The Mirage 26 design was replaced in production in 1982 by the Perry-designed Mirage 27, which has a reverse transom and inboard-mounted rudder.[1][4]
Design
The Mirage 26 is a small recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fibreglass. It has a masthead sloop rig, a transom-hung rudder and a fixed fin keel. It displaces 4,770 lb (2,164 kg) and carries 2,050 lb (930 kg) of lead ballast.[1][2][4]
The boat has a draft of 4.25 ft (1.30 m) with the standard keel fitted.[1][4]
The boat has a PHRF racing average handicap of 210 with a high of 198 and low of 225. It has a hull speed of 6.24 kn (11.56 km/h).[2][4]
Operational history
In a review Michael McGoldrick wrote, "these are good looking boats with a sensible and comfortable interior. The Mirage 26 was the first of these two models to be built. It had a quasi transom mounted rudder (there is small cutout in the transom to accommodate the rudder). The Mirage 26 was replaced by the 27 foot model, which has a reverse transom and an inboard rudder. Except for the addition of the reverse transom on the Mirage 27, the line drawings for these two boats are almost identical in every other respect. The 26 foot model tends to be powered by the gasoline OMC saildrive, while some of the 27s come with a small diesel. Because of its longer waterline, the Mirage 27 is the faster of the two boats."[6]
