I have a Hobie 16 I use as a solo boat, with the occasional passenger. It is due for some much needed part replacement as I sail hard year round, which I am ready and budgeted to do. However there are some Nacra 5.2's in my area in decent shape so the idea of switching looks enticing. I sail hard year round on the gulf coast, do my fair share of hard beach landings and capsizes. Have sailed all my life on Hobie 16's, had an 18 for a few seasons and now have a Gcat 5.7 as well. Never sailed any other beachcats. Think I will like a 5.2? I am about 225. I probably am asking a question I already know the answer to considering I already own the 16 and I know what she can do, but those 5.2 hulls sure look sexy

Nothing cooler than gliding through the waves with those NACRA hulls piercing the water and shooting rooster tail over the main-beam...

Go for it... at 225, you can single this boat with ease

I still kick myself in the butt for not jumping on a cherry 1985 (the last year of production) 5.2. Had an Inter 20 in the stable at the time that wasn't getting enough use... really couldn't justify the purchase..



Edited by JohnES on May 18, 2016 - 07:45 PM.

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John Schwartz
Ventura, CA
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I echoe John ES sentiments,Sailed hobie 16 s(owned 2) and prindle16s( owned3) in the Atlantic Ocean off Fire island and Jones Beach and surfed them extensively, then I got a Nacra 5.2 and there are differences. In advanced years I ballooned to 180 from 139 lbs so Nacra 5.2 able to be single handed and rightable by standing on those huge daggers or with righting bucket.But when surfing, just like with Hobie 18s ,
you face the ordeal ofstowing the boards before surfing the beach- if you have it down you can surf waves in from as far out as 3 miles and continue to catch a good one when you start in sets of 5 to 7 waves all the way to and on the beach(I don't care what any of u guys say but you can exceed 25mph surfing a big wave if you catch it right) that's when the daggers become a potential menace ,if you desire to surf the cat all the way in and up and on to the beach, they can drop from the upright position so that beaching the cat will tear you and her apart! Or fly up and cause havoc,thus 5.2,awesom for sailing in ocean but a hassle when surfing. same holds true when launching into big surf, Prindle & hobie 16s superior-never trusted the double bungie tie down system to be foolproof to hold those 2 heavy daggers in upright position during hairy launch into the waves, but those daggers will keep you from flipping over in winds up to 30 and in rough & turbulent conditions. so don't go surfing on your 5.2 in heavy surf. Only Gulf sailing conditions I saw first hand were at Redington Beach (near Tampa-St. Pete) Fla during winter months and there never seemed to be any severe surf so 5.2 daggers would not be an issue there

1other observation nacra 5.2,5.0 &5.7 rudder system need adjustments I followed tech help photos on this site to modify mine with a 2 line system, worked great.

Thanks guys, I think I'm going to hold off on any upgrades for the H16 and the Gcat 5.7 and own all three for a while and then narrow the field. My guess is is some of these North Florida oyster bars are going to narrow the field for me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KRajUITZ6g

I'm a noob but have some input maybe. I learned a bit on a hobie 16 and I was hooked after the first time. I love the looks and love how well and tuff they are when beaching. They are super simple for a Jib boat. I ended up with a 5.2 which had a nice upgrade to a newer design rudder system like the hobies and a furler which is amazing. This boat cuts though the waves much better as far as I can tell (noob again ).
Now that I have the 5.2 I don't think I'd get a 16 because of its looks, speed and buoyancy. It seems to be much better taking weight than the 16 to me. Then comfort, My 5.2 has padding and sitting on the hull feels much better than the metal bar and a sloping 16 tramp.

I'll mention things I don't like:
Trampoline space: This is probably my biggest complaint. with the daggers and jib blocks mounting into the tramp area, its kind of a mess for the crew. Skipper is great, but crew gets very tight on seating. BUT if your on the wire a lot, that fixes that. I'm new so we're not.

Daggers: Are awesome, tacking made much much more pleasant. looks awesome flying hull, BAD, another thing in the way, another thing to worry about, and worry being a costly event. keep them half up or more when in uncertain depth or rocks. This being said, most boats now are using them so I'm happy having this design. the new ones sit flush in the hull and are much nicer to sit near/ontop.

Hull strength. While no boat should probably be dragged or lol Sailed into the beach, I feel MUCH better doing it on a banana 16. I get kinda scared not knowing how much they can take.

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1988 Nacra 5.2
YouTube link to see boat in action:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLddinE6IorSrPpZrlvcwAjRzSIQsKYPG1
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csmonte

Hull strength. While no boat should probably be dragged or lol Sailed into the beach, I feel MUCH better doing it on a banana 16. I get kinda scared not knowing how much they can take.

Tom Roland once told me when referring to the NACRA 5.2.... "you can hit that boat with a sledge hammer and it will keep sailing."

The 5.2 is a pretty stout little boat and the beach sand won't hurt it.. just make sure you pull the dagger boards up and out!!!

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John Schwartz
Ventura, CA
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Quote

The 5.2 is a pretty stout little boat and the beach sand won't hurt it.. just make sure you pull the dagger boards up and out!!!

beach sand WILL sand off layers of gel-coat, esp when applied with force
so the occasional beaching may not have lots of visible damage....

repeated beaching will sand away enough gelcoat to require a bottom job. Not to mention the occasional hidden rock or bottle cap under the sand that will leave more than a small scratch.

It's your boat, speed, bottms and money, care for it however you like YMMV

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Trampoline space: This is probably my biggest complaint. with the daggers and jib blocks mounting into the tramp area, its kind of a mess for the crew.

Buy a 5.7.
No boom
No boards
Room for wife & 2 kids on tramp, plus whatever you do while sailing.

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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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I'm 220-225 depending on the day, I race my 5.2 solo every week. Love it! I had a 16 before but it was a older 16 and couldn't keep up to the rest of the fleet (heavy boat and lack of skill), I wanted something affordable, somewhat close to the 16 in the rating, faster, and solo-able. The 5.2 check all of those boxes. Considering your experience you should be good.
Obviously the bottom wear with sand. I refinish mine every couple seasons and when I do I use hard expoxy fillers. I'm cautious on the sand but at the end of the day it's a beach cat.

I might be selling mine to go to a higher performance solo boat, if you are interested in splitting a long drive, let me know and I can send you some photos of mine to see if you are interested. Many replacements and upgrades, this is it right here. http://www.slosailandcanvas.com/nacra-5-2-radial-laminate-mainsail/

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Cesar (Cez) S.
Hobie 16 (had a few)
Nacra 5.2 "Hull Yeah"
Vectorworks XJ - A class (not named yet)
West Michigan (Grand Rapids/Holland Area)
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Hi John,

If your interested in getting rid of your G-Cat 5.7 to finance an upgrade I may be in the market. My 5.7 needs alot of work and it may be better for me to find another 5.7 and make a "best of" boat and keep the rest for spares.