Mirror - lightweight bream boat project

[silver]

Hi all,

I thought I'd post up some details of the project I am currently working on - converting a Mirror sailing dinghy into a powered bream boat.

I inherited this Mirror about 5 years ago, and originally it was used by the Canberra sea scouts. It was in fairly reasonably original condition. The Mirror is an absolute classic sailing dinghy, known for its robustness and reliability for such a small (11foot or 3.1m) boat. They were originally intended to be used as family dinghy, and possibly with a small 3-4hp motor. Although they are structurally sound, they are only made of 5mm ply, which concerned me given the amount of wood and rocks in typical bream angling environments.

The first thing I did was sheath the entire bottom in 200gm fibreglass cloth and epoxy resin, plus some on the inside as well. This cleared up any deterioration in the exterior ply, and gave me confidence it wouldn't sink - at least not straight away. This proved good enough for the first couple of years.

I used this boat off and on for a few years, but was hamstrung by the poor quality of the first couple of small second hand outboards I bought for it. They were generally in poor condition and unreliable starters, and I was limited by the thin transom to light weight motors. I bought a 54lb Watersnake for it to get away from the outboard issues and increase fishing utility, but then realised the weight of the battery could be problematic, as if there was any weakness in the hull it might cause cracking.

So this winter I resolved to finally get this boat working properly, and I've spent the last few months completely restoring the exterior of the hull, including putting in a reinforced transom, adding a proper casting seat, and creating a mounting for the electric and the battery. The photos show the end results.

[silver]

So the end result may not be the world's flashest boat, but the utility of it has proven amazing. I think of it as a larger Pro Angler or a car-topper equivalent, and I like the fact that I can fish any bream waters a larger boat can, and can stay out on the water all day in complete comfort (unlike my kayak), and can carry passengers in calm conditions.

Because the Mirror is designed with an internal deck, everything is at an ideal height for putting gear on, such as rods and tackle bags, and these decks operate as seats for passengers (and fish )

I just thought I'd share this project with fellow breamers, particularly those on a budget, to show that older small wooden boats can easily be converted into good serviceable casting platforms.

[Partizan Fk]

I love the boat mate its nice to see the craftsman ship thats gone into it.
Really unique.

[pipnosis]

Top stuff mate. Very interesting. How does she handle? Is it stable for standing and casting?

[HB tragic]

Classic renovation. I remember sailing these as a youngster and while I have seen them set up with a small outboard and used as a tender the option of a fishing craft is very clever. Nice job. Regards, HBt.

[manno]

Neat little rig mate, i like seeing these slightly left of center boat builds!

[oldbarboy]

Looks sweet, love to see timber boats on the water. Looks like all your effort payed off.

[silver]

thanks guys, I'll post a vid re the handling soon. The only real handling issue is the pointed bow, its too unstable to allow the raised foredeck to be used as a casting platform standing up - its fine to sit on. The rear cockpit area is more stable for standing, and I've recently widened the thwart so you can stand on it to get height as well.

Everything is removeable, so it can be used electric only, outboard only, or with both. I'm still working out the optimal weight distribution, it requires forethought , but so far no real issues.

The best fishing feature is the rotating central seat, its something I'd highly recommend over sitting low down on a thwart, plus you can turn and face the direction of the cast, so there's no constant twisting of the back like in a traditional small tinny.

Some further modifications are in the pipeline, including the replacement of that casting seat with a folder - I find you need back support when on the water for a long time. I'm also thinking of adding a flat false floor aft, which will improve gear storage and be more comfortable to stand in.

[4weightfanatic]

That is awesome . Cheers Pat.

[Yahoo]

Awesome boat