Hi all,
I promised to keep you posted, so here is the story:

Yesterday I took a look at an inexpensive 1984 (maybe I'll call her George) Nacra 5.2. Cosmetically its not a very pretty sight... Luckily for me, I could not find any traces of structural problems. The mast and rigging are beautiful. The sails are surprisingly decent. The tramp is only so-so, and that about sums it up.
It looks like the previous owner (gotta love previous owners;-) threw some expensive paint in the general direction of the boat and decks, thereby instantly destroying what was left of the boats resale value.

The boat is sitting on the pavement behind the house waiting for a parking ticket right now. I'll see it I can rig her up this weekend. Won't have time to go for a sail for almost a month, but that's life...

Thanks again everyone for all the friendly advice!

regards,
Dennis