The Mirror 16 is a class of

sailing dinghy Dinghy sailing is the activity of sailing small boats by using five essential controls: * the sails * the foils (i.e. the daggerboard or centreboard and rudder and sometimes lifting foils as found on the Moth) * the trim (forward/rear angle o ...

which was sponsored by the

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

newspaper in 1963 and the design project was headed by Jack Holt. Its design was based upon the easy to construct

stitch and glue Stitch and glue is a simple boat building method which uses plywood panels temporarily stitched together, typically with wire or zip-ties, and glued together permanently with epoxy resin. This type of construction can eliminate much of the need f ...

principle introduced by

Barry Bucknell Robert "Barry" Barraby Bucknell (26 January 1912, Hampstead, London – 21 February 2003, St Mawes, Cornwall, aged 91) was an English TV presenter who popularised Do It Yourself (DIY) in the United Kingdom. Bucknell was educated at the Wi ...

for the Mirror 11

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 ...

. The Mirror 16 was designed for the racing enthusiast and also the camping/potterer dinghy sailor. The concept was a relatively light dinghy with a large sail area that could easily be reefed. The main sail was designed for slab reefing and the large genoa had roller reefing. The Mirror 16, like the Mirror 11, was produced with distinctive red sails. The Mirror 16 was faster than the

Proctor Proctor (a variant of ''procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: * In law, a proctor is a historical class of lawye ...

-designed Wayfarer.

Vital statistics

* LOA 16ft * Beam 6ft * Hull draft 6ins * Sail area; Main , Genoa , Spinnaker . * Weight 260 lbs. There were no plans and boats were built from kits provided by Bell Woodworking Company, the parts being made from templates. Bell Woodworking Company no longer exists and the templates have been lost. Currently a small group of enthusiasts are trying to recreate the design templates. The Mirror 16 did not achieve the popularity of the other Mirror Classes. Only about 600 were built. The hull, made from 5mm plywood, was adequate but not strong enough to take punishment such as grounding on hard surfaces. Very few survive today since most have suffered from rot. About 30 boats are known to have survived some in the UK and others in Canada, US, and Australia. The group keep in contact by a list currently maintained by Barrie Skelcher. {{Sailing dinghies and skiffs Dinghies Boats designed by Jack Holt