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Reply to: NACRA 5.5 uni - project boat, main beam damage

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[quote=Wolfman]Well it is certainly not a 1990s style boomless 5.5 sail, those had a 'boomlet and a distinct triangle and flat part.  From what I can see, it does appear to be an 18 sq sail that a hefty 'boomlet' plate has been attached to.  The good news is that the sail does have a distinct downward triangle below the lowest batton, the same as the boomless sails.  I think the 18 sq sails were made that way, or the previous owner (or even the factory) may have modified it for boomless.   So the boomless rig should tension correctly.    So that sail will likely work for the intended use as long as you hook the mainsheet up to the forward or middle holes only.  If you get behind the main beam you definitely wont be able to tension it with the mainsheet properly.

The only thing that really worries me a bit is that there may not be enough room under the sail to get enough tension on the mainsheet.  It doesn't look like there is a lot of room on the mainsheet to tension the sail.  I'm not too worried about the tension in the foot, you can't really gauge it unless you are under load I'm more worried about running out of mainsheet to tension the whole rig.  Is there any room at the top of the mast to raise the sail a few more inches?  If so you should adjust your halyard so you are as close to the top of the mast as possible to buy you a few more inches. Also if you have any rake in the mast try and straighten it out.  This will give you more room but could limit your adjustment ability to fix other performance issues.

I would try it out on the water before investing a lot of money or parts in it.  Chances are with a few adjustments it will work fine.  If you find it doesn't work well then you have a few options.

#1, rig a boom to it.  Not as hard as you might think.  You can get a swivel from another old Nacra then its just a piece of aluminum tube (2" dia by 1/8" wall will do)  a couple of cleats pad eyes and some dyneema rope to make the connections and a workable outhaul.  I can send you most of the parts (except the mast connection) for the shipping cost if you can wait til spring.

#2 buy a used  sail.  Maybe you can find a real 5.5 sail or you could even pick up the 5.0 sail pete has and that should work just fine (maybe a little underpowered) or even find a 5.7 sail.

#3, get the sail recut.  Probably the trickiest option but if you find someone knows what they are doing it could be done.

#4, get a new sail designed.  THat would likely be more money than its worth.[/quote]

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