Hello friends. I’ve been looking through the forums and think I need to ask a question...

Purchased a NACRA 5.8 that had been sitting in fresh water for most of the summer. Luckily, no soft spots at all but there are of course stains, and a small rub down to the fiberglass from dock rubber. Like I said, the hulls are solid, I wouldn’t hesitate to take the craft out as is, but I want to sand a bit and recoat so it looks good again. I’m reading about gelcoat and epoxy paint. What do you have to say about my best bet to sand and redo.....?

I’ll be taking off one hull at a time and redo inside.

Thanks again

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Central Iowa


2017 Hobie Getaway

Memento Mori...
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i would say: (in case you didn't know) don't ever leave it in the water for more than a few days - beach cats aren't made for that and will get water into the core - and kill a boat

also i would recommend trying to use some hull cleaner before i would wet sand
i use sno bowl toilet cleaner - it is a "gentle" hydrochloric acid and gets most of the stains off
there are plenty of similar "boat" products

If that fails you can try some very high grit paper

if you are planing on redoing the gelcoat / paint just to make it pretty - i would say save the time, money and energy and just sail it

IF you are really determined i would say it mostly depends on your skills
IF you are a good painter do that (WHITE - any other color comes with issues, like every scratch will be very noticeable when you scratch through to the white gelcoat, and some paints can't be easily touched up)

IF you are good with gelcoat and have materials and can spray it or tip and roll it - sure go for it

but in my experience, it isn't worth it for most legacy boats - just go sail it unless you are dying for a huge project that can take 100's of hours and it's hard to stop (it will almost never be perfect)

PLUS if you don't really knjow what you are doing it is easy to sand too much off and change the shape of the hulls/foils - just not worth it in my opinion - ymmv

PS i have a painted cat - wish it wasn't
my other cat i did a bottom job - took forever, was expensive and i didn't do it as well as i wanted too but months and months and months of works -i said enough - and wanted to sail

+25 on the above post.
I don’t know why so many pick up a neglected Cat, & first thing on the list is to paint it.
Fix what needs fixing, then sail the hell out of it. Later on look at cosmetics.
Gel coat is fairly thick,(in relation to paint), a fair percentage can be removed, giving a new look, with much less hassle than paint. Too many concentrate on getting the paint on vs prep. Prep should/will take far more effort than actual painting. Prepping properly for paint is about the same as refurbishing the original gel coat, I would recommend doing that 1st, you are likely to be pleasantly surprised.
Have a look at this H18 I restored.
Hopefully the link works, I’m under house arrest in Shanghai, these iPads don’t play nice with URL & IMAGE LINKS.
If it fails, go to PHOTO ALBUMS, Members...bottom of Page 1 is Hobie album.
http:// https://www.thebe…ictures?g2_itemId=120185

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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 can’t even get the “EDIT” function here...I’ll fix it when I get home late Thursday night

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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
--

I can’t even get the “EDIT” function here...I’ll fix it when I get home late Thursday night

--
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
--

I can’t even get the “EDIT” function here...I’ll fix it when I get home late Thursday night

--
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
--

Unless you're a really good refinisher with all the equipment, skip the repaint. What all the other posters said here is true. I used ON&OFF hull cleaner for the tannin stains. I finished off with PolyGlo (as seen on TV). My boat was all shiny. I had her in the water for a week in the Outer Banks and the hulls did not stain at all. Normally a days sailing in the river up here will stain the hulls. Not to mention the inevitable dock rash. When, not if, the gelcoat gets scratched, I go with white pigmented gelcoat paste. A little wet sanding smoothes it right out.

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'82 Super Cat 15
Hull #315
Virginia
Previously owned: '70 H14, '79 H16, '68 Sailmaster 26, '85 H14T
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Go to the hardware store and get some muriatic acid for cheap, dissolve it in maybe twice it’s volume of water, protect yourself and handle with care. You may use a broom to keep some the distance. That will noticeably reduce the stains, maybe all you need depending on your expectations. It won’t take the rubber mark, if you figure out how to take that away easily, please let me know :)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NK_TyWTZK4I



Edited by Andinista on Nov 11, 2020 - 05:02 PM.

PS i use newglass2
with good prep it puts a VERY shiny coat on the boat and resists any staining
you simply put a coat on and repeat until the shine is mirror like
admittedly it take a lot of coats but once done, you just need a coat every now and again to keep it up

of course i never keep it up and need to do the entire process again every year or so

I too spent a long time washing the boat and applying coats of polish. Not near the effort of a refinish, however.
I'll never get back what I have in the boat. A repaint would look great but would be more money down the hole.

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'82 Super Cat 15
Hull #315
Virginia
Previously owned: '70 H14, '79 H16, '68 Sailmaster 26, '85 H14T
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I refinished my 1984 NACRA 5.7 about 3 or 4 years ago using Interlux Epoxy Primekote and Perfection topcoat in Arctic White. I installed updated decals and the results were stunning and long-lasting. The price was work, and lots of it. I had my hulls hanging by the rafters in the garage and every thing had to faired and sanded. The prep-work took most of the time. Anything not perfect in the prep shows through the glossy top coat finish. From 6-feet my boat looks new, but if you want to really inspect it, then you will start to see where my fairing was less than perfect where I re-glassed the bottoms of the hulls and other repair areas. MN3 actually redid spars and the mast, and I didn't.





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Tom
NACRA 5.7 (1984 Sail 181)
Pennsylvania
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