Hey there. My wife and I used to windsurf a lot. But nowadays it turns out to be mostly just me on the water because she gets bored sailing by herself. After sailing hobie 16s and a wave in St. Lucia and Key West, she thinks selling off some of the windsurfers and moving to a cat would be a good idea. We live only 15 min from a bunch of beaches/bay hear in Miami, so a little cat could be fun. I'm looking for a relatively lightweight, fast cat that is in our price range (1-2k). After reading the reviews, it seems like the Nacra 5.2 might be a good fit.
I've sailed FJs and 420s, but only sailed cats about 10 times. Most of our wind is in the 8-15 knot range...except for huricanes...when I get the shortboard out! But I would only rate my sailing range as beginer-intermediate.
Nacra 5.2 - good first cat?
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Posted: Oct 20, 2009 - 02:45 PM
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Posted: Oct 20, 2009 - 03:31 PM
your in a great spot for cat sailing. There is a rental place by the biscane bay bridge and you could try a h16 or wave again (if you want to sail again before you buy).
I think the 5.2 is probably fine, but i seem to recall they have daggar boards and that makes it a bit more work and you need to be very alert to shallows when beaching.
I would probably suggest the 5.0 skeg (no boards) or another 16' (hobie, prindel, etc) as the optimal first cat (IMHO) but i am sure you would do fine with another.
good luck, keep us posted on your decisions. -
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Posted: Oct 20, 2009 - 03:41 PM
FWIW, I just got my first cat (sailed hobies a few times in the past, like yourself) about 3 months ago, a Nacra 5.0 (without daggerboards) and LOVE IT. It's in your price range, and I believe very similar to a 5.2 just without the boards.
To me, the slight gain I would get from the boards are easily outweighed by the negatives. From what I've gathered, slightly easier tacking, a little better upwind angle, and maybe a tad more speed are the only real advantages.
The disadvantages seem to be the chance of breaking them, and just one more thing for a beginning sailor to fiddle with.
Now, for me as a lake sailor, the first disadvantage is a very real one, less so for you I guess being down south. However, why have another thing to have to mess with? That just makes it less enjoyable in my opinion. The 5.0 is more of a boat than either one of us are sailors, I would imagine. -
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Posted: Oct 20, 2009 - 03:53 PM
I got a 5.2 as my first cat and love it! That being said if you can find one, a 5.0 would be a better starter boat.
Both are easy to sail and very forgiving even singlehanded. The advantages of the 5.0 is no dagger boards and no boom to worry about. The disadvantage... well there really are no disadvantages that I can think of the 5.0 and 5.2 are really comparable performance wise.
Another option is the 5.7, which is almost 19 feet long but has the same advantages as the 5.0, but a little more difficult to single hand and probably nearly impossible to right by yourself.
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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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Posted: Oct 20, 2009 - 05:08 PM
Forgot about booms on the 5.2/ Which is a PERFECT reason to go with the 5.0. The boomless sail was a nice touch vs. the hobie's I've sailed. Less chance of getting "knocked the #$)( out" and easier setup. -
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Posted: Oct 20, 2009 - 06:23 PM
Booms aren't too much of a deterent. The wife is a decent sailor and has sailed fjs as well. Another factor is length, because it needs to be able to fit in the garage. 17 ft is about the max. A 5.0 might make more sense for that fact. How is the straightline speed difference between the 5.0 and 5.2? -
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Posted: Oct 20, 2009 - 11:48 PM
They are essentially the same speed wise.
Slightly less total sail area (220sqft versus 201 sqft) but the 5.0 is a little lighter (364 lbs verus 320 lbs). Handicaps are as follows:
Nacra 5.0 1.128
Nacra 5.2 1.065
Hobie 16 1.152
So the 5.2 is a little faster than the 5.0 and both are faster than a Hobie 16.
The 5.2 points a little better, the 5.0 is a slightly more modern design. I think the lack of a boom is a real advantage here, the 5.2 boom is pretty big and lies pretty low on the trampoline.
One other thing to consider is the stock jib system for the 5.2 is attached to the rear beam, where the 5.0 is attache to a track on the hull. The 5.0 system makes for a less cluttered tramp.
All that being said you cannot go wrong with either boat. They are both a BLAST and you wont regret getting one.
Regards,
Dave
edited by: Wolfman, Oct 20, 2009 - 10:56 PM
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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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Posted: Oct 21, 2009 - 02:07 AM
you say the 5.0 has a track on the hull for the jib, but mine isn't that way. (not sure if its supposed to be or not!?) mine is just an eye hook on the inner side of the hull, no adjustment at all.
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Posted: Oct 21, 2009 - 07:44 AM
i've found the 5.2 to be an excellent 1st cat
if you know of a good one at a cheap price it's hard to see how you would go wrong
5.2's are generally more plentiful and cheaper than 5.0's
cats are generally poor at pointing and tacking, so get the best pointing and tacking cat you can and save yourself a lot of grief
edited by: erice, Oct 21, 2009 - 06:45 AM -
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Posted: Oct 21, 2009 - 07:51 AM
There is also a Prindle 16 in decent shape for a bit cheaper...well like 700 cheaper! Also a decent boat right?
Thanks for all the help. -
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Posted: Oct 21, 2009 - 08:36 AM
bought a p 16 this summer for 500 bucks. made a few glass repairs, tweeked the rudders, and sailed it about 20 times so far. love it. its easy to rig(20 mins mast up w/sails ready to go), easy to sail(tacking on cats takes some practice). only thing i don't like is jib blocks on tramp but its not that bad. great "bang for buck" first cat. was thinking about upgrading this winter but have decided to keep her(it's cheaper to keep her!).
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bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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Posted: Oct 21, 2009 - 09:55 AM
There is also an AMF (windrush) 14 in Tampa..which is light and would fit in the garage easier, but can't find too much on performance. Guessing the smaller hull hurts it. But I really don't know anything! -
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Posted: Oct 21, 2009 - 10:01 AM
if you go with something like an AMF 14, you may have troubles finding parts for it., i would stick with a major brand personally (unless money isn't a factor, and then you can have custom fabricated parts and sails) -
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Posted: Oct 22, 2009 - 08:30 AM
anything less than 16' is much slower with 2 people. my buddy bought a p 15 and its amazing how much less boat it is than my p 16. great for solo, not good for socializing. i've had 3 ladies on my boat with me with no problems and it didn't suck at all!
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bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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Posted: Oct 22, 2009 - 09:13 AM
The ability to carry the ladies is important!
We do want the ability to take friends out one and a while.
Couple ?s: Looks like we might have to seperate the hulls to store it in the garage. How difficult is it to seperate on the prindle 16? Also is the mast one piece? Sorry for all the noob questions. -
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Posted: Oct 22, 2009 - 09:57 AM
It is defiantly possible to disassemble and store in a garage and it's typically only 2 bolts per attachment point to take off the beams.
I have been spraying "Blaster" rust remover on my bolts for months as they will not turn easily and i FEAR breaking a bolt off if i ever need to remove my beam.
but this isn't typically done for storage unless you live up north where snow weight (excess weight can damage your cat on a trailer) / extreme cold (any moisture can explode a hull or mast) / fear from critters moving in.
Masts are typically 1 piece on beach cats (with the major exception of Hobie's that are modified with a plastic top to reduce chances of electrocution, called a comp top)
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Posted: Oct 22, 2009 - 10:26 AM
You can separate the hulls on a P16 but I would only suggest doing so for long term storage (as Andrew said, I live up north and put my boat away for 6-7 months a year). It is a real pain to have to put your boat and trampoline together from scratch when you have to take it out, probably would add 2+ hours to the setup time.
D.
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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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Posted: Oct 22, 2009 - 04:40 PM
There's a joke in there somewhere. :) -
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Posted: Oct 23, 2009 - 01:00 PM
Looks like the prindle 16 is it. Going to pick it up tomorrow! -
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Posted: Oct 23, 2009 - 02:49 PM
Great news! That is a very nice boat.
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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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