It is 10degC in summer, and winter, here Jake, so no danger of different exansion ratios (at least it feels that way now)


Next time we will do carbon or machine a stainless bolt for this.


Very good thread this one!

+1 on Jake's solution.

I visited the Stilletto yard and they were doing an extensive retrofit of a 28 footer. I peeked in the hull near the main chainplate, and they had the same sort of deal going with the metal plate and carbon / kevlar roving (or webbing) put through the holes in the plate, and then fanned out and laminated to the hull at various lengths along what I presumed to be the load path(s).

The whole assembly was then sandwiched in another few layers of glass against the bracket and hull.

I would presume you need to be careful to avoid sharp edges/corners in the bracket to avoid chafe should that thing ever jiggle with expansion or cyclic loading?

The port bow chain plate - or bridle bow tang if you will - blew out of the hull. The starboard tang held, but started to crack or shear off. Interestingly, neither the deck nor the hull showed any sign of twisting or raking. I was concerned when I refinished the hulls about the top/bottom seams of the two hulls halves, but they seem to be holding up well after ~30 years!

The shroud chain plates seem to be OK, but an inspection is warranted. Bolstering the glass under the shroud plates and through bolting are probably as far as I will go.

However, the discussion is interesting. Keeping old plastic boats alive may go against nature. This old nacra was rescued from my Dad's backyard where it deteriorated for 15+ years. The hull gel coat was pocked and the deck delaminating in spots and the rudders previously stolen. The fact that it even sailed again was due to a couple of key points:

1) A chat I had with an enthusiastic West River, MD cat sailor who used to deal nacra. His opinion was the 5.2 was built like a brick **** house and I should definitely rebuild the boat and race with them on weeknights!
2) My own (mad?) determination to put it right again.

RE point 2: It's not like I'm hurting for a ride. I have an Olson 34 keelboat and a Catalina 16.5 dinghy as well. It's just that the nacra 5.2 is so damn fun and scary in a breeze. Otherwise it is a pain in the butt to setup and launch.

I guess I'll see how my repairs hold up and hopefully have fun until she breaks again.

I would never use wood. In this case the tang will be bolted to the plate. A glass/foam bulkhead wouldn't hurt. One that encompassed the top third of the hull would be nice. I think the plate will work fine as long as it's strong, care is taken to get max adhesion and it gets time to cure properly.

This boat has an advantage when it comes to repair or the question of is it worth repairing. It does not have a core.