While sailing my Nacra 5.2 last weekend, my teenage son joked about how we could store cold drinks in the boat. I got a chuckle; we always take a small soft-sided cooler tied to the center bar (another vote for the center bar). But then he remarked he was referring about the inspection ports. Upon testing at home, indeed, the inspection ports are large enough for a hand to extract a canned beverage or long-necked bottle from them. Has anyone ever thought about somehow installing a bulkhead of some type inside the hull on either side of the inspection port, leaving a small pace at the bottom of each side to allow melted ice to drain, which could then be drained at the conclusion of the day's activities? I figure if I can install something in each hull, I might be able to store 12 cold beverages in each hull box. Other than the possibility of losing a port cover overboard, are there any concerns I should be aware with this idea?

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Eric C

Force 5 project boat
Unnamed

Previous boat
1980 Nacra 5.2
"Double Vision"
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Sorry for the double post- got a message that the ajax somethingorother had timed out, so I hit the submit button again.

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Eric C

Force 5 project boat
Unnamed

Previous boat
1980 Nacra 5.2
"Double Vision"
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I tried it on a boat we had up in the NWT years ago. We used a center hull storage on a power boat. The fibreglass was considerably thicker than the skin of a beach cat, so you have to be aware of can edges or bottles bashing around.
Secondly, all that motion wreaks havoc on the beverages, of course the only thing you are carring is bottled water, right
Thirdly, ice lasts about as long as a snowball in hell. Even in the NWT & cold water, the ice melted quickly, really quickly.
I considered lining the area with scraps of styrofoam SM, the blue stuff they use in buildings. It's pretty dense, will not absorb water even if immersed for months, & it is easily cut . Use a jigssaw with hobby blade to get good edges, a razor knife leaves crooked lines.
It can easily be "glued" together with acoustical sealant, & a small drain hole cut at the low end. I would place thin sheets of that closed cell packing wrap between rows of bottles to prevent breakage due to the pounding effect of waves. This was one of my better ideas that never happened due to talks cheap, works hard!
One weekend, in a bind we did cobble a cooler together from the above materials, & it kept ice as well or better than any store bought cooler. The physics are sound, yu will have to work a bit harder due to the restricted access. Even a segment of SM on the floor of the hull, & a soft sided cooler worked through the port would be way better than just dropping cans in.



Edited by Edchris177 on Jun 28, 2011 - 12:33 PM.

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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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Bottled water.. rrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiight. :) Good idea about the insulation. It could insulate and serve as the bulkhead material. Since I have one of the all glass Nacra's I think I'll be OK. I see this as being one of the most valuable project I have yet undertaken on this old boat. Will post pictures and progress notes as I get going. I'm not sure if this would be class legal, but since I have seen few, if any, 5.2 races, it doesn't cause me too much concern.

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Eric C

Force 5 project boat
Unnamed

Previous boat
1980 Nacra 5.2
"Double Vision"
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Old fishermen trick. Get a mesh bag and enough rope so that it doesn't reach the bottom of the lake. Put beverages in bag and drag it behind you. If you get it down below about 5 ft it will be plenty cold! Of course there is the downside of dragging your beverages around the lake and getting snagged. But the upside is that if the local constabulary comes out to inspect, the won't find any beverages (or you can cut line and the evidence is gone). I wouldn't actually suggest you do this, but it does work if you are anchored at a nice fishing hole.

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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I have cat bags in mine. On light air days I fill with ice and a few beers...and I've certainly lost a couple port covers.

It works fine, just gets very hot here, so they only last an hour or so before the ice is all melted.

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Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
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After loosing a port cover "they sink" I sprayed great stuf foam on the inside of the lid. Once it had expanded and dried I took a hacksaw and cut it flush with the threads. Now they don't sink.

Quote

I'm not sure if this would be class legal, but since I have seen few, if any, 5.2 races, it doesn't cause me too much concern.

Yeah, document it, if it's a hit, I'll shamelessly copy it for my 5.7

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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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What they need to is make a port within a port. The outer part would be like the regular port. Maybe modified to give as much diameter clearance as possible and still do its job. This hard mounted and seal to the deck. Then an inner port with an built in cat bag similar to the Fat bag except this bag is very insulated. The outside of the bag would need to be durable and able to withstand abrasion from the inside of the hulls. This unit would screw into the first port making a seal that would not allow any water into the hulls even if the entire insulated bag was full of water. This insulated bag would then have it's own lid that can come off or open easily and is attached to it cannot be lost. Even if you open it to crab a drink and somehow capsize while it is open you cannot flood your hull or lose the cap.

You could even have a separate unit that screwed into the same port but instead of a cooler for individual drinks it was an camel-back type bladder with an insulated outer section that you can ice. The straw for the bladder would come up through the secondary lid and clip to the the shroud for easy drinking access. It could even have 2 spouts so skipper and crew don't have to share.

There goes another great invention idea I'll never get paid for but hey build away. I'd sure buy one.

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Dustin Finlinson • Magna, UT
Member: Utah Sailing Association
1982 Prindle 18
1986 Hobie 17
1982 Prindle 16
1980 Prindle 16(mostly)
1976 Prindle 16(mostly)
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook.
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Now, if I could figure out some type of pressurization system and a pump, I could have a cat keg. BTW- how do you use the smiley faces in posts- I can't figure it out and my teenager isn't home now.

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Eric C

Force 5 project boat
Unnamed

Previous boat
1980 Nacra 5.2
"Double Vision"
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Oooh, yeah setup port and a bracket to hold one of those mini kegs. Just a standard pull pump system would work. You could mount the tap on the front beam!!

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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This is getting out of control.

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Eric C

Force 5 project boat
Unnamed

Previous boat
1980 Nacra 5.2
"Double Vision"
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Nope, attaching 4 kegs together to replace the hulls of your cat is out of control!! This is just good fun! ;)

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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If you read my Singer Island Sailing Adventure, I mentioned going sailing with Craig on his Super Cat 20, and Craig loves his beer.......cold. What he did was lift the top deck off, glass in a box leaving space underneath for water to drain, lined the box with some kind of insulation, and re-attached the deck. He situated this cooler directly under his port, he would screw the port cover off, pull out the port bag, drop in a load of ice, a quantity of beer, put the bag back in and screw the port on and go sailing, he never ran out of cold beer.

Turbo

I can definitely see doing that if you had to have the deck off for some reason anyway but I can't imagine taking the deck off just for that.

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Dustin Finlinson • Magna, UT
Member: Utah Sailing Association
1982 Prindle 18
1986 Hobie 17
1982 Prindle 16
1980 Prindle 16(mostly)
1976 Prindle 16(mostly)
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook.
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There are other things that could be enjoyed while sailing that ONLY need to be dry. Not cool and refreshing but still relaxing!!

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Hal Liske
Livermore CA
H 16 (6+ 1.. Friends) H 3.2 N 5.2 (2) H 17 (2) H-18
Nacra 5.8 (son's) H 20 (Friends)
It's a Sickness

I Need a A Cat Please
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Yes, up here we grow our own! Medicinal you know.

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

There are other things that could be enjoyed while sailing that ONLY need to be dry. Not cool and refreshing but still relaxing

these go in a less obvios place...more stealthy useually...

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

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Hank, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, P16 - "Sideways"
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But then you forget about them, and end up wearing the damn socks. You thought it smelled bad before...

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