Mirage

History of mirage

John Bartlett, a Floridian sea kayaker and boat builder, designed and built Mirage with sea kayak touring in mind. John built many commercial, multi hull boats in the course of his career; none of them like Mirage. John said that he had the Polynesian outrigger canoes in mind when he designed Mirage. Polynesian voyagers used open hulled outrigger vessels for travel between South Pacific islands. The most unusual feature about Mirage is the outrigger, referred to as the ama in Polynesian terminology.

take a video tour of mirage!

Mirage is uniquely designed to be used as a platform for sea kayakers to launch from and return to while at anchor. She can accommodate up to six guests plus crew comfortably. The hull is flat bottomed, so she draws only two feet. As a shallow draft vessel, we anchor in places that kayakers enjoy exploring. Mirage, a 70 foot power outrigger, is stable, comfortable and safe. The wide beam provides stability from rolling sideways and the 70 foot length allows for very little pitching. Even people susceptible to motion sickness rarely have difficulty living aboard Mirage. Mirage has a fully stocked galley and spacious open air dining area under cover. The fore deck offers space for reading and lounging with a view. Below deck, she has five private cabins, one semi-private cabin for crew, three heads and one indoor shower. There is also plenty of deck space for those who like to sleep under the stars. Aboard Mirage is a nature and paddling library on the history, geology, stargazing, wildlife and marine life the Bahamas as well as books and DVDs on special interest documentaries, sea kayak paddling and paddle boarding, navigation, and skill development.

I invite you to experience a change of scenery and join me on Mirage for a voyage of fun and adventure. Welcome to my home, Mirage.

Gallery

Scroll to Top