setting up nacra 5.8

Hi, bought a nacra 5.8 a few weeks ago. Maybe someone can help me with some questions:

beam-hull connection: At the frontbeam the square plates are above the RVS strip. At the rearbeam they are under the strip. Rearbeam doesn't seem OK for me. But is I put them above the strip there is quite some distance between strip and hull. Foto's from the original situation:


The rearbeam has two bigger blocks at it's ends. For Spi?


Thanks for your help!!

Pamela

There are different beam straps for the front beam and the rear beam. Rear beam straps are longer. Looks like previous owner modified it to make a front beam strap fit on the rear.

Blocks were added for an old school giant spin.

You should also have a internal beam casting inside the front beam that bolts the beam to the hull. Nacra part #2511 if you can find a pair. I didn't see it in the picture.

The block goes on top of the strap with the slopeing bit facing forward so the strap gets a smooth bend, as you tighten the bolt the block pushes down on the strap if that makes sense. If when you tighten the bolt it goes all the way to the bottom the strap has stretched and will need replacing. I would check the dolphin striker bolts as well and the beam should have about 10mm prebend. I would take those two back blocks off they might have been for an old spin, if you put a new spin on they would go on the front beam, post as many photos as you like for us to check and welcome to the forum, you have an awesome boat that will come up well with a polish

Here's a pic of mine

OK, understood. I measured the strips: all the same length. Would you go sailing like this? Or better fill the gap a little bit?



The castings for the frontbeam are there. Just put them out for unscrewing.

And to have idea how she looks like:

Those straps are fine, the space is there to keep it tensioned, don't overtighten as you can strip the thread, really need to balance out the bolts so that the strap at the rear is just touching but with more space than your current forward one, the reason you have the rear of the strap just touching is with your current gap the main sheet will get caught in the gap causing some mayhem. Great looking boat by the way.
Aus 5.8's have gone square so if your looking for a near new pintop main there are a few out there with not much work like mine with only 14 days use for Aus$500

Thanks Jeff! I'll fill the room between hull and strip so it won't eat main sheets. Even new bolts got damaged when put them in, so I put a threadtap? in. Don't know or that was the right decision. On some of them the thread now feels a little 'weak'. Do you know how the internal construction is? Just a laminated bolt? Or a connecting strip?

Sailed her this weekend and she put a big grin on my face!

Had some problems with unhooking the main. The first time the knot was too big. With a small knot the ring can be pulled high enough. But if the mast is turned the ring doesn't flip off. Any tips or tricks?

Does anyone know or and how the roller balls of the mainsheet traveller can be replaced? They feel quite square.

Has anyone tried the 'firebird orion' (see youtube) righting method on a nacra? On bigger cats the mast foot is mostly locked on the ball. I can image the mast foot would come loose on a nacra?

@Jeff: An almost new main would be nice as the current main is quite old. But for this summer I think I better can spend my money on more essential improvements. But I'll keep it in mind!

The bearings in the traveler car are usually made of torlon and you can buy "torlon bearings" at major industrial supply businesses (like www.mcmaster.com here in the US). Delrin bearing balls will also get the job done but they won't last as long as torlon. Installing the last couple of bearings can be a bit tricky because they all require the track and the end caps to stay in the car. You can either use a short piece of traveler track or temporarily make them stick in place with a water based "goo" that can be washed out later.

on hooking the main - how the knot tied, and what direction it faces when connected to the mainsail will affect operation. Try a double bunt hitch or a simple square knot (with a square knot keeper in the bitter end of the line). Rotate the ring on the main 180 degrees and figure out which way works best...make a note.

You don't need any special righting technique. Just make sure the mainsail and the traveler are loose, get the boat positioned properly into the wind (with the wind blowing into the bows), and lean out using a righting line. It should come up pretty easily.

Glad you enjoyed the ride, this is my fourth 5.8, Jakes info is spot on, just make sure your mast is facing straight into the wind when raising or lowering the sail, you really want a non stretch halyard for the main, I use 6mm dyneema which is way over the top for the load but it has zero stretch and is comfy on the hands so you can give it a yank and the ring pops off the hook, then just rotate the mast, you can see from the ground when the hook is free to come down. Definitely worth setting it up right, having the boat too high on beach rollers for some reason causes a problem as well. If you have old sails, well worth unstitching the bottom of the bolt rope, stitch some more rope on the end then pull really hard on your downhaul, it will suck more bolt rope up the sail and give better shape and performance, once you have it set again cut the excess off and put some more locking stitches in. I don't know if you've found these tuning guides
http://www.goosemarine.com.au/downloads/
These guides are for the bow foil big jib
The only addition to righting technique I would add is use a throw over the top righting line and let your downhaul off as well prior to righting, have you tried spraying lube into the traveller balls? Have you checked that your mast is airtight.
Downhaul setup is important you will use a heap of downhaul, on a windy day with an old 5.8 sail I would have the bottom of the sail out of the mast track and nearly touching the tramp

I would add:
throwing an anchor in the pond after a capsize can make things much easier: It will auto point your bows into the wind, stop your boat from drifting during righting and will drastically reduce your jib from filling with air and your cat taking off on you once it's righted (I also furl my jib if I can)

as per the bearings in your car: " water based "goo" that can be washed out later" I hear shaving cream is great for holding the bearings in place and easily flushes out.

as per lubricating the bearings: most lubes aren't recommended for bearings. can cause them to attract sand and salts and cause flat spots. Harken does make a lube specifically for this (Called one drop I believe) and works very well

KY jelly works too. I hadn't thought of shaving cream!

Easiest way to replace the bearings in the Harkin travel car is to get one of these... makes it a five minute job. Murray's, APS, and even West Marine sells them for $12.00.

Years ago I had my 5.8 at the factory in Santa Ana getting some fiberglass repair work done and had the rear beam replaced as well due to some corrosion where the swivel cleat bed attached to the beam..

They saw what you have set up there on my boat and went nuts... told me there should be equal to no gaps on each side.... I would re-bed and equal out the gap with those as well put some zinc paste on the threads and then goop the dickens out if it with some silicon to prevent water from getting in there... The backing plates are aluminum and SS bolts the will corrode them pretty quick..

Simple solution. Part nos#3509 or #30094. Get them from Murray's or the factory.

Here ya go

What factory?

I reckon by the time you loosen the front bolt a bit then tighten the back bolt pretty firm to balance out the gap it will look like mine, just need to make sure the strap is just touching the hull at the back so the sheet doesn't get stuck doesn't matter if the front is up a bit