Hi all, as part of my number obsession i record serial numbers when they pop up on the web to try and make sense of things. below is my current nacra listing, probably a few typos and mistakes in there but it's now big enough to share;o)

Santa Ann, California factory - solid glass hulls with visible seam along top of hulls and stringers visible through inspection ports, hull number on rear of right hull

1975 TRRA02130675 alphacat 18' sail#213 
TRRB - maybe 1 of the smaller alphacats or R36?
1976 TRRC00900276 5.2
1976 TRRC02870676 5.2
TRRD?
1979 TRRE0034M79l 18sq 17'
1980 TRRE0073V80G 18sq 17' forestay chainplates outside of hull
TRRF?
TRRG?
TRRH?
TRRJ 5.0
1980 TRRC1430M80C 5.2
1980 TRRC1549M806 5.2 matching sail number
1982 TRRC2158M82B 5.2 Japan
1982 TRRC2195M82C 5.2 
1982 TRRC2307M82E 5.2
1982 TRRC2321M82F 5.2 

1982 TRRA0123M82J 5.8
1983 TRRA0230M83D 5.8
1983 TRRJ0071M83E 5.0
1984 TRRL0195M84G 5.7
1984 TRRL0227M84H 5.7
1984 TRRC2435M84A 5.2
1985 TRRK0001M85A 18sq? 18'

Move to Woodland hill, California factory - thicker foam sandwich hulls, no seams on outside or stringers visible through inspection ports - hull number under right rear beam?

1986 NACR3002J586 5.2 maybe that R should be B?
1986 NACC0351J586 5.7
1986 NACD0869K586 5.8
1987 NACB3026I687 5.2 
1987 NACA2030A787 5.0
1988 NACG0032F888 6.0
1990 NACB3080E090 5.2 Japan
1991 NACB3091K091 5.2 Japan
1992 NACH0323F192 5.5sl
1993 NACH0424B393 5.5uni

2001 NACT0292J001 Inter 20
2004 NACTO400C204 Inter20
2004 NACI03026304 500
2005 NACRO152G405 Inter 17R

What are you trying to find out?

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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN

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basically just how to quickly identify hulls/boats

someone finds a pair of smacked up hulls in a garden with the number TTRC xxxxxxxxx

they can be quickly identified as from a nacra 5.2

if they are TTRE xxxx they are also 17' but from the 1st gen nacra 18square

but if they are TTRF or TTRB

then they are neither...

I have TRRE0036M79L that I am restoring.

I thought it was a 5.5 uni until now (it has '5.5' decal lettering on the sides). Is it really only 17ft and a first gen 18sq from 1979?! Just noticed the paperwork says 17ft and 1979. I better go get the tape measure. So confused right now.

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Tom
Hobie Getaway, Nacra 5.5, Hobie Tiger
Wish list: A-cat classic, F16 Viper!
Northern California
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Sierracat, been watching your trials with that boat for a little bit. I wouldn't worry about getting the boat back to 'stock' simply because you don't know what that may have looked like.

Prior to 1981 or so the 5.5 used the 18 sq hulls (outside tang), after 1981 they both went to the inside tang and a bridle foil for the sloop rig they also went boomless in 1981. They are the SAME boat except that the 18sq was up to 11' wide and the 5.5 was around 8.5' wide. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just get the beams so that they are around 8.5 ft wide and in proper alignment. If you can't find the internal castings for the beams you can simply rivet the straps to the beams (after you have aligned the boat), that is how my 5.2 is put together and I've never had a problem.

The rigging should be setup so you can get the mast vertical and slightly raked. The running rigging is essentially the same for all the Nacra boats from there. Pretty sure that once you get it up and running its going to be an awesome boat.

Don't get hung up on the 17' moniker. All the Nacra boats are closer to the metric designation. I think that the 5.5 was just under 18' but those aren't exact measurements.



Edited by Wolfman on Nov 15, 2014 - 11:50 AM.

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

Just get the beams so that they are around 8.5 ft wide and in proper alignment.

And make sure the width is what you need for the tramp you have. 1/4" to wide & you'll never get the tramp on.

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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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True dat, unless you have one with the 2 directional lacing, there is a little more play in those than the bias cut tramps! :) You should install that tramp while you are aligning things to make sure it all fits anyway. It's easy to trim beams but really hard to extend them. :)

The pair of beams pete has for sale would probably do the trick.



Edited by Wolfman on Nov 15, 2014 - 03:51 PM.

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

Move to Woodland hill, California factory - thicker foam sandwich hulls, no seams on outside or stringers visible through inspection ports - hull number under right rear beam?

Erice,

I may be wrong, but I don't think NACRA was ever made at the Woodland Hills facility... The Woodland Hills facility was where Catalina Yachts were built who were the owners before NACARA sold to the folks on Europe...

l think they were always made at the Santa Ana location... after Surfglass/Lear Siglar (Prindle) bought NACRA from the original owners who were in Carpinteria, CA. The Santa Ana location also made some other stuff for Catalina Yachts like the Johnson 18 a racing mono hull similar to the 505 and International 470s for someone else...

That said, I do believe that the NA Brida and maybe some of the other metal work for the 5.5, 5.8, and 6.0 were made in Woodland Hills.

But then again, I can be wrong....

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John Schwartz
Ventura, CA
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Great advice thank you. I must say I'm surprised to hear you say to cut the beams "around 8.5 wide". Here I've been fussing and trying to get someone, anyone, to go measure some 5.5 beams exactly. It's easy to find out the info that the 'beam' (boat width) is 8.5' but that doesn't mean the 'beams' (tubes) are 8.5'. In fact, the old beams are 101 inches, which is 8ft 5in (not 8'6"). But then they have been cut down from something longer, so who knows if they got it right back then. Somebody on here said that the hulls bulge out a little each side to make up the extra inch, or maybe the beam tubes sitting a fraction inboard makes sense so they don't stick out and get banged up.

I'm pretty sure the DMV paperwork and hull number (showing 1979 @ 17ft, interpreted as an 18sq according to the hull ID tips earlier in this thread) doesn't reflect the hulls I have, but rather the previous hulls which were destroyed. Sounds like someone turned an old 17ft 18sq into a 5.5 uni. If the previous hulls were a 5.2 and all the rigging (ie. stays) are set up for that, I'm concerned they might be too short on the replacement 5.5 hulls. Given my very sorry budget for this project, I don't need 4 new stays/swaging etc. added to the list. Everything is adding up fast. I have a couple beam internal castings on the way from Pete B, and if I cant find another pair I'll buy 2 more from Murrays, or rivet through the straps like you said (good tip).

Any tips on proper alignment? Is the ds rod and v strap dead vertical? But then the question is, vertical to what... the top deck?

Wolfman

Sierracat, been watching your trials with that boat for a little bit. I wouldn't worry about getting the boat back to 'stock' simply because you don't know what that may have looked like.

Prior to 1981 or so the 5.5 used the 18 sq hulls (outside tang), after 1981 they both went to the inside tang and a bridle foil for the sloop rig they also went boomless in 1981. They are the SAME boat except that the 18sq was up to 11' wide and the 5.5 was around 8.5' wide. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just get the beams so that they are around 8.5 ft wide and in proper alignment. If you can't find the internal castings for the beams you can simply rivet the straps to the beams (after you have aligned the boat), that is how my 5.2 is put together and I've never had a problem.

The rigging should be setup so you can get the mast vertical and slightly raked. The running rigging is essentially the same for all the Nacra boats from there. Pretty sure that once you get it up and running its going to be an awesome boat.

Don't get hung up on the 17' moniker. All the Nacra boats are closer to the metric designation. I think that the 5.5 was just under 18' but those aren't exact measurements.Edited by Wolfman on Nov 15, 2014 - 11:50 AM.

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Tom
Hobie Getaway, Nacra 5.5, Hobie Tiger
Wish list: A-cat classic, F16 Viper!
Northern California
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You both just saved me a lot of headaches

Edchris177

Quote

Just get the beams so that they are around 8.5 ft wide and in proper alignment.

And make sure the width is what you need for the tramp you have. 1/4" to wide & you'll never get the tramp on.

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Tom
Hobie Getaway, Nacra 5.5, Hobie Tiger
Wish list: A-cat classic, F16 Viper!
Northern California
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Wolfman

True dat, unless you have one with the 2 directional lacing

What does that mean? I haven't looked at the tramp since that first say I went and dusted everything off and took the boat home. It's pretty stiff and a little UV damaged, but I'm hoping it'll hold up. The stitching looked really messy. Maybe they cut down the 18sq tramp and did a homebrew job of it.

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Tom
Hobie Getaway, Nacra 5.5, Hobie Tiger
Wish list: A-cat classic, F16 Viper!
Northern California
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They didn't start using bias cut tramps until the mid to late 80s. Prior to that you had the lacing at the rear beam and a line of laces that went down the middle of the tramp or down one side to the the tramp tight in both directions. The current bias cut tramps just tighten at the rear and the diagonally oriented fabric automatically tightens rearward and sideways. The older tramps had more room for give in them.

If the tramp is old and stiff with some messy stitching it may not last long. If there are no tears in it and the fabric is still serviceable you may be able to get a sail loft or tarp maker to just restitch the seams. YOu won't know till you put the boat together and sit on it a bit. If you start causing the tramp to tear then you will need to think about replacing it. I limped my old 5.7 tramp through a season with patches and spot repairs but it isn't fun.

The exact width isn't overly important (give or take a few centimeters is normal). LIkely your beams should be between 8' 5" and 8' 6". There is about 1" of adjustment in the boats with the internal mean castings (you can see it in the elongated hole that has about .5" or so of play on each side). As long as the tramp fits and you can get the boat square it will work. Loot at the old manuals in the technical help gallery to get exactly how you should align the boat. Basically the distance between the hulls should be equal front and rear and the diagonal distance between the beams inside the hulls should be equal.

As far as rigging goes, that all depends on whether the current boat was ever put together properly or if it is just a mess of parts. That being said, there is a fair amount of adjustment in the 10 hole adjusters. If your rig is a little too short you can connect 2 adjusters end to end to artificially lengthen it. This is a trick the H16 guys use to get more rake in their masts and I have used it myself because I misspecced my forestay on my 5.2. Any sailing shop can shorten rigging for you easily enough, but you will lose a minimum of 6" to put on a new swage fitting. If you need to lengthen the rig you might be able to get away with just replacing the 2 forestays, thats not overly pricey. In any case, once you get it together and if you find the rig to be not fit right, try an figure out what you need and post it here. I have a pile of older rigging that is in good condition and quite a few others do also. Its normally not a good idea to reuse old rigging and many people on here will encourage you to get all new rigging (including me), but it probably doesn't make sense to get new rigging until you figure out what will work for you. A lot of use will send you some serviceable stays for the price of shipping. And once you figure it out you can order some new ones.

We always strongly recommend getting new wires for any old boat that you purchase, its not that expensive and is way safer. Original wires may be fine, but you don't know what they have experienced and how they were treated. Old overstressed wire may not show any signs of wear but still be weak from a crash, corrosion or kinking or some other misuse.

The

D.

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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Wolfman Dave, thanks for your excellent reply. It's so amazing to jump on the forum here and learn so much from everyone. Especially with a project boat that is 35 years old.

Don't mean to hijack this thread and continue off topic, but...

My tramp really is pretty ratty. From memory its the old style you mentioned, with lacing down the middle and at the where the pvc pipe slides through. Kinda good to know that I'll have more play to work with. I'll also be using an external tramp track (taken from the old beam) for the front, riveted to the blank tube I'm building the beam from.

Quote

There is about 1" of adjustment in the boats with the internal mean castings (you can see it in the elongated hole that has about .5" or so of play on each side)

Ahhh.... good to know, since I'll be drilling all my own holes in the new beams. I was wondering how on earth I would align the hulls independent of the anti-rotation bolt location through the beams). Brilliant.

More pics of the mystery boat here http://thebeachcats.com/pictures?g2_itemId=111519

Thanks again! Maybe send me a PM or post in my other Nacra 5.5 thread if you have anything to add. Ok, back to hull ID numbers...



Edited by sierracat on Nov 17, 2014 - 12:06 AM.

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Tom
Hobie Getaway, Nacra 5.5, Hobie Tiger
Wish list: A-cat classic, F16 Viper!
Northern California
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