So, first up, I’ll say I’m still new and learning. My second cat is this NACRA 500 Mk2, of which there are very few internet active owners it appears. I love the boat, but have been struggling to get it to perform because of a combination of my own ignorance and lack of basic info. available. This post is to communicate what I learned and maybe help others. Conversely, I’d love to pick up any advice.
1) I couldn’t get the furling spinnaker to fly right for the longest. Every time I’d get it up to speed, it would collapse partially no matter point of sail, etc. turns out the luff line needed to be tightened to the point that when you tighten thee is halyard you aren’t left just tensioning against the nylon. Huge difference and not in the manual. The spinnaker being nylon, I’m guessing the luff and leech lines need adjusting a couple of times a season, etc. Don’t know what the rule is for a furling spinnaker, but there’s lots out there for chute launched ones.
2) The main bolt rope does need to be relieved after a couple of years. I have been having a heck of a time shaping the main until I relieved the bolt rope by just an inch or so.
3) Add small sister clips for attaching the downhaul lines to the retractable bungee lines. Makes setup and break down sooo much quicker.
4) Swap out the cross beam blocks for the spinnaker sheets to ratcheting ones so that both on each side ratchet- makes it much, much easier to sheet and hold it such that you can do it alone. It also makes it much easier to butt cleat the sheets though….
5) There’s absolutely nothing out there for how to or where to set jib battens…. Still working this out.
6) Pointing- it does help to get weight forward, but maybe not as much as the old 500. So far, it’s liked jib cars all the way in up to 12-15 knots but that’s not knowing how to set up the jib properly.
7) It does seem to like a tight rig so far- you need a Loos Gauge because it doesn’t seem right, it’s so tight.
8) The mast base socket is very rough and chews up those nylon balls. Keep a spare. I may end up mixing a graphite/epoxy mix to coat it with since the last ball blew apart raising the mast by hand this year.
Ideas on improving performance? The boat is an absolute hoot, BTW.
Great info! Thanks for sharing it here. I'm sure it will help other Nacra 500 owners setup this spring.
Thanks.
forgot to add that so far the best performance I’ve found with very limited testing has been with mast rake at 5.2 degrees and 200# forestay tension.
We eliminated this problem by putting a couple of spoon fulls of Marinetex in the mast base, waxing the ball, and inserting it into the base until the Marinetex dries. It completely eliminated the mast ball wear.
8) The mast base socket is very rough and chews up those nylon balls. Keep a spare. I may end up mixing a graphite/epoxy mix to coat it with since the last ball blew apart raising the mast by hand this year.
Thanks, Mike. That confirms it then. Going to clean up the mast base and line it with graphite filled epoxy like I did my last boat, which worked really well at rehabbing a tired mast base.
Ive already replaced the ball once because it broke when raising the mast by hand. The ball was already pretty chewed up by that time.
Thanks, Mike. That confirms it then. Going to clean up the mast base and line it with graphite filled epoxy like I did my last boat, which worked really well at rehabbing a tired mast base.
I am always careful about keeping any form of carbon/graphite electrically-separated from aluminum.
Graphite itself is not inherently corrosive to aluminum. However, when aluminum is exposed to certain conditions, such as moisture and chloride ions (found in seawater), galvanic corrosion can occur. In these cases, graphite can act as a cathode, leading to accelerated corrosion of the aluminum.
Actually, a very good point and will be taken. I’ll switch to a silicoidal and chopped fiber epoxy mix an just pigment it black for us resistance and matching. Doesn’t need to be a thick layer, just a coating.