Prior to the introduction of 'low stretch' ropes made from kevlar, dyneema/Spectra or vectran etc. in the late 1980s & 90s, ropes were either natural fibre, such as hemp & cotton (e.g. as supplied with the kit), or polyester etc. and used to stretch an annoying amount when put under tension. Pre-stretched polyester ropes were better, but would still stretch more than you wanted. The longer the length of rope under tension, the more it would stretch. There were only a few ways of minimizing the problem:
In the early years Mirrors were built down to a price - £63.11s cash for a complete boat kit in the 60s. Nothing wrong with that approach, the Daily Mirror wanted to make the boat accessable to the general public, so a low price point was important. This approach carried on into the 80s. The downside is that, the experience of sailing the boat was not as good as it might have been, had it been equipped to a higher standard.
This basic equipping needs to be born in mind as a lot of older Mirrors come on the market with some of these low cost features. I'm going to outline the standard Mirror equipment level (from the early 60's into the 80s).
And of course
It's not surprising that Bell Woodworking found it worthwhile to sell all manner of optional extra fittings, and that what could be fitted was strictly controlled by the class rules.
If you would like to try out for a place in the NYDS - South this winter you are required to attend the training at Itchenor SC this coming weekend 12/13 Oct. Training is with Izzy Fitzgerald & Chris Oneill who will also be coaching the squad over the winter. Training starts at 9.30 on Saturday. If you have not yet applied please fill in these application forms.
The dates for the NDYS Squad training are as follows:
2 or 3 Nov 2013 RYA Land Day (for any sailors under the age of 14 on the 31st Dec 2013) (TBC)
16/17 Nov 2013 Itchenor SC
14/15 Dec 2013 Venue (tbc)
18/19 Jan 2014 Itchenor SC
08/09 Feb 2014 Datchet Water SC
08/09 Mar 2014 Itchenor SC
22/23 Mar 2014 Carsington SC
On Saturday 9th March some Mirror squad sailors and their willing parents took South Staffs Sailing Club up on their kind offer of some team racing. Four teams: Mirror youth, Mirror parents, South Staffs youth and South Staffs adults, each competed in six close races in which everyone had to remember and push the rules.