Mirage 5.5

[deanmc]

I own one of these Mirage 5.5 boats built in Gainesville Florida, I believe. it''s is a shorter version of the Quebec based Mirage design. Very interested in contacting anyone else who has/ or had one of these boats. Great liitle boat with a lot of life... fun to single hand and still roomy enough as a day sailer/overnighter with my kids!

[Jeff_H]

Hi Dean

I lived in Gainesville (I went to UofFl Architecture Dept) where these boats were built. I would occationally visit the factory which was a surprisingly small and simple facility.

They bear no relationship to the Canadian Mirages. The Florida marages were a Bruce Kelley design. The Canadian Mairages were, Bruce Farr, Bruce Kirby and Bob Perry designs.

Your boat was designed as a MORC racer and was slightly modified for production to be a bit more of a cruiser as well. I believe that the proptype had a dagger board but the production boats had swing keels.

I have only sailed on one of these briefly (beer can race and the wind died so the race was cancelled.) The guy had a very tough time sailing up to his rating but I didn''t have enough time on board to figure out why.

What are you trying to find out?

regards
Jeff

[Jeff_H]

Hi Dean

I lived in Gainesville (I went to UofFl Architecture Dept) where these boats were built. I would occationally visit the factory which was a surprisingly small and simple facility.

They bear no relationship to the Canadian Mirages. The Florida Mirages were a Bruce Kelley design. The Canadian Mirages were, Bruce Farr, Bruce Kirby and Bob Perry designs.

Your boat was designed as a MORC racer and was slightly modified for production to be a bit more of a cruiser as well. I believe that the proptype had a dagger board but the production boats had swing keels.

I have only sailed on one of these briefly (beer can race and the wind died so the race was cancelled.) The guy had a very tough time sailing up to his rating but I didn''t have enough time on board to figure out why.

What are you trying to find out?

Regards
Jeff

[deanmc]

Hi Jeff,
Thanks for your response. While I''m sure you are right that the Gainesville Mirage‘s have no real connection with the Quebec Mirage''s they do bear a striking resemblance. The way the Fore Deck rounds down from the cabin hatch to the bow is remarkably similar in the two boats.

What I''m looking for is to connect with current/past owners of the same boat to swap ideas about modifications/learn about their experiences and just generally get a better knowledge of the boat.

I seem to be the only Canadian owner of one of these – I actually bought it second hand from a boat yard in Pensacola while visiting there. I expect there are more of these boats (circa 1984) in Florida or adjacent states.

Good to hear from you. Cheers, Dean

[DonNewhouse]

Hello. My wife and I owned a 1978 Mirage 5.5 for one sailing season. We bought it because of all the space below decks. Our sailing ground is the Gulf of Mexico, and the boat sailed well in seas up to five feet. But as a camper it was a bust. We moved up to a Catalina 22, and we like it just fine. Good sailing, Don