Hi Everyone,
I just got back from a 22 hour drive to pick up Belle, a 1986 Nacra 5.7, from Minneapolis. Anyone who knows me knows that I have lusted after this boat for years. Yes, it isn't as sexy as the newer boats but its a boardless boomless rocketship and good enough for the girls I go with. :) Here are the first couple of photos:

http://www.thebeachcats.c…ictures/?g2_itemId=88490
http://www.thebeachcats.c…ictures/?g2_itemId=88491


I believe I am now the only owner of a Nacra 5.7 in Manitoba Canada, and I likely have 2 of maybe 4 Nacras in the whole province.

Her previous owner had her for 4 years and put a pile of time and money into the hulls, sails and trailor. The glass inside the hulls at the front string and reinforcing the shroud plates is awesome! And the new paint is pretty good too. Unfortunately it still has the older 1.25 in mast ball/dolphinstriker, the tramp needs replacing and the standing rigging really needs replacing also (it is definitely 10 or more years old).

This week I'm going to start pulling the running rigging and some of the nicer upgrades off of my 5.2 and install them on this boat. I want to keep them both in sailing shape but this it going to be my go to boat for the foreseeable future. If anyone has any spares they wish to sell off, such as a used tramp in better condition than mine (which has been restitched a couple of times) or roller furling jib parts. Please let me know.

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

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Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
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nice

been interesting reading Ed's? 5.7 vs 5.0 comparos

your thoughts on the 5.7 vs the 5.2 will be interesting too

Sweet! Looking forward to reading about your on the water experience with her.

Tom

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Tom Benedict
Island of Hawaii
P-Cat 18 / Sail# 361 / HA 7633 H / "Smilodon"
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Well i got her home after 20 hours od driving. Rigged her with the old rigging and tramp and got 2 really nice days of sailing out of her. Wow that is an awesome ride. Nowhere near as twichy a my 5.2 and she loves to fly a hull. Very stable.



Then i discovered a few things...

One rudders was severely cracked. No problem pulled out the west system repair pack. A couple of hours work and a day to cure. Just like new, except for the gelcoat.

Next i notice one hull is taking on water, quite a bit of it. No problem, pressure test the hull find some pinholes around the decklids, sealed those and back in busines.

Then i left her in the water over night. The next day the hull is about a third full. What the... I pull her out just about breaking my beachwheels with the weight and drain the hull. The other one is empty. I look in through the port and i can see light coming though the keel. Shit. I look closer underneath and sure enough, severe wear from mid way between the beams to the skeg. Sigh. A couple of small cracked areas on the one hull 1" to 2" in length but both hulls are thin in the same area.

So it is bottom job time, if i didnt have bad luck i would have none at all.

Advice? Can i fix this with a thickened epoxy wear strip? Shredded mat? Or should i fill the holes with thickened epoxy and lay down a couple of strips of fabric. Fair and cover the whole thing with a marine tex wear strip. I will try and get photos when i get th boat apart tommorrow.

Also the previous owner told me it was in rough shape when he bought it. Looks like he spent all his money on structural repairs but didnt identify that problem. The fact that the other keel is thin bit not leaking tells me this is very recent. I got all his repair bills also and he spent a lot more than i paid for the boat on fiberglass, gelcoat and beautiful sails. So i dont think he was trying to pull anything over on me.



Edited by Wolfman on Aug 03, 2012 - 10:33 PM.

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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as the 5.7 is a skeg boat

the small contact area takes almost all the boat weight when it gets dragged up and down the beach

you really need those glass fiber strands to hold the whole thing together

so i'd vote for a full repair

the good news is a thickened epoxy wear strip should be all you need for the rest of this season

and extra work with something like kevlar? can be done over winter

nice ride. you gonna put wings on this boat? if so how will you fasten them?

Bummer to hear that Dave. Be VERY careful when trying to bring a flooded hull up on dry land. 1/3 full is a hell of a lot of weight, it is very easy to bust the hull. Early in my career I saw several airplanes sustain tens of thousands of $$ damage due to a leaky float. The owners panicked & tried to haul them out, & proved a hull full of water exceeds the design limit. You have an incline on your shore, best thing is to move them just a bit up the slope & pull the plugs, even with the drain still underwater.
The captive water will flow towards the back, & run out till the level in the hull is equal to the level outside the hull. Then move things a bit further up the beach. It takes longer, but you won't break anything.
Flip the boat,(remove the rudders, it's only 2 ring dings, or make sure they are straight out so you don't break one) & pressure test again.
Where you can see light might not be the leak. When I cut those 5.2 hulls, for the album, it was surprising how many places that were watertight showed light. If there are cracks in the skeg, Dremel the damaged material & pack with fibre/resin.
Crappy Tire sells marine Bondo with chopped fibre, or long strand fibre. An angle grinder makes quick work of damaged areas. Tape off so you don't have to clean up runs & drips.
The good news is flipping the boat is the hardest part. I've done it solo with the aid of a tree branch & mainsheet & blocks. If you elect to remove the beams & do it one hull at a time, build some sort of cradles to hold the hulls. I can email you a photo of some easy ones I built out of scrap lumber. You can have that ship back in the water by tomorrow!
It's been bloody hot here, & good to big winds most days. We pounded the fleet in 20-30mph last couple of days, only flipped 4 times, practising gybes in 20mph, it's a rush, those 19' hulls come around damn quick!

--
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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Thanks erice, i will probably do a full repair next weekend ( minus gel coat). My off season here is below freezing so better to get it over with while the temperatures are mid 80s. I will try and get some kevlar fabric.

Jimmy, i have factory nacra wings (only made for about 2 years). They are attached using beam inserts made of vulcanizes rubber ( tire rubber). They fit very snuggly inside the beams. You insert the pipes for the wings into the inserts and that snugs them more. The then essentially stay put with friction. I put a couple of screws in to keep the inserts from working out but i have found that they really arent needed.

--
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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to 2nd what Edchris said

just seeing light through the hull doesn't mean it's too thin structurally

it just means there is no gelcoat left

normal fiberglass is a translucent material that yellows with age. some racing motorbikes use frp tanks so they could see how much fuel they have left while racing



but you should get several inches of new glass weave cloth over any wear area where you can see that the original fibers have been worn through



Edited by erice on Aug 04, 2012 - 05:46 PM.

Don't worry about sourcing Kevlar Dave. Your setup is much like mine, your boat will never blast up on a beach,we wouldn't wear out a hull in 30 years.
Look through the last posts, Pete Begle had an address for rolls of glass tape. They work way better than trying to cut sheets, the sheets always fray at the edges. A couple layers of that, you could start with 2", then finish with 1 1/2".
I did one fix where I "painted a thin layer of resin on the hull, laid the tape, then painted another layer to wet the tape. You have to be organized & work quickly, but you can paint a thin layer, just enough to wet the tape. Another job,(not a boat) involved several long thin strips. I modified a technique used by drywalllers for wetting tape. I took a margarine container & cut a thin slit in the lid,towards one side, being careful to leave smooth edges in the slit. Cut another larger slit on the other side of the lid.
Mix the resin in the container. Now, feed the tape into the larger slit, & out the narrower one. Have someone hold the container on an angle as you pull the tape through. The narrow slit will squeegee excess resin off the tape, but fully wet it. Cut the tape at required length, & lay in place. Quickly grab the end at the container, & pull another piece. You can literally wet, cut, & lay pieces til you run out of resin. If you do, let the skim in the container set up, flex the container to break it loose, discard, mix another batch & continue.
If you mix some colloidal silica in the final layer, you will have a super hard finish.
Have some precut pieces of plastic garbage bag, or saran wrap, along with a bunch of precut tape strips hanging from your work area. If the tape strips don't want to conform to the hull, just set a piece of plastic/saran wrap over them, stretch it out, & tape in place for 20 minutes. I like saran wrap as it allow you to see any bubbles, & smooth them out.
I thought we should fly out to the 'Peg, fix your boat then sail the hell out of it, but my wife busted her leg & is a cripple, can't sit for more than 20 minutes, can't drive, can hardly, well you know what...& of course she doesn't think it would be Kosher for me to go solo.
We had 20 kts today, took the 5.7 & 5.0 out into the navigation channel, along with a neighbours H17 Sport.
The swells were 3'-4', with the cruisers wakes meeting at 45*. Made for some awesome wave jumping. The humidex was in the 40's, so eating green water over the tramp was blessing. I'm amazed at the punishment these boats handle. At some point I'm sure my 28 year old 5.7 is just going to commit hari kari! Until then, sheet in, shut up, hang on... and unless in very close proximity to a lee shore, gybe, always gybe.

--
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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Ill write a full description when i am back in civilization and nottyping on the phone. Long story short, the hole was very small. Three layers of cloth and epoxy and we are back in business. Looks like an old rock strike that eventually wore though. Hole was less than .5 inch long and 1/8" wide.



Edited by Wolfman on Aug 06, 2012 - 12:01 AM.

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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Good to hear it was simple. If I could I would send you half of our winds. Went out yesterday, left the jib furled as it was 50 clicks,(30 mph). I only lasted an hour, it was just to much work soloing in that kind of wind, after 4 days of soloing in 20 or better. Coming home on a broad reach I was travelled out to the end, lots of sheet out too, & still going like a bat out of hell.
If you do want to solo that ship in strong wind, don't be afraid to leave the jib at home. Be aggressive on the tiller, but use a smooth aggressive, if that makes sense. It will come smartly around most times. If it stalls out, put the rudders full over in the direction you want the stern to go, & it will back down in a couple of seconds. I'm using mast raked so halyard hangs about 2' aft of the front beam.
If the jib is up you can also de-power by sliding the jib blocks to the rear of the track.
When you step the mast, wipe a bit of divers grease on the ball. Otherwise, in light wind the mast swings to/fro & the squeaking drives you crazy. I think I saw a rotator on your mast, you can stop the swinging by cleating the rotator. If you elect to use it do not forget to uncleat it as the first step in a turn. NAcra says you can break the mast by failing to release it. Anytime you are hardly moving in a good breeze, look at the rotator, if you forgot to undo it, & the mast is turned the wrong way, it is like dragging an anchor.
Let me know if you need any of those rudder rake adjust screws, I've got about 1/2 dozen new ones kicking around.

--
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
--

Yeah as everyone said the see through were just missing gelcoat. Most of the keel still had full gelcoat except a few patches on the skegs. The holes were tiny and took very little time to fix, 3 layers of wetted fabric and then some thickened epoxy to top it off. I just have to sand and shape it. Probably won't bother gel coating it, no one will ever see the repair anyway under the boat (yes it was that small). Since I have it apart I am going to put a wear strip of marine tex on both skegs.

As for the rudders. The fix on one was pretty a simple fill with thickened epoxy, but I should probably grind it out and reglass it. My 'spare' was badly fixed with a similar problem, split down the middle. It isn't really usable right now. I have a line on a couple of more that are in much better shape.

As for the boat, I'm completely in love. It is way better than I thought. Where my 5.2 is way overpowered and super twitchy the 5.7 is only somewhat overpowered and rock solid. It turns like a dream, I didn't blow a tack all day on on it. I know people say that loosing the boom and daggers doesn't reduce workload much, but I must say, it makes a big difference to me. No worries about smashing my head, or ripping my boards out on a rock (a big possibility in the Shield country up here). Also there is lots of room for passengers without sitting on my sheets! I was really impressed on how easy it was to hold the boat flying the hull even in the gusty/swirly wind at my lake.

So I went a little crazy with the new stuff. All new rigging including roller furling jib is here but I have to pick it up from UPS tomorrow. My new tramp from SLO is on its way. I have some new/old rudders, cleats for the missing mast rotation system and some pivmatics in transit. I've flipped my oxen blocks and 8:1 main sheet from my 5.2 onto the new boat.

I also spent most of a day last week rescuing a guy on a Hobie 16. I saw him going out with his daughter, and watched him attempt to sail for about a half hour. The mainsail was whipping around uncontrollably and the jib was wrapping itself around the forestay. And he couldn't fly the hull even though it was howling out. After about a half hour he flipped it. I watched him try to right it and it was obvious he had no clue. He kept standing on the stern and the boat would flip t*ts up. So me and an friend ran the boat up to help him out. Told him what to do and raised the mast out the water. Then I got on the boat with his daughter and tried to sail it back to shore for him. I got on and looked for the traveler line... there was none. I yanked on the mainsheet, the boom came down to the tramp, sail wasn't attached to the mast in any way. Tried to take the main down, but the halyard jammed up top. Looked at the jib, the sheet was laying on the tramp the leech was lashed to the mast somehow with the clew attached to the forestay. So I have no controls except rudders, that had (get this) an extendable mop handle as a tiller extension. At this point I am like, WTF abandon ship. A fellow with a ski boat comes by and I lash his ski rope around the mast base and steer with rudders. Somehow we manage to get it to his cottage. Stupid me I offer to help him out and show him how to rig it properly. I go get my kit and come back. I start to look at his 76 hobie. I ask 'how much you pay for this' he says $800, and I say wow did you get ripped off.

The boat is a 76, looks like it has been in the bush for about 20+ years. He had lichen (moss type stuff) growing on the decks of the hulls and the sheets, the sheets were falling apart in my hands. I replaced his sheets with some sta set I had lying about. Replaced all of his ring dings (not one of them was round) and many of his pins. His standing rigging was rediculously loose (not to mention old) so I did my best to tighten it up and make sure the mast didn't fall on anyone. I'm still concerned because of the condition of the fiberglass lips the shrouds are attached to. I showed him the basics of how to rig the sails and sheets. And gave him some of my books (hope to get them back) to read. I also told him to come for a few rides on my boat and I would show him the basics. I also asked him why he bought the thing. Turns out that he went to a couple of all inclusives in mexico. While there he would 'sail' at 'catamaran', he had such a good time he decided to get one for him and his kids. What he described was a couple of resorts that had constant on-shore wind a few hobie waves and a guy on a jet ski who would go from boat to boat help people, righting them and dragging them back in as needed. Not really sailing per se. I tried to convey the gravity of his situation to him without discouraging too much, but his boat is trash and should probably be landfilled. I don't think he really understands the consequences of dropping a mast on someone. He wanted me to rig it for him the next day and get him sailing, needless to day I didn't have time. So I'm out about $50 in parts or so, a day of vacation, probably 3 good sailing books and my reward was a warm Corona. Did I do a good deed? Or encourage a monster and will now burn in hell? Not sure either way.

D.

--
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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Just got my rigging in. It is looking awesome. I thought I would try out the cheaper roller furler by Ronstan http://www.murrays.com/mm…de=C-MO-RF&Store_Code=MS. It's a tiny thing but the price was right and it actually looks quite nice. I did go with coated rigging against most peoples recommendations. I am only sailing in fresh water and am pretty anal about rigging so I figure the protection provided by the coating outweighs the potential for unseen damage.

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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Hey I have been looking at that little Ronstan furler so take some pic of it rigged and write up a review of what you think once you have used it a bit.

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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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that ronstan furler is also used on the furling jib version of the weta trimaran

haven't had any issues with the lower unit in 3? years, but then the weta jib is maybe half the size of the 5.7's