Took a half day off work today to take advantage of a great wind day on the lake with my 1995 Nacra 5.8N/A.

It was ripping fast on the lake today, nearly more than I could handle. Had about an hour and half and decided to head back and call it a day. bearing away with a heading back to my marina, I wiped out and put her on her side in a good gust. But I have practiced and no big deal getting her back upright with the jumbo righting bag, a freshly sealed mast at the beginning of the season, and my 235# frame, not a problem getting her back on two pontoons.

I was having a problem getting her pointed straight into the wind long enough for me to hop on. And then a passing motor boat came an offered a hand. I had a "bow" line tied to my dolphin striker, and asked If he could tie me off to his boat briefly while I climb aboard. No biggy, just tie the line and I hop on. As I ducked my head under the hull to get to the outside, when I came above water, the boat was GONE!!!!

In an instant, the guy dropped the line instead of tying off, and the hulls caught the wind and the boat took off!!! all sheets were loose, but she just ran down wind in a flash. She ran straight and true for about 200 yards, straight into a dock at near full speed.

The damage is below. The bows are split as in the picture, starboard only is shown, port is a little better. the splits start about 1-2" from the deck, and 3" from the keel.

Aside from this new damage, and a couple "scrapes" (one on each hull, right about mid length), and a tramp that needs replacing, everything else is in stellar condition (sails, ALL rigging, mast, etc.)

Question to the community: can it be fixed (easily)? Worth the fix? Part it out? or collect the insurance, then part it out?




What do you guys think?

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-PG
'95 Nacra 5.8NA , rule#2
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Maybe I'm missing something, but the damage doesn't look that bad to me. Sand away all the damaged material and see what you've got.

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Mac
Midlands South Carolina
AHPC Viper USA 366
A Cat USA 366
Super Cat 17
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Not really too bad, If I didn't have fat fingers I'd be able to put my finger thru an opening near the flaky bit of damage on this hull. It'll need glass. Hulls do not appear to be out of shape. Aside from the impact spot, looks as if it split at the seam if that is how they molded the hulls, pretty clean vertical crack on both sides.

Glass work is voodoo to me, so probably need to hire someone out, but it may be worth giving a DIY repair a try, just looking for feed back/recommendations

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-PG
'95 Nacra 5.8NA , rule#2
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Keep your options open. Get an estimate from a repair facility first, then see what the insurance adjuster offers. If they offer to total it ask about buying the salvage back. Then decide which option works best.
If you've other claims in the last five years talk to your agent before turning it into the company. If there are other home or boat claims in your recent past it could be more trouble than it is worth to report. Companies are getting more sensitive to loss frequency lately.
Sorry to hear about the event....glad no one was hurt.

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Mooched Beachcats in the past
Time to try ownership with Nacra 5.7
Port Clinton, Lake Erie Islands, Ohio
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Easy fix - hard to estimate here but I think I could do all the work in about two hours, less the gel coat

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Lee - On the BIG Lake in MS

Harstil Kaulua 31 - Current Project Boat
Cal 25 - What ? Time to freshen it up again??
MC Scow 16 (1 in the water and 1 parts/project) SOLD
Capri 22 - What do you mean you wont deliver it??
Chrysler Pirateer 13 - new addition to the fleet
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from the images, looks like a relatively minor repair to me ... unless there is other damage besides those images.

next time drop an anchor or sea anchor to get your bows into the wind (tied to a line bow bridal, not your dolphin striker ) and ask any powerboater to stay around in case needed, but please stay back during the righting....


I watched a guy on a Getaway get assistance from a pontoon boat (incorrectly) and when the boat righted ... sailed right into the pontoon boat.. lucky n oone was hurt or killed

PS pontoon boats have pontoons, catamarans have hulls :)

The only thing bad about a nice boat is when this happens. I ended up with a huge slit in my g-cat of which i cannot explain. i was able to watch a few DIY videos and fiberglass it up. I added some Bondo for a smooth finish. I am on the fence for the gel coat. Not sure if i should pay for a spray or use my spray gun. I may need to sell soon and i want the best bag for the buck. Those repair shops will charge out the ass for a fiberglass job. (~600 and up). i hope that just gel coat will be a cheaper affair.

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FYC, Nacra 5.2 "Chris's Flyer" & Nacra Playcat & Farrier Tramp
Previously owned: Trac 14, H14, H16, H18, N5.0, G-cat 5.0
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Spray the gel coat yourself. I've done an entire boat recently and it's not too bad, but there is a lot of sanding to get the orange peel out. Actually had guys come up yesterday on its first sail at Mission Bay San Diego asking what year the boat was. They couldn't believe it was an 81 Nacra 5.2 sprayed in the garage, and thought it looked brand new.

For a small repair there shouldn't be much work, and you can even use your normal spray gun if you thin it enough. While I wouldn't do an entire boat that way, for a cheap and simple fix on an old boat it should be fine. I purchased a 2.5mm gun for the big shoot, but did try the normal HLPV gun I have for a small over shoot on a daggerboard. Just thin like crazy with MEK and it will spray a nice coat.

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Craig
Windrider Rave Hydrofoil
Nacra 5.2 Restored and heavily modified
Nacra 5.2 (one under restoration)
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.8NA
SoCal
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there are additives you can add to the gelcoat that will reduce orangepeel
i.e duratec

Interesting info on gelcoats via jake on the other forum - "When we gelcoat on an exterior surface, you have to sand through the outside layer and polish to remove the orange peel to achieve a smooth surface. Once you do that, you remove the durable solid layer and expose the more porous layer that won't hold a finish as long." - http://www.catsailor.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=260570&page=1

PS who cares about a little orange peeling, esp on the bows of your cat ... build that sucker up so next time the dock breaks, not your cat!

Quote

Spray the gel coat yourself. I've done an entire boat recently and it's not too bad, but there is a lot of sanding to get the orange peel out.

Edited by MN3 on Jul 25, 2013 - 12:54 PM.

I used a disposable Preval sprayer for the gel coat on my boards. Worked great. I thinned with acetone (others have cautioned against this), but had no issues. Wet sanding the orange peel can take a while.

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Jeff R
'88 H18 "Jolly Mon"
'10 C2 USA1193
NE IN / SE MI
cramsailing.com
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Try this...http://solarez.com/uses/surfboards.html

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Forrest
I-20 USA-645
Hernando, Florida
"There's not enough rum in the drum"
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Quote

Spray the gel coat yourself.

I was hesitant at first because the pint of gel coat cost nearly $50 w/ tax at west marine. I will give it a try. I just bought a house and could use the extra cash. seems like i buy a new (fixer-upper)cat every winter anyway.

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FYC, Nacra 5.2 "Chris's Flyer" & Nacra Playcat & Farrier Tramp
Previously owned: Trac 14, H14, H16, H18, N5.0, G-cat 5.0
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I am glad you guys have good experience with solarez and i am no repair guy but i would be worried about using solarez (and similar ) as they will probably not shrink and expand the same way the glass/epoxy/gelcoat in the hulls do ... and could fail a few years down the line.

I see those kinds of things as temp solutions until i have the time to get the repairs done correctly.

This was from someones ride yesterday... used epoxy instead of screws with backing plates.. a few years later, stuff the bows and POP goes the hatch (his crew was trapping off the wings, and he JUST sealed all the leaks in that hull)




Edited by MN3 on Jul 26, 2013 - 10:00 AM.

Should be an easy fix. I have the same damage on port hull from my first outing this summer but the crack is only about four inches long. I hit a partly submerged sheet of plywood with 2x4s nailed to it while sailing full speed - i thought the hull was going to explode but the wood did instead! Probably a piece of abandoned ice-fishing hut. Anyways, i patched up the crack temporarily with a solarez-type epoxy putty and will do a proper fiberglass repair when I pull the cat out in the fall.

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Jason Kasper
2000 Mystère 5.0XL
Lake St Francis (St Lawrence River)
Lancaster, Ontario, Canada
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MN3

used epoxy instead of screws with backing plates

...and chose to use an ill-fitting portal to boot.
The material he needed to buildup the lateral mating surfaces looks close to 3/4" thick.
No filler, putty or resin would have held in this situation.

MN3

i am no repair guy but i would be worried about using Solarez (and similar ) as they will probably not shrink and expand the same way the glass/epoxy/gelcoat in the hulls do

Solarez Extreme is epoxy.
It is also insanely strong.
"Our strongest repair putty, Filled with glass and ceramic fibers, this vinyl ester epoxy putty is incredibly tough, corrosion resistant and has great adhesion."
I have 30+ repairs on my hulls and foils that are three years old and showing no indication of being anything but fixed.

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Sheet In!
Bob
_/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA
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MN3

Edited by MN3 on Jul 26, 2013 - 10:00 AM.

What is that, a Shark with Hobie 18 wings?

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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN

How To Create Your Signature

How To Create Your Own Cool Avatar

How To Display Pictures In The Forums.
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Source local fiberglass repair places before buying right from West Marine. I can buy a Qt of white gelcoat from a local fiberglass fix-it shop for $35. I can also get the polywhatsit stuff the same way cheap then put in a preval to spray on for curing. I can get my glass fabric much cheaper there as well. Plus I get lots of free advice for my project.

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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.
--

Mystere 5.5 with Tornado mast and Mystere XL wings

DamonLinkous

MN3

Edited by MN3 on Jul 26, 2013 - 10:00 AM.

What is that, a Shark with Hobie 18 wings?

cool beans. Glad it's working so well.
I still wouldn't use it as a permanent repair in any area that has stress or torque

klozhald

Solarez Extreme is epoxy.
It is also insanely strong.
I have 30+ repairs on my hulls and foils that are three years old and showing no indication of being anything but fixed.