Yes, in fact I have owned the boat since 1976 then last summer I decided to do a complete rebuild. Now the boat is better than new, until I go out an...

What Andrew at Slo suggested was to increase the downhaul tension. He also indicated that our original downhaul configuration is not up to dealing wi...

Diamond wire tension is relative to the shape of the main that you are trying to achieve and relative to the general wind conditions you sail in. If ...

My 1976 Nacra 5.2 has the round spreaders too. I do some minor silicone around the large washers to keep some water out, but the main thing is to mak...

I agree that some boats do need to go to the boneyard to provide parts for other boats and boaters. I just have a high tolerance and know that some o...

All of these old boats are worth saving. Getting the result you want is also worth all of the effort. I won't tell you how many times I sanded my bo...

I'm not familiar with this primer, but it may also be a high build primer that is actually intended to be sanded with 220 to get the final surface. I...

Think of your main beam like a prestressed concrete girder. By tensioning the rods inside the girder it makes that girder (beam) bow upward, but the ...

We are talking about very different boats here. I thought we were talking about a NACRA 5.2 not a Hobie. The NACRA has a very bendy mast that you us...

The diamond wires should be loose like the description of being able to have them touch to the mast 12" above the tang. While there are many possible...

That Bulb Tite rivet is interesting for its load sharing back. Curious to know what the special tool is. Is it just a special nose for a standard ri...

You are cooking with gas now. Since you need to work the repair on both sides of the bulkhead you need to decide how you want to gain more access. F...

The last image is telling. The boat did get wracked pretty significantly as evidenced by the bending of the inside of the beam. That little bit of c...

The early boats didn't have this piece inside the beams. I don't think it would be too difficult to retrofit an older boat to have these added bits. ...

I wondered the same thing when I was faced with this. But then I also thought that what they used didn't really work all that well either. I just d...

Erik, there is a lot going on here. At the beginning of your post you show some very distorted beam ends. Likely we won't get to find out what exact...

Ed you are mixing up your boats and how the beam straps work. On the earliest boats the strap ends do not fully seat down against the hull or have an...

I just went out and took images of the beam ends on my boat that just got new straps. Notice how the black aluminum bits under bolt heads are not com...

The problem with not actually removing the deck lid is you really don't know where the problem is until you pull it off. You can see on my deck ...

There are several issues going on here. None in my opinion are all that serious, but they do need to be repaired. To a point the bent/collapsed beam...

Ok, just checked my hull number to see how it works. Your hull # is 1197 and it looks like it was made in 1979. The original sail # would also have ...

Wow, I am impressed with the work. Nice job finishing the hulls too. Any idea how the boat was damaged in the first place? Storm damage or the li...

Another great place to spend many many hours is just going through all the technical photo albums. Lots of people have spent a great deal of time sho...

Slightly different topic and I'm not sure if it is anything other than an optical illusion, but it seemed to me that the dolphin striker rod as it is...

A snarky cat would be the way to go. Hobies are so...............done 😛

I just rebuilt my 5.2 and put the new square top on from Slo. It looks great, but I haven't been out yet to play with it. I'm just a little North ...

Understanding what the position of your mast is just the starting point. Knowing that changing the rake fore or aft effects the feel on the rudder an...

I was just looking at old images of my 5.2 jib and it does have the small battens in it. There were a couple of different jib block set ups that I ha...

I'm good with the obscenely expensive boats and campaigns and even the extraordinarily rich people behind the races. My problem is with the the way t...

I just saw this on Scuttlebutt: NOT LOVING IT (#4783) The America's Cup has been ruined. Hopefully not for life. Great boats, great speed, great tech...