Hey all,

I'm looking for a price check on this catamaran which was given to me by a relative. My brother and I sailed it last summer and it was a blast, but he's going away to school. Raising the mast and sail is too difficult to do on my own. I would like to sell it and buy a smaller cat like a hobie or something similar. Can anyone give me a sale value?

Here's some more details and a few pictures:

It has a good trailer
trampoline is in good condition
no holes in the sail (some broken battens though)
almost all of the hardware save a few pins or bolts
hulls are completely seaworthy. one hole was glassed over and does not leak.
One set of trapeze wires and two harnesses

It is a 5.5 late 80s/early 90s I believe.

Please let me know what you think!

Thanks,

Kevin

http://imgur.com/71Xj7,IlGQh#1

So this is a Nacra 5.5 right?

There should be an HIN (hull identification number) on the sterns that will give the exact model year, what is it?

You didn't mention the sails?

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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN

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Nacra 5.5 Uni 80's or earlier.

Bow tang on outside of hull moved to inside by 90's

HIN on starboard hull at stern deck.



Edited by nacra55 on Jul 09, 2012 - 03:20 PM.

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Ron
Nacra F18
Reservoir Sailing Assn.
Brandon, Mississippi
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$2000?

the 5.5 uni was the replacement to the nacra 5.2

nacra said at the time that it was slightly lighter, though i struggle to believe that

going to be similar in weight to a hobie 16

so if you want a cat that's lighter and easier to rig you might need to go right down to the hobie 14 or wave



Edited by erice on Jul 09, 2012 - 04:16 PM.

Or just look into a mast raising system. That mast has diamond wires so may be little taller that the average 16 ft range boats. Are you planning to mostly be sailing single handed?

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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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I would put it at about $2k as well unless you pull out some nice accessories.

--
Greenville SC

Offering sails and other go fast parts for A-class catamarans
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Hi,

Raising the mast will be about the same effort on any cat in that size range. Check out gin pole setups in the Hobie catalog, or just get a helper. When stepping a mast, I attach a line to the main halyard, while keeping the other end clipped to the base of the mast. The second guy stands about 20' from the cat and assists in raising by pulling on the rope. He's also the safety guy who holds the mast up while I get the forestay attached. It's pretty e-z with two people.

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Hobie 16
Hobie 18
G-Cat 5.7
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Thanks for the great info everyone! I thought it was worth about 1000$ so I'm pleasantly surprised that it's worth more.

Damon, the hull ID is NACF0259C888. Yes it is a 5.5. And the sail is in decent shape, it has some broken battens though.

Quarath, I do want something that would be easy for a beginner to handle solo.
Although from what I'm reading I may be simply misinformed in thinking that it will be easier on a different type of cat.

Thanks for the info on raising the masts.

The sail is incredibly difficult to raise, which is the second major problem next to actually getting the mast up. Using the halyard is nearly impossible because the part of the sail that goes into the mast (not sure of that terminology) gets stuck while feeding it in. It takes a ridiculous amount of effort to get it only a few inches because of all the friction. We usually have to resort to flipping the boat over and having one person manually tug the sail while the other feeds it into the mast.

I know I'm getting a little off topic here, and I can create a new post if need be. Once I figure out raising the sail I'll have everything I need to either sail this baby or get it sold.

Spray the luff of the sail and the slot with mclube sailkote (or something like that)
It will go right up.

--
Rob Jones
1976 Yellow p-16 - parts is parts - hulls cut up
1978 Yellow p-16 - in good working order
1979 White p-15 - parts is parts - hulls cut up
1985 White p-15 - good working order
1982 White NACRA 5.8 - project boat.
1986 White p-16 - in good working order
1975 White Hobie 3.5 - PM me if you want it
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Quote

actually getting the mast up. Using the halyard is nearly impossible because the part of the sail that goes into the mast (not sure of that terminology) gets stuck while feeding it in. It takes a ridiculous amount of effort to get it only a few inches because of all the friction

very common, here are a few solutions:
clean the track.
Many methods, I use a little piece of a t-shirt, wrapped around a 3" dowel or pencil. use Acetone (or similar solvent) and run it up and down the entire mast track (a few times)... removing it and adjusting the t-shirt cloth to a clean spot, and re-apply solvent. repeat till clean

Lubricate the track:
same method but with silicone lube. some people spray McLube (dry silicone) into the track, but i think most of the product lands in the wrong spot and doesn't help that much and is about $20/bottle.


Make sure there are no pinches in the track
Often tracks get bent from trailers (or the occasionally falling down on a beam or other boat). so while cleaning and lubing the track, inspect for pinched areas. they can be gently pounded out with a wooden shim (think doorstop shape)

Check/replace your sails boltrope
this is the part of the sail that sits in the track. they can swell from moisture overtime and can be replaced with a new/smaller diameter for around $100-200 at a sail shop. i suggest you DO NOT have anyone other than a sail maker do this repair.

Value of your cat:
i would say $1000 - $3000 range depending on is condition, time of year, and parts.
If you clean it up, make sure it is 100% ready to sail (all pins, all battens, good lines, ,etc) at the beginning of the season, it could be worth $3k to someone. if it needs any work, or parts it's probably worth much less.. end of season, incomplete cat... i would pay around 1200,

PS i would get a gin pole (or crew), and keep that boat and not even think about an "easier boat" ....

I have found that SailKote on the front edge of each side of the bolt rope itself where it contacts the sail track the most makes a world of difference.

--
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.
--

Green,

Take some very very fine sandpaper or steel wool and polish the aluminum in your track. Years of oxidation means a rough surface. When it's all shiny, hit it with some silicon lube.

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Hobie 16
Hobie 18
G-Cat 5.7
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RSabast

Green,

Take some very very fine sandpaper or steel wool and polish the aluminum in your track. Years of oxidation means a rough surface. When it's all shiny, hit it with some silicon lube.

I am no expert in metals, but wouldn't that remove the paint or anodizing and open up your mast up to corrosion?

it shouldn't

the nacra masts of that period seem to be simple bare alloy, no anodizing or painting

if it's rough and pocked inside the track from years of salt water corrosion it could be very rough

some sandpaper wrapped around a small dowel and shunted up and down inside the sail track a few times with something thin should help smooth it all out and the newly bare alloy will simply re-oxidize it's normal tough layer

Quote

Take some very very fine sandpaper or steel wool

By very fine he means 1000-1500 GRIT, automotive paper

Quote

wouldn't that remove the paint or anodizing and open up your mast up to corrosion?

Correct if the mast was originally anodized.
Many people think aluminum is quite resistant to corrosion. In fact it corrodes quicker, much quicker than cast iron. The good thing is that it morphs into aluminum oxide, which is almost impervious to oxygen. This prevents any further corrosion, hence you can scratch the coating of an aluminum object and not see corrosion creep out of the damaged area...actually Eric said the same thing in less words!

Your Hull VIN shows it is a 1988 boat.
Andrew (MN3) pointed out a very common cause, the bolt rope. The rope is secured to the sail by coarse stitching. If the rope shrinks, or the sail stretches you get wrinkles in the fabric along the bolt rope. These wrinkles will cause the sail to bind in the track. Fix that & your problem is solved. Also make sure when you raise the sail, don't just haul on the line, the sail will bind every time a batten hits the feed track, you often have to grab the sail & line up where the batten cap area feeds into the mast.
Finally... are you raising the sail while pointed directly into the wind? If the sail is being blown against the trap wires or shrouds it can be bloody hard to raise. If it is off a bit, you can tug on the diamond wires to turn the mast a bit.

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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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