I have a 1983 Nacra 5.0 with a few small holes in the hull seams where it appears the previous owners were beaching the cat. I have seen examples of bottom jobs from rounded hulls such as nacra 5.2's but not sharp V skegs like a nacra 5.0.

It seems to me that the hulls are created in two sections and then glued/epoxied together. If this is the case do I need to glass the entire bottom? Towards the center of the hulls, its about 1 inch where the gel coat has been sanded off over the years; however, the front sections, the width is less than a fourth of an inch. It would seem to be to narrow to add glass without taking a lot of the current gel coat/glass off. Does the damage look minor enough that I can fill the small pin holes and short gaps with something like Evercoat Formula 27, add some glass to the wide section, and then gel coat the bottom? Not having seen a nacra 5.0 new, I'm not sure how much glass has been removed over the years from the beachings its had.

I've attached some photos to show the extent of the damage.










edited by: bh3700, Jun 16, 2010 - 05:49 PM

Yep, that's how all the Nacras were made.

Because it has worn through I don't think you can get away with just epoxying it. Opinions?

The good new is that you can probably get away with a Keel type repair (i.e. you can do everything from the outside. This would involve grinding through the gelcoat along the keel and then glassing in several layers of fabric wrapping it aroud the keel and then fairing it in.

Afterwards I would put a thick wear strip of Marine Tex on and check it periodically so you can reapply before it is needed.

If it were me (because I haven't done a lot of fibreglass/-ing) I would take it to local fibreglass person. Someone who specializes in cats would be best but a boat/board person would be good also.

You also might want to give Performance Cats (Nacra) a call and see what they think.




edited by: Wolfman, Jun 16, 2010 - 09:32 PM

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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looks very minor to me.
it looks like it has already had bottom jobs as well..

does it leak when in the water for any length of time?

PS i have much worse wear on my cat...

I agree it appears minor; I have a 5.0 too and there is some wear/gel coat cracking along the seam mainly because there are small voids from where the two halves meet up (like in your bottom picture). I may fill them in with thickened epoxy or marine tex but it is not a big deal other than a little extra drag. The glass down there along the seam is fairly thick. If you are taking on a lot of water or those spots feel very thin/soft then search for Hobie 16 keel repair/bottom job to get an idea of what to do.

I haven't been taking in a lot of water but I wanted to take care of this before it gets worse. My understanding is that the two halves are glued/epoxied together and then additional fiberglass is placed on the inside to add strength.

Since I haven't seen any other 5.0's in the Raleigh/Cary area, I thought I'ld ask how much fiberglass looked missing.

I think I can get away with filling the few voids with filler and then gel coat where all the gel coat has been worn off. It appears it hasn't gone too deep. I still have gel coat in areas where the glue/epoxy was pitted.

I stand corrected. I thought you had worn through the fiberglass completely in spots and didn't realize that there was extra placed in the keel. Marine tex the heck out of it and sail happy!! :)

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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west system epoxy w/coloidal sillica, sand it , gel coat if your into it...sail until it sinks or not...refurbish later...no one sees your keels.

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Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook!
bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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bh3700

Since I haven't seen any other 5.0's in the Raleigh/Cary area, I thought I'ld ask how much fiberglass looked missing.

I am in the Raleigh/Cary area, I sent you a PM

bh3700

I've attached some photos to show the extent of the damage.

Anyone have or know where I can find the photos posted by the OP? I'm about to make a similar repair so any information would be helpful.



Edited by leeboweffect on Jan 12, 2023 - 06:42 PM.

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Hobie 16 (3 formerly)
MacGregor 25 (formerly)
Chrysler Dagger 14 (formerly)
NACRA 5.0 (currently)
High Point, NC
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I repaired my 5.7 a few years ago and used 2-layers of kevlar and 3-layers of fiberglass mat with West system epoxy and fairing. The boat was repainted with Interlux Perfection and finished with new NACRA 5.7 decals at the time. I didn't spend my time trying to photograph the process, but if my experience can help, I'd be glad to discuss more details. My hulls had a lot of light coming through the bottom and was worn-through at the skeg. I found that by laminating glass starting at 3-inches width and tapering down to 1-inch, I was able to retain the contour of the skeg. It required fairing with epoxy and microfiber and sanding with a planing board, but the results were very good and have stood the test of time.



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Tom
NACRA 5.7 (1984 Sail 181)
Pennsylvania
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Nice decals Tom!

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Tim
Collierville (Memphis), TN
Supercat 15--sold :(
Hobie monocat--given
Vanguard 15--traded for...
Nacra 4.5--sold
Nacra 5.7
Hobie 14–sold to make room for...
Supercat 17–sold
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Nice decals Tom!

--
Tim
Collierville (Memphis), TN
Supercat 15--sold :(
Hobie monocat--given
Vanguard 15--traded for...
Nacra 4.5--sold
Nacra 5.7
Hobie 14–sold to make room for...
Supercat 17–sold
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