Deck ports on '83 Nacra 5.0

should not be a problem. i cut in a 4" port on a 5.7 this spring and it was assembled as you describe, with a thick fiberglass seam where the two halves came together. the port, being screwed or riveted adds some continuity around the opening for strength.

if you would like two photos of the work, get me an email and i'll send them. i have trouble getting pics to load into forums.
j

Shouldnt have any effect aft of the rear beam. All the 5.2s have then. Its a pretty common mod on the 5.7 and 5.0.

I have to ask, why are you installing ports?
If the reason is to "dry out the hulls", you do not want them aft of the rear beam. The 5.0 & 5.7 have a bulkhead right at the rear beam. If you look at your hulls, from the outside, you will see that the skeg hulls are upswept about 30* towards the rear.
If there is water in the hull, it will not be removable via a port behind the rear beam.

I wanted the ports to dry the hulls and for semi-secure storage while out sailing.

I have read that putting ports in ahead of the front beam is bad for structural integrity. 😕

What about immediately forward of the rear beam? There may be room there but I don't think it's as flat as behind the rear beam.

Bah, there is no room forward of the aft beam for a port.

Any other ideas?

Installing a port forward of the front beam is bad juju. That's the highest stress point on the boat. Many a Nacra has died by breaking the nose off between the front beam and bridle.

Putting a port anywhere between the beams shouldn't be a problem. Does it not have one just aft of the front beam you can use for that purpose? I thought all Nacras had a port there.

Thanks Dave, I picked that up reading this forum!

As for the port just aft of the front beam.....

That's all she wrote. Could I put the port right thru the black non-skid deck there. Is that some sort of cap...is there a way to open up the hull by removing the blue or black non-skid?

Thanks again,
Jimmy

Edited by flyingfishguy on Sep 13, 2012 - 06:23 PM.

That is how you do it. Center them in the non-skid with a minimum of of 2" clearance on each side.

The blue and black nonskid are actually decklids, they are meant to come off when you need to do repairs inside the hull. However, this isn't something you do for fun its a huge operation. They are adhered to the hull with thickened epoxy. You can take them off by slowly working around the perimeter with achisel. Then before you reattache them you have to get all the adhesive off fit them to the hulls and glue them back on with thickened epoxy. Not something you ever really want to do unless you have no choice.

Edited by Wolfman on Sep 13, 2012 - 06:45 PM.

I thought all Nacras had a port there.

Neither of ours, (5.7 & 5.0, one old style solid hull, other an '88) have any ports.
I debated putting some in on the 5.7, because ti is such a bitch to single hand that boat up onto the lawn & til it's high enough to drain.
Ended up finding the small leaks so that the hulls now take on only a cup or two of water in 3 days sailing, & so drain them only once a month.
We now balance them on the seadoo lifts they sit on, & tip them up to drain, so I dropped the idea of ports, though the storage MIGHT be useful, just not sure what we would put in there.

Jimmy, DON'T even consider removing the deck lid to install a port. Just cut the proper hole in the deck. Push down on the decks & sides to locate the stringers/bulkheads, you don't want to cut through those. There are 2 bulkheads, I think they are below the beams.
Have a look at the album I made showing the inside of older style 5.2 hulls, yours will moslty the same, sans dagger trunks.
http://www.thebeachcats.com/pictures/?g2_itemId=82844&g2_GALLERYSID=6fe341862aa28f4c6f5e8137e51c7868
There are 2 photos showing what the underside of your decks look like. If you only cut the deck lid, & miss the supporting structure you should have no problems. I think you will be limited to a 4" port, & the ports with a 1/8" curvature fit better than flat ones. The deck looks flat, but place a straightedge across the top to see the real profile.

Sorry I just realized my post might be misconstrued as me suggesting you take the deck lids off. F!!! NO!!! You just cut a hole in the deck lid and install the port. As long as you are on the deck lid you won't hit the stringers. I think I may have been on drugs when I wrote that...

Haha! @both of you...I got it! I wasn't planning on removing the deck lids, it was more of a general knowledge question. Regardless, thanks for the heads-up!

I've got an '84 5.2 that I bought two years ago. It's been sitting since then, getting worked on as I've had time. One thing I've been concerned about is the number of ports on this boat. It has two aft of the aft beam, one in front of the aft beam (port side), and two aft and two in front of the front beam (7 total). The ports in front of the front beam are well within the blue grip area. I do not know if they are located at the cross brace, but they are 4" ports, 2" forward of the rearmost area of the blue grip deck. The hulls seem solid, no soft spots. Think I should be alright?

I would be a little concerned about that many ports.

5.2s are very vulnerable at the front beam. They like to crack and break there. If you see airborne's boat on the technical help gallery, that's how his 5.2 died. In your case I would suggest pulling off the deck with the ports in front of the beam and getting them reglassed. You can probably leave the others in place. Although I don't like the one just in front of the aft beam either. The areas just in front of the beams are stress points, the front beam more than the rear.

The stringers/reinforcement are under the beams. You should be able to see them clearly through all those ports and determine if they are in good shape or cracked/pulling away from the hull. If they are it's time to open up the decks and do some fiberglassing before it gets worse.

Now if you have been sitting on the boat for 2 years and want to get sailing I would suggest keeping a close eye on it until you get around to fixing the problem. It will let you know when it starts to give by cracking around the port and beam. I just wouldn't be trapping hard with the boat without doing the repairs.