Hi,
I am looking to buy a Nacra and have come across a 1984 Nacra 5.0 . Is there anything in particular I should be looking for before purchasing.

Also I have also seen quite a few 5.5 Uni's for sale, does anyone know what is involved in converting this to a sloop.

Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

Aidan

The NACRA 5.0 is 16 feet long and sails quite nicely. It is a bit underpowered for Southern California but if you live in an area where the wind blows hard, then the 5.0 NACRA would be an excellent choice. The NACRA is very safe as well. Just like the other boats in the NACRA line the 5.0 is boomless and therefor safer for the operator and crew than boats with booms. Please note that any 16 foot boat will be much more fun if your combined sailing crew weight is less than 280 lb.. If you plan to sail at a much higher crew weight than that then read on.

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>>Please note that any 16 foot boat will be much more fun if your combined sailing crew weight is less than 280 lb..


I don't agree with that I think old and new 16 footers are best sailed at 320 lbs and below with probably optimal weights around 300 lbs. 280 lbs are featherweights that will do well in whisper sailing conditions but in winds over 10 knots they will start to get disadvantaged with respect to the 300-320 crowd.

Wouter

Aidan,

Converting a 5.5 uni to a sloop isn't as difficult as it may seem. basically the difference between the uni and the sloop are a different mast, stays, main, and obviously the jib. Nacra used to offer purchasing a sloop rig which I believe had a shorter mast than the uni, the front only has one stay versus the two that were on the uni, and the main was smaller.
I raced a 5.5 sloop from about the time I was 9 till I was 14. Its a great boat for just screwing around on with the family or going out and racing. Its a little bit more stable than the 5.0 as well.

Leah