My beloved 1982 Nacra 5.0 just had the eyehole in the rudder fiberglass break. The knot won't stay in because there's no longer a full circle of rudder to hold it. Has anyone done this repair? Or should I be looking for a new rudder?

While I'm asking about repairs, does know how to reinforce the gizmo at the top of the mast that holds the forestay? It has worn enough to be perilously close to breaking.

I had a similar problem with the steering crossbar. I've done a temporary fix, but if anyone has a modestly priced crossbar for sale, please contact me.

You could grind away the damage,(try to post a photo of what you're dealing with), & rebuild it. Just fill the entire area, then drill new holes. If you elect to source a used rudder, make sure you get one for either a 5.0, or a 5.7. They use a longer blade than the more common 5.2
By "gizmo", are you referring to the Mast hound?
If it is shot source a used one for cheap. Drill the old one out, seal new rivets with silicone, & pull new rivets.

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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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karenyoungdahl

Has anyone done this repair? Or should I be looking for a new rudder?

Anything that's made of fiberglass can be repaired, but in some cases the time, effort and cost just doesn't make sense. Here's a typical offering of what you will find used:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nacra-5-0-5-7-Catamaran-Rudder-Sailboat-/162045804460?hash=item25baaebfac:g:1XEAAOSw~oFXGOyu&vxp=mtr

As Ed states above, these rudders are specific to the 5.0 and 5.7, a little hard to find, usually pricey and almost always need at least some cosmetic repair.

On going new, good luck . Here's what Murray's offers for the other early Nacras, but even at this price nothing for your boat.

http://www.murrays.com/56-4528.html

--
Hobie 16 (3 formerly)
MacGregor 25 (formerly)
Chrysler Dagger 14 (formerly)
NACRA 5.0 (currently)
High Point, NC
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Karen, read the FAQ, & any of Damons posts, he has a tutorial below his post on how to attach photos.
Make an album of your problems, (or even just add them to this thread), there are lots of people here who can give you good advice on how to get that 5.0 back into action, they are a great boat, especially when the wind picks up.
We made ours go 21.7mph the other day.

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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
--

A few weeks ago Scott at Nacra had some 5.0 rudders at a good price. Almost grabbed one as a backup.

dr34994

A few weeks ago Scott at Nacra had some 5.0 rudders at a good price. Almost grabbed one as a backup.

Got a phone # for Scott?

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Hobie 16 (3 formerly)
MacGregor 25 (formerly)
Chrysler Dagger 14 (formerly)
NACRA 5.0 (currently)
High Point, NC
--

Scott Diamond
773.368.3094
scott@nacra-na.com

http://www.thebeachcats.com/classifieds/catamaran-parts-for-sale/p14585-nacra-clearance-parts-sale.html

This was placed on 5/5/2016 and listed a few of the 5.0 rudders (one new and 2 used) at a lower price than anywhere else I had seen.

Thx for the info..

--
Hobie 16 (3 formerly)
MacGregor 25 (formerly)
Chrysler Dagger 14 (formerly)
NACRA 5.0 (currently)
High Point, NC
--

If you have the small piece that pulled out of the rudder this may not be that difficult to repair, at least well enough to keep you sailing. If you don't have that chunk that pulled out then repair does become much more difficult and a replacement is the way to go.

I am working on my boat now and noticed that one of my rudders was well on its way to this same kind of failure. It was first splitting along the seam.


In my case what was required was to work some epoxy back into the split and then glass over the split using two layers of 6 oz. cloth. The rudder castings on these boats usually give you a little room so adding a single layer of glass to the sides of the rudder around the loose piece with the same added glass as in this image below may give you back the strength you need to keep things together.


You must sand the gelcoat off any area that you are trying to bond to. Since bond strength is critical in this kind of repair epoxy is the way to go. I think you could get one layer of 6 oz. on both sides of the rudder and still be able to install it, if it were too tight then it is a matter of sanding one side down until it does fit, if both sides had to be sanded down to fit then this would be a very temporary fix. You could add several layers on the top like I did since this is not a critical fit area.

I took the preemptive step of doing this same fix to the other rudder. You can see more images of this repair in my photo album on the rebuild of This End Up, under hull repairs and upgrades.

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dg
NACRA 5.2 #400
This End Up
Original owner since 1975
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How is this repair holding up?

It looks like the angle adjstment screw contact area gets easily crushed on these rudders. One of mine is a little split, one more so. Pics in the my trailer gin pole album.

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John

Nacra 5.0
CT
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