I am looking to refresh the standing rigging on my 1999 Nacra 450 and have encountered something I think is a little strange. The bridle wires end in a thimble which is attached to the bows by a pad eye which is screwed into the hull. Most of the information I've been able to find for Nacra bridles show them terminating in a fork which is pinned to a tang fiberglassed into the bow. The bridles have clearly been replaced prior to my purchase of the boat ~5 years ago (and much more recently than the rest of the rigging) and I am wondering if this is a modification someone made to the boat when replacing the bridles or if this is how it came from the factory. I love the boat but information/parts are extremely hard to come by even by older Nacra standards.
If it came this way from the factory (and there is no obvious sign of fiberglass work to cut out a tang and replace it with these pad eyes), what are these screws attached to and can I simply unscrew, hook on new bridles and screw it back in with a sealer of some kind?
The bridles are in pretty good condition and I don't want to unscrew these pad eyes and discover that significant boat surgery is required to put them back for a replacement that really isn't necessary at this time.
Nacra 450 Bridle Wire Attachment
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Posted: Nov 04, 2022 - 09:44 AM
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Posted: Nov 04, 2022 - 10:43 PM
nacra 450 2003 new from factory -
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Posted: Nov 05, 2022 - 08:00 AM
If you Google the 450 there's a photo that if you look really closely it looks like the bridle was attached with pad eyes and not a tang. If the previous owner had to replace the tang with the pad eye there would be lots of evidence. From the factory there will be some kind of threaded insert and backing that was put in there when the boat was built. I personally don't like not being able to see what's going on with parts that are so crucial. I know rails with back up bars aren't as hydrodynamically efficient but what you see is what you get.
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Bill Townsend
G-Cat 5.0
Sarasota
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Posted: Nov 05, 2022 - 03:06 PM
Thank you all for the replies, definitely looks like this is how it came from the factory as mine looks the same as Carl’s. -
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Posted: Nov 05, 2022 - 04:40 PM
I wouldn’t unscrew the pad eye. Just use a 1/4” shackle on each bow.
If you’re really keen, you could reduce the bridle length by an inch, or just use the adjuster, (probably already there is you have a furling jib) to make up for a slightly longer bridle.
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Posted: Nov 09, 2022 - 08:59 AM
Interesting thought. The boat as I received it did not have a forestay adjuster and had the forestay fitted to the pin of the same bow shackle that the bridle wires attached to. The balance of the boat seems right with this arrangement. I'd be adding some length and raking the mast farther to add the shackle length to the bridle wires.
On the other hand, the original mast tang has been drilled out and a new one put on a few inches higher, so I may be raked forward more than intended to begin with. The joys of old boats.
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