The Miracle is a small

dinghy A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed by a larger vessel for use as a tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they differ from sailing dinghies, which ...

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

popularized in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, and designed by Jack Holt — one of the last for the well-known designer. The Miracle design represented the culmination of lessons learned from his many previous designs. Working in conjunction with Barry Read, Jack Holt developed the slot and glue method of constructing Miracles, which enabled some boats to be built from kits even by inexperienced amateurs. The first Miracle dinghies were built and launched in 1975. Since then, the Miracle's success grew strongly, and sail numbers today exceed 4,121. The Miracle is a forgiving and versatile sailing dinghy, ideal for beginners or experts, children and adults alike. There is a class association based in the UK, with several active fleets around the country. The Miracle was supplied initially as a

plywood Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...

kit and designed for home building, based on the slot and glue method of construction. As a result, many Miracles were built by enthusiasts. Subsequently, professionally assembled Miracles were built by Bell Woodworking, who were the sole source of kits, and a few by other professional builders. Build quality of the commercially built craft was reportedly very good, and is supported by the fact that many older examples have survived. Most Miracles are made of wood. In the early 1990s, a composite version of the Miracle was developed, made from a combination of a

glass-reinforced plastic Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...

(GRP) hull and

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

en deck. Shortly after that, a boat made entirely of GRP was then produced, only a few of these remain, and they still attract good prices. In 1997, plans became available so that the dinghy could be produced as a home build again.

References

External links

Classic Boat guide to the Miracle Dinghy Class

Official Miracle Dinghy Class Association Website

GoSail.co.uk: Introduction to the Miracle

Miracle Dinghy Forum
{{Sailing Dinghies and Skiffs Dinghies Boats designed by Jack Holt 1970s sailboat type designs