Got Head Back

I met Colin at the appointed time of 8.30 AM and everything went well - disturbingly well, really.

He showed me the work that had been done on the head and produced the injector, manuals, and the broken head. He had forgotten to include the 200 peso charge for work done on the injector and was going to waive it but of course it was a legitimate cost and I paid it. So the charges were 1674 pesos for 3 hours labor, a surprisingly small 650 pesos for the valve work, and 200 pesos for the injector, totaling 2524 pesos or about $200 USD.

I thanked him for the work that he had done and we got into a little conversation. He said that I should have no problem reassembling the engine myself so I replied that yes, I might go out and purchase a torque wrench and do it myself. He replied that he had known he would have brought his and loaned it to me. He then told me what brand of torque wrench to buy (a 1/2" drive "Truper") and where to buy it. He also told me that he would be working on a nearby boat today and to contact him if I needed advice.

Colin gave some explanation for his behavior. He is under treatment for a thyroid condition and they haven't managed to getting the dosage right - way too high, then way too low, causing him problems such as exhaustion.

We agreed that it was unfortunate how things had ended. He said that he had wished that I had contacted him earlier and I replied that his flare-up over the phone I had been reluctant to call him at all, hoping that he would contact me when he was ready. His reply to my complaint that I had not been able to reach him by phone for 2 days was that he has been having telephone trouble.

Knowing what I know now, a more temperate email message from me last Sunday night may have salvaged the situation. On the other hand, I felt that I should give him a full week's notice that I would walk away from the repair project.

So yes, it's too bad. I really like Colin and I think that he likes me OK too. Another casualty of poor communication.

That left me with the practical problem of completing the repair of the engine. Fortunately Bob Carroll met me at 9.30 and we visited Joell, the head mechanic here at La Paz marina. Joell speaks very little English. I showed him the photos of the engine on my webtop computer then Bob explained to him the situation and acted as translator.

The bad news is that Joell is too busy to do the work. However, he could see no reason why I cannot reassemble the engine myself. He will lend me a torque wrench when I am ready, and Bob has a set of metric sockets.

Then we discussed the gaskets (use no sealants) which brought attention to the surface of the head. It was agreed that skimming the head .002"-.003" was warranted. I asked if this would bring problems with over compression but Joell said that the effect would be minimal. I decided to have the skimming done. Joell told us where to go then Bob and I took a taxi to the shop. I am to pick up the skimmed head at 5 PM today.

The accompanying photos shows the crack on the failed head between the valve openings.

Tomorrow morning I will lay out the cabin of Pachuca like an operating theater and will slowly, methodically, and patiently put it together. If I hit a snag I'll take one step back and ask for advice.

Bob and I walked back to the marina and on the way he showed me the side walk death trap that he almost fell into one night before his companion held him back. No kidding, you walk down this descending side walk getting getting accustomed to one or two step drops then with no warning you get to a waist high killer drop. An this is no temporary/emergency/interim setup - that's the way the path is built. What you see is what you will get. Now, I don't want to be picky over the how another culture decides to do things, but this death trap is, well, over the top. I've been told that in Mexico there is no concept of public liability. That's Bob in the photo demonstrating the drop.

The water was very calm on the ride back to Pachuca and while I was taking some photos Peter and Cheryl arrived in their RIB (rigid inflatable boat) and we rafted up and had a chat while we drifted downwind. Peter says that he knows a little about marine diesels and offered to give advice if I hit a snag. Cheryl gave me some information that could save me time in my sail to Costa Rica. From what she's heard on the HF weather report the winds at Tehuantepec have begun a seasonal calming down. Longer weather windows of 4 and 5 days are now occurring. This opens the possibility of my sailing close to the coast through the Tehuantapec, potentially saving me days of sailing.

The photo is of Pachuca anchored next to Peter & Cheryl's "Stolen Kiss". (Sorry about the dark spots. Brenda is bringing to me a new camera.)

The first photo shows the VHF radio at the right hand side of the Club Cruzeros club house.