Cortez- 32 Mirage
 

I am in search of who has the molds to the
Mirage 32-R, or where they destroyed ?
Thanks again........

The mold(hull only) was in possession of Jack Clarks old partners from RIO. The mold was then sold to Marlago boats who used it to build the 31 Center Console. Those molds were then sold to Pat at Active Thunder.

Cortez Mirage
 

MidOcean many thanks ! Pat is just down the road
from me, unfortunately for me I need the deck .
I'll give Pat a call......

The search continues.............

I had the original molds for the 25' 29' 32' and 36' Mirage. Unfortunately my father destroyed them and took them apart Hull and deck. They were in no condition to build a boat to my fathers standards atleast so he threw them out. Good news is my father still has the original plans for them. If your wondering who my father is his name is E. Cortes the owner and the man who built Mirage in the 70's.

Check out these videos I found up in the attic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz03S...eature=related

MIDOCEAN,
When you say Jack Clarks old partners from RIO, are you referring to Rio Dejanero ( SP ? ), or the boat company RIO?

The boat company RIO. That was Jacks first boat venture. They had a shop at Maul lake. The day I met Jack was when we were running the Penrods 100 Offshore Race(1983). Jack showed up for his first race in a 21 Rio. It was a white boat with bold red and black letters. The next boat he built was a red one w/ a TRS and 420 cyclone. I eventually bought this boat and then sold it to Randy at Carolina Performance Boats

MidOcean,
Thanks for the info.
I have a 1983 21 RIO with a small block 350 and an Arneson surface drive. I bought the boat in 1997 and ran it a little before replacing the transom ( knew it was bad when I bought it ). Fun boat!
I am almost finished restoring it and have always wanted to gather information about it. Is the hull design a derivative of something else ( Challenger, Apache etc )?

...sorry for hijacking this thread.

what color?

Thanks for the comments. I think you will find the 32' mold, and to be clear, I'm talking about the mold your dad built with the reverse angle in the transom which made it perfect for someone like marlago to make a integrated boat about of it. I am only talking about the hull mold... there was NO deck mold at the RIO shop.

After all these years the real Mirage name is still loved here on Lake St Clair. My white 29', & hull #3 P-111 La Salle, Li'l Abner, & the Pirate, and this recreation of the Wolverine turn heads today 30 + years later. Not many manufactures can say that !!!! Your Dad built a Great Boat:ernaehrung004:

Thanks we appreciate it. Good to hear that. Every boat that came out of our factory was built by hand with a lot of hard work, countless days of staying up all night and morning just to perfect and deliver these boats. I know the old man loves to see them still around after 30 years +.

Jose C.

It was slightly off white with an all black interior. Had a foot throttle and a shifter mounted on the floor to the right of the driver. All of the deck hardware was blacked out. I bought it from a guy in Ohio who had an automotive detail shop and supposedly helped out on the Thriller Jaguar race team??? Thats what he told me anyway. He did have a picture of the Thriller boat hanging in his shop.

My dad built one set of molds for every model he had. He never built a mold with a reverse transom. That was not a Mirage. A boat was probably copied and redesigned that way but it wasnt a Mirage. The original Mirage molds were taken by the government and given back to me shortly while my father was still on vacation. I stored all the original molds until they were vandalized. At that point my father destroyed them and threw them out! Anything else out there right now is a copy and not the original Mirage mold. You have my word on that!

Jose C.

Please tell your dad that Richie Powers says a big hello,

Jose Do You Remember Paul From Advanced Marine In Seaford NY He Used To Be A Dealer For Mirage,,And I Used To Go To The Shop To Pick Up Some Of The Boats He Ordered,,Your Father Is A Great Guy,,I Got Some Good Stories With Me Paul And Your Father

Still love the real Mirage boats and my Black 36 is still turning heads here in Delaware too.

Who did you get your Mirage from?

Hello Richie,

I gave my dad your regards and he immediately remembered you. He is very glad to hear from you and sends you a huge hug. He hopes all is well with you and hopes one day to reunite to catch up!

Best Regards,
Jose C.

I was too young at the time but my father sure does remember. If there is one boat he truly misses and talks about all the time is the 29' he built for himself and had Paul make him the engines for! That boat would destroy pretty much anything that went at it at that time. It was a black 29' with a woman painted on the side coming out of a body of water also with a big Mirage sign on the side! (Anyone know what ever happen to that boat?) Ask Paul if he remembers that one?

My father is glad to hear from you and he asks you to send Paul a hug with all his heart!

PS. I have a video I should be putting up soon of a 29' Mirage inboard in which I believe it's Paul driving it. I believe he sent it to my father a long time ago. Ill keep you posted!

Jose C.

It's been awhile and the guy I got it from was one shady character. I remember going through quite an ordeal getting it then getting the paperwork squared away.
I have no regrets going through what I did to get her and she's mine until I get put in the ground.
From what I've been told I have the only all black hull 36 Mr Cortez ever made.

Jose, I'm looking forward to the 29 video. I have a friend who has a red hulled 29 who'd love to see the vid as well.

oops:kiss::bigbird:

Cant Wait To See It ,,I Will Tell You Who Owned It,,,I Sent You A PM,,,John

Here are a few more of my 1979 29' that I have now, it still has the original interior & engines. And the red & white Mirage I had back in the 80's.

As promised here is a small clip of this 29' Mirage. I should be putting up more clips from the same tape. Please excuse the quality of the video for it isn't the best out there. But hey what can you expect from a VCR tape that is about 30 years old. LOL Im surprised the darn thing works!

PS. Can anyone make out what boat made the mistake of trying to go at it at around 3:35 into the video? LOL

Check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=On0kZSg0PYM

Pops

Thanks for the pics! Lookin sweet!

Great video! Any idea what power that 29 had?
PS. my guess would be a 24 pantera.

That Boat Was Sold To Marvin ,,That Was Me Paul And Marvin Out For A Test Ride ,,The Other Boat Was A 24 Banana Xzanadu That Paul Also Sold ,,He Was Out There With Us,,,That Mirage Had 370 Cyclones In It

Were any records kept as to how many 29', 32', & 36' Mirages were built ? And any other facts ? Just wanting to keep the Mirage history alive !!

More Information!!!!!!
I own a 1976 29 Mirage in Germany.
Total Rebuilt in 2009.
Please more Information!!!!!!:evilb:

Check out this other video I uploaded recently.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImRQfQ7ASV0

Hey Lightspeed, do you remember this one?

Jose C a.k.a. Pops

Gazpacho
 

Joe Barro and I running Gazpacho in APBA.

Great Video Keep them coming

Here is another one I uploaded last night!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPG9DZ2xzv8

I Remember Those Videos Like It Was Yesterday ,,Me And Al ,,Paul And My Brother In Law ,,Brings Back Alot On Memories ,,, Paul Must Have Sent You A Bunch Of Vids

Glad I could finally get them up. I have been lookin at those videos for a while know.

[QUOTE=Pops57;2920762]I had the original molds for the 25' 29' 32' and 36' Mirage. Unfortunately my father destroyed them and took them apart Hull and deck. They were in no condition to build a boat to my fathers standards atleast so he threw them out. Good news is my father still has the original plans for them. If your wondering who my father is his name is E. Cortes the owner and the man who built Mirage in the 70's.

hey pops57 i am a mirage lover and would really like to get some more info on the boats and history of them, sorry i know this is a old thread. i just started on offshore only so im still trying to get used to how it works. i sent you a message with some of my info thanks again!

[QUOTE=gota go fast;4031559]

Mr Cortes is a great guy, he came to watch us race our old mirage last year in Jupiter at the worlds and couldn't have been nicer. His entire family was there and it was like they had known us for years, bottom line I don't know all the history of how things transpired but he built one hell of a boat and I wish I could get my mirage back together to race again, but it dosent look like its in the cards. If you want to buy a piece of history my 29 is for sale cheap pretty much hull and some rigging only
Mike O
531 WHOZ YOUR DADDY OFFSHORE RACING
last mirage in the world to race

gofastsonic
yeah i might be interested ill i messaged you my info thanks

Sad not seeing the "who's your daddy" boat this year,
I will have mine back in the water this spring can't wait
When you here "they don't build them like that anymore "
the mirage is the best example of that.......