I got a new (to me) crossbar for my Nacra 6.0na, any pointers to give me before I put it on, or just take the old one off and slap the new one on?
Trey

Well the big trick is getting those bolts out and back in without twisting them off. I'd highly recommend spraying them down with WD-40 or some good stuff to help them break free. Also pay a lot of attention to the recommended ft. lbs when you go to tighten them. Do not exceed the recommended ft. lbs. Many people have twisted the heads off these bolts and ended up having to redrill and retap the holes. If the bolts come out and go in cleanly you should be homefree.

Good Luck,
Mike Hill
Tiger #1520

us ethe white lithium grease, I think thats what the manufacturer uses. Some people "seat" thier beam in a bed of caulk or 3M 5200(?) cant remeber exactly what the product is.


Glad to hear you got the beam, See you at the Midlands!
David Mosley

You seat the beams in epoxy. Set the boat up bolt it together and make sure its square. Unbolt, Wax the beam... lube the bolt with grease and coat the beam pocket with strait west systems. Tighten it down with the torque wrench and mop up the extra as it squeezes out for the next 1/2 hour.

Make Sure you unwind any tension in the dolphin striker first if it is adjustable.....

Had not heard that this was required.

Why would this matter?

Thanks
Mark

Mike
What do you mean by: “Do not exceed the recommended ft. lbs.”

What would be appropriate number of ft/lbs?

Trey,

I've got a torque wrench if you want to wait till this weekend to put it together. I think theres some west system in the shed too, which I can expertly and carefully apply.

Before un-doing the bolts you need to remove any pre-bend in the front beam. Ideally when sailing, the front beam should be flat - Rig tension / mainsheet tension etc will bend it down....

So your front beam should be bent up - remove this before un-doing the bean bolts or you will cause problems

Since that is my old beam, I can attest that there is not much prebend in it*...however, any prebend that exists due to the tightness of the dolphin striker post would be between the tips of the dolphin striker 'arms' and would not affect the outer lengths of cross bar that attach to the hulls - they would still be as straight as the day they were born. I don't see how this might be a problem when attaching it to the hulls.

*When I upgraded my 5.2 post, the upgrade manual said to put an inch of prebend in the front beam. I could not find this kind of information anywhere for the 6.0 and my dealer told me to just get it tight.

They might be straight, but will they still be level ? Any bend in the front beam will result in the bolt holes (in the beam) being deflected away from vertical - this will over stress the bolts when taking them out and may result in the stripped-thread-re-tap-nightmare-of-doom.

I agree with bedding the beam with epoxy. However I would add microlight filler or finely chopped figerglass so all the epoxy does not run out and instead of waxing the beams, use 2 layers of wax paper or mold release film or even plastic wrap. It will be a lot easier to remove 2 years from now.

One of the reason pure epoxy is used for this is, it is not a very good glue. It does not stick very well so a waxed beam is good enough. Also it can run and leave voids. If you have some kevlar cloth, cut some up very fine and mix it in. It will turn into a gel that looks like something a cat would cough up. A small amount gives you a yellow gel. The more you add the more it looks like a yellow furball. You want it to look like room temp jello.