I use a hand compass that can be used to take sights (bearings) for rough navigation. It has a lanyard (to put around one's neck) which I pass around the thwart and then thread the compass back through the loop. This prevents it going overboard in case of a capsize. I've made marks on the thwart to align the compass. The rubber casing provides enough grip to keep it in place under most conditions (if you're hiking out, you won't be able to steer a compass course anyway). The entire set-up (oars, compass and bailer) can be seen at about 2 mins 50 seconds into my test video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e37iRadONtw .

2) I have a 5-litre bucket I stuff into the stowage compartment and keep a bailing scoop and large sponge jammed in the bucket. The bucket has a rope attached that I tie to the boat somewhere (again: to prevent losing it in case of a capsize). A bucket of that size is useful if a crew member has to take a leak underway, especially if it's blowing hard, you don't want to have to pee overboard in a dinghy! Last year (on the day after the video was taken) I did capsize when I gybed (intentionally) running downwind in a rainsquall and had fogotten to put the board down so that the cunningham/boom vang caught on it as I swung the boom over. After I'd righted the boat, working with the bucket and scoop had the boat dry within five minutes.
3) No idea, except that the plywood is terribly thin so I suspect that you'd have to reinforce around the opening. Mirrors with wooden gaffs usually stay on their sides for quite a while when capsized and there is normally relatively little water on board after they're back upright (most water runs out through the holes in the transom at deck level), so I am doubtful about the usefulness of self-bailers. Probably only makes sense if you intend to race in really severe weather frequently. Even in the conditions we encountered in 2011 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITt8cvMxXEY) when I had to beat upwind in a short steep chop for hours on the second day, the boat stayed fairly dry in spite of taking a bucketful over the gunwale when the centreboard grounded as I went about and I was knocked down before I could free the board, only just barely escaping a capsize (with the boat heeled, you don't realize how shallow the water is until you do try to tack). When I got home, there were roughly 3 litres in the cockpit. so think twice before you engage in the expense and bother.
BTW the black bag next to the centreboard case is a waterproof bag in which I store dry clothes, my day's rations, maps, camera etc and everything else that needs to be kept dry on a day's outing.

Have fun with your dinghy!

Gernot H.

I did not find it hard or terribly expensive to install a self bailer. It is useful only if you have a decenst wind; about 5 knots or more. The boat needs good speed to create the suction to draw out the water with a self bailer. If the wind is good and the water is rough one can get a fair amont of water in the bottom of the boat. Under these conditions I would not want to manually bail out the water and take my attention away from handling the Mirror. That is where a self bailer comes in handy, in my opinion.

Pete

I carry my Mirror on top of my car. I attached two long cross members to my roof racks. These have two advantages. 1. It makes it easier to put the Mirror on top of the car without touching the body of the car. This happens because the cross members jut out more from one side of the car than the other. 2. Then with the Mirror centered over the roof, I have room to tie down the mast, boom and gaff to the protruding cross member. I hope this helps. Sorry I don't have a photo of it. Perhaps in the summer when I next transport my Mirror I will remember to take a photo.

Pete

I tie the mast and gaff under the cross-members of the car roof rack as the boat sits too low to let me rest them on top of the cross-members.

Hope this helps.

Gernot H.

P.S. I stick the boom inside the car to save myself the trouble of tying three spars onto the rack. My cradle (launching trolley) is taken apart and also goes in the car, because I leave the back seats out anyway. If the weather is too foul for a tent, there's enough room to sleep in the car then.

you could do like Matt.
Just look our for low bridges, though ;-{)

(seen on Facebook)

Cheers,

Gernot H.

Haha no that was shortly after recovering it from the slip, I don't go flying down the motorway like that!

I store my dinghies outside so have a proper cover for it (www.sailregister.co.uk) and I keep that on while driving. Means I can use the dinghy for general surplus storage without worrying too much about things flying out :) Sometimes I tie the mast/boom/gaff loosely but then other times i don't even bother with that. I do rest both ends on a scrunched up old rag (old tshirts, towels etc will do fine) so it cushions the impact of all the road bumps and vibrations without damaging the woodwork.

Hope this helps.

Matt

GRP dinghy ready for transport (well, just arrived strictly speaking)
https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=204622CFE1162356!2659&authkey=!AGt...