Mirror bow shapes

Kappie's picture
Submitted by Kappie on Wed, 03/20/2024 - 13:24

Forums:

I'm in the process of rebuilding my Mirror dinghy (63298) and have patched the rotten bits and remade the solid bits. I need advice on the fixing of the inner gunwale - I've glued them in solidly with thickened epoxy and am wondering whether it's still necessary to screw it in as well.
The original bow shapes were rotten to pieces and I need to make replacements with the right dimensions. I need the length of the bow shape along the gunwale as well as the measurement from the corner of the bow diagonally across to the widest part of the bow shape.
I'll appreciate any advice from the forum members.

PuffinInTegel's picture

PuffinInTegel

Wed, 04/03/2024 - 13:02

Welcome to the forum!
I don't think those "knee" shapes are specified in the rules. I copied the original ones when they delaminated after damp storage. The scale drawings on the Japanese site do not specify dimensions for the knees either, but you can roughly deduce their dimensions from those drawings. See https://mirrordiscussforum.org/Drupal_02/node/16 .

Cheers
Gernot H.

Kappie's picture

Kappie

Fri, 04/05/2024 - 14:02

Thanks for the info Gernot,
I've done a rough drawing of the dimension of the knees and to be absolutely sure I'll be tracing the knees of a standard Mirror at one of our local yacht clubs here in Cape Town.

Cheers,
Allan H

PuffinInTegel's picture

PuffinInTegel

Sat, 04/06/2024 - 23:03

That is the best solution, I suppose.
Will you be battening down the hatches for "winter" or will you sail all yera round?
I wish you success with the work.
Greetings from Berlin,
Gernot

Kappie's picture

Kappie

Sun, 04/07/2024 - 17:57

Thanks for the good wishes, Gernot.
It has taken me quite some time to transform this Mirror from the rotten hulk that she was but I'm getting close now - still a lot of sanding, painting and varnishing to do and yes, I shall be taking my first sail this winter, mainly because there will be fewer spectators around to see me making a fool of myself!

PuffinInTegel's picture

PuffinInTegel

Sun, 04/21/2024 - 13:24

How are things progressing?
In your latitudes, "Winter" is not quite like what we feel it to be here in Europe, I suppose.
When you say "first sail", does that mean you are a novice, or just your first time out in this Mirror dinghy?
When I bought "Puffin", I'd not sailed for years and never in such a little dinghy. We (2 adults and 3 smallish children) launched her at Rudyard reservoir (famous from the Top Gear episode with the Mirror-rigged Triumph Herald) and all climbed aboard. I was a little uneasy about how fragile she appeared to be but figured out she'd survive. She has, for 38-odd years now, but after the kids got too big and we bought the 5.2 m plastic daysailer, she was "demoted" to my private toy. As you may have seen from my stories on the "Documents" page, we have had quite a few enjoyable experiences together since then.
Cheers,
Gernot H.