Hi everyone, I'm new to sailing and the forum. Last last summer, I purchased my first sailboat, a nice condition late 70's (I think) NACRA 5.2

The boat is in good sailing condition, and I've had her out three times using only the main sheet before the weather turned cold.

The problem I'm running into is that it seems I'm missing all the jib hardware! I do have a like new zipper style jib that I've rigged a halyard to, but I have no hardware to attach to the foot of the jib to adjust it. I've tried looking for photos and searching for rigging, but as I mentioned earlier, I'm new to this and at a complete loss.

Can you guys point me in the right direction? What do I need and where can I get it?

I do have a harbormaster that's willing to help me, but he's and hour and a half away and very busy. I'd like to make sure I have everything I need before I make the drive and take his time.

Thanks in advance!

Here's a link to the assembly/setup manual. Check it out and see if it helps. If not, I'm sure others can hook you up with pics. Welcome to the group!

http://www.nacrasailing.com/download/nacradownloads/

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Tim
81 Hobie 16
87 Nacra 5.7
Austin, TX
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also do a few google searches - many will lead you back to this site but there is a good deal of info out there

Thanks Tim! looks like most of what's downloadable is for newer models. I found a few threads here, none were too terribly helpful. There's one that looks promising, I'm reading through it now.

In the previous link, check out the "vintage" document. If that's not helpful, here's a link to you boat's specific manual (on this site). If those don't help, ask away!

http://www.thebeachcats.com/index.php?module=pictures&g2_itemId=35217

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Tim
81 Hobie 16
87 Nacra 5.7
Austin, TX
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Thanks again Tim, the manual is really helpful. Unfortunately, it's showing me the extend of what I DON'T have! There's no jib travelers, cars or ratchet blocks with my boat. All I have is the Jib, jib halyard, and clew blocks. Is there an easy/inexpensive way to get this jib up? I can't say that I really even understand how the jib works, or how it needs to be adjusted.

Also, I do not have any hinge pins to prevent my mast from slipping off the ball when raising the mast, can this be retrofitted?

jr

Check with Pete Begle, he's always got a good stash of older cat part, as well as a helpful and knowledgeable nature. He's got several ads in the parts classifieds. If he doesn't have what you need, I'm parting out an H18 if you want to adapt foreign parts. I'm in the parts section too.

Dave

jr,
I'm probably not the best source of info, as I just got my Nacra. There are a few 5.2s on YouTube that give a decent view of the jib setup. I'm not familiar with the 5.2, but it looks like the jib's cam cleats are located on either side of the tramp. I can't tell if they are adjustable fore/aft or are in a fixed position. I'm sure someone else can clarify that.

You basically rig your jib up so that there is a set of blocks to either side, and the sheets run aft to their corresponding cam cleat. The windward sheet is slacked so that the jib can blow over to the leeward side of the boat. The leeward sheet is then pulled to flatten the sail to the desired position.

As for the mast pin, your mast base should have holes in which to put the pin, locking the mast to the ball. Go to Murray's Sailing's website and you'll be able to see a great pic. If it doesn't have the hole(s), or if that portion is broken off, you'll have to replace the mast base. Once you have a good base, you simply slip the mast pin (also available from Murray's) through the hole so the ball is captured, put on keeper rings so the pin doesn't come out, and raise the mast. Once up, remove the pin, as the side stays will hold your mast in place and allow it to rotate.

A really great resource for answering a LOT of questions about sailing your cat is the book Catamaran Sailing: From Start to Finish by Phil Berman. It was invaluable to me. I read it a couple times and was able to rig and sail my H16 with no problems, right off the bat.

Where are you located? There are probably a few guys on here who are near to you and can get you rolling.

--
Tim
81 Hobie 16
87 Nacra 5.7
Austin, TX
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Quote

Also, I do not have any hinge pins to prevent my mast from slipping off the ball when raising the mast, can this be retrofitted?

Murrays Marina has a upgrade kit for the mast receiver and 1-1/2" ball replacement.
It will keep the base of the mast in place while raising it. http://www.murrays.com/01-8002.html

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Jeff O
N5.0
solcat 18(sold),
N5.2,
H16
Camarillo CA
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jrkotz

Hi everyone, I'm new to sailing and the forum. Last last summer, I purchased my first sailboat, a nice condition late 70's (I think) NACRA 5.2

Jason, Welcome to TheBeachcats.com,

Here are a couple of links to info that might help.

Detail riggged pictures
http://www.thebeachcats.c…pictures?g2_itemId=35563

Pictures from the 5.2 and 5.5 assembly manual, handy for linking here if you have questions.
http://www.thebeachcats.c…pictures?g2_itemId=35217

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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN

How To Create Your Signature

How To Create Your Own Cool Avatar

How To Display Pictures In The Forums.
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JR, on the older 5.2's, the jib blocks are attached to 2 cables running fore and aft, the cables are located approximately 12" inboard of either hull, and are attached to the top of the front and rear beam using mini-eyestraps or fairleads...



On the older 5.2's, the cables ran above the tramp, limiting real estate, so an upgrade was to remove the center bar and install a tramp that allowed the cables to run underneath the tramp, this entails relocating the jib cables and eyestraps under the beam, the tramp has jib strop cutouts which allow the cable to pass over the top of the tramp for a short distance.



A word of caution, Nacra produced the 5.2 in 2 widths measured from inside of hull to inside of opposite hull, 72.5" and 74.5", determine which production yours is if you plan to do this upgrade.

I recently purchased a 5.2 project boat and am in the process of doing this upgrade, I have the upgraded tramp from Slo and am ready to go once the weather starts warming up.

PS, side note to Damon, a strange technical quirk has my dialog box growing in length as I type, any suggestions?

R

The tack of the jib is attached to the chainplate that connects the bridles via one of these brackets:
http://www.murrays.com/56-9890.html

Use a short ( < 1") clevis pin to connect the bracket to a hole (your choice which) on the top of the chainplate. The holes should be aligned so that looking through the center of them points fore and aft, not side to side. This will orient the bracket such that in the pic @ murray's, you'd be looking at (towards) the port side of the boat, with the bows pointing left, and the jib coming up and away from the bracket to the right.

Typically I leave the bracket on the boat (not the jib) when not in use.

Then attach the grommet at the tack of the sail to the bracket with another clevis pin.

The sail halyard runs straight up the forestay, through a block at the top of the forestay, and then back down the mast. The jib zipper only goes around the forestay, not the halyard as well.

The halyard comes down the port side of the mast, and should have a bullet block or equivalent on the end of it (usually a bullet with a becket, so that you can tie a pigtail to the becket).

Towards the base of the mast on the port side you should have a clam-cleat and an eyelet close to each other. You want a short line, ~24" IIRC, tied to the eyelet, which will act as your jib luff tension-er..

When you hoist the jib, you pull the halyard down via the pigtail (any old 3/16 sta-set works great), then when you have it all the way up, the block at the end of the halyard should be down to about a couple feet above the tramp. Untie & remove the pigtail from the block's becket (and don't let go..), take the tensioner line that is tied to the eyelet and run it up through the block and back down to the clam-cleat. This gives you a 2:1 purchase on the tension of your jib luff.

For the sheet, you just rig it the same as any other overlapping cat jib sheet. The slot can be really tight on the 5.2, depending how the jib blocks are attached, but I think a search will turn up plenty of posts on that.

LMK if that helps or not.

Rob

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Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
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the-renovator

PS, side note to Damon, a strange technical quirk has my dialog box growing in length as I type, any suggestions?

R

Does the same thing with me and has been for a while. Using Firefox 34.0.5, but have not tried on other browsers.

--
Philip
--

P.M.

the-renovator

PS, side note to Damon, a strange technical quirk has my dialog box growing in length as I type, any suggestions?

R

Does the same thing with me and has been for a while. Using Firefox 34.0.5, but have not tried on other browsers.

The reply text area is supposed to grow to the size needed for the text, and it still does, as I'm typing this on latest Chrome, but I've seen the problem of vastly expanding text that causes a lot of scrolling to get back down to the Submit - Preview - Cancel buttons.

Haven't been able to figure out what's up, appreciate any suggestions. I'm sure it's a change in the way the latest browser updates are handling the CSS or AJAX responses.

The problem isn't consistent, it didn't happen on this reply, even after using the Preview feature and continuing typing. Would appreciate if anyone can diagnose.

--
Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN

How To Create Your Signature

How To Create Your Own Cool Avatar

How To Display Pictures In The Forums.
--

It happened to me in the latest version of Chrome yesterday. It isn't happening right now, though. Maybe just a corrupted cache (client side) or something due to a site update?

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Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
--

WOW guys, thank you! Tons of info here. I do have the Jib tack hanger. Seems I'll need everything from the clew (aft bottom corner, am I using that right?) aft.

These lines and blocks and travelers look complicated. I'm going to have to do some studying.

That mast step upgrade might be a well spent $250, could mitigate some dangerous situations when stepping the mast.

It's 6 degrees here now, I'll try to go out to the boat to take some pictures when it warms up a little.

Thanks again guys. Where do you think is the best place to find the missing parts I need?

yurdle

It happened to me in the latest version of Chrome yesterday. It isn't happening right now, though. Maybe just a corrupted cache (client side) or something due to a site update?

I just tried to quote a post in Chrome and would get error. No problem here this time with this post using Firefox. Go figure . . .

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Philip
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It looks more complicated than it it is, click on the pic above to enlarge and lets break it down:-

1) The jib blocks attach to the cables using 1/2" shackles, they adjust fore/aft

2) the purple line is the jib sheet, its a continuous line, attaches to the becket on the jib block, goes through the clew block, back through the jib block, through the cam cleat, over to the opposite cam cleat, through the jib block, through the clew block and back down to the jib block becket.

3) The red/white line is to adjust the blocks fore/aft.

4) The yellow line is to pull the jib lines outboard for downwind sailing, known as a barber-hauler

HTH
R

the-renovator

A word of caution, Nacra produced the 5.2 in 2 widths measured from inside of hull to inside of opposite hull, 72.5" and 74.5", determine which production yours is if you plan to do this upgrade.

Did they really? I've never heard there were two widths (that's a picture of my old 5.2 with the green mainsheet).

the-renovator

It looks more complicated than it it is, click on the pic above to enlarge and lets break it down:-

1) The jib blocks attach to the cables using 1/2" shackles, they adjust fore/aft
HTH
R

1/2" is huge, 3/16" or 1/4' will do.

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Ron
Nacra F18
Reservoir Sailing Assn.
Brandon, Mississippi
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Ron, thanks for the "catch", meant to type 1/4"....

Okay guys, the snow has melted and I've finally got a chance to take some photos. Here's what I'm working with. I tried to photograph the situation on the fore cross beam. The tramp does have two slits on each side for (I'm guessing) the jib lines to run under/through. I don't have any tracks/cars on the top of the hulls. What do I need and where can I buy it? I currently have the jib sheet and a halyard for it, but that's it.










Thanks!! You guys are a wealth of info and a great help. Let me know if I need a different view in the pics.



Edited by jrkotz on Mar 30, 2015 - 06:12 PM.

jr, there should be 2 cables running from the front beam to the rear beam, 1 port, 1 starboard. The cable will be attached to the rear beam using an eyelet, it will run under the tramp, up through the first slit, and back down under the tramp through the 2nd slit, attaching to the front beam by using a 2nd eyelet. The length of the cables are the distance between front and rear beam and have swaged thimbles on each end



This means that the cable must be fitted to the eyelet before the eyelet is riveted to the beam, once the cables have been fitted, then the jib blocks are attached to the cable above the tramp, once the blocks have been attached refer to pic i posted for you on previous page as to the jib sheets.

R

Looks like that's my first step R, I need to buy and run these cables. Your photo and explanation has really helped my understanding of what I need to do here.

That photo on the previous page is "old style", you can see that the cable runs above the tramp, so an upgrade was to run the cable under the tramp except for a short stretch which was to run above tramp so that the jib blocks could be attached, that is why your tramp has those 2 slits, also called strops. I was thinking that it would be great to order those 2 cables with turnbuckles on 1 end so that the tension could be adjusted but that's just my thinking. Don't forget to order eye-straps if needed, if they are still attached to the beams you will have to drill the rivets out to remove them, and then you will need new rivets and a rivet gun/puller to relocate eye-straps under the beam.

R

Man! Your 5.2 looks a lot like mine with the blue. I ditched the center tube though. Actually flipped it around and use it as a righting pole.

Where are you located? What's it gonna take to see you come sail Lake Michigan?

These are your jib "cars"
http://www.harken.com/pro…l.aspx?id=4562&taxid=429
though these are on clearance
http://www.harken.com/pro….aspx?id=14334&taxid=428

There are some additional lines that control the fore and aft of these.

I'm hoping uncover my boat maybe today. But I have a lot of reassembly to do. I will document what I can for you. It might be a few days though.

-Cesar

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Cesar (Cez) S.
Hobie 16 (had a few)
Nacra 5.2 "Hull Yeah"
Vectorworks XJ - A class (not named yet)
West Michigan (Grand Rapids/Holland Area)
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Also, a lot of people are using dyneema for those jib car wires now. Feel a little better when you cross paths with them when tacking etc.
I'm planning on that.

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Cesar (Cez) S.
Hobie 16 (had a few)
Nacra 5.2 "Hull Yeah"
Vectorworks XJ - A class (not named yet)
West Michigan (Grand Rapids/Holland Area)
--

[url][http://www.thebeachcats.com/pictures?g2_itemId=74166&g2_imageViewsIndex=1/url]. Here is a picture of my setup. Vectran line is stretched between the front and rear beams when it is attached to it pad eyes. The line comes through and above the tramp using some eyelets. I protected the exposed pae of the line with rubber hose. the blocks are attached to the line and held in position by a second line running to the rear beam padeye. Hope this helps.

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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Here is a picture of the underside of my boat. The loose line is my righting system the taught line tight to the tramp is the jib line/wire. You can also see the second line that holds the block in place.

http://www.thebeachcats.c…ictures?g2_itemId=113172

Here is the rear padeye where the two lines attach at the rear beam.

http://www.thebeachcats.c…ictures?g2_itemId=113175

To get it taught enough you should use a truckers hitch for 2:1 purchase

http://www.netknots.com/rope_knots/truckers-hitch/

Hey Damon if you see this any thoughts why the side panel on my album overlaps my pictures and this box is about 10 ft long on my screen (I have to scroll down quite a ways to get to the buttons). I'm using chrome.

D.

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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I'm located in Charleston, WV. This will be my first full season with the cat. We have some nice mountain lakes here that offer some interesting sailing! Thanks guys, my research continues. Looking like Ebay for the Block/cam/cleats. Those suckers are pricey!

Do any of these look good guys? The first one is non-racheting, the second two are racheting. Not sure which ones I need.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/P…h=item259bcb4fd1&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1…eName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1…eName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Kind of tough to see if they're in good condition from the photos. Guess this guy in Houston has a lot of cat parts.

Quote

Kind of tough to see if they're in good condition from the photos. Guess this guy in Houston has a lot of cat parts.

Can't help you on which ones to buy, but I can attest to the quality of the seller. I know him personally, and have bought several items from him. He's very fair and will give you an honest appraisal of whatever he's selling.

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Tim
81 Hobie 16
87 Nacra 5.7
Austin, TX
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Any of those will neat your needs. Ratcheting is nice because you don't have to use as much strength to hold the job line while its uncleated but it isn't a must. It's more important to have on a main sheet. None of my job setups currently have ratchet blocks.

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
--

Just spoke with Tim in Houston, he's going to set me up with the camcleats and blocks. An order with Murry's and I think I'm on the way to getting this jib up