I was in the market for a cat and as luck would have it I was given a NACRA 5.2 by a friend. I am very excited and have been lurking on this forum for some time. I know this is an impossible question to answer without know many sopecifics but my basic question is what to do over the next ~4 months to get it ready to sail. All I know is that it was bought from FLA, sailed afew times (3-5), and has been sitting outside for ~22 years! The sails have been in the bag in a barn for that long too. They look to be in very good condition. The sail # is 818. See the pics in my albumn. I'll post more as I get into cleaning and working on it.http://www.thebeachcats.c…pictures&g2_itemId=71663


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Gray Amick
Chapin, SC
'77 NACRA 5.2
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welcome to our club!

you can and should read a few books.
Rick white has several that are fantastic.

you can talk to others.,... read books... read every word in every forum.. but they only do so much. there is no substitute for OJT (on the job training)... meaning.. read up.. but you will learn more in your first few sails then by reading.

I have been sailing for over 30 years, and cats for about 10... and i learn new stuff all the time...

it took me about 3 years of sailing every weekend before i felt i "had a real clew" (yes i know clue)

It really helps if you let people know where you are located, you may have a nacra sailor that lives very close to you. Looking at the pictures, it is clear that you do not live in South Florida.

gcamick

I was in the market for a cat and as luck would have it I was given a NACRA 5.2 by a friend. I am very excited and have been lurking on this forum for some time. I know this is an impossible question to answer without know many sopecifics but my basic question is what to do over the next ~4 months to get it ready to sail. All I know is that it was bought from FLA, sailed afew times (3-5), and has been sitting outside for ~22 years! The sails have been in the bag in a barn for that long too. They look to be in very good condition. The sail # is 818. See the pics in my albumn. I'll post more as I get into cleaning and working on it.http://www.thebeachcats.c…pictures&g2_itemId=71663

I live in Columbia, SC and will be sailing (hopefully) on lake Murray.

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Gray Amick
Chapin, SC
'77 NACRA 5.2
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Congrats on the purchase and welcome to beachcat sailing. Can't wait to see the "after" pictures when you get it cleaned up.

The very first thing I would do on that boat is buy a bunch of Barkeepers Friend at your local grocery store. It's just powered 10% Oxalic acid and works great and cheap for cleaning years of mold/mildew/tree sap/oxidation off your boat.

Mix it in a pail with just enough water to desolve it, apply with a brush or scouring pad (wear rubber kitchen gloves if you want to keep your fingernails), leave on for at least 15 minutes (very important), then rinse thourougly.

Do a several feet of the hulls at a time, don't try to apply to the whole boat at once, you don't want it to dry.

You'll be amazed at the results, then after it's clean you can sand/buff/polish/wax or not as you like.

gcamick (bet you got teased a lot in school with that name!) Just kidding, please fill out your profile by clicking on the profile link in the main menu, and consider using your real name in your forum posts so we can get to know you.



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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN

How To Create Your Signature

How To Create Your Own Cool Avatar

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i believe there is a strong beach cat presence on that lake.. your best bet is to meet the locals... sail with them... learn from them.... thats how i got better

http://www.radesignz.com/nacra5.2redo.htm

Here is something that I have had bookmarked for a long time because I thought the boat turned out looking so good. It takes you thru what he has done to his 5.2 from purchase to fixing a mighty big hole, and he documents with pictures quite nicely. Anyhow, I hope it helps in some way.

you might want to
-check all the lines, most probably need replacing
-check for sacrificial corrosion, where 1 small item has decided to corrode for everyone else, alloy casting at mast base, jam cleats etc
- lube things like the jib blocks and downhaul blocks that may have frozen solid
- check stainless rigging for corrosion where it enters the lower swage
- add the pivomatic rudder release system
- add a rudder hold up system
- restitch the tramp, the mesh seems to last for ever but the stitching for only 10? years of sunlight
- check your sail battens aren't horribly twisted if they were left in the rolled up sail...if they are you could try leaving them in a jig with an equal amount of opposite twist for 4 months, but go carefully, twisted is better than broken
- buy and read "catamaran racing for the 90's"
- gently see if you can crack free the beam strap bolts, you don't need to and you don't want to break them off or strip the brass threads but if you are ever going to take the boat apart now might be the time to start soaking them with penetrating oil
- once the hulls are nice and clean you could take off those old stickers and put the newer style on on get some copies of the old ones
- check the trapeze handles, if they are the oem triangular nacra ones where the harness is attached to the plastic base, maybe replace them with the T type where the harness goes directly to the stainless cable. i had the old style and 1 day the plastic bit split and dropped me in the drink while on trap, quite a surprise to suddenly be in the water and i bent the alloy extension so badly i had to cut off 1 end

enjoy, great boat, 20mtr of sail so it can be a handful solo and i've never been able to right mine solo so either sail with a buddy or sort out a righting system

Quote

- check stainless rigging for corrosion where it enters the lower swage

actually i would replace ALL standing rigging, running rigging and all 3 stays.



edited by: andrewscott, Jan 07, 2010 - 09:05 AM

Thanks for all the great info erice and Andrew. After a good cleaning these are the type of things I will be working on. BTW what is you lubricant of choice for blocks?

Turtlecat, thanks you for the link. I have seen that sight and I agree it has a lot of good info and pics (I hope mine looks that good one day).

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Gray Amick
Chapin, SC
'77 NACRA 5.2
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actually they used to say simply clean the blocks out with super hot (not boiling water) by letting them soak. this will desolve the salt build up.

it was suggested that lubricating bearings (esp non metal ones) could cause them to become sticky/stuck in place.. creating flat spots on them.

Mc Lube has recently released a product called 1 drop that is made for blocks/bearings. i have found it worked very well and was cheap ($10/westmarine)

Congrats!

I've got no new info to add to the veterans above, but imo if you're having to budget time and money and prioritize projects, use the following order:

1. Check very thoroughly, or just blindly replace the forestay and shrouds first. These do fray and break. Given the age I'd probably just replace them.

2. Clean the boat and inspect the hulls, especially stressed areas, refer to Andrew's recent post about his Mystere to see what I'm talking about.

3. Check your diamond wires. Look for any frayed areas, and then tension them. Check the entire mast for corrosion or any areas that may have run into power lines...this seems to be more common than it I'd think it should be. Make sure your forestay and shrouds are connected to the mast correctly and that the hound is on there solidly...you may want to replace and seal the rivets.

4. Check the transoms to make sure the gudgeons aren't trying to escape.

At this point you could probably buy a bunch of 3/16 and 5/16 line and take it to the water, and replace things as they break.

All the other things mentioned by the others are certainly important, and if time and money permits you should fix as much as possible ASAP, but I can't think of anything at the moment likely to ruin your boat or a person after you've inspected/replaced the things I've listed.

Edit: after re-reading the posts above, I'd throw the tramp in this list. Those stitches may just drop you as soon as they get the chance, which would likely be when you go to step the mast.

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Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
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The only things I would add are:

Take the beams and tramp off and inspect all the bits and pieces. Check all the rivets and replace and seal loose/missing ones as needed.

Although it doesn't look too bad from the photos, the tramp is likely shot (at least the stitching is likely rotted). This is probably the single biggest ticket item. Stock tramps are around $600, but there are some people out there who make aftermarket ones cheaper - anyone have some advice on this?

If you need bits and pieces make sure to ask here first, likely to save a bundle. I have a pile of spares laying about (even a main sail actually). Some of the other guys also have things they would get rid of for a decent price. Notably Dan Berger always has some Nacra parts for sale.

Regards,
Dave


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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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ohhhh i dont know about them their beams... somethings are better left alone till they have to be done (broke).

my bolts are frozen.... so i drilled some holes in my beam (not suggesting that) so i can get some Blaster (penetrating oil) in there.. i have sprayed several times... and bang em with a wrench... but i am waiting till I HAVE to remove em to really try... i sure dont want down time tapping new beam bolts into my hulls (not a changeable part without MAJOR surgery

I knew someone was talking about me somewhere..

I do have a lot of parts for a 5.2, but I just sold the tramp--it was a good tramp and went for $50. There are several companies selling aftermarket tramps on eBay and I have heard nothing but good things about them all. I bought a tramp for my Supercat from SloSails and I am very happy with it.

On the beams, I found that the rear bolts are attached with nuts, not a stainless plate moulded into the hull. If you are unfortunate enough to break a bolt, it isn't the end of the world. You can install new ports if needed and get to the back of the new bolt with a nut. You do not want to put a port in front of the rear beam because that is where you are going to want to sit all the time.

Actually, the starboard hull where the beam attaches is damaged and will require some repair. The 2 bow side bolts have pulled up and damaged the fiberglass. I know these bolts are not frozen. I will post pics of this damage when I get a chance and would love to hear everyone's opinion/expertise on the best way to go about the repair.

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Gray Amick
Chapin, SC
'77 NACRA 5.2
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Hey Dan, I figure I've bought all my spares from you, so I thought I should share the wealth.:)

On the 5.2 you can reach the beam bolts inside the hulls through the 2 ports, so it isn't a huge problem. You need to take the front beam off to take the tramp on and off anyway.

You never want to put a port in front of the front beam your hull is likely to break there if you do!!


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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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Dave, The PO has put a port in front of the beam there for a previous repair. How do you reach the front bolts from the rear port? There is a fiberglass "bulkhead" just under the beam, separating the front bolts from the rear.

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Gray Amick
Chapin, SC
'77 NACRA 5.2
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You can see the port just in front of the beam in this pick.



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Gray Amick
Chapin, SC
'77 NACRA 5.2
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Ah, that would explain it. There is a hole in that bulkhead in my boat and likely the remnants of it banging around in my hull. I thought it was just a hull remnant from a hole repair, now I know better. I was wondering what had happened in there.
Well, I sailed a whole season with that bulkhead pretty much gone and the boat didn't break.

I read a discussion in another thread (here http://www.thebeachcats.com/module-forum-viewtopic-topic-11421.html ) that you shouldn't put a port in front of that beam, because of the stresses put on the front of the pontoons from the bridle wires. That being said if it hasn't cracked or broken yet, it is probably fine just keep an eye on it.

D.



edited by: Wolfman, Jan 07, 2010 - 05:24 PM

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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Grrrrr Pontoons are for pontoon boats!!!!

my cat came with a port on each bow, and i put in a hatch last year in front of my front beam (replacing 1 port). It did make me nervous, and i know Nacra will say that is where you boat will break.. and it may.. (i am insured).

But my cat is well tested in all conditions... knock on wood

I too just put holes in my bulkheads as well. It doesnt look like it will effect the strength but i plan to re-enforce them when done with my current repairs... just in case



edited by: andrewscott, Jan 07, 2010 - 09:32 PM

Thanks Dave, A lot of Nacra parts have migrated from Virginia to Canada!

The deck on the Nacras isn't really a structural piece (IMHO), it is glued on to the hulls after manufacturing. At least that is my understanding. If you had to cut it to get to the other side of the beam, you wouldn't have to make a serious repair, just have some kind of backing in the hull, then lay some glass on top and sand smooth. A port is not a good idea because it gives no structural support and they aren't always sealed. That and you always put one right where you want to sit.

Putting a port in the deck in front of the front beam on a Hobie 14, 16 or 18 is a recipe for disaster.

andrewscott

Grrrrr Pontoons are for pontoon boats!!!!

...and I HATE it when someone calls them sponsons!! Sponsons are for air planes!!!!

Quote

The deck on the Nacras isn't really a structural piece (IMHO), it is glued on to the hulls after manufacturing. At least that is my understanding.

I am no engineer but i would think they DO provide an enormous amount of strength. the forces being pulled up and inward on the hulls is tremendous. the deck lid prevents torque and twist.

I also THINK that deck lids EDIT I MEANT PORTS (when closed) do give support.

I think one of the main problems (after this was pointed out to me when i had to remove a port last week..) is that after cutting into foam core... you have just opened up the foam to the elements... water gets in the foam and weakens the structure.

It was suggested that you should rout out about 2" of foam and fill it with epoxy to seal it and prevent water log..

there was a decent amount of moisture in my foam where the port was.




edited by: andrewscott, Jan 08, 2010 - 12:27 PM

Someone just (couple months ago) posted a pic either here or on the other cat site after having removed their deck lids with, apparently, the mast raised. The pull from the bridles folded the starboard pontoon =) fairly significantly.

I would definitely consider the lids to be structural parts of the hulls.

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Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
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From this pic (from the nacra redo site referenced above) there does look like some structural elements under the deck lid. In addition, I agree with Andrew, the deck lid should add some support. judging from the pic the actually location of the port probably make some difference too.



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Gray Amick
Chapin, SC
'77 NACRA 5.2
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Sheesh! I wish someone would give me a H18. So sad to see a cat of this calibre left to rot like this but it's a common sight, I know of a H16 in my area that looks just like this Nacra except there are trees growing through the trailer frame, I've tried to persuade the owner to let me have it but for some strange reason he won't let it go. Just a quick note, in pic P1090836, I noticed that the mast head sheave looks pretty shot, you might want to check it out.

Turbo

Thanks for the note on pic 1090836.

Anyone sles notice anything obvious?

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Gray Amick
Chapin, SC
'77 NACRA 5.2
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