Mirage 33 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

Perry's efficient fin-and-spade configuration gives the 33 a bolted lead fin keel drawing five feet and an internally mounted spade rudder, paired with a hull that is solid fiberglass below and a balsa-cored deck glued and bolted to the hull under an aluminum toe rail. The deck carries a non-skid gel coat across its entire surface, and the coach roof wears traditional teak railings with six closed port windows and two hatches. Chainplates are attached to the interior bulkhead, keeping them out of the weather and easy to inspect. Period surveying found the deck showing its age with cracking and grazing but solid, with little complaint of soft spots or delamination anchor. One owner's report describes a 1983-hull example with balsa coring below the waterline, a reminder that not every hull matches the standard solid layup description.

Rig and Handling

The 33 is a masthead sloop with a deck-stepped single-spreader mast and a standard Harken roller furling, carrying a 195-square-foot main and a 273-square-foot jib or genoa for a reported 468 square feet of sail. All lines lead aft to four self-tailing Lewmar winches, and the traveler sits in the cockpit at the companionway, though some owners have relocated it to the coach roof. With a displacement of 9,300 pounds and 3,500 pounds of ballast at a 37.63 percent ballast ratio, the moderate beam-to-length proportion yields a balanced helm and predictable handling, and most sailors have been happy with the boat's pointing and overall performance. She cruises nicely at nearly seven knots toward her 6.93-knot hull speed and carries a PHRF of 156. One noted complaint is that she grows a bit tender as winds approach 20 knots, especially in gusts anchor.

Accommodations

The interior is bright, spacious, and well laid out, with light wood walls and teak-and-holly flooring throughout and a headroom of six feet five inches. The port dinette settee and table seat four comfortably and drop into a double berth, while a starboard settee suits casual conversation more than a sit-down dinner. A wide, deep quarter berth doubles as storage when no guest is aboard, and the average-size V-berth vents through a large hatch. The head is tiny, fitted with a sink and manual toilet, and swapping in a composting unit is impossible. The galley feels large for the length: a stainless gimbaled stove-oven, a very large chest fridge-freezer, pressured-water sink, and sufficient stowage for pots and dishes. The navigation table to starboard does its job, and the boat offers a lot of stowage overall.

Cockpit and Deck

The deck is all around quite spacious, with wide side decks for a safe walk forward to a roller furler and electric windlass on the bow. Two anchor-locker versions existed — one accessed by a foredeck door, the other sending rode and chain below to a locker forward of the V-berth — and both hold over 200 feet of rode and chain. The cockpit is decent-sized but tight around a large wheel set close to the benches, making it hard to walk around, yet still roomy enough to eat at the fold-down table. Cockpit lockers are spacious and the lazarette is huge. A separate propane locker serves both the barbecue and the interior stove.

Known Issues

Gate valves were used below the waterline on most 33s and are prone to failure, so they should have been replaced with proper seacocks by now. The stemhead plate where the forestay attaches is a known fragile spot, and owners have described the mast coming down into the cockpit after it failed anchor. The extremely shallow bilge means no installed bilge pump; water is cleared by a manual gusher pump in the cockpit. A documented owner annoyance is the undersized 7/8-inch propeller shaft and a strut that has snapped twice in a dozen years anchor.

Refits and Ownership

The engine is a Yanmar 2GM diesel rated 15 hp at 3,400 rpm, usually with a Kanzaki transmission and either direct seawater cooling or a heat exchanger, reached by removing the cabin stairs or through a port cockpit locker panel; the compact engine room holds only two batteries and a 20-gallon stainless fuel tank. Beneficial upgrades noted include electronics, a newer DC panel, cushions, and bright work, while solar with lithium batteries, a hot water tank, and low-amperage refrigeration would make her a comfortable live-aboard. The 33 is not a common sailboat, with few active online groups, yet one owner took a 42-year-old example from Canada to the Bahamas and back with fabulous results.

The Verdict

The Mirage 33 is a thoughtfully evolved Perry racer-cruiser whose roomy, well-organized interior and predictable handling make her an able coastal and extended-cruise platform, let down only by a few dated systems and a tender gust response that demand an attentive owner.

Pros