Just bought Mirror Dinghy. What to wear whilst sailing it etc...

Even Chance

Even Chance

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Just bought a Mirror Dinghy to play with during the summer months up here in North Scotland and have a wee question.

I normally sail my E-Boat, or my old classic clinker dinghy, which I just sail dressed normally, and use my auto-inflate lifejacket as usual.

Can I use the Mirror in the same clothing? I dont fancy a wetsuit, and dont plan on dunking myself in the wet stuff. I can sail well, and my reactions are quite fast. I wont be sailing in heavy wind speeds, just some pottering. Do I have to go and buy a flotation vest? The Mirror only cost me £50, and Im a proper tight ersed Scot! lol
What are my chances of capsizing the thing anyway?

Thanks for the helpful advice in advance folks, cos I know the answers are oot there.....;)
 
Don't kid yourself you won't ever capsize. Unless you're determined never to sail unless it blows a rock-steady F2, the day will come when she rolls over.

Smart to get yourself a buoyancy-aid, if you don't want your auto-inflation jacket 'going off'. Don't go to sea without some form of personal buoyancy.

Are you too tight to acquire some oars for the Mirror? Not being offensive, I hope. But if you want to sail the dinghy in regular clothes, and minimizing the probability of capsize, it's worth having the option to furl the sails and go home 'under power' when things get boisterous. Mirrors row rather well...easily, anyway. :)
 
She has oars with her. Theres no way Im sailing in a blow though. This is about fun, not speed! (it is a mirror after all!) I also have a wee 1.2HP Jonson colt outboard I can keep on her stern if thats any use? I wont be going far, just round the harbour and out into the sheltered bay a wee bit kind of thing. And any answer is a good one by the way, no offense taken here by anyone. I seek the truth!
 
I reckon if the chance of capsize is made small by your good sense and restraint, then wear your shore-clothes, and auto-inflating jacket for safety's sake - although it's most unlikely ever to be needed, or inflated without good cause. I've seen Mirrors capsized, but usually by lightweight kiddie-crews in strongish breezes.

I wish there were decent £50 dinghies for sale on the South Coast! Good luck!
 
Depends largely on the weather and conditions in which you want to sail. I have a small dinghy very similar to a Mirror and I always wear a buoyancy aid and never a lifejacket on a boat of this size. If you do go in, the last thing you want is an inflated lifejacket impeding your capsize recovery and subsequent sailing.

Now consider launching & landing. Very difficult to do without getting your feet wet, even in wellies and I'm not talking about launching off the trolley but just setting off/coming ashore. So you really are better with wetsuit boots and leg wear that will be Ok if it gets wet.

In a dinghy of this size, in warm summer conditions, I usually wear a thermal Tshirt/shorts/fleece top with lightweight windproofs consisting of a canoeing type cagoule and unlined sailing hifits to hand in case it gets cooler. Anything else, I tend to wear a wetsuit and I have a couple of these. Easiest to put on is the shortie - short arms/short legs but keeps the body core warm again worn with the windproofs. In cooler/windier conditions, then I use a full wetsuit, often with the windproofs over the top to protect the wetsuit from being damaged on the fittings.

Hope this helps
 
I used to sail my Mirror wearing plimsoles, cotton shorts, cheap nylon rain trousers, t-shirt and woolly jumper, and a foam buoyancy aid. The shorts and waterproof trouser combo was to keep the wind off without soaking up lots of water when wading.

That was the very late 80s, early 90s, when I was 7 to about 13 or so. I guess wetsuits are probably more common now, but the dinghy and the sea haven't changed in the meantime.

Pete
 
Cheers for the info folks. Rain trousers are a lot better than jeans, and I have a pair anyway.
Launching is easy enough. I can carry her down the pontoons onto the marina and just pop her in. I have another wee dinghy I built for my son that I launch this way. Its a very stable flat bottomed 10 foot long lug rigged boat with a 6mm steel centerboard. VERY stable for teaching him how to sail, but also desperately slow due to the reduced sail area. I just wear my normal clothes and a non auto-inflate lifejacket when on it with him. The chances of it going over are virtually nil though, as I designed it that way. It will self-right.
The Mirror was purchased as the next step in the learning ladder for him, but I want a go as well as he is only 6 and it will be a good few years before he gets to sail it himself! His lifejacket is a Baltic fixed flotation type, so no worries there.
 
It's safe to assume that your bottom half will get wet at least to the knee, so shorts and pumps/crocks/short wellies work.

For the top a T shirt and jumper/fleece with a windproof/waterproof if it's cool enough.

A buoyancy aid too, that keeps the wind off.

The oars will get in the way if you are sailing, use a paddle, it should be enough to get you ashore if the rig or wind breaks.

Don't be put off by a bit of breeze either, a planing Mirror with spray flying everywhere induces a big silly grin, right up to the time the rudder breaks.
 
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Years ago I alwys admired the man who appeared at the yacht club every now and then with his dog,just at the right time ,tide wise, to step aboard his Lymington Scow with his dog. dressed with sartorial elegance non of these colourd waterproofs and stuff.He set sail with minimum fuss and the dog peered over the gunwhale content.And as always he arrived back at the correct time and he sailed in quite rough weather but always seemed in control as if he was off to the office.
 
Nice one! Planing is cool, but a wee bit scary! I'll maybe keep that for the inflatable tender!
I had my old clinker dinghy planing once on a broad reach. The helm went light and off she flew. I keiched myself!
I like the paddle idea. I have one kept on the E-Boat "just in case". I can use that.
 
Hmm. I'd like to agree, but I've always found a paddle remarkably useless, compared with oars. I won a rowing race in a Mirror thirty years ago; for me it performed at least as well as non-sailing tenders I'd rowed. A paddle is more compact, but the power and steering it allows aren't a fraction as good as oars.

Here's a mostly photographic account of a cruise by Mirror...shows how much kit fits aboard, including the oars, which aren't noticeably in the singlehander's way: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3nn3wHx9D8
 
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My mirror was a great boat to row - very comfortable rowing position. By contrast the Wanderer which I had later was horrible - the thwart was in the wrong place for the rowlocks - or vice versa.

If it's a wooden mirror be careful not to put your foot through the floor. Mine died that way; still sailed it back to shore though :)
 
Reminds me of a plywood pram dinghy my family acquired when we bought a house by the sea, many decades ago...the 7'6" boat was standing on its transom, against a tree...and one day when the wind blew, it fell over, and was holed by the pointy head-gear of a garden gnome. :rolleyes:
 
In my Heron (same thing with a pointy front) I wore a shirt and shorts.


Heron_8.jpg



But when I put the rig on my 9ft tender I must admit I felt safer with a buoyancy aid.


tendersail05.jpg



​

In my 13ft clinker dinghy I never wore a buoyancy aid and in the Solo I always wore one.

SerendipityfromPatriot.jpg




Capsize05.jpg
 
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Lakesailor said:
In my Heron (same thing with a pointy front) I wore a shirt and shorts.
Click to expand...

Great pictures, Lakey. Always loved the little Heron.

prv said:
:D
That's a hell of a story if anyone were to ever ask about the patch. "Oh yes, that's where she was holed by a garden gnome" :D
Click to expand...

Like many of my dreams, the dinghy's use was strangled by circumstances; in my command the boat never sailed outside our garden pond, all shores of which were visible at the same time...:rolleyes:
 
The great cartoonist Giles summed up the difference between Cruising & dinghy sailing for me with Auntie Vera & Gran standing on the quayside waving the family off in a cruising yacht with the call "Don't get your feet wet".

In a dinghy, you have no option but to get your feet wet. I very seldom capsize, but always anticipate that I might. I have to wade into the water to get the boat (Laser, Solo, 14' cat, Heron, Mirror or GP14) off the trailer & set up. I like a little centreboard & rudder down before getting in to guarantee steerage off the beach. So, in summer, shorts & t-shirt & Bouancy aid so I have time to relax & think before sorting out a capsize. In Spring/ Autumn I use a wetsuit jacket & waterporrof trousers (mainly to cut down wind chill). Leave all phones, cameras & non-waterproof watches ashore.

You may not plan to capsize, & a Mirror is quite hard to capsize, but if it does happen, then being in shore clothes turns it from a minor mishap to a serious problem. It is harder to swim, you have no extra bouyancy so must keep swimming to stay afloat, once you do get everything sorted out you will be much more exhausted & cold & wet with the possibilty of serious windchill. Like all risks, it is a matter of probability & consequence, the probability may be low but the consequences are quite severe.

How much hassle is it to have shorts & T-shirt with a cag & waterproof trousers plus BA? You can wear the t-shirt & shorts & throw the rest in the dinghy. If you don't get wet, no problem, but if you do then the waterproofs will help protect the car seats as you drive home.
 
aquaplane said:
Don't be put off by a bit of breeze either, a planing Mirror with spray flying everywhere induces a big silly grin, right up to the time the rudder breaks.
Click to expand...

Rudder should never break provided
- keep the boat level (heeling is slow as well as unbalanced), AND
- replace the elastic rudder downhaul with a rope one (essential mod hopefully already done)

Incidentally, golden rule of mirror sailing (assuming the old gunter rig) is also to never attach the bottom of the sail (tack downhaul or clew out haul) until after the halyard has been pulled up fully and sweated bar tight. Then downhaul then attach out haul. Otherwise you get the dreaded sag in the gunter - and sore head due to low boom.

Oh and agree with others, get a dinghy buoyancy aid (from eBay?) as gas inflatable a real liability
 
OP...only you can answer your question. It depends how happy you are explaining to potential rescuers why you are wearing what you are wearing, or how long you think you can stay in cold water in normal clothes.

With respect, if planing in a mirror is a bit scary and you need to ask the forum how likely you are to put it in the drink, you probably need to be wearing a BA.

TBH I'd only ever not wear a wetsuit in a dinghy in the UK on a real scorcher...it's far more comfy and gives more padding than wet clothes! You could also try some of the non-wetsuit summer dinghy clothing such as that made by Rooster...however unless you find some second hand it will cost you many more times what you paid for your boat.

Modern wetsuits are infinitely more comfy and flattering than old designs, and with players such as decathlon and even Sainsburys, very cheap too...
 
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