I have an early Nacra 5.2 and was just wondering what upgrades should i make from the original nacra 5.2 parts and rigging. Also i have a soft spot on the top of the hull near the rudders. Should that be reinforced? Any help is appreciated.

Put a spi pole, a snuffer and a spi. A F16 spi is a perfect fit. That's the best upgrade you can do!

Rudder pull-up lines! I just did those, lots better than the original bungees.

Maybe put in sideways loading dagger board bungees in place of the fore-aft loading original set up. This to relieve the strain (and particularly the wear) on the aft end of the daggerboard trunks.

Personally I wouldn't bother putting the jib cables under the tramp, though it might help cut down on the mess I get if I leave the jib flogging for a couple of seconds...

Some people remove the center bar. Guess it's just preference, but it never gets in my way and gives the tramp a nice and tight feel.

I'm thinking about putting in a better traveler system though... That way I could get the main on center without flattening it too much. This is just for light to medium winds. Maybe next year though..

Regards, Dennis

probably many mods have already been done, hard to say without pics. but here a few early 5.2 mods.

- if you need to raise and lower the mast every time you go sailing you may want to fit the captive mast base for added safety

- if the alloy tube connecting the 2 rudders sometimes rotates and then binds during turns you might want to replace the older rotating joints with the later welded type. or just wind a foot of stainless lockwire around them so they stay at the best angle all the time

2:1 rudder pull down's
I will post pics tonight. I used this mod this weekend and it really helped my rudders stay down. Take the line that pulls the rudders down and tie on a block. Your pivmatic assembly will have a pin going through the aft end, remove pin and put a washer on one side. Tie a new line around the washer, through the block and back through the cleat. Now you have 2:1.

- if the alloy tube connecting the 2 rudders sometimes rotates and then binds during turns you might want to replace the older rotating joints with the later welded type. or just wind a foot of stainless lockwire around them so they stay at the best angle all the time [/quote]

here's a pic of the quick and dirty lock wire way to stop the old nacra unions from rotating. you can also see the new jam-cleat and purple line used to hold the rudder up

I have recently retro fitted a Pivmatic to a Maricat and have found the default shock cord tension makes it almost impossible to lower the rudders from the fully raised position. I'm new to this. Could you provide a few more details on how to setup the 2:1 pull down. Some photos and or drawings would be much appreciated.

i'd also like to see some pics of the 2-1 pull down system

what about pics of this maricat conversion?

has anyone else done it?
if not perhaps the pivot point on the maricat rudders is too far back and the pivotmatic bungees can't over-center to the correct degree

Are you sure that you routed the pull-down line OVER the pin above the blade? My 5.0 had it incorrectly run under the pin and there was no purchase angle to allow pull-down of the blade. Simple fix: route it over the pin. I've seen that same pin moved back 2 inches to increase the pull angle. You must be sure that you re-drill the hole so the pin will not interfere with the blade head when it swings down. Otherwise, this should cure the pull down issue. The 2:1 will do it as well but may not be needed. I'll try to get some photos.

If this link works follow the white line around the pin. Imagine moving the pin 2" to the left.
Link to Nacra casting photo

In this pic you can see that i removed the pivmatic pin and added a washer. Tye a knot around the pin and route the line. The position of the rudder is down and all slack removed. As you can see you have to get your knot just right or the parts im using wont work. Cures: smaller pulley or drilling pivmatic pin 1 inch forward of its current location. It works quite well and makes tight bungee's a breeze.
<img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />


In this photo the rudder is in the up position. A smaller pully would definitely give you more room for error.

one more pic for good measure <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Yeah check the routing of your line...above the bolt/pin. I have done the bolt mod as well. When drilling the castings further back be very carefull of placement. The space your working on is tight and its very easy to make a mistake. I have found theres much more room if you only go back an inch or so. remember you need a gap between the pole and pin for the line to run over and out. You want to move straight back and keep the spacing between pin and pole the same with the new hole.

Green dot is just to give you a visual idea...the way i did mine was to put a laser level on the pole line (bottum). i drew a line on the casting here. Measured down to the centerline of the pin/bolt and redrilled. If the spacing is off the line will cause alot of friction and not help your situation, but atleast you can still use the factory hole.

A spinnaker is alway's a good necessary upgrade <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

TTT

Replacing the cable and ball halyard with the ring and hook is another good upgrade for the 5.2