Hey folks,

I'm getting my Nacra 5.2 back into sailing shape. I grew up sailing on it with my dad in North Carolina and had it out in San Francisco Bay for a few years. I'm now living in Hanover, NH and 5 years of neglect require some attention before she's ready to get back on the water.

I replaced the bent mast support rod and am reriveting the port tramp track before installing a new tramp from SLO.

Plan to sail locally with my wife and/or 11 yo daughter, probably on Mascoma Lake to start. Need to get a new trailer or this one in better shape before I put too many highway miles on it.

Always up to connect for a sail, tips, or suggestions on good launch sites.

-Stowe

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Stowe

NACRA 5.2 (circa ~1980)
Hanover, NH
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I sailed a 5.2 back in the 80's. The thing that I remember most about it was had this support tube that ran fore and aft right down the middle of the tramp. It could sometimes be very awkward moving around on the tramp like when tacking. If your boat has this, and you are planning on a new tramp try to find out if there would be any structural issues if you eliminated this annoying feature. Also if your trailer has four rollers that the hulls rest on I would consider using to cradles to eliminate point loading. Cradles are expensive. I used to have a Nacra 500 and I made carpeted "bunks" out of 2x6's that ran lengthwise from one trailer crossbar to the other. I used the same side guides that were part of the original rollers. The 500 had almost no rocker and was a much cheaper alternative to cradles and spread the load out.

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Bill Townsend
G-Cat 5.0
Sarasota
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Thanks, Bill.

I do have the center tube in the tramp. I grew up with it and like it, especially when we were out in rougher ocean swells... something to stop you from sliding too far to leeward. Will see how the wife and daughter fair with it and how much they join me on the water.

Great recco on the cradles. We had wooden homemade ones, padded with carpet that disintegrated driving the boat out to CA. Got cradles form Murray’s for the drive to NH.

Tramp track project coming along. Reinforced the back of the rivets with a 1/16” aluminum strip with holes drilled to match the track. Seems like most of the rivets bit into the strip. Stern few i need to redo this week. Need to use larger diameter rivets or add a port just forward of the rear beam to get underneath those rivets to make sure they grab the backing strip.

-Stowe

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Stowe

NACRA 5.2 (circa ~1980)
Hanover, NH
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