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March’s Log March 1, 2002 Friday It is hard to believe that this month marks our six-month since renting the house, leaving friends, family and our animals to head into this adventure. Allan and I have talked about this adjustment that we have gone through since quitting our jobs and walking away from a life that we both agreed we liked very much. In this life, you have to be much more self-sufficient. There is no running to the store or calling the repairman when something goes wrong. It is exhilarating, but there are new pressures involved. There is also a phenomenon that other cruisers talk about and that is that a year cruising with your spouse is like dog years. In other words, it is seven times longer because it is 24 hours a day, seven days a week together, when at home you might spend 4-6 hours together on a daily basis. Also the space we’re in is about 10 times smaller than our home in Seattle. Our home in Seattle had 2600 square feet and the boat had about 240 sq. ft. After walking, Allan and I join the walkers for breakfast before heading back to the boat to pull anchor and head to Isle Grande. It feels good to leave the hustle and bustle of Zihuatanejo and head to this pretty bay. We arrive about 2pm and enjoy the afternoon. Randy and Lisa from Elskan join us for cocktails and dinner. March 2, 2002 Saturday Randy talked Allan into trying surfing and he returned to the boat a bit tired and sore. We tackled cleaning the bottom of the boat and the sunshades. The birds in Zihuatanejo had used the shades for target practice, a little to frequently for our taste. We are either an easy target or the Boobies are sitting on the mast spreaders. Later we swam to shore, walked across the spit to the other side of the island for snorkeling. We saw beautiful water and great fish. Randy and Lisa had us and another boat (Question) over to their boat for homemade pizza on the barbeque. It was outstanding. March 3, 2002 Sunday Allan and Randy did the surf thing again today and Allan, while sore, conquered the waves and the board. I put the boat in order; we pull anchor and head back to Zihuatanejo for Allan to do Sunday afternoon volleyball on the beach. I have decided I have had too much sun, so will do computer work on the boat. Tonight we will head into town for the weekly Sunday evening fun of Mexican music, street vendors and 8 pesos beer. March 4, 2002 Monday Liz had a root canal and I worked on the fuel filters. Liz was ok and then in-pain when the Novocain wore off. Then engine had died and wouldn’t restart after coming back from Isla Grande so I checked the fuel filter and found segment in the bottom of the Raycor filter. I changed the three filters and then found the real problem. The throttle had fallen off and therefore the engine wouldn’t restart since there was no diesel entering the pistons. Projects always seem to lead to new and wonderful new projects. Liz fixed a great stir-fry and we tried another cheap Mexican wine. March 5, 2002 Tuesday Had Spanish class and played hooky from boat work. We hung out at Rick’s and saw the movie, Behind Enemy Lines with Gene Hackman. It was nice to do no work on Slainte, but since we should be moving south we need to dedicate some time to finish several tasks. March 6, 2002 Wednesday We walked this morning with John and Janet (Bambolera) and Stephanie from Mariah II, plus ten other cruisers to the top of the hill between Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo. After breakfast we helped Bambolera with Immigration and the Port check-in. We also showed them the market and other parts of the town. It was great seeing John and Janet again as we expected them to stay in Barra and head north into the sea. March 7, 2002 Thursday We began with Spanish class, of course stopping at the French bakery, then after class we walked across the street to the radio repairman and he had fixed our Motorola two-way radio, cost 150 pesos, plus he fixed the handheld VHF radio for free. We tried to download the McAFee virus update file, but it is larger than a floppy and we’ll need to burn the file on a CD disk. It was off to play volleyball and meet Hoptoad. Hoptoad is a vessel that friends from Boeing, (Baloo, with Brian and Monica and now with Luke and Peter their sons) met 4 years ago. Hoptoad is just finishing their circumnavigation around the world with their sons, Jeff and Shawn. I had been playing volleyball with Jeff and Shawn for 3 weeks prior to Brian emailing us and asking us to say hi to Hoptoad. Small world isn’t it? Later in the evening Terazed, Murray and Colette visited and we listened to their tale of a 5-month delivery of a Pearson 44 from New Zealand to Seattle, via Hawaii. As they went back to their boat they took Tundra’s Spirit kayak with them. It is great to be without the blue bent boat. March 8, 2002 Friday We began our morning at 6:30 am and prepared for our walk to the lighthouse. Unfortunately we forgot the camera and the money. As always we motored in to the beach and carried the dinghy above the tide line and walked down and washed our feet, and then we remembered we didn’t have the money or camera. Then we balanced our way up the rocks to the pier and put on our tennis shoes. This is the last time that Debbie from Different World will lead the group and she saved a good one. Debbie and Al are leaving for the South Seas next week. The walk is over a hill then another one and then another one and back to the beach across slippery rocks and then up another hill and finally to the lighthouse. The view was phenomenal. There were tuna boiling in the ocean and birds were all around. The walk back was the same route except all the hills were still there and seemed longer. Liz, Jane (from Dream On) and I met a man from Bend, Oregon and we chatted. We also petted a baby donkey that was besides the rode with his mom. Because of our slowness we miss the main group had a breakfast at a “healthy” spot and we instead had quesedillas and orange juice. Liz and I went to the market and shopped in the streets for meat and great vegetables. We found John and Janet on Bambolera in an Internet café. We all tried to connect but the town had been disconnected for a while. About 1pm I worked on our engine throttle and got the engine to properly idle. After securing the stuff on deck we headed to Isla Grande to meet up with Elskan, Mariah II, and Bambolera. The boys went snorkeling and only Allan the great white hunter was successful with a 6-pound triggerfish. These triggerfish are oval and their fins are at the back of their bodies. They have ten or so stout teeth and are slow to die. I had, at least thought I had broken it’s neck, yet the fish kept biting the net. Later on Sunday we talked with Marilyn on Spray Venture who also had killed, at least she thought, a triggerfish. Her triggerfish bit her and removed a piece of flesh over the size of a dime. This wound was very slow to heal. At 7:30 this evening we had a great potluck on Mariah II. The food included triggerfish, chili, spaghetti, salad, potatoes that didn’t cook, hors d'oeuvre, zucchini bread, and carrots and onions. Sleep came easy due to the walking and snorkeling. March 9, 2002 Saturday Today we spent much of it either in the water snorkeling, swimming or fishing. Allan decided to go try his luck at fly-fishing and came back with a very interesting, long toothy, needlefish. We had Mariah II and Elskan over for dinner. Unfortunately, my cooking did not agree with Randy on Elskan and they made a dash to the boat after Randy got sick. After dinner, we caught up with Mariah II and shared our respective stories from the last several months when we parted company before Christmas in Cabo San Lucas. March 10, 2002 Sunday James and Allan went spear fishing in the morning after breakfast before we raised anchor to head back to Zihuatanejo. Allan speared a fish and put it in his game bag, only to have it swim away and James spearing it a second time wondering why it already had a hole through it. We made it back in time to head in for volleyball. Stephanie and I attempted a game of cribbage, but decided our brains had gone to mush because we couldn’t remember how to score and we were having too much fun talking. Later that evening we all headed into town to partake of the local Sunday night fiesta party and local vendors. We tried the Empanadas, filled with spinach, cheese, chicken, mushrooms and onions. They were excellent and at only 10 pesos a piece a real good dinner for two for the equivalent of $2 USD. Of course the beer is extra at 17 pesos per quart or $1.80 USD. Dinner and drinks, and all for under $5 USD. March 11, 2002 Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday a group of dedicated walkers (of which we have become) head out to some great walk in the area. This particular walk, we headed out of town toward Ixtapa and walked to a deserted, half built, luxury development that went bankrupt after the peso was devalued in the early 1990s. We have seen this type of broken development before in Mexico. It seems that the financial infrastructure does not provide for bridge loans or speculative developments. For dinner, a large group met at a Curry restaurant called Godwana. Excellent food, but they certainly did not know their way around a margarita. We sent them back only to find out that even though they said they had left out an important ingredient, the second attempt seemed no better than the first. We then headed to a local watering spot with a flamingo guitarist playing, who is excellent. March 12, 2002 Tuesday Tuesdays and Thursdays we continue to take Spanish lessons from Sharon at the English/Spanish Institute. Sharon is a transplant from Chicago for the last 25 years. She raised a daughter in Zihuatanejo and her daughter is currently doing her college work in Mexico City. Our tutor is Amin. She has fairly good English, but her heart does not seem to be in the tutoring. Maybe, it is because Allan and I are struggling with the language. After class we tutored Sharon on what kind of VHF radio she should buy in the states for talking to the cruisers to advertise her business. Sharon is planning to get things up and running for next year, as most cruisers will be gone from Z-town by May and will return next November. March 13, 2002 Wednesday Today the group walked to Ixtapa and then took a bus back. I had work done on my crown and needed to be back so Stephanie and I walked half way and then came back to make my dental appointment and her art class by 10AM. We also made sure that Cruiser (a local stray dog (Perro-dog in Spanish) that follows us on the walks and we try to give him breakfast when we are finished) made it back to town safely as they would not have been able to take him on the bus back from Ixtapa. We also see Cruiser, in town on Sunday evenings when the town comes alive with food, festivities and music. On the walk today, we saw a very small scorpion. Apparently, the small ones have the biggest sting. Later that day we worked on the outboard motor. Mariah II invited several boats to there boat for appetizers and then we went into town for sushi. Yes, we found a great place for Sushi, although our size of group (12) seemed to overwhelm them. Fun was had by all. March 14, 2002 Thursday The night was a bit short as we partied later than normal for us folks. We made it to Spanish and are learning how to conjugate verbs in the present and sort of in the past tense. Allan played volleyball while I did Pasole with a group that walked to a place on the outskirts of town that is famous for this authentic Spanish pork and hominy soup. It is very good. I then did a load of wash at Rick’s Bar so that we could get the salt and sand out of our clothes, sheets, and towels. No mater how hard you try to keep the salt and sand off the boat it seems to cling to you. Since Allan was not back from volleyball when I finished I had to solicit a ride out to the boat from a fellow cruiser and son in their dinghy. Nice Australian chap who has been cruising for 10 years with his wife and son on a 28foot trawler. He said it was the smallest trawler to have crossed the Atlantic. March 15, 2002 Friday Today, Allan begins the tedious work of installing the energy monitor that will tell us how much electricity we are using at any given time so that we will never run the batteries too low. Since we have experienced significant energy issues since leaving home, it is very important that we know what we are using and how much we are producing so we keep the batteries in good working order. Allan gets everything done, but the monitor is only giving us part of the information we need. A fellow cruiser suggests that he check one of the wiring leads to make sure it is wired correctly. Sure enough, John’s suggestion (John on Escapade-a single hander from Ventura, CA) is the ticket and we are in business.
This evening we head into town for dinner at Paccalos to hear great jazz and have pasta. We meet Lisa’s parents, who are here checking on their daughter who has followed her husband south on a Cape Dory 28 (Elskan). Her parents are nice people and the music was excellent. The evening is lovely. For people not cruising, it seems as if we are having a perpetual adult spring vacation with all the socializing and activities we talk about in the log, but there is actually much more too it than that. While you are in a port, such at Zihuatanejo, you have the opportunity to meet people who are experiencing something similar (we compare it to doing boat maintenance in exotic ports) and feel a bond for a short period of time before you leave. Some people will be heading south with us, while others stay in Mexico and head toward the Sea of Cortez for the early summer, while still others are heading west from here to the South Pacific. Those heading south are beginning the descent from now until mid-May. The reason for this timing is that the best time to cross the dreaded Tehuantepec Bay (250 miles of water that are influenced by the winds of the Caribbean that funnel across the narrow part of Mexico and Guatemala usually at gale force (35-45knots)) is early May. We want to be in Costa Rica by mid May to June first, so will cross the bay in early April. March 16, 2002 Saturday Today is my final fitting of the porcelain cap that the
dentist put over the metal crown that he made. We had a bit of an adventure
this morning as we are heading into town on the dinghy. Usually we hold onto
our boat until the dinghy motor starts up and we know all systems are working.
For some reason we are in a hurry and don’t keep tethered to the boat. In
addition, we have left the paddles on Slainte. The motor does not start and we
are drifting out the bay. We are eventually saved by our neighbors,
(Question-Andy and Gail) who are also heading into town. They tow us back to our
boat. I hop in their boat so as not to miss my appointment and Allan is left to
find the culprit as to why the outboard won’t start. We have agreed to meet at
Rick’s Bar for the Saturday morning swap meet. He is there and I am much
relieved that he did not have to swim ashore. That would not be an option since
the water is very foul from the effluent that is released from town. We do have
a 2- person kayak we bought as a back up and Allan could of tried it. I tell
this story because, Allan once again preservers and gets the engine started and
fixed the lippy starter cord. March 17, 2002 Sunday This is the first St. Patrick’s day that I have not made corned beef, cabbage and lamb for a large crew at our dining room table. Today is filled with volleyball for Allan and later going into town to see the Ouaxan Indian wares in the central town. During volleyball, I stayed on the boat to make our port hole no see’em screens. This is very important, as we will encounter these “buggars” as we head south. We had them in San Blas. They come out at dusk and dawn and the bites are vicious. You don’t know you’ve been bitten till the next day when they welt and begin to sting and itch like crazy. They take over a week to heal and leave scars. So if one can avoid being bit it is a good thing. Also, the screens are important for heading into Central America and the threat of mosquito’s carrying Malaria. I still have the hatch screens to make, but am having a bit of a trouble deciding how to design them to function best. March 18, 2002 Monday Today is Bambolera’s last day here and we walk with them the commercial supermarket to help them provision. Funny thing, we ended up spending more money than they did. Something about finding a great Chilean wines (both Chardonnay and Cabernet) that was around $5 per bottle (49 and 54 pesos/bottle). That is extremely reasonable for Mexico. We head back to the boat with our purchases and talk John and Janet (Bambolera) to come to dinner. We also have Mike on Uhuru (another single-hander from Ventura, CA) and he shared his year of pictures from the Sea of Cortez with us. It was especially interesting for John and Janet as they are heading that way as well. Mike is heading home to take his “dream job” with a company called Aloe-Up. Mike was very torn between going south with us and through the canal and a professional opportunity. He hopes the next time he will be sailing on a catamaran and with a partner. We’ll miss him and wish him well. March 19, 2002 Tuesday Both Allan and I are feeling emotional today. Many people are leaving to head north or west. There are people we have met that we have formed a close bond with in a short period of time and we may not see them for a very long time. But it is a small world and if we care enough about certain people, we will find a way to keep in contact. As it turns out, John and Janet (Bambolera) make it to Spokane every so often as his Mom lives on 17th and Napa, not too far from my Mom and Dad. We tried to talk them into stopping by when they go home this summer to store things at his Mom’s and let my parents know we are alive and well. Within the last few days we have developed a tick noise in the engine when we run it to top off the batteries. We ask a fellow cruiser (Cliff on Icicle) who had a marine business in Canada for years, to listen to the noise and suggest to us what might be wrong. He is glad to do so. He thinks it is a little dirt in the system and it gets in the valves and can be noisy, so he suggests an oil change. We were approaching the 200-hour mark to do this maintenance. So after he leaves, Allan decides to change the oil, while I help and cook dinner. That evening we brought out our Central America and Caribbean information and did a little studying on what is below us once we leave Mexico. March 20, 2002 Wednesday Friends from Barra de Navidad, Greg and Meg off a trawler called Wet Bar arrived back from Tempe, AZ and brought us some essentials for us….a head re-build kit, since we have recently had to use our spare for a recent re-build. Our head is not as bad as friends that will go unnamed that are currently using a bucket. Meg walked with us and then we showed her the market, bank and other services were in town. This afternoon, we are updating the log, mending clothes, beginning the installation of the water-maker and Allan is trying to catch the fish the local fisherman are catching off our stern. March 21, 2002 Thursday Today was a workday and for lunch we headed to this off the beaten track restaurant that only serves Pozole on Thursday. I learn they also serve mescal. There are many Indians in the mountains the make Mescal; some of the product is sweet and some smoky. I have tried both and this restaurant serves the sweet type that is very smooth. The owner’s son who sings at the restaurant, also likes to pour free one’s. I think we bought each a single and then he poured us two more. Eventually he joined our table and told us where the Mescal is made. The Mescal is poured from any type of bottle; plastic litter coke, old tequila, Scotch, Kahlua bottles, and you name it and they probably have serve mescal from it. March 22, 2002 Friday Today was an exercise and workday. We were going to skip the walking group since many of the walkers had headed out of the bay to other destinations. It was about 6:45 in the morning and Good Medicine called Dream on said they went from channel 22 to 19. I followed them (called lurking, a past-time that most of do. Very similar to a party line phones used up to the 1960’s) and sure enough they were planning to walk, so Liz and I joined them. The walk seemed more tiring for all of us as we walked to the promenade and back to Dona Leche’s for breakfast. Liz and I continued on to find a florist to purchase some flowers for Meg on Wet Bar for bringing some stuff from the states (especially the head rebuild kit – some things you just don’t want to live without). We then did some emailing and checked out the refrigeration stores. I am thinking about purchasing some Freon for our frig. They only sell CFC-12, I think this is the material that is very tough to find in the USA since it destroys the ozone. We can buy a 1 kg or about 2.2 pound bottle for 200 pesos or $22 USD. The Mexican folks we have met either doing radio, TV, refrigerant, auto, etc repairs are phenomenal in their skills and perseverance are excellent. That evening we headed out of town to a restaurant that features roasted chicken, homemade honey and coconut candies for sale. It is very good. The couple who own it also have a compound for deer and other wildlife. They also have beautiful gardens and fruit trees on their acreage. We are trying to complete several projects and head for Acapulco. Since several of our friends have left, Zihuatanejo seems a little small. We are feeling it is time to move on. We now have friends spread from Panama to the Sea of Cortez and heading to the South Seas. We can stay in touch with some of them via the nets, but most of us are not tied to the radio. So when people try to get a hold of others there is a good chance they’re off eating breakfast or dinner, traveling inland or sailing hard. So it can be hit-or-miss, usually if there are other folks on the net and know the where abouts of the party your trying to connect they will come back and give an update. Another example of the type of community that exists. The projects left are final installation of the water maker (a devise that makes less than a gallon of fresh water from salt water per hour – which we will use to keep the tanks topped up. It will never be the sole source of water, only a back-up), going into the marina to top off water tanks, clean the boat and stainless steel with fresh water (the salt water is very corrosive), install the dinghy wheels we have just purchased from another cruiser that make the dinghy easier to drag up the beach (we currently pick it up and carry it the 100 or so yards up the beach, clean all the canvas, clean and load the dinghy on board, top of the batteries with shore power and get everything properly stored for heading south. March 23, 2002 Saturday This day is a workday. We head to town to pick up a piece of hardwood we ordered yesterday that will become the platform for the water maker in the cabinet under our sink in the galley. We will also be in search of additional spare alternator belts and other miscellaneous items. This evening I will attempt to make a hanging basket to replace the three-tiered metal basket from home that has rusted in the sea air. We purchased lovely Indian baskets and Mariah II gave us some heavy braid. We will use that to braid and connect the baskets. The town trip was pretty successful. We got the wood and I tipped the fellow 10 pesos for a 70-peso job. He was very appreciative and I was amazed of how inexpensive labor is here. The going wage in Barra and here is about 8-10 dollars per day depending on certain skills. A bag of cement is over $8 USD, primarily due to cement is a monopoly. When we were at the lumberyard I was watching three men plane the boards and some dimension lumber by hand using a rotary 10-inch planner. Each piece took at least 4 passes per side or around 16-20 passes per board. The wood is pine, pretty wide grain and a lot of hardwood that I couldn’t identify. We take for granted the mechanical advantages, even the old sawmills that surfaced a 1 by 10 in two seconds 20 years ago, more likely faster today. We continued our shopping with stops at several auto and plumbing tiendas (shops). These tiendas are usually clustered by type, so all of the auto stores are near each other. Auto shops are broken down into tire, lubricants, electrical, belts and accessories shops. So there will be 3 tires and wheel stores, 6 lubricants, 2 electrical, 10 belts and 5 accessories shops for a total of 26 stories where in the USA we would expect all these items in one store. This scenario is repeated for plumbing and electrical tiendas as well. A heck of a lot of entrepreneurial effort is occurring. I also think that their culture and family values encourages this type of businesses. I believe in many shops that the folks are from the same family. Many of the tiendas had hammocks with babies swinging over the merchandise. The place we purchased our engine belts the tienda had a huge inventory, but not our belt. The young man motioned us to wait and off he ran with our old belt. In about 5 minutes he was back from purchasing the belt somewhere else. The day continued with us getting almost every thing we need. Liz and I stopped by an aqua and water toy store that we had bought sandals 3 weeks ago and also we had asked if they had foot pumps. She didn’t have a foot pump and directed us to the big, air-conditioned commercial store. Well, when we walked in to her store, she recognized us and ran over and picked up a foot pump that she’d order for us. Now we have two pumps for a blow-up raft that we haven’t even blown up once. Our last stop was finding a shut off valve, hopefully plastic, for our water maker. No luck was happening that would fit 3/8 inch hose. In a large plumbing store we ran into Rick the owner of Rick’s Bar, the cruiser hangout. He offered us a ride, our first in 6 months not counting taxis. We had good luck finally with the help of Rick’s Spanish and we bought some Gin at the same place Rick gets his supplies. We accompanied Rick back to his house and soldered some parts and talked with his wife. Finally we ended the day with a successful dinghy exit through the surf and Randy and Lisa from Elskan came over for dinner. We took notice of our purchases, 18 items for a total of $1,500 peso or $168 dollars. We need to visit the auto teller at the bank before Easter. Next week the population of Zihuatanejo of 110 thousand will balloon to over 3 times that during Holy Week, (Semana Santo). March 24, 2002 Sunday Today we start working on the water maker. I had the assistance from James on Mariah II and he was great help. James came over and talked about location suggestions and waterline and filter placement. I went to work on supporting the board that I had made at the lumberyard. I slipped over to Dream On and David gave me a piece of 3/8-inch plywood to be the base under the lumberyard piece. After cutting the plywood on Dream On I worked on the two pieces of wood and finally fashioned the shelf to fit under the sink. Next we screwed the boards together and bolted the water maker down. James came back and we unbolted the water maker so it would fit and have accessibility to the prime level and the valve levers. Oh well can’t have a project without changes. I went to town to purchase better tubing while Liz and James installed the filter and ran the raw water line. Of course we went to town for the Grazing opportunities and cheap beer for dinner. March 25, 2002 Today it is full on to complete the water maker. I cut our raw water intake (that supplies the toilet and sink) and install a three-way coupler. Next Liz and I finish all the plumbing and hardware installations. I then wire the water maker to the panel and properly secure the wiring and then WWWWWe turn it on. Guess what? It works, just like magic. It sure feels like magic, here there is saltwater and next we have a small trickle of freshwater. March 26, 2002 We left Zihuatanejo’s bay and sailed up to Ixtapa. We made freshwater all the way. We entered the marina and looked forward to long showers. The docking was a bit touchy but we, with the help of several hands, moored snugly. We immediately hooked up the electricity and turned on the fans. The showers were great. Liz cooked great hamburgers. Liz commented that the hamburger tasted like a good steak. March 27, 2002 Today was really hot and we installed the rope clutches on the mast. We have 5 of them and unfortunately two of them required different screws so we’ll have to wait to install those when we can find the proper screws. Later in the day I began installing the autopilot. Liz took on the job of cleaning the canvas. We have been pooped on more than our fair share and most of it landed on the canvas or the solar panels. The Boobies perch on our second spreaders and crap to their hearts content. I tried the slingshot and decide not to nick our new mast. Then I would take the halyard and smack the bird in the rump, but then always came back. Finally went up the mast and attached fishing line and no more bird poop. Liz cooked very good pork chops that she bought at the market. The chops cost 18 pesos ($2 USD) for about a pound. We had out last Pinot Noir, it was a 1994 Henry Estate and damn good. March 28, 2002 More jobs have been crossed off of the list. I installed the new autopilot that Lyn and Dale brought to us in December. The instructions for the installation could be improved. We spent eight hours allowing our energy system equalize our lead acid batteries. This is a process that increases the voltage and bubbles the batteries and is supposed to remove deposits from the lead. We are hoping that we are improving our batteries. March 29, 2002 Today was another get things accomplished day. I contracted with Odin, a fellow that watch several boats moored around us to clean the hull and polish the metal. Even though the metal is stainless steel, the metal rusts and must be polished every week. Liz cleaned the cushions of salt and vacuumed most of the boat. Liz then finished cleaning our flopper-stopper. Floppers-stoppers are hung of the side usually off of the boom and hang in the water to prevent the vessel rocking back and forth. Ours work quite well and we keep them in the water all of the time. Because of the growth, barnacles, sea worms and brown stuff and the terrible time that takes to clean them, Liz and I agree that we should take them up during the day and only drop them at night when we are anchored. I began by installing the dinghy wheels. These wheels will allow us to better carry the dinghy when we are landing or leaving the beach. After that successful project I began removing the “King Board,” this is the main teak board where all of the other teak planks tee in to in. This board had broken down and has gotten water under it and the caulking was worn out. I was much relieved after removing the plank to find no rot. The fiberglass below the teak seems to be in great shape. The new king board was ready to install. Sandy and Patricia Rehm made the new board, about 2 years ago and we have stored it ever since. Patricia had used tracing paper to get the proper shape and then Sandy cut the teak board to this shape. We really appreciated their help. I don’t think I would of taken on this project if I had also had to create a new king plank. At the evening we visited with Marna Lynn with Jackie and Joe on board their Wauquiez 47. Liz and I had really wanted to take a closer look at this boat and we amazed at all of the storage and room they had. The cockpit was roomy and motors, solar panel and other equipment were easy to get to. We were envious. March 30, 2002 The day started at eight o’clock with Odin helping me turn around the boat so he could do the starboard side. He did a wonderful job, completely first class. He spent about five hours on each side and now the hull looks new and the metal is shinny. I began sanding the king board and boring screw and counter-sink holes. Next we worked on the dinghy, patching the cracking fiberglass. I will be sending photos to the manufacturer showing poor construction and bad design features. The manufacturer is Gig Harbor Boat Works and we can not support them about their 8 foot dinghy. The seat connected to the centerboard trunk crack after 4 months. The motor mount is plywood and swells with the saltwater. We had two cracks in the stern and these continued to grow. The mast holder broke and I installed potholes to get in so I could fix it and found NOTHING, no fiberglass attached to the mast holder. Another 8 foot Gig Harbor had similar problems including cracks at the base of the centerboard truck and their stern seat peeled away from the boat. I will be email with pictures the manufacturer so he can reassess these problems. The king board is in and the black caulking is mostly in the grooves. Liz and I taped the teak board and we pushed the black gooey stuff into the grooves and now we wait for it to harden. Tomorrow I will epoxy the plugs to cover the screws and then trim the caulking and we are good to go. Liz is going to wash the topsides and I am going to quickly sand the rail cap so we can apply Cetol in the next week. In the afternoon we will head to Isla Grande and clean the bottom and the prop. The prop is again covered with barnacles. When we leave this marina we have the satisfaction of accomplishing a great many chores and updates. March 31, 2002 We began early, as we are to leave the marina today. I cut the caulking away from the king board and it looks great. I still next to sand and plug the screw holes, but I will do that in the next couple days. We striped all of the stuff that has accumulated on the decks and set it on the docks. I believe there are several folks that look at us as if we are the sailing “Clampets.” We sanded the cap rail and the outer teak board in preparation of Cetoling (this is the material similar to varnish but more forgiving in preparation and application). We were going to apply Cetol but the temperature was too warm. Next we washed the boat and put everything back on Slainte. We finally went for our last shower with unlimited supply of water and bought a six-pack of Tecates and found a phone to call our parents on Easter. After all of the work accomplished, we still have several more jobs, cleaning the barnacles off of the prop and hull, fuel up, clean the rigging, do laundry, Cetol the wood, wire the autopilot and something else, but I forgot. We are really looking forward to heading south. Several of our friends are waiting in Acapulco and we’re slow. Well we are ready to untie from the dock and head back to Zihuatanejo. Hope everyone is having fun reading about our work parties. Hugs to all, Allan and Liz on Slainte. |