Mirror dinghy lovingly restored and documented on video

Restoring an end-of-season eBay bargain Mirror © Corin Nelson-Smith

We have received a great video of a Mirror dinghy restoration from 18 year old Corin, who sails on Chichester Harbour. Here is his story...

Having owned and sailed the same 1971 Mirror Dinghy since I was 11 years old, and spent every spring lovingly bringing back her paintwork and varnish to gleaming condition, I thought I had become fairly proficient at maintaining a wooden dinghy, and it was about time I tackled something a bit more in-depth. 

I spotted an end-of-season bargain Mirror on eBay that needed quite a bit of work doing to bring her back to her former glory, but, crucially for me, didn't have any rot. I then worked on her gradually, after school and at weekends as a practical distraction from the world of academia.

As I am interested in working in the marine industry, and particularly the video side of things (having been inspired by individuals such as Nick Burnham of Aquaholic fame), I decided to document the whole process and produce a YouTube video that will hopefully inspire other Mirror owners. 

As the situation surrounding COVID-19 has cut my final year of sixth form short, it has given me more free time to finish the project I started back in September 2019, and at long last, after eight months of work, she is complete. 

Check out Corin's YouTube channel for other videos, such as building a coracle!