Thread: Mirror to Motor

I'm not sure how to answer your questions. The bow is rising because of weight, which you've figured out, but also because of a dynamic reaction between the boat and the on coming rush of water. If you remove as much as you suggest, you'll do a number of things to the boat, some okay, some not so much.

First the good stuff. Chopping off the butt of the butt will help flatten out her "run" which will help settle the boat down at the bow. You'll also be in a slightly wider portion of the boat which will offer more elbow room and comfort.

Now the not so good. You'll lose a fair amount of hull volume, in the place it's most important as a powerboat. She'll settle comparatively deeper at the stern as a result.

To counteract the bow up trim, have you tried to trim the motor all the way in? This will force the bow down and at the speeds a 2 HP engine is going to offer, not a big issue. The transom may be too upright for you to get enough inward trim angle, but a few wedges under the transom bracket, so the thrust line is driving the boat down would solve the problem. This is what I'd try before hacking up the back of the boat.

You still could move the steering station forward and use a "stick" steering setup. This is vertical stick, rather then a tiller and a simple pulley and cable system is easy to arrange. This would place the "helm" anywhere you want, you could face forward without having to twist around to hold a tiller and weight placement would be better. Also one of those ventilation plate wings can help hold the bow down too. Honestly, I'd try some of the simple stuff first before you have a go with the reciprocating saw.

This is the kind of information that I am after.

To answer you first question, yes I did try triming the motor in and it did make some difference but not a lot.

I have also tried a hydrofoil set up on the outboard which did very little at all. And I've even tried plates on the transom of the mirror similar to the cav plates on a speed boat but that too was a fruitless exercise.

The other thought I had was not removing the entire transom but instead removing the middle section of the original transom and hull, sealing off the sections on either side and building a second transom about 50 - 75cm in thus making two pod either side of the outboard. The two pods on either side of the outboard would then provide floation to help support the weight of the outboard and the fat guy in the boat. I ruled this out as it seemed like a lot more effort than the old boat was worth.

The basic problem is the shape of the bottom. This boat has sweeping chines and a good bit of rocker, both bad for your powerboat needs, but fine for sailing or rowing.

If you want to build something, flatten out the deadrise and rocker aft of midship. This will permit her to hold you and the motor up and prevent the boat from squatting some much when you lean on the throttle.

These would be in the form of big wedges on each side of the bottom, starting as a feather edge around midship and increasing in thickness.

The top sketch is as a sailboat, the lower the same hull as a powerboat with modest HP (like you have).

Would it be possible to build a false bottom on the outside of the original hull and straighten the line of the chines?

Or maybe I should just build a Bolger designed 8ft Skimmer like I was originally going to do before I bought the mirror. If I take that option the wife will not be happy.............my place looks like a boat yard already.

Here another thought I just had (I know, I think too much). Anyway, I have a half completed nymph in the roof of my shed (at least I think its a nymph). It got given to me by an elderly lady when her husband passed away. She didn't know what it was but thought it was a sail boat because her late husband loved sail boats so having view a few plans and boats on the net I concluded it was a nymph.

Its just a shell at the moment so would I be better off finishing it off as a dinghy? Or would the the chines on the Nymph be too rounded as well. Maybe hold off on comments until I post a picture of it. I'll need to get it out of the shed roof tomorrow and take some pictures. I've alway thought it might be a bit unstable for my needs. I plan on using it for fishing, yabbying and duck hunting.

If it's a Bolger 'Nymph" then it would have even more rocker than the Mirror.
Unlikely to be an improvement under power.

Just thinking about the steering problems sitting forwards in the Mirror. (It's 30 years
since I last sat in one)
Is the issue is that it wants to slide sideways rather than go where it is pointed ?

If so, has your Mirror got a skeg ? I seem to recall the older ones did. If not, adding
one might help.

Another option might be to offset the donk, use the original rudder for cruising steerage, and slide aft to manhandle the engine whilst manoevering.

Or just back off the power, accept that the displacement hull speed is about 3kts,
and that pushing it harder will just make it grumpy.

cheers
AJ

I have a "device" you can attach to the bottom of your boat that will keep the bow from rising, increase your speed, improve your efficiency and help prevent the stern from squatting.

I've tested it on three widely different craft, the second was quite similar to your little boat. All have shown improvements across the board.

Drop me an email and I'll bring you up to speed. It'll cost you a case of beer, with the promise you'll posts results here on the board. The best part is you don't have to chop of any portions of your boat.