Mirage 26/27/2700/28 Info required

[NickRobinson]

Hi All

I'm quite enjoying being boatless and reading ads for Magna's replacement.

Cobras, Sabres, Snapdragons, Sadlers etc.

As you may guess, it's a 26/30 bilge keel yacht, mutli-cylinder engine, we seek, less (much?) than 10k.

Mirage yachts appear in this slot and we have viewed some and been quite impressed.

However, each owner believes theirs, 26/27/2700/28, is better than the others! So, any advice, insights? (I've been on owner's sites, still not sure.)

Regards

Nick

 

[johnlilley]

Hi there
from my experience the most difficult problem other than the normal issues affecting all GRP is the cored deck which can start to give serious money swallowing problems.
Otherwise generally OK.Perhaps get this checked before making an offer. it is not difficult to test yourself initially, some PDF articles on cored decks on my website.

A start!


John Lilley

 

[Seajet]

Cored decks are pretty standard, and any issues would be down to a particular boat.

However I imagine the OP is just browsing / daydreaming if mentioning Snapdragons and Sadlers in the same sentence !

I helped a Mirage 28 out from under a concrete bridge after the October '87 Hurricane; the few yards to the beach was certainly her last trip, but I think she stood that test as well as any boat could have; with the mast long gone and big cracks in the hull, I was both surprised and impressed when the engine started.

I met a couple in Jersey who came in after a long sail ( and I mean long, weeks at sea, I forget where from ) and been hit by lightning on the final leg into St Helier, instruments fried but the boat was OK.

I think they're reasonable boats which do what they're intended for, neither over or under-built, quite reasonable performance for passage making if not setting the world on fire; not a bad boat if the price suits.

 

[ghostlymoron]

Mirage 28 good accomodation and weatherly boat. Mine was a bilge keeler. Reasonable performance. no real criticisms. A friend owns a 26 which is very similar below but shorter cockpit - he claims it is faster than a 28. Mirage 27 and 2700 are not from the same stable or designer. I believe they were built by Leisure and have a transom hung rudder. Mirages are well built and have a substantial layup. I'm not aware of any problems with deck strength and having drilled through mine did not encounter any balsa core. They are generally priced in te range £8k - £17k depending on equipment and condition. The 26 is currently for sale. PM me if you are interested and I'll pass on the details.
A copy of a review is on my photobucket site.

 

[Elessar]

Hi All

I'm quite enjoying being boatless and reading ads for Magna's replacement.

Cobras, Sabres, Snapdragons, Sadlers etc.

As you may guess, it's a 26/30 bilge keel yacht, mutli-cylinder engine, we seek, less (much?) than 10k.

Mirage yachts appear in this slot and we have viewed some and been quite impressed.

However, each owner believes theirs, 26/27/2700/28, is better than the others! So, any advice, insights? (I've been on owner's sites, still not sure.)

Regards

Nick

Thames Marine, who made the Mirage hulls, sold many (or maybe all??) as sailaways for home/local yard completion. [edit - answered in article above which wasn't there when I wrote this!!]

I used to sail one that was fitted out internally in Barry, south Wales. The interior woodwork was absolutely superb, done by an old school craftsman of the highest order.

The point is they will all be more different that just age/condition might suggest. The number and model is almost irrelevant, far more important is the original finish and current condition.

Lots of them have single cylinder donks, the type you can actually start with a decompression lever and starting handle

 

[Elessar]

that looks like a decca at the nav table. With a compass mounted just under what I think is the VHF?

And the depth sounder is on the forward bulkhead.

Weird!

 

[davidbfox]

Class association is www.snapdragonmirage.org.uk.

The tech officer is very helpful but only available by phone.

 

[NickRobinson]

Your not my ex are you?

"However I imagine the OP is just browsing / daydreaming if mentioning Snapdragons and Sadlers in the same sentence !"

A day-dreamer replies... I've viewed four, from Chi to Harlech, two more pending. I've already made a final offer on one which was politely declined, such is browsing.

I included Snappies as they were on my list at the start. Research ongoing has shown them to be rather pedestrian, unlike our posts.

Thanks for the other info-

Nick

 

[NickRobinson]

Thanks all!

I did know about the balsa cores, I posted about it some weeks back.

Is the 27 made by a completely different business or is it a stable-mate of the 26/28?

Again, thanks and keep it coming-

Nick

 

[dt4134]

There's a 2700 owner posts on here, so maybe he'll be along to give his experiences.

To me they seem well built. Very good accommodation for their size. You'd not take one out to race.

 

[10tuskar]

Have sailed the 28, 29 extensively back in the 80-90's and owned a 30CC. the 28 was replaced by the 29 and it was made and fitted out by Thames Marine, Boating Scene took over around 1986 ish renamed the 29 and called it a 30.5 - they counted the rudder in the length. My 30cc was 1982 and was a different boat. All had a voluminous hulls with good accommodation - the 26, 28 and 30cc were made for the Greek charter market. The 28 engine bay is small by 1980 standards and not many (if any) two cylinder engines fit re-engining can be a issue if you want more power. The 29 and 2700 was much improved, had a bigger cockpit, full standing headroom, bigger engine compartment, fatter arse, but was made for private owners so had a higher spec.

Very strong hulls able to take the ground. Hit a harbour wall with one and they will give you a bill for damaging the wall.

Possibly the best sailing bilge/twin keeler at the time.

The 2700 is a small version of the 29

Condition is everything with these boats get a good one and you wont be disappointed.

I never had any problems replacing a Yanmar YSM12 with a Yanmar 2GM20F on my Mirage 28 MK11.
Propeller changed. Speed increased to 7Knots.