I am rebuilding my 83 nacra 5.2 and have a few questions. I have reviewed the last 5 years of posts for the nacra 5.2 and most of my questions have been answered,(yes there are over a thousand of them,a lot of answers from Jake). I have done a bottom job on the hulls and put new gelcoat on the entire hulls, fixed any bad spots on the rudders and daggerboards and gelcoated them as well, and bought a new tramp.

1.Does anyone know the correct alignment of the rudders to each other.

2.Should I buy the factory hiking stick "attachment" to the tiller bar or buy something else.

3.I have to rebuild the ends on the tiller tie bar, but I read in one of the posts to just use the hobie 20 setup. I have a lot of slop in the whole rudder system.

4.Does anyone know where I can find the "nacra" decal for the hulls?

5.Someone said in the posts, to use a smaller diameter line than what is recommended for the main sheet.

Thanks in advance for your time.
airborne

1. I am not sure on the alingment. Mine are straight to the naked eye but measurements might prove differently.

2. mine has the factory hiking stick, it is really nice just a twist and you can extend it out to almost 8 feet and then collapse it back in the same way. I have heard of guys using the aluminum pool cleaner handles. I have a friend with a H16 that does that. It works well and is only 20 bucks...but I don't know how long it will last.

3. You can order that whole kit to rebuilt the set up, it is cheap and works well. They pop up on ebay from time to time in the buy now section.

4. I want to know the same thing!!! I am having vinyl names made for the hulls and was going to see if I could get another Nacra sign made. If I do I will see if I can get a bunch made.

5. I think people suggest the smaller line for racing because it runs through the block easier. I have upgraded to a larger line because the one I had hurt my hands after a long day on the water. That is really up to you.

You are not to far from me, I am in Norman Ok.
The 5.2 is a blast and tough as nails. Glad to hear the other people sail them.

I also have the factory hiking stick and it is nice. I am in need of the attachment part to the tiller tie bar.

I am new to cat sailing but I have heard the 5.2 is an old boat, but anyone who has owned one really liked it.

I joined Fleet 23 club that sails out of lewisville lake.

You'll find some contrasting opinion regarding rudder alignment - some say to toe them in slightly, but I prefer to align them as straight as possible. First, obviously, you need to remove as much slop from the system as possible. Then with the sterns elevated and the rudders in the down position and pointing as straight forward as possible, measure the distance between the two leading edges and remember the measurement. Then come straight back at the same elevation and measure the trailing edges. Adjust until the measurements are the same.

Also note that some of the 5.2's have ackerman steering - the rudder arms are bent toward each other slightly. If this is your case, it is important that one rudder be pointed straight in line with the hull before you start aligning (because the arms are bent inward, the outside rudder in the turn will turn less sharply than the inside rudder to accomodate the outside hull making a larger radius.

After reading all of your posts its nice to talk to you.
The rudder arms are straight so I will just make them the same on the leading edge and the trailing edge. Also I think I read in one of your posts that you did not have much "rake" on the mast.
thanks airborne

I don't recall much about where I ran the mast rake (the angle the mast is rigged to lean back or stand straight up) and honestly, at that time, I really didn't have a whole lot of experience with which to figure out where to setup the mast rake on that boat.

I have to rebuild the ends on the tiller tie bar, but I read in one of the posts to just use the hobie 20 setup. I have a lot of slop in the whole rudder system.

Do you think this will work. I checked ebay and they had nothing on the kit.

try on this website in the catsailor store - I believe they have it.

It will probably work but it's probably not going to be a bolt on installation and will take some customization.

I have and still am working on upgrading my 5.2 My tiller bar has no slop at all. I used tiller extension mounts that have cord running through them in case the rubber breaks. My rudders are measured straight no toe in or out. Works great, I have the carbon adjustable tiller extension. I have 10 to 1 main with a smaller diameter sheet, runs easier. Attached a couple photos.

Carl
Saylor Specialties
www.saylorspecialties.com

another one

Carl
Saylor Specialties
www.saylorspecialties.com

I used those snubbers on my 6.0 and they took some getting used to since the bar would twist when you try to unlock the hiking stick. It does work...just took some getting used to. There was certainly NO slop.

I have minimal rake on my 5.2 primarily because I sail it singlehanded or with my 40 pound son. Having the minimum rake allows me to depower easier in gusts. I tried to rake the mast back a little last summer but I couldn't get the main to trim properly. Also with the mast raked back it lowered the heck out of my boom so I was having some serious trouble getting under it during tacks. I just put my 5.2 back on the beach after doing some work on it (new standing rigging and bottom job). I'm looking forward to getting out on it within the next few weeks. Water temp is around 60F so you don't have to be hardcore to get out in January.

-Rob V.
Panama City, FL

BTW... that is a sweet looking boat, Carl.

Can you tell me where you picked up the tiller extension mounts.

Where did you get the new standing rigging?

airborne

I hope my 5.2 looks as good as yours when I am done. What is the black thing sticking out in front of the bottom of the mask. The jib looks like it is fastened to it.

That is a bridal foil, it reduces the amount of inward pressure the bows feel. I am not sure why the are not something on all boats but they seem to be an upgrade that people make.

actually I was looking at the black thing at the bottom of the mask that is black. It looks like the aft end of the jibe is hooked to it.

airborne

that's the self tacker. The jib sheet is attached to a car on that curved traveler track so that when you tack back and forth, the jib automatically slides over to the correct side and you don't have to touch anything. It's become the standard for most new cat designs. The only drawback (well...that's debatable) is that you cannot have a jib that overlaps your mast and mainsail because it has to stop short of the traveler track to work properly.

If you go to www.performancecat.com you can down load a manual and parts list. They will still have or get any part for your nacra 5.2

Airborne,
I believe the tiller extension mounts are available from Layline or APS. I got mine from RWO, can't get anything from them now. If you search under my username you can find some more close up photos of the self tacker and bow foil. The Tacker came from a Tiger, and the foil I built. I sail single handed and the self-tacker works great for that. Spinnaker is in the process, building molds for the spin hoop now ( half is done) carbon pole is done. All standing and running rigging has been upgraded to new and sometimes old but good ideas. The standing rigging I did myself (it had to be custom). But you can buy OEM standing rigging from Layline or Murrays. The 5.2 is a great old boat (IMHO). Have fun with it.

Carl

Saylor Specialties
www.saylorspecialties.com