Which sailing dinghy

[VicS]

For the O.P. I owned a Mirror this summer in order to teach my 10 year old twins, building on the RYA course they did in Optimists. They loved the course and being on their own in Optimists. The trouble with the Mirror was not being able to easily reef it. Mainsail rolled around the boom and the height was too low. Fitting some sort of slab reefing would be so much better. But still it would have seemed quite a big boat for two 10 year olds (and no adult). I sold the Mirror (for what I paid) because as a wooden boat I did not want it outside over winter, and the boys never bonded with the Mirror. They would vote for Optimists and independence and I would vote for the RYA training for making sailing fun. Really depends on your kids' attitude to getting wet etc and if you can avoid sounding stressed when they get things wrong....
Personally I like family sailing in a Wayfarer........

IIRC the very early Mirrors did have reefing points in the mainsail

 

[Avocet]

I was trying to remember what I used to lash them together. A couple of bits of light cordage I guess or sail ties.

On the Mirror the I use the main-sheet to stop it swinging about excessively. The boom and gaff are not what you'd call heavy anyway

With the boat clear you can sit down to row, paddle or outboard so that helps to keep it stable.

Thanks Vic, I'll definitely give that a try!

 

[seumask]

If you can I suggest strongly that you look for a Gull dinghy. Same length as a mirror, go for a GRP MKIII, more room in them, you dont bang your head on the boom regularly like a mirror, lots more seating options, ie can take two adults and two young ones easily, easily reefed and it wont require constant wooden boat maintenance as most older mirrors do. We got our old mark III for £500 and it gets more use than all our other dinghys, had it for over 5 years now, all the family of four can sail it in pretty much any combination.

 

[Greenheart]

A pal of mine at school, sailed a Gull. I think I looked down at him for it, having my own new Topper. But if he still has the Gull, he'll have had the last laugh. Very nice, solid, practical 'mini-Wayfarers'. It is another Ian Proctor design.

This link shows some of the boat if you stay with it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX0rvWbNy1U

Here, too, though the camera-man appears to have had a liquid lunch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6bn4AiAr1E&feature=related


Certainly no ply to go soft, and a bermudan rig. Much less likely to find other similar boats to race with, though. It's rated as slightly quicker than a Mirror.