I was sailing yesterday in 20kts gusting to 30kts and as we were beating to windward to return to the club, one of the bridle tangs broke off. We were able to tie the spin halyard to one of the spin pole bridle attachment points to keep the mast up. We took the main down and sailed to safe harbor on the jib.

Now the question is, how do I replace the bridle attachment points? The base of the attachment point is still firmly set in the hull. Only the tab that the bridle attaches to broke off.

Thanks!

Damn Bo, that sucks.
My guess would be to pop/pry the deck lid up in the bow, grind out the old glass securing the broken tang, remove, and glass in a new tang. But that is just a guess, I haven't had to do it...yet.
Todd

Yeah I don't know how I'd do that. Maybe Jake got a good luck at the backside of my tang when he rebuilt my bow and could give you a few tips.

That not withstanding - call Jack up. He should be able to help.

I don't think it is that big a deal. Lee has done it and you have to remove the decks just like you said.

FWIW, we did not dismast... But the spinnaker pole is in two pieces.

If you take a look at this thread;

http://www.catsailor.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=189124#Post189124

A guy had the same problem with anF18 which has a similar looking tang, if memory serves me. Once he realised that he should consult Nacra before chiseling off the deck, i think a repair was done from the outside!

Actually, this wasn't a problem of the tang pulling out of the hull. The tang just broke off leaving the base inside the hull (no cracks at all).

If there is some portion of tangs still sticking out maybe it will be easier to weld 2 stainless washers than replace the whole thing.

Nope - there's a bulkhead 18" back from the bow - you can't see the tang from the repair I did on yours.

I don't know what that tang looks like either but if it's anything like the shroud tang (which is likely), it's probably a flate plate of stainless steel shaped like an upside down "T" with a bend where the tang exits the hull. It probably has holes in the ends to the T where thick fiberglass roving is run through and laminated to the inside of the hull...and then the whole thing is glassed over with some heavy duty woven glass (knytex) that is 'supposed' to act as the waterproof barrier.

Regardless, the answer here is to call Nacra and get their input...but you'll probably be popping the decks off, grinding out the existing tang and glassing a new one in. It should be a pretty straight forward repair that won't need any cosmetic work (unless something goes awry popping off the deck).

Work the deck gently and go way farther than you think you need to(or completely remove it). Becuase of the slight arch it doesn't like to flex up much. Mine split/ripped across about 2" when I had to remove it.

Performance said pop off the decks and grind out the old hardware. That's what we're going to do. I've already ordered the parts.

Sorry about you breakage. Could you take some pictures of your repair?

I had both my bow tangs replaced on my 5.8 at the factory. They thought they would remove the deck but then decided against that and worked from the outside. I had them replaced because I had some bad cracking around both tangs.

Very satisfied with the repair.
Buzz

Nacra US says 2 months to get new decks. Not sure what I'm going to do. I'm thinking that I'm not really interested in another Nacra if they can't get me parts.

You could try to get the deck you have up and glue it back when done. I did mine that way.It wouldn't have been a problem if I had removed more of it before lifting it. See other post. You really have nothing to lose but time, and it may turn out you don't even need to buy the new deck.
Todd