I have the opportunity to pick up a Nacra 5.5 on the cheap. As I know little about these catamarans I was wondering if anyone could enlighten me on this boat. I think the one I am looking at is an SL (Sloop) as it has jib and screatcher/spin? Do people still race these? Can I still get parts, sails, etc? Anything to look for in particular?

Thanks in advance.

reasonable review here

http://home.comcast.net/~ragenpl/nacra/Why_Nacra55SL.htm

spin shot here

http://www.gtsailing.org/images/nacra5.5.jpg

maker's info here

http://www.nacra.us/nacra/55sl.htm

think they were all foam cored so you'd want to check for soft spots on the hulls just forward of the main beam, as you would on any foam cored boat

nacras generally pretty sold, fast boats with lots of hull volume to resist pitch poling and carry extra weight well. the daggerboard models point well but as they are race boats have more adjustments than many recreational sailors want

adding a spin to any cat generally costs 1-3thousand dollars so if this boat has one it's a plus

parts generally good

this url will give an idea of price

http://www.sailingtexas.com/snacra55c.html

I had one, loved it. If it's in good shape and cheap, buy it! Or tell me where it is so I can buy it. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Look closely at the bridal foil bar, be sure it has not been bent, check all the stainless fittings for rust and the wires for frays and rust. Check the dagger board wells for cracks at the back of the board slots on the hull bottoms. If they ran it aground at speed, there could be isses there. Does it come with a trailer and beach wheels? Check the mainsail at the outhaul track (boomless rig) see if it is pulling away from the sail too. Mine did that and I had to spend about $250 to get it fixed.

They are great boats, you can race them single handed with the main only if you like. They did have a Uni class for many years.

Thanks for the thoughts. I'm going by to have a look at it today to get an estimate on repairs. It does have a jib and a spin so that is a plus. Keep the thougts coming.

Dumb question, whats the bridal foil bar?

The bridal foil bar is to spread the loads when carrying the jib, it gets the foot of the jib down lower without pinching the bows in too much. If your is a converted 5.5 Uni, it may have the Uni set up as well, which was more like an A cat, twin forestays up to a higher point. If the boat has been in saltwater for years your biggest fear will be corrosion. Look at all the metal parts closely, especially on the mast.

I have a 5.5 and have been sailing cats for many years and the 5.5 is one of my favorites for solo sailing if you add a spinnaker. When ever I add a second person onboard the 5.5 does tend to bog down and not be as peppy. Great tough boat, I wish she was a little lighter but all in all a good cat.

As the 1996 Nacra 5.5 National Champion crew, I am a bit biased - I loved the boat and miss the class. It was a well-balanced evolution of the 5.2 and could be driven very hard for its size and volume.

Check the sterns - they require periodic refinishing. Otherwise, all the typical used boat shopping stuff applies. If it is solid, you'll be happy with the purchase. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Puchased Patrick Regans 5.5 earlier this year, have had it in the water six times now - great boat - after sailing a hobie 18 for the last five years - wanted something with a little more get up and go. Just upgraded the spin to a snuffer system - going to try the spin tomorrow for the first time - no regrets - we love it. enjoy <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for the info. I went and looked at the boat yesterday it looks pretty good except for one area. The aft port ama inspection port has been smashed and caused some fiberglass damage right around it, so i'm gonna have to do a little repair on it but otherwise looks solid.

Does anyone have any detail shots of the rigging of the boat, for I've never rigged a 5.5? Anything will help.
Thanks.

you can get the manual from the nacra web page

http://nacra.us/nacra/nindex.html

go to nacra assy (older) and download it

be happy to answer any other questions

good luck

The NACRA 5.5SL is a fun boat for lighter crews. Parts are generally interchangeable with the NACRA 5.2. If the boat has original sails, plan on getting at least a new mainsail and possibly a jib as well.

Drop me a note with any questions.

Mark Michaelsen
Former NACRA 5.5SL owner

I would think that with some small amount of tweaking you could even fit it into the F18 rule.

Intersting. What sort of things would need to be done? Sails? Other adjustments?

Thanks.

The standard Nacra 5.5 jib is too big for the F18 rules. You would need a F18 legal jib, spin and get a F18 main and boom to start to be competitive with them. Then add the jib self tacker.

If you could find an older Nacra F18 that had busted hulls, you could buy the entire rig/sails and transfer it to the 5.5, you might save some money over buying a new F18, it that's what you want to do. Or, just keep it and play with it until you decide you want a F18 (or something else), sell it and buy the next toy. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Wow. Thanks for the info. I may play with it how it is now and eventually start to experiment.

The Nacra 5.5 Sloop is a great boat -as is- and will give you a great fast ride. I used to sail mine solo without jib and then with another adult male my size, 190lbs. x 2, it has a wide range of useability. It is a great boat in high wind too.

Once you get comfortable with it, if you want to add a spinnaker, that will take you to the "next level" of cat sailing. But you don't need a spinnaker to have a good time on it as is. Adding a spinnaker will cost you money of course, ($1,000?) and add complexity and rigging time. If you can find someone who has spinnaker experience that will show you how to rig it properly, and sail it with you a few times, that will help a lot. If you have a place where you can leave it mast up, spin. pole mounted, etc. that will save you time and make it much quicker to get out on the water.

If you are going to race it in the Open Portsmouth class, forget the spinnaker for now, unless you are doing a long distance race with a downwind leg.

The boat I am looking at has a spinnaker already so that is nice. I will however be looking for someone to help rig it and show me a few pointers.

Working on storage as we speak...

Hey, maybe it's my old boat, what color is the spinnaker? Mine was a yellow and purple Smyth huge spin. It had a multi colored main with number 465 I think. It was a 1994 if I remember right. Where did you find it?

I think sail number is 409. Not sure spin colors. I was wondering about the Hull # and year. Where would I find the hull number? I guess if yours was a 1994 this one can't be much older than that.

The number should be on the transom of the starboard hull, unless there has been work done in that area. Someone else can tell you how to decipher the number, I have forgotten...