Sorry to have to ask this, it seem it's probably been asked many times before, but my search with the new site was coming up with some errors - I notified Damon of the issue.

I'm pretty sure I've rigged the downhaul system correctly on my new (to me) Nacra 5.2. It's got a 3 pulley system hanging from the bottom of the main and two pulleys on the mast and I'm using all pulleys for maximum leverage, but no matter how hard I pull I can't get the main anywhere closer than about a foot from the boom at the mast end of the boom. I'm quite sure this isn't right from sailing my Prindle and from looking at pics on this site of rigged 5.2's. Any help on how to get the sail all the way down to the boom without breaking my back and destroying my hands would be appreciated. One additional bit of information is that the sail (at least compared to my prindle) feels very new, so maybe this makes it tougher to downhaul, but with my prindle i only had a 2:1 system and I think if my understanding of this is correct I'm now using a 5:1 and can't come close to getting it right as hard as I can possibly pull??!! Thanks for your help!

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Scott
1982 Nacra 5.2 "Great White"
Ledbetter Beach, Santa Barbara, CA
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Don't worry about how close it is to your boom, that isn't the defining measurement for downhaul, it is the amount of tension you want. Where the bottom ends up really depends a on how your sail is cut and what type of spreaders you have. My 1982 sail only gets within about 1 foot of the boom but my modern sail is actually a little too long and I can reef it right down to the gooseneck.

On my 1982 5.2 the spreaders are straight, so you can't induce a rearward bend in the mast and don't need that much downhaul. Also the 1982 sail has a shorter luff than my modern sail and isn't made for that much downhaul. So if you really reef on it you may wreck the sail. If you have a pre 1985 model with the straight spreaders you should just put enough downhaul on it to get rid of the wrinkles (3:1 is good enough), not enough to really bend the mast sideways at the top.

If you have a post 1985 model with swept spreaders and a sail that is designed for it, you should downhaul until you get enough rearward prebend in your mast to provide the amount of power you want. In other words no prebend for light winds and heavy crew or lots of prebend for light crew and heavy winds. It's actually a little more complicated than that, best to look into Rick White's book for more info on prebend or some of the other threads on here.

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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Wolfman - thanks for your response. I just realized that my signature is not showing up like it did. The new site certainly has it's kinks to be worked out. In my signature I note that it's a 1982 Nacra 5.2 and my name is Scott....

So that means I shouldn't worry about the downhaul quite so much. I think I was just used to the "look" of my P16 and the sail coming down right to the boom.

I also have Rick White's book, so I'll check it out before I head back out for a sail - hopefully tomorrow!

-Scott

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Scott
1982 Nacra 5.2 "Great White"
Ledbetter Beach, Santa Barbara, CA
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Ah, thanks for the reminder it appears mine is also not showing up - Dave - same boat. Yeah its a lot different than the Prindle. I found the downhaul wasn't nearly as important with my original sail. Now that I have a brand new flat top that added something like 20% to the sail area, getting the sail depowered is super important! I still have straight spreaders so I use the loose diamond wires/minor axis bend method to depower as described in Rick White's book/ You don't need much downhaul to accomplish that but you can't adjust much on the fly either.

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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Wolfman - I finally got the boat out today for the first time. It was a bit strange as I pretty much always sail in the prevailing SW winds we have here in SB. Today was a light SE, so it was a bit strange sitting on the opposite side of the boat launching, etc. But it was great to have the boat out finally. The winds barely hit 12 knots and I only was hitting around 8 - 10 knots, but caught a couple waves and surfed it to 12 1/2 once! hehe....I can tell it will be a much faster boat than my P16 and I can't wait to take it out in some better wind. Today was great to figure some things out and get the hang of it though. My crew took a bunch of pics, so I hope to get those posted here soon.
As for the downhaul, I just focused on getting the wrinkles out and then let it be. I had a good 10 -12 inches of space above the gooseneck assembly, but everything worked out just fine and I could see the traffic on the windward side of the boat much easier than I could on my P16. I plan to call the previous owner this weekend as I suspect this may not be the original sail. The outhaul seemed pretty strange as I had it as far out as it would go and their was still a fair bit of bend in the bottom batten. Maybe it's supposed to be like that, but in heavy air, I'd like to be able to flatten the sail more and I don't have that option with this setup. Guess I need to find a different method to de-power her!
Hoping for good conditions the next 3 days...although the forecast is not so good....

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Scott
1982 Nacra 5.2 "Great White"
Ledbetter Beach, Santa Barbara, CA
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hi Scott, does the sail have "5.2" in red on it?

does it have a sail number of 4 numbers, that are also in the hull number?

Awesome stuff, the 5.2 is a beast of a boat and likes to be sailed fast! Once you get it dialed you will find that it actually stabilizes really nice in 15-20 knot winds with 2 people and one on the wire.

Sounds like you may have a sail from a different boat! Your should only have to outhaul it about half way and it should be tight. I actually have 2 spare mainsails, unfortunately they are in storage 2.5 hours away from me. If you can wait until spring I can sell you one for cheap (one is a 1984 Skip Elliot the other is a brand new copy, made by a tarp maker so it is really flat - i.e. really low power). Otherwise you can probably pick up a used one here for a reasonable price or have yours recut.

D.

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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Awesome stuff, the 5.2 is a beast of a boat and likes to be sailed fast! Once you get it dialed you will find that it actually stabilizes really nice in 15-20 knot winds with 2 people and one on the wire.

Sounds like you may have a sail from a different boat! Your should only have to outhaul it about half way and it should be tight. I actually have 2 spare mainsails, unfortunately they are in storage 2.5 hours away from me. If you can wait until spring I can sell you one for cheap (one is a 1984 Skip Elliot the other is a brand new copy, made by a tarp maker so it is really flat - i.e. really low power). Otherwise you can probably pick up a used one here for a reasonable price or have yours recut.

D.

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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Erice - it appears that I do have original sail, it has the red 5.2 and the sail number and hull number match. So, I'm a little curious now about the placement of the "machinery" location for the outhaul. It could be placed a couple of inches further aft which would make a difference. As it is now, I don't have much ability to flatten the sail in order to depower her in heavy winds. Maybe the boat just isn't made for that?

Any thoughts?

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Scott
1982 Nacra 5.2 "Great White"
Ledbetter Beach, Santa Barbara, CA
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Oh and I forgot to mention, I was out for a few hours yesterday. Did a few short fast runs, then a long run out to the oil rigs (about 12 miles round trip) and a few more short runs. Was having to weave through a couple different regattas so I decided to head in, on my final tack, the gooseneck assembly at the connection of the boom to the swivel portion snapped. The 1/4" diamater piece of metal just snapped right off. I kind of jammed the boom into the forward corner of the tramp and limped into the beach from there - luckily only a 1/4 mile or so in fading winds...

Today the boat had to be off the beach for the winter, so the timing was pretty much perfect. I"ve got some work to do in the off-season to get it dialed in for next season. can't wait 'til April 1st!!

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Scott
1982 Nacra 5.2 "Great White"
Ledbetter Beach, Santa Barbara, CA
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That sounds strange the outhaul should tension the main easily with lots of room left. Take a pic?

Did the pin just break? Otherwise I'm not sure what piece you are talking about. If its just he pin that's a $2 fix, I always keep a spare on my boat with me.

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