Design and Construction
The Mirage 29 has a solid fiberglass hull, and the deck follows the yard’s conventional solid fiberglass practice. Below the waterline, she carries a lead-ballasted fin keel and a spade rudder.
She displaces 6,800 pounds, including 2,300 pounds of ballast. Her overall beam is 10.5 feet, while her waterline length is 24.25 feet. With a length-to-beam ratio of 2.76, she is notably beamy for a boat of her size. That width gives her considerably more interior room than many similar sailboats; a period comparison ranked her as roomier than 82% of comparable designs.
A ballast-to-displacement ratio of 33.82 and a capsize screening figure of 2.22 place her firmly in the cruising camp rather than the racing one. Her theoretical hull speed is 6.6 knots. An immersion rate of about 886 pounds per inch means she sits heavily for her length when loaded.
Rig and Sail Plan
The Mirage 29 is a masthead sloop with 400 square feet of sail area. Her sail-area-to-displacement ratio is 17.83, a moderate figure consistent with her cruising brief.
For recommissioning or replacing worn running rigging, the specified line lengths and diameters are useful. The mainsail, jib/genoa, and spinnaker halyards each require 25.7 meters (84.2 feet) of 8 mm line. The jib and genoa sheets are 8.8 meters (29 feet), while the mainsheet is 22.1 meters (72.5 feet); all use 10 mm line.
The spinnaker sheets are 19.4 meters (63.8 feet). The cunningham, kicking strap, and clew outhaul use 8 mm line in lengths of 2.9, 5.8, and 5.8 meters, respectively.
Accommodations and Cruising Character
Harlé’s layout exchanges the fine entries and narrow topsides of earlier performance cruisers for a wide, flat sectional form that maximizes living space below. The finding that she is roomier than 82% of similar designs makes the intention clear: this is a boat designed as much for living aboard at anchor or in a marina slip as for sailing hard.
Her comfort ratio of 17.86 further reflects an emphasis on settled motion and load-carrying rather than sparkling acceleration to windward. Her comfort-oriented ratios suit a couple or small family coastal program.
Verdict
The Mirage 29 is a pragmatic Harlé pocket cruiser: beamy, solidly built in single-skin fiberglass, and designed for interior volume and settled cruising rather than race-circuit speed. Her documented rig dimensions simplify ordering replacement lines, while her proportions and comfort-oriented ratios support her role as a roomy coastal cruiser.
Pros
- Exceptionally roomy for her length, with more interior space than 82% of comparable designs
- Solid fiberglass hull and deck, with lead ballast
- Fully documented rigging lengths and diameters for straightforward maintenance
Cons
- Moderate sail-area-to-displacement ratio limits light-air performance
- Heavy immersion rate means she loads deeply when provisioned
