Bought A Mirage 24 I Built While Working For Mirage Yachts - 38 Years Later!

[GetawayMirage24]

While in University I worked summers (May 1 to August 31) of '76; '77; and '78 at Mirage Yachts in Vaudreuil, Quebec, just west of Montreal, building Mirage 24's. 2 friends and I were the only crew building 24's there for those 3 summers. 3 years ago (2012) I started to look for a Mirage 24 in good shape to buy and looked at many that were pretty tired. Then 2 years ago (Sept 2013) I found one in Port Elgin, Ontario that looked good in the listing and when I went to see her, she was in beautiful shape. Original gelcoat, waxed and polished, no oxidation; deck solid stem to stern, all new standing and running rigging, 2 year old Tohatsu 6.0 HP Outboard, and clean 1 year old survey from very reputable surveyor to boot! I checked her serial number and low and behold, the last 4 digits were 0676 which means she was built in June of '76! That means I built her with my 2 partners while at Mirage in '76. She's mine now, 38 years later!

[GetawayMirage24]

And my wife, who had never sailed before, wants to spend as much time as possible sailing her with me!

[FSMike]

Amazing! Go buy a lottery ticket!
The force is with you.

[shufti]

Congrats, Getaway. Must be a great feeling to 'reconnect' with your youth in such a tangible way. And a new boat to boot! WIN-WIN!

[GetawayMirage24]

Thanks FSMike and Shufti! One of the friends I built her with has also been down from Ottawa and sailed her with me half-a-dozen times!

[redhead]

A truly amazing story. Have a ball with her!

[zedpassway]

Far out!

[Sinbad51]

You did a great job as a kid. I raced on many Mirage 24s of that vintage on Lake St Clair over the years and did some rigging work for the local dealer. I enjoyed every time out on these fun boats.
Enjoy your new toy.

[Eleuthera 2014]

Originally Posted by GetawayMirage24

While in University I worked summers (May 1 to August 31) of '76; '77; and '78 at Mirage Yachts in Vaudreuil, Quebec, just west of Montreal, building Mirage 24's. 2 friends and I were the only crew building 24's there for those 3 summers. 3 years ago (2012) I started to look for a Mirage 24 in good shape to buy and looked at many that were pretty tired. Then 2 years ago (Sept 2013) I found one in Port Elgin, Ontario that looked good in the listing and when I went to see her, she was in beautiful shape. Original gelcoat, waxed and polished, no oxidation; deck solid stem to stern, all new standing and running rigging, 2 year old Tohatsu 6.0 HP Outboard, and clean 1 year old survey from very reputable surveyor to boot! I checked her serial number and low and behold, the last 4 digits were 0676 which means she was built in June of '76! That means I built her with my 2 partners while at Mirage in '76. She's mine now, 38 years later!

Amazing. I was born in Dorion (the name of the town before it was renamed Vaudreuil) and often walked by the factory as a boy... before '76 I may add.

Enjoy your boat!

[Drumroll30]

Cool find Getaway, believe it or not your old boss Dick is still sailing too though on a Laser 28 now.