PIONEER OF DINGHY DESIGN DIES

[David S]

Barry Bucknell designed the Mirror dinghy in 1963. His son was complaining about access to the existing family dinghy and Barry decided to design and build a dinghy to increase the family fleet and train up another helm.Barry approached dinghy design in a highly innovative way and adapted a construction process used by Ken Littledyke in the manufacture of KL canoes. This process involved panels of plywood being bonded together using a stitch and glue technique with wire, resin and glass fibre ribbon.

BARRY BIO (http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=85182&command=displayContent&sourceNode=85181&contentPK=4400752)

[John R Smith]

He was 91. His son says that he passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in St Mawes..

I saw him only a few months back, in our local chandlers. He seemed very fit and cheerful. Cornish air must be good for you!

John

[Wild Wassa]

A testimony to Bucknell and Holt's little 11ft dinghy.

The Unlikely Voyage of Jack de Crow.

A Mirror odyssey from North Wales to the Black Sea. A couple of quiet week's sailing on the river Severn was the intention. 'Somehow things got out of hand.....' writes AJ Mackinnon. 'A year later I had reached Romania and was still going.'

[Hwyl]

For American readers of this string. Barry Bucknell was TV presenter rather like Bob Villa or Norm Abrams. His show went out "live" in the sixties, a brave man indeed.

It ought to be remembered that the late great Jack Holt, one of the most influential dinghy designers and somewhat of a social engineer, helped significantly in the design of the Mirror dinghy.