Found a 5.2 in the area for a good price and since I can't help myself when it comes to buying cats
I am looking for some info about the boat. Basically looking for the good and bad points and how it
sails compared to others in it's class.



Edited by pknapp66 on Mar 30, 2013 - 05:38 AM.

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Pete Knapp
Schodack landing,NY
Goodall Viper,AHPC Viper,Nacra I20
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It's probably the wettest ride of all of the more common cats. Great size for one 200lb person with three hands.

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Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
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Sails about as fast as a badly sailed F-18 FWIW
Agree with Yurdle, I sail one solo and also weigh 200 pounds. Except the three hands are not absolutely necessary. I mean, you could slow down to pull up the boards before hitting the beach... Getting out through surf solo is tough but can be done with the boards part way down. The boat sails on rails once you get in the groove. Steers easily, can become a little bit of a hand full in stronger breeze (like F6 plus), the transoms are not very buoyant so you need to watch where you put those 200 pounds.
Bad points are structural failure on older boats... You need to check if all the reinforcements in the bows are OK, listen while tapping bur preferably inspect with a small camera or something. On sandwich boats (after 1985 I believe) check around the beam mounts for delamination or softness.
Good is they are incredible bang for your buck if you pick up even a half way decent one.

I used to sail a 5.2 for a few years. It was a great boat and I single-handed it a lot (165 pounds). It would definitely become unmanageable for me in anything over 15 mph. Ditto what Dennis says about the hull structure. I could fly a hull with very little wind but the hulls were a little brittle in my opinion. Lucky for me I have a friend who lives nearby who is great with fiberglass repairs. The boards and both sails are very easy to handle with just two hands, but I don't think I would ever try to launch it single-handed through any kind of surf. Enjoy it. It's a great boat. I wish I still had mine.

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Rob V.
Panama City, FL
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Make sure you get the nacra add on rudder kick up cleat. This is a cleat to hold down the rudders, but if you hit bottom they will release so your rudders can pop up un damaged. This is for emergencies only, if you are approaching the beach release the cleat ahead of time.