I hit a piling during a race last year, I was only doing about 3-4 kts, but I figured I had better fix the boards before they got worse. There was no carpet in the dagger wells, so the trailing edge of the board took the worst of the damage. I am refinishing both boards now, but I realized as I was sanding away the damaged glass that the construction of the boards wasn't that great. There are bubbles in the resin the size of .177 cal BBs particularly on the leading edge where I hit the piling. The board was split at the core, about 1.5 in back from the leading edge, just from a light(er) collision with a wood piling! The trailing edge looked like it had been chewed on by a rat. At the risk of having everyone telling me I'm doing it wrong, I used Poly resin and glass mat to fix the leading edge, bondo HAIR to fill in the trailing edge, filler to make it all smooth, and after I fit test them (I had to build a new trailing edge lower corner from scratch) I will be re-gelcoating with West Marine waxed finish gel coat. (That Port Supply card sure makes this cheaper, but not by much! )

So, my question is: Has anyone else noticed crappy build quality in the boards and rudders in the '83 vintage NACRA 5.8's?



Edited by foxtrotzulu6 on Apr 26, 2013 - 11:27 AM.

IDK that they're different from the rest of the nacra boards. They're larger than the 5.2/5.5 boards, but take larger loads...actually, come to think of it, I HAVE seen more 5.8 boards break than the others, but my sample is pretty small. I doubt that overall they're much different than the rest, but I've definitely seen a few break. Maybe about 1 per season across the 2-3 5.8s in our community come to think of it. Again, though, small sample group.

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Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
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You do realize that the boat, parts and the materials they are made of are over 30 years old.

foxtrotzulu6

I hit a piling during a race last year, I was only doing about 3-4 kts, but I figured I had better fix the boards before they got worse. There was no carpet in the dagger wells, so the trailing edge of the board took the worst of the damage. I am refinishing both boards now, but I realized as I was sanding away the damaged glass that the construction of the boards wasn't that great. There are bubbles in the resin the size of .177 cal BBs particularly on the leading edge where I hit the piling. The board was split at the core, about 1.5 in back from the leading edge, just from a light(er) collision with a wood piling! The trailing edge looked like it had been chewed on by a rat. At the risk of having everyone telling me I'm doing it wrong, I used Poly resin and glass mat to fix the leading edge, bondo HAIR to fill in the trailing edge, filler to make it all smooth, and after I fit test them (I had to build a new trailing edge lower corner from scratch) I will be re-gelcoating with West Marine waxed finish gel coat. (That Port Supply card sure makes this cheaper, but not by much! )

So, my question is: Has anyone else noticed crappy build quality in the boards and rudders in the '83 vintage NACRA 5.8's?Edited by foxtrotzulu6 on Apr 26, 2013 - 11:27 AM.

Damon,

I really wish you would change the name of this thread, maybe to "Nacra Daggerboard Issues". The 5.8 is an outstanding platform and is very high in quality of construction. Foxtrot, you don't necessarily have to have carpet in the trunks on the 5.8, only need your sideloaders to work properly. Carpet probably would not have made a difference in the damage. You still had impact. And you might have some boards that were made by someone other than Nacra. BB size bubbles in the resin already tells me that those boards have had a past life, and likely unknown to you. I have several boards if you're interested. They are late construction, some of the last few made. I think one or two of them might be carbon.

Your boards were constructed in two halves. Anytime you get knicks or chucks in the boards you allow the water to penetrate, eventually resulting in board failure. That's why you see boards fail. No more failures with the 5.8 or 6.0 than any other high performance modern day cat. What you are seeing is boards that have been around for 30 years eventually fail, and for oh so many reasons, but not crappy construction.

--
Philip
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Better the board get damaged than your hull.

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Ron
Nacra F18
Reservoir Sailing Assn.
Brandon, Mississippi
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There are very few replacement boards for these 30 year old cats. See my ad for unidirectional carbon fiber (and epoxy) to reinforce the side loads particularly on a reach. And I don't understand the cost & time to re-gel coat board repairs. Just chi-chi with a spray can of white paint. Pete

Yeah I know my boat/boards have a past life, and I assume that not ALL of the damage I saw was from JUST that impact. Its true the boards are 30 years old, and I'm not expecting them to be perfect and bulletproof, I was just surprised when I saw bubbles in the resin; a dead give away that they weren't as strong as they could have been without those huge bubbles. It looked like original construction, with the same resin color all over the rest of the boards. As for the repairs, I had gel coat lying around from my last Hobie 16 repair, so I figured I would use it.

I've observed bubbles in the bonding filler between the board halves on several brands.

--
Greenville SC

Offering sails and other go fast parts for A-class catamarans
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Hard to say if the boards you have were built well or not. I've seen both stock and homemade boards. I do know that the original Nacra boards (pre 1985 or so) are wood core and appear to have a seem down the middle. I've had several of those boards split right down the middle. The newer boards are foam core and seem to be a bit stronger (and a heck of a lot lighter). Like everyone says after about 30 years of wetting and drying things are bound to be a bit fragile. And you never know how much of a board has been rebuilt. I've seen boards with huge chunks replaced. And heck, it could have been a bad day in the shop when your boards were built. All and all, likely nothing a bit of epoxy, fiber and elbow grease wont fix. A day in the life of owning 30+ year old boat.

Very lucky, if the board did smash into and damage your hulls at the board trunks that is a major repair. Or it could have been game over for the boat depending on how bad the damage.

And I agree with Pete, fix it, sand it, paint it if you like and sail the crap out of it.

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

2013 - 1983 = 30 years

Not a bad life cycle considering the stress that is on those boards. Yes there is a considerable amount of strees. Now, if we were talking of the new NACRA boards that are being built by a sub contractor for the Inter 20 et al, I would have to agree with you they are crap... but the older ones that were built in house, they were pretty much bullet proof..

Also, something else to consider, in 1983 they were probably pumping out about 30 plus boats a week between Prindles and NACRAs at the Santa Ana plant... Even the best manufacturing has a blemish once in a while... But even then, IMPO NACRA's blemish is considered the top quality by some other manufactures..

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John Schwartz
Ventura, CA
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