DS ball height from top of beam.Mine seems high.Just installed.

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Greg Gunderson
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What make, model and year of boat? The ball on my 5.2 is about 3" above the beam or so.

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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1980 Nacra 5.2 about 4 in above beam.Striker rod is 14.5" long.



Edited by greggun on May 30, 2011 - 08:39 PM.

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Greg Gunderson
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You don't set the ball hight, you set the load on the bar under the rod. I think you tighten the bottom nut till the main beam has about a 3/8 inch bow in it. the center of the beam would be higher than the ends at the hull.

See this thread from the dark side forumhttp://www.catsailor.com/…b=showflat&Number=192330



Edited by skarr1 on May 30, 2011 - 10:08 PM.

Grease the threads. Tighten with an adjustable wrench until it gets difficult and go another 1/2 turn. If you over tighten the rod it will strip the threads and need a new rod. Tighten down the top nut and you are good. If you try and deform that beam you WILL strip the threads (believe me I've done it, costly mistake).

4" is a 'little' high but not unreasonable. I think mine is close to that, now that I think about it. You have to remember the casting goes over the ball and you still need room to rake a bit (1-2 ft) and the mast has to rotate.

Take a look at mine here: http://www.thebeachcats.c…ictures/?g2_itemId=74238 I could probably cut an inch off of it, but I am loath to do so and it hasn't posed any problems to me.

Anyone else?



Edited by Wolfman on May 30, 2011 - 09:17 PM.

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

Followed directions on beam load. 3 1/2 full turns,just wondering if 4" above beam would cause any problems.

--
Greg Gunderson
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Mine looks to be about the same.Good to go.

Thanks
Greg Gunderson

--
Greg Gunderson
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Good to go.

The one thing you need to watch for is that if you screw up and drop the mast without rotating it you will bend the D/S bar. Good news is that unless the casting hits the beam or the nut there is a good chance you won't break it (yes did that also). Threaded steel rod is way easier to come by than a mast casting.

And yes that does mean I have went through 3 D/S bars in the last 3 seasons. And yes I did screw them up myself each time, all while stepping the mast or installing the bar. Which is why now that I have one that works I don't want to fool with it. :)



Edited by Wolfman on May 30, 2011 - 09:36 PM.

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

Are you measuring from the top of the ball? If so, that seems right. If you have just installed the newer designed base/DS, the ball WILL sit higher than the older model. Looked weird to me at first. Make sure you have the ball itself screwed down as far as it will go on the DS. Wolfman; I'm still a NACRA noob. Let me learn from your mistakes. What did you do to mess up 3 DS's and should I buy a six-pack of them now?

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Eric C

Force 5 project boat
Unnamed

Previous boat
1980 Nacra 5.2
"Double Vision"
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Yep it does look strange. I have heard you can cut about 1 inch off of it safely but I don't like trying to cut stainless and keep the threads usable (had some bad luck there).

#1 I dropped the mast without rotating it. Fortunately the base casting didn't break just the rod. I sailed on a bent rod for about 2 months but wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

#2 When I installed the new one I tried to get 3/8" of deflection out of the top beam and didn't grease the threads instead of following the instructions (3 and 1/2 turns after tight, or in my case 1/2 turn after reallly tight). I stripped the threads on the rod completely off

#3 Dropped the mast half way without rotating it enough and bent the rod slightly. Managed to get it back into alignment but probably should still replace it.

Don't bother buying DS rods until you need them. Getting threaded stainless rod is relatively simple, you don't need to go with factory Nacra parts on that one.

D.

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

SKARR has the correct intel, you preload the beam 3/8" deflection. MAKE SURE the top nut is turned UP, so as to allow the beam to bend. Use a mason string stretched from end to end, measuring the beam deflection as you turn the bottom nut upwards.
Or do as MUMMP suggested to me.
"Turn the bottom nut up til it contacts the beam, then turn it up another 3/8 inch". His method is way faster, so simple a caveman...
Finally snug the top nut down.
Here is my Tech Gallery DIY
http://www.thebeachcats.c…ictures/?g2_itemId=73301
You will find there is very little torque required to bend the beam. I think Dave had screwed up threads, or the top nut wan not turned up, meaning he was compressing the beam, rather than bending it.
I think your 4" height is due to the 14.5" rod, they are not all that long. I have 3, (one is 14.5" the others are 14". The extra inch or so will not make any real difference.

--
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
--

Hmm, you could be right. Never said I was smart. :) I will have to take another look at it when I put the boat together next weekend.

D.

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

Dave, it should be turnable with even a pair of pliers. When you get to that size nut, (I think it is 5/8") the wrench is a good length, I can turn mine to the 3/8" deflection with only a couple of fingers. If the top nut is not turned up, you cannot deflect the beam, & it will get very hard to turn.
The only other reason would be grit on the threads, stripped threads, or a slight bend in the rod. It doesn't take much bend to prevent rotation of the nut. You can easily check for trueness by rolling the rod (sans nuts) across a smooth flat concrete floor, marble counter or glass table top. If the rod is bent at all it will make a clicking noise as it rolls.
If the bend is very slight, you may get away with running a thread chaser, or die over it. Use some auto transmission fluid or other oil as cutting fluid.
Slight bends can be straightened by turning two nuts just above the bend, placing that area in a vice, & very slow careful bending.



Edited by Edchris177 on Jun 02, 2011 - 06:05 PM.

--
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
--