Hello!
I just got a Nacra 5.8 (maybe 1983) and I'm still trying to figure out a few things. About the lines which hold the rudder up: for what I have understood from the manual they are connected to an elastic cord thru the tiller. So I did that and it seems to works fine. But (please check the pic below) there is some friction between the line and the two metals that will eventually wear off the line.
Is there some kind of protection that I'm missing? Any info and suggestion will be very appreciate
thank you!
I will take a picture tomorrow. I use two 6-foot sections of heavy bunji cord, one for each side, and it does not traverse the tiller. From the view you show, my shock cord enters below that bolt and spacer and runs back to the rudder, passes through a piece of 1" hose or tubing that acts as a shock absorber for the rudder, and then passes through the hole in the rudder and returns to the top of the tiller arm on the other side of the spacer. I grasp both ends of the shock cord and pull straight out of the tiller arm until the tension is sufficient to raise the rudder, and I cinch the shock cord. It rests on the spacer and has a positive upward pull on the rudder. You should also have a downhaul that goes through a quick-release cleat. You pull that downhaul as you set sail, and release it to let the rudder pop up. It is a very simple system, and can be adjusted as the bunji stretches by pulling out the slack and re-cincinching.
It is a double bunji pull, not single. and it looks like you are just using rope. You want a very strong stretch cord.
I'm gonna try to explain better my (probably wrong) setting. I use two lines, one for each rudder (in the pic you see one of them). Then each one of these line enters the tiller (one from the right, the other the left).
There is one single bungee cord inside the tiller and each one of these line is connected to one side of the bungee cord which stays in tension. You are mentioning instead to use one line+one bungee cord for each rudder: that seems more appropriate and avoid the friction with the metals problem I'm having. I'll wait for the picture. Thank you!
Agree with Tompina said, separate line per rudder, doesn't go through the tiller cross bar, and use shock cord not rope, this is for putting tension on the rudder to get it in the up position only, it loops through the rudder up the tiller, then over the nut bolt, you shouldn't need to handle it. When you pull on the rudder downhaul, the shock cord stretches and the rudders is held in position by the downhaul cleat, when you uncleat it, the stretched shock cord pulls the rudder up (however you can leave some cord through the end towards the tramp to grab to help pull it up).
Edited by johnoau on Jul 01, 2023 - 06:57 PM.
-- 1335 XTSea Nacra 5.8 NA
605 Nacra 4.5
Cleveland Yacht Club
Brisbane, AU --
Looking at your original pic, that set-up is weird. Does this white/green/black connect from each side? Either way, from experience, it's incorrect. The shock cord goes through the tiller. My 5.8's had the pull-down line inside the tiller also. There are many ways to do this. If you run the pull-down line as noted above in John's pic, it will pull some slop out of the pivoting system, but will wear the pins and castings. I had installed cam cleats inside the aft beam and had the pull-down line run through the beam. Corrosion became a huge issue. I am currently redesigning mine to have the 2:1, but cleat on the tiller arm so I can tighten the tolerance on the pivoting pin.
Getting back to your question about some chafe protection, that shock cord needs to go around the horizontal bolt and stay inside the tiller without encountering any sharp edges.
-- Scott
Prindle Fleet 2
TCDYC
Prindle 18-2 Mod "FrankenKitty"
Tornado Classic "Fast Furniture"
Prindle 19 "Mr. Wiggly"
Nacra 5.8 "De ja vu"
Nacra 5.0
Nacra 5.8
Tornadoes (Reg White) --
@Johnoau, That is one funky downhaul in your first picture. I bet it makes for a great transom extractor if you ever hit something.
A pivmatic is the way to go. https://www.murrays.com/product/56-0266-1/
I had pivmatics and got rid of them very quickly. We get a lot of cabbage heads that knock up rudders. Similar reason I got rid of the Prindle lock system. I've been running a rudder pull-downs since 1989, even have done several Ruff Riders where you race in 20+ knot winds through and among shallows...
-- Scott
Prindle Fleet 2
TCDYC
Prindle 18-2 Mod "FrankenKitty"
Tornado Classic "Fast Furniture"
Prindle 19 "Mr. Wiggly"
Nacra 5.8 "De ja vu"
Nacra 5.0
Nacra 5.8
Tornadoes (Reg White) --
If you hit something or just forget to release the rudders, what would fail?
On a previous boat without pivmatics i found out it was the clam cleat of the rudder downhaul line, it got ripped off the tiller arms.
In my case I replaced the bungees because they rarely worked. I probably needed newer and stronger ones but still, i prefer an extrrnal line with an additional cleat. It also allows to keep the rudders off he ground when not saling, at a 30 deg angle or so. (Something you don’t want on the water).
One thing to avoid on that setup is to connect the two lines or use a single one, that creates loop that may get caught somewhere, not good.
None of the bigger, faster boats around here have the pivmatic system. The smaller boats, e.g. the Nacra 4.5 do. If I'm informed correctly, at some point the pivmatic system was used on the 5.8s, but the rudders would kick up at speed. I hit a sandbar with the 5.8 and the rudder pull-down split the top of the rudder, was unpleasant, but the hull was still intack.
-- 1335 XTSea Nacra 5.8 NA
605 Nacra 4.5
Cleveland Yacht Club
Brisbane, AU --
I have had rudders explode on a shoal when the pivmatic failed. It causes a lot of rudder damage and can even crack the transom. It's a good system when it works. I use the bungees for lift assistance, but also have an uphaul to hold the rudders in the up-position and downhauls via the pivmatic. I have rarely had a release from speed.
I hear ya and agree... Doing Ruff Riders, we got pushed outside the channel by a 60 knot squall. When we could get back down, saw a guy fishing chest deep... then he stood up from sitting.. I got the windward rudder released but blew the head out of the leeward rudder. Had another 50 miles to sail with a windward rudder and 20+ knot reaching winds... It was an adventure.
-- Scott
Prindle Fleet 2
TCDYC
Prindle 18-2 Mod "FrankenKitty"
Tornado Classic "Fast Furniture"
Prindle 19 "Mr. Wiggly"
Nacra 5.8 "De ja vu"
Nacra 5.0
Nacra 5.8
Tornadoes (Reg White) --
I understand that sometimes it might not work, but how does removing the pivmatic solve the problem?
You would have broken both rudders y instead of one
One of mine failed, one of the holes broke out. I fixed it with a chainplate that I tied to the fiberglass. It has worked like that for several years. I always use them to land the boat at the beach, I used to release the lines before the surf but I stopped doing it, because most of the times the rudders would pop up and the forces in that situation are worse in my experience.
