Hey everyone,

Got the old Nacra 5.2 out for the first time this year. Not a very good start to the season though!! I spent the last 2 weekends replacing all the running and standing rigging as well as installing a roller furler on my boat.

Wow, what a mistake!;) Not because of the quality of the parts, just because with that many changes and my own relative inexperience it caused a whole series of issues. As the saying goes, there's nothing wrong with the motor just the nut behind the wheel.

It started out OK on Saturday, when I finished the work. It all looked pretty good, except that it was blowing something like 60 kph out and there was NO WAY I was going to go out in that breeze with just my wife for the first sail of the year. Sunday looked better, shifting wind but it wasn't horribly strong.

So I stepped my mast, and found out that either I mis-measured the forestay and/or Murray's stock shrouds are somewhat shorter than what came on mine. Either way I knew that without having the shrouds to measure last winter I was taking a chance. Solved the problem with a second 10 hole adjuster on the forestay (not an unusual solution to such a problem).

So I get everything together and by mid afternoon we are ready to go. I figure we will just take a quick out and back to make sure the new sail works and to get the kinks out. I don't even bother to setup the little 14 foot aluminum boat and motor for my Dad if we get into trouble. I will just be out for 15 minutes anyway. BAD IDEA!

My wife and I go out about 2 km and I bury the bow, the wind is much stronger than I thought. We recover without dumping it (thank god for 5.2 hull volume) but I realize that I have setup the jib sheets wrong, I can't cleat them. OK no prob, roll up the jib and I will fix it when I get back. We keep sailing and I hear an ominous clunk, I say "what was that!?" but we couldn't see anything and nothing appears broken so I figure, something new must have settled into place.

I jibe around and go towards my shore, unfortunately the wind has shifted I can only point up to to a location about 4 km away from my cabin. No problems I will tack back out and zig zag my way back. The only issue is that me and my wifer are both around 220 lb each, we have no jib and my wife hasn't a clue about sailing and weight distribution. I try 4-5 times but can't get the boat to tack. I end up in irons every time mostly because I barely know what I'm doing for a tack and the wife just does what I say without any awareness of what is going on around the boat. The last time we try to tack, we both end up on the leeward side when the wind catches the sail and we almost go over. My wife does go over backwards into the water. So I'm in irons and I get my wife holding onto the dophin striker. She loses her prescription sunglasses that I dive after but miss. I heave myself back up and get to work trying to get her on board. Unfortunately my new trap wires are about 12" shorter than the old ones so my old trick of throwing my feet onto the front beam and hauling myself onto the hull doesn't work so good for my wife who is 5' tall. Also her new PFD is loose and floating up around her shoulders. Argh, I try everything but still can't haul her up. I lower my main so we will stop moving and pile it on the tramp but still no luck. I fashion a stirrup from my main sheet, but still can't do it. She wants me to leave her and she will swim back. And I say bull shit she ain't leaving the boat! It's like a 5 km swim. Fortunately a young guy who is an awesome sailor on a sunfish comes by and asks if he can help. He manages to haul my wife onto his boat .

Once she is safe I'm like OK I will unfurl the jib and sail back. So I start to do that, I sail towards a small island about 3 km away from my cabin. My wife is being sailed back to my cabin to get the powerboat just in case (my father is pretty much clueless at this point).

I get in front of the island and figure out what the clunk was, my right rudder pin had broken and chose that time to fall out. All the sudden, I'm dragging a rudder and being pulled towards the island. I try to roll up the jib but a piece doesn't roll and gives me enough windage to drive me at the island. My cottage is in the canadian shield meaning no sand, all rocks. At the last second I jump off the front to grab the boat and the bows and daggers just grind a little on the rocks at the shore. I'm like, OK I will beach it on the rocks until help comes. No such luck, a gust catches the jib and drags me away for the island hanging onto the dolphin striker. I'm under the boat and am under way. Now that extra couple of inches of trap wire could have come in handy. I'm plowing under the water holding on for dear life trying to grab the trap wire to haul myself up. No way am I letting the boat go and smash into the rocks on the far shore! I heave myself up and just get my fingertips on the trap handle and pull myself up using what I figure was my last bit of strength. I've never been so scared in my life, I thought I was going to drown. So now I'm on my trampoline and refurl the jib. I look around and my brand new main is gone!! I can see it floating near the island a km or so behind me. I have no steering so there isn't much I can do except hang on. It didn't dawn on my until later to undo the cross bar and steer with one rudder.

By this time my dad and uncle are coming out with the little 14 foot and 10 hp motor. They get close to me drifting and I yell like crazy "My Sail is By the Island, Save My Sail". I paid good money for Chip Buck's work and damned if I am going to let it sink. They take off leaving me drifting with my jib luffing like mad, I didn't really care if it ripped a this point. Fortunately they found my sail floating about a foot below the water, almost at the point of sinking and saved it. I had drifted another km or two with the just windage of the boat and the fluttering jib. They fired me a ski rope and after a couple of tries in which I finally figured out how to get the rudders detached I was able to steer it. Another hour (we were 5 km away from home with a 10 hp motor, you do the math) and I got home. About a 5 hour ordeal or so on a lake only about 8 feet deep and 10 km by 10 km.

The morals of the story:

1. Make sure everybody on the boat can get in from deep water BEFORE you go out.

2. Cinch up your PFDs

3. Go over your rigging several times before ever putting a sail on.

4. Wrap your main sail around the boom when you lower it.

5. Carry one of those Murray's spare parts bags or make your own.

6. Know what too much wind looks like.

7. Make sure you have communication with someone on shore (2 way, cell phone, vhf, etc). I left my 2 ways at home his weekend.

8. Sail with someone who knows what they are doing (not possible in my case because I'm the most experienced sailor I know).

If any 1 of the things that went wrong wouldn't have, I wouldn't be writing this story right now. If some of the good things that happened didn't, it could have been a disaster (more likely a damaged boat than anything else simply because we were wearing our PFD's). Now I have scared the bejeebers out of myself so I will be extra careful and extra prepared (like Mr. Andrew Scott has been saying over and over and over).

Fortunately within an hour the boat was as good as new and everything sorted out. Now I just need some encouragement to go back out on it.



edited by: Wolfman, May 24, 2010 - 08:02 PM

--
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
--

oh man scary story

i've had just the 1 sail on my 5.2 this year and even though it was only light winds i went out without the jib because i hadn't fully rigged the trap wires and i like to ease myself and the boat back into the season slowly

really good idea to get some practise backing the boat out of irons. and best to do those drills in light winds where you have more time to work out what you're doing and the stakes are lower

what works for me is that when i'm in irons i usually end up sitting at the back centre of the tramp thinking "now what"

got it down fine now, i grab the boom and push it AND the tiller in the direction i want the boat go

and i keep pushing the backwinded main to the end of the traveller track as the water gurgles around the transom and the boat backs round to 45degrees off the wind

from there if you pull in the main too quick you'll just weathervane the hulls back into irons so it's

- let go the boom and stop pushing the rudders, then with the main fluttering slowly pull in the sheet until it fills while gently steering off on your new tack

go out with the jib furler or off and give it a go in light winds. leaving the jib and jib blocks off also opens up the tramp so unskilled crew don't get tangled in the jib sheets and caught on the wrong side of the boat

and the other way to avoid going into irons is to blow the traveller sheet as well as the mainsheet when tacking in high winds

hopefully you'll be able to source a new rudder pin locally from standard stainless rod






edited by: erice, May 25, 2010 - 08:23 AM

Thanks for the advice! I will definitely be sailing jibless for a while and working on tacking without the jib, by myself until I get my technique down again. Fortunately I have a pile of spare parts so I had a couple of rudder pins ready. The boat was completely re-rigged within an hour or two of getting back in.

--
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
--

if it were easy, it wouldn't be cool...

--
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook!
bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
--

Yep, that's true about everything worthwhile.

You can get pretty complacent on a lake that you can touch bottom on most of the time and always see your cabin. Without sails or control you might as well be in the ocean... well not quite, someone will eventually clue in and come help, I hope. If I hadn't of been panicking a bit, and quite so inexperienced I probably could have dealt with everything and sailed back with one rudder. Also a pack with a spare rudder pin would have helped. Lesson learned there.

So the Rick White Sailing videos are coming out this week. I've already ordered an emergency ladder to attach to the rear beam (let you know how that works out) and make it easier for people with limited strength to get on the boat. Then next week I am putting the wife on the cat fully rigged without sails and explaining every line and control to her. Then we are going to play 'tip the cat' so she gets a feel for how the weight shifts on the boat. Same kind of kiddy stuff I did when learning how to canoe and windsurf and should have remembered.

--
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
--

sailing anything is a tricky proposition, shifty winds, strong currents, out of tune helms, squals, grumpy in laws,...you name it...throw in the lack of a motor and increased difficulty of tacking on multihulls and you lose 99% of the population...no point and click on the water!

--
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook!
bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
--

Yeah and last Sunday the wind was shifting all over the place! Makes me think about switching to a Sunfish... :) Naw!

--
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
--

Me TOO lost a Nacra 5.5 to the coast gaurd tow in see story here http://www.tcdyc.com/?q=node/586

Wow, that is a great story! Makes me feel a little better about my weekend. Sounds like you guys did an admirable job considering!

D.

--
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
--

Don't you remember the Boy Scout's motto 'BE PREPARED'

In Canada it's more like, "Put your head between your legs and kiss your A$$ goodbye". :) Do the boy scouts even exist anymore?

--
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
--

Here's a question. The rudder pin that broke was aluminum type. The replacements available are aluminum or stainless tube. Can I replace them with solid stainless rod? Or are they meant to break before your gudgeons tear out? I can probably source aluminum rod locally but if I can prevent a repeated breakage it would be good.

D.

--
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
--

Damn, interesting story and almost a case of everything going wrong at once!

Thanks, certainly not something i want to repeat (or anyone else to repeat for that matter). In hindsight if I would have been less stressed I probably could have limped it back using one rudder and the jib. Unfortunately, lack of experience and too many things going on at once overwhelmed me.

Makes me really wish I had more experienced people locally to learn skills from. Almost everything I know comes from this forum, books and youtube videos. Makes me pretty knowledgeable with the technical aspects but some practical aspects of boat handling still elude me. I'm pretty sure I make some things way more difficult than they need to be without realizing it.

--
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
--

just figured it out.



edited by: kingwilly, May 26, 2010 - 01:18 PM

alloy tube!

no wonder it broke

mine are solid stainless on the old heavy nacra AND and the ultra modern light weta

solid alloy MIGHT work for a few years

but alloy tube would quickly wear out turning in stainless mounts and then fold at the worst possible time

someone may have fitted them to prevent tearing the transoms if they hit a rock or sandbar at speed but that's what the pivotmatics release is fitted to the nacra rudders for






edited by: erice, May 26, 2010 - 06:30 PM

after getting comfortable backing the boat out of irons another useful technique for racing and man-over-board situations is learning how to park the boat on the water

basically you pull in the jib real tight, release the mainsheet and traveller and then kill off the last of the boats momentum but crash tacking the rudders

the boat should come around to just past head to wind and then you push the tiller AWAY from you as if you are trying to turn into wind

the loose main should be completely stalled and the backwinded jib slowly trying to drive the boat across on to the new tack BUT as the rudders are trying to steer into the wind every time it makes some forward motion it just rounds up again in a mexican stand-off

with a bungee to hold the rudders across, (tho i just put my foot on the tiller) you can let go of everything and use 2 hands to eat lunch or even help pull someone aboard

like any sailing drill on an over-powered practise it in light winds until it becomes 2nd nature and then move on to medium winds

(to unpark it, you just pull the tiller -so the rudders start working with the backwinded jib in stead of against it- wait for the boat to come around to a broadreach position, pull in mainsheet and traveller and then once underway, release the jib and bring it around to the correct side




edited by: erice, May 26, 2010 - 06:47 PM

One thing that I learned and would like to share is:

When you are overboard and trying to re enter but have difficultly. Get the righting line and drop it and tie a foot loop in it to help get back on board. It makes a huge difference to get help from a leg when you are on a slick hull.

The one thing I learned is stay out of the Gulf in North winds if something breaks you can get into trouble fast!

Wolfman

In Canada it's more like, "Put your head between your legs and kiss your A$$ goodbye". :) Do the boy scouts even exist anymore?

I am a still active with a scout group. I get to teach all the young boys how to sail on our little bravo.

Cool, I was just kidding, I know we have troups here (my wife does Brownies, a younger girlscout type organization). Just a subtle reference to the X-box generation and some of the experiences I've had working up north near polar bear country.

Hey I just scored 12 feet of 3/8" 303 Stainless Round bar. Anyone interested in some uber strong rudder pins?



--
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
--

Are the pins that thick Dave? I'll have to measure mine tomorrow. I know they are solid stainless. Murryas sells a few different models of them, the solid SS are by far the most expensive. I had my entire rudder system apart over the winter, just put them all back together with new pivmatic, pull down lines, & bungees. I didn't think the pins were as big as 3/8", make sure they go into the gudgeon. You could always have the ends turned down to fit into the gudgeons. When I first read your story, I thought they would be pretty easy to make. The only wrinkle would be drilling the holes for the ringdings. It is a pretty damn small hole, drilled in a small diameter rod. I don't think you would be successful without a drill press & a good bit. You should be able to find a machine shop that could do it.
I'll measure mine tomorrow, & give you the specs.
It was hot here, but pretty windy, so I just had the little Invitation out for about 3 hours.
Went swimming once,& was trying something new,(trying to right it without getting off the boat). I ended up turtleing the damn thing near shore & stuck the mast in the mud. I was being blown onto a lee shore, so I had to right it & sail away with a big glob of crap stuck to the end of the mast. I sailed til the sail dried, then went in, dropped the sail & had to wash the top 2 feet.

--
Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
--

Almost all rudder pins are 3/8" diameter except he H20 (and maybe a couple of the newer boats). I think the Murray's ones are actually hollow.

I have a drill press (and a whole garage of woodworking tools). Shouldn't be a problem drilling the hole, that and the alloy is 303, which is easier to cut and drill than 304.

I had the same problem on my lake with our old hobie 16, the mast is 28 feet long and the lake is only 8-10 feet deep. I haven't have that problem with the N 5.2 simply because the mast volume is large and I sealed the heck out of it.

When I was a kid I remember sticking the hobie mast over 6 feet into the muck. It took hours and hours to unstick, finally a ski boat got us out but we were scared the mast was going to break.

I haven't gotten to a post office yet but I should send your package off on Monday. We've been deluged here with record rain (I have about an inch of water in my basement). If you want a set I can probably cut them and send fire them into the box, not sure if I will have time to drill them.

D.





--
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
--

I stand corrected, it looks like you're in the rudder pin business!
I just went out & pulled one off. They are 3/8" x 10 1/4" long. Hole is drilled 1/8" from each end. They are solid round stock. Shows how reliable memory is at times, I would have bet beer that they were smaller than 3/8".
Sure, I'll take a couple of blanks as spares, never know when I might lose one. If the top ringding comes off, they would be sleeping with the fish pretty quick.
As long as you can get a tiny mark established, so as to start the hole without the bit wandering, you should be OK.
I don't have a decent drill press, but I can get my neighbor to drill them. He owns a tool & die making company, & get just about anything done with metal.
Thanks

--
Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
--

Hey thanks to everybody that has been helping this idiot, either directly, or with posted questions that I also needed to know the answers to. It was all worth it!

Now that everything has come up rosy, I'll tell my tale of MY first sail with my new-to-me boat. Oh, and my first attempts. I wanted to do inland, since there was no way for me to tell how long it had been since the thing had seen water...the poor guy I got it from never sailed it. I went over everything very carefully. It took me quite a bit of adjusting and tweaking before I was satisfied it was worth a try.

First was Clear Lake: No swimming for the girls with me that wanted to go swimming, no place for the girls that wanted to skim-board, and no beach to pull the boat up on to pick up and drop off girls. Did I mention it was just me and a bunch of girls? How does anyone sail this place? We hit Galveston and the boat stayed on the trailer.

So, someone mentions Lake Livingston. It looks great, with state parks and I?d heard of grassy shores where swimming is OK. It?s a drive, but here we go. I paid my $9.00 only to discover that there is a concrete wall all the way around the park and the swimming area is a ways from the boat ramp. AARRRRGG. To top it all off, the boat ramp and loading area was concrete too. It took the wife and 2 girls to hold the boat away while I raised the main. I figured I could get the jib up after we found a grassy spot somewhere. Got the main up, the ladies jumped on, and away we sailed. For about 300 yards anyways. About that time I decided to get a good pull on the mainsheet. The forestay turnbuckle (the BOLT, not the cable) parted with a bang, and the mast came down between us all. No one was injured, but all were a little freaked out.

No boats were around to help, so I sort of held the sail up sideways to get us some wind. It worked but the mast had fouled the tiller so we went in a circle, just a little closer to shore. Then the wind shifted and the sail blew on top of me, leaving 3 girls in bikinis perched on the tramp. In no time, we had 2 motor boats eager to help. I picked the one with the oldest Captain, thanked the other, and we were motored to the pier. The shame!

Somewhere on one of the older posts, I read ?buy new shrouds and forestay, just to be safe.? Lesson learned: I ordered one of everything that holds the mast up from The Sailboat Shop in Austin, and headed to Surfside Beach! Things went a whole lot better from then on. I met Collin, a Texas City Dike Yacht Club big-wig, his crew Jonathon, and a great guy named Curt, there with his daughter Karen. I had just guys with me so I didn?t care how bad it went, but nothing bad happened. The boat is different from the NACRA 5.2 and the Hobie 14 I sailed before (duh) so it?s going to be a learning curve, but the best sail of the weekend was the last one; with big Curt on the wire we did a ?Screaming Beam? and flew a hull for at least fifty yards. At no time did the lee bow show any sign of plowing under, unlike the NACRA which threatened me with a pitch-pole any time I started haulin.

Look for me this weekend at Surfside again. I?ll have a bunch of drunk Englishmen with me---the England / USA soccer game is on 9:00 am Saturday.


--
Repairable P18
--

Quote

unlike the NACRA which threatened me with a pitch-pole any time I started haulin.

My 5.2 is extremely sensitive to mast rake in this regard. One notch on the forestay is unsailable. Any power forces a sort of 'powerstall' where the power in the sail just forces the bows down, which stops the boat.
One notch back and the boat will sail fine until it picks up speed, at which point the bows dive, and it pitchpoles.
One more notch back and it sails perfectly.

--
Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
--

ummm.... i've never been that close to a pitchpole on my 5.2 and i had the mast almost straight up, but i guess i'm pretty light and on a lake there are few waves to stick the bow in...............have pitchpoled my weta tri though..all the same i raked the mast on my 5.2 as far back as the forestay chainplate allowed...just aft...and nothing like on my friends h16 that is parked next to it on the beach

Quote

Hey thanks to everybody that has been helping this idiot,

unless you know him, and this was a joke, it's completely unnecessary, inappropriate and bad form. no wonder your forstay jumped ship!



edited by: andrewscott, Jun 10, 2010 - 11:38 AM

Quote

Hey everyone,

Got the old Nacra 5.2 out for the first time this year.

Wow, what a rough start to the year/new boat.

Glad you survived, good lessons to learn / share

a couple points to reinforce:

dry rig your cat in your yard/driveway before you go sailing (for the first time). this will help reduce the chance of missing/wrong gear. This is true for when you purchase a new cat too (so the old owner can show you how to rig/and to make sure all the parts are there and working)

if your pfd isn't secured.. its gonna be a hindrance more than an asset. the first thing i do when i get wet is roll over (on my back) and make sure the pfd is zipped, buckled and cinch down all the straps to reduce its movement.

make sure your crew knows what to do in the event of a man-overboard, capsize, skipper overboard

Keep the faith, you will do fine!

Reading this gave me a deja-vu moment. Here's my story summary:

-way too novice sailor and crew
-new boat
-too much wind (15-20kts)
-fun at first
-gust...fly hull...other hull completly under water
-dump main and sigh of relief
-start home...shift...gust.. dump me in water...hanging on to hull for dear life
-dump main from in water ... get back on boat
-notice deep gash on top of thumb
-drop main...sail to stranger's shore with jib
-knock on door and return 2 days later to retrieve boat
-boat looks like crime scene due to blood everywhere (thinking of new name for boat due to blood stains)
-counting ourselves lucky


Lots of good lessons learned.

--
Gray Amick
Chapin, SC
'77 NACRA 5.2
--

andrewscott

Quote

Hey thanks to everybody that has been helping this idiot,

unless you know him, and this was a joke, it's completely unnecessary, inappropriate and bad form. no wonder your forstay jumped ship! your a jerk

At first I didn't understand your post but I get it now. I've been posting in a couple of forum sites. The idiot I was referring to was me. I have a self-depreciating sense of humor, and like most cat sailors, I'm generaly a nice guy.

And to reply to the forestay issue, let me repeat that I checked eveything very carefully. All cable ends were inspected thoroughly and I masted the boat 3 times using the forestay and a winch! After getting back to shore, I looked the turnbuckle bolt over, and I cant believe it held at all...the amout of material that was not long-ago corroded was less than the size of the small bend on a standard paper clip. The idiot part was where I didn't just do the careful thing, and replace eveything regardless. If anyone else took my post wrong, I'm sorry I wasn't clear.

--
Repairable P18
--

Quote

At first I didn't understand your post but I get it now.

I thought you were calling Wolfman an idiot (for his misfortunes) and i thought that was incredibly rude, so i called you a jerk.

I later felt my tone was a bit harsh (its not the first time i have spoken my mind, to later feel i may have been to hard on someone) and had gone back and removed the jerk part of my statement. So i also apologize for being a rude.

That sounds like wuite the adventure Dave! As Bob said above tie some loops in your righting line and use it as a ladder. When i sailed a 5.2 i would reach over the side and grab the footstraps and pull myself on the boat. Glad this story didnt have a bad ending like losing your main or someone getting hurt. Obviously youve learned alot from this experience and i bet it will never happen again!


Pirateboy....I guess you made the class last weekend. I stopped by for a bit but must of missed you. Saw a few prindles sailing when i stopped by. TCDYC is a great bunch!

This weekend should have a decent crowd down at Tenmile. Beach access6 surfside beach. Its ten miles from the 332 bridge to access 6. its just a little further down towards san luis pass then access 3 where the class was held.

Well Dave I have been replacing parts these two weeks and get out of school(teacher) today and have been salivating waiting for tomorrow. Then I read your post. I think you have deflated me. Great to hear everything came out all right, and yes I will check all my replacements before I go out. Thanks for the reminder Also if your wife stays on as your crew she loves you.

--
Nacra 5.2
--

Andrew: I'm a sarcastic ba$tsrd, and what I say is taken the wrong way often. Someday I'll learn. I got no problem with you defending a bud. Maybe you'll do the same for me some day.

TC: I wish! The class was the same time as my daughter's graduation, so I had family in from everywhere for the weekend. I sure need a refresher, tho, so count me in for the next one. Date of?
If I can talk one of the guys into a long sail I'll see you at ten-mile. I'm attending a Stag party and we're staying at the motel behind Kity's Purple Cow.

--
Repairable P18
--

:)

He he, I've been called much worse things than an idiot. :) And to be honest I think I would have deserved it if that was what was meant, but glad to see everything was resolved.

I got a collapseable ladder from West marine and tied it off to my rear beam and strapped it up under my tramp for quick deployment. Should work fine for the wife, I think that she will be OK from here on it. I know she loves me, I'm a seriously hairy bugger and she has stayed with me for 20+ years now. ;)

Good advice on mast rake guys! I was actually struggling with that a bit because my new Shrouds (from Murray's) are shorter than the originals and I had to add a second adjuster on the forestay to make up the difference. I was going to go to 10 hole adjsters on the shrouds to correct the rake back to straight up, but now I'm thinking I should leave it raked. Especially with the extra power provided by the flat head main, wow what a beast!

Golfdad, don't be deflated, you are going to love your boat and it will treat you well. I just made the mistake of replacing ALL the rigging at once and taking her out for the first sail of the season in rediculous wind. Should have been patient and waited for a calmer day to try things out, but I was too excited.

I got out solo last weekend with just the main and light winds and worked out the kinks. I'm ready to rock and roll!

Oh I posted some photos of my boat on my album here http://www.thebeachcats.com/index.php?module=pictures&g2_itemId=74145 with jib block rigging and my homemade sideloaders. Not much different than Airborne's but more angles might clarify better. More to come.

--
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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I've been re-reading our horror-story posts, and a thought struck me. Someone who's never been sailling might come across this site and wonder "You guys do this for FUN?"

I can't wait to get my buddy who teases me about not having a REAL boat out on the water this weekend. He keeps asking why I don't have a motor, and when I point out the 30 ft tall motor, he just doesn't get it.

They said they got a few people out for their first cat ride at the sail clinic. Awesome! I know I was hooked after the first sail. It's worth all the headaches and danger when that hull lifts, and you're hanging straight out over the water with all the mainsheet you can pull. No gas, no oil, sure. No motor? Then tell me how the heck are we flyin across the water.

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Repairable P18
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It's not for everyone.

neither is skydiving, scuba, lion taming, high wire walking, being shot out a cannon, etc.

but for us A type, adrenalin junkies, it is for us.

Great Looking sail - Chip is the Man!!!!

fair winds....

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Gordon
Nacra 5.5SL
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boat and sail look great! nice job wolfman...makes you feel good don't it?

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Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook!
bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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Thanks!

My only regret is not getting a jib made also, I will do so this fall (sunk over $2000 into the boat this year already). Didn't realize how nice Chip's sails are! Super stiff 5 oz Dacron and bolt rope, his seams are top notch also!! Believe me, I have another sail that is almost brand new with loose stitching in places, so I'm super stoked about Whirlwind's workmanship. I'm hooked for life.

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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i've been carousing around his site and heard much good feedback on his work. i can see myself with a fresh set big time! just wondering how long before the dang oil stinks up my spot...been lucky so far but i think i'll wait to see how it pans out, i would be bummed if i got a new set and couldn't sail...would be nice!

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Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook!
bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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Quote

ummm.... i've never been that close to a pitchpole on my 5.2 and i had the mast almost straight up, but i guess i'm pretty light and on a lake there are few waves to stick the bow in..............

This isn't almost pitching, or coming close and then having a wave to stuff it in. If I move my mast forward even a notch I can, will, and have, most definitely pitchpoled the crap out of it.

Last time I landed about 20 feet past the mast. The time before I was trapped and the crew wasn't and she started screaming when I flew over her head. Time before my crew went flying and I hit the mast. It happens.

The faster it goes the more the friction works against the hulls and the sails outrun them. On a reach, I start trapped with my feet by the main beam and at speed am straddling the rear beam.

I have a buddy with a 5.2 that hasn't had as much issue as me, and I think he's actually a notch forward of me, and I don't know exactly where the difference lies, but I know how mine works. Some lessons are easy to learn.

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Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
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Yeah, as you can tell Chip made a walking billboard out of me. :) Good luck on the oil, I hope it doesn't get to you! I suspect BP isn't going to be a viable company much longer, hopefully they don't go under before they clean up thier mess.

Rob, sounds to me like you are sailing it like you stole it!! :)

I haven't pitchpoled my N5.2 yet and I have buried the bows pretty badly. One of the reasons for wanting a Nacra was that it was way more resistant to pitching than the Hobies. I suspect however that I do sit farther back than you should for good balance and speed. I also haven't had it in high winds and had the balls to have it completely cranked. I guess every boat has a personality and you have to deal with it. Could it possibly be that your hulls are toed in on the front beam?

D.

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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chip was fantastic to work with when i was looking for new jibs.

great looking dog. what breed? hope he has a pfd :)

That is my buddies dog Flint. He jumped off the dock during my first sail where that picture was taken and followed us into the middle fo the lake. Also the first time I did a man (er dog) overboard drill.

He's a border collie/labrador cross. He is much better travelled than me, he spent a year in South Africa with his owner and toured Mozambique and Namibia. He even has his own facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=1054445418&v=wall

I actually have 3 Samoyeds (white fluffy sled dogs) that I cross country ski with in the winter.



edited by: Wolfman, Jun 14, 2010 - 10:05 PM

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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Quote

I guess every boat has a personality and you have to deal with it. Could it possibly be that your hulls are toed in on the front beam?

Actually there might be something to that. I just redid the beam straps and put some effort into making the hulls as straight as possible. An owner prior to me had shimmed the hulls 1/4" on each side at the main beam, which toed the hulls out a touch. I don't know why, and I don't know if it helped or hurt, but I took the shims out.

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Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
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yurdle

Quote

ummm.... i've never been that close to a pitchpole on my 5.2 and i had the mast almost straight up, but i guess i'm pretty light and on a lake there are few waves to stick the bow in..............

This isn't almost pitching, or coming close and then having a wave to stuff it in. If I move my mast forward even a notch I can, will, and have, most definitely pitchpoled the crap out of it.

Last time I landed about 20 feet past the mast. The time before I was trapped and the crew wasn't and she started screaming when I flew over her head. Time before my crew went flying and I hit the mast. It happens.

The faster it goes the more the friction works against the hulls and the sails outrun them. On a reach, I start trapped with my feet by the main beam and at speed am straddling the rear beam.

I have a buddy with a 5.2 that hasn't had as much issue as me, and I think he's actually a notch forward of me, and I don't know exactly where the difference lies, but I know how mine works. Some lessons are easy to learn.

I buried the leeward bow today almost to the beam and hardly slowed down...whole new experience to me. I was using my square top which has a COE much more aft. I'm thinking of raking forward a notch and trying it out.

My problem before may have been tied to the original main (or my inability to sail it.)

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Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
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I was out in 20 kts (real 20, recorded by nearby airport)the other day, & had two friends out on the wire. I told the front guy to experiment with moving back & forth, & see if the balance changed speed.
He took my advice a little to far & moved way forward of the beam. With one hull in the air, the other went under, right up to the beam. There was solid water shooting up from the front of the beam, but it didn't seem as if the stern was going to come up. I was amazed that at that speed & the front 6' of the lee hull submerged we just kept smoking along, though speed did drop.
We did crash shortly after, but that was cause i wasn't quick enough on the sheet or tiller in a big gust, I think we were screwing with mast rotation. The crew ended up on the mast & sail & we turtled the damn thing.
Once they got off, & we stood on the sterns the mast popped mostly to the surface, then two of us righted it with the line.
It's kind of fun being on the edge of losing it, as long as you have the manpower to right it again.

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Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
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http://www.youtube.com/wa…om=TL&videos=ShaippCHrSo

Have a similar story that happened to me 2 springs ago. I was helping a buddy clean/rig a Hobie 16 for the beginning of the season. It was an old, heavy '82 boat that I probably should have checked myself a little more thoroughly. Well, it turned out the wind was great that day, must have been doing a steady 15 knots. Sure enough, we decided to go sailing and 20 minutes into a great sail, the leeward hull snaps just foward of the front pylon. Fortunately, we were close to shore and neither of us got too friendly with the standing rigging. Good news was I got a case of beer out of the ordeal

Moral of the story: check for soft spots...even on a buddy's boat

Wow Erice, I did exactly that with my brother last weekend. I thought for sure I would have stuffed it, makes me happy I bought the boat I did. There is nothing quite like riding the boat to the very edge and then going beyond what you thought it could do. I am certainly learning how far you can push it and that Nacra constantly suprises me about much hull you can push into the water without flipping it!

Yellowhulls, Glad to hear you didn't hurt yourself when it broke! I'm pretty sure I have my 1981 in tiptop shape but after the first sail this season I'm always a little scared when I hear something creak or crack. And I'm constantly checking all my connections even after replacing all the rigging, you never know when something is going to give it up and I certainly wouldn't want to recieve a mast to the noggin!



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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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erice

http://www.youtube.com/wa…om=TL&videos=ShaippCHrSo

Heh, I sailed with them today. The guy who owned that 5.2 has since upgraded to a I20.

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Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
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yurdle

erice

http://www.youtube.com/wa…om=TL&videos=ShaippCHrSo

Heh, I sailed with them today. The guy who owned that 5.2 has since upgraded to a I20.

yes, it obviously wasn't quick enough for him

do you call him "lucky dog"?