I'm interested in buying a used Nacra 5.2 and I understand it underwent some design and construction changes over time. In 1987 would it have foam core hulls or no foam? Are these susceptable to soft hulls? When did the mast ball change? Were the original sails OK or are they a must-change? Is the square top a must? Any tips on shopping for these to avoid a pile of problems?



Do you know of any somewhere near Florida?

All Nacra hulls after about 1985 were (are) sandwich. 83 and earlier were solid glass - a lot easier to patch on, but real real heavy. My 1981 5.O was a LOT heavier than my 95 5.5, nominally 60 lbs heavier, and you could sure tell it loading it on the trailer! Mast ball was also changed to captive much before 1987; it is actually difficult to get the ball to fit the non-captive system on the early boats now.

Sorry, no idea on the sails; I know they were mylar by about 1989, but can't say for 87.

Look at the catamaran buyer's guide at www.sailingproshop.com. Mark keeps it decently well updated, and last I checked, all info was a LOT newer than 87. Good luck!

Here's the link to the Sailing Pro Shop catamaran buyer's guide:



The Ultimate Catamaran Buyer's Guide

Actually the old style hulls were lighter than the foam sandwich hulls.

The 5.0 & 5.7 hulls are very different. They are designed with the same philosophy as the Hobie 16, beach-proof. They have a ton of glass in their "keels".

My old style Nacra 18sq, (5.5) hulls are much lighter than a new 5.5. They are also more fragile, but they don't absorb water like the foam core hulls.

I'll vouch for that - Mark's "cat guide" also says that the early fiberglass 5.2 hulls were lighter than the sandwich construction.



Also - 1983 (i think) and earlier boats have a bar that runs on top of the trampoline from the front cross tube to the rear tube. While a lot of people will say "what a pain in the knees", once you get used to it, it is a nice foot hold when you get hit with a gust. Mine has the bar and I'm not that worried about it.



On the fiberglass boats, look for a soft spot on top of the hulls about 12" in front of the front cross beam and look for stress cracks on the inside top edge of the hulls in the same area. This is the first signs of the hulls giving in to the stresses of the bridle wires and one day will lead to "oil canning" where the hulls start collapsing in this area. However, don't be overly alarmed about this. A) they will show these signs for a good while (mine has had them for two years and I sail the snot out of mine) and B) they can be repaired by adding a port forward of the beam and doing a little glass work.

I've got a 1983 for sale in St. Pete, FL

It's a VERY competetive boat, light, solid hulls, and I have a squaretop for it.

E-mail me at fastcatmichael@hotmail.com

And yes, it is advertised on this site ;-)