Not A Bad Morning

The day started with a couple of visits.

Bob Carroll came by with a manila folder with many articles on how to go about repowering your boat. There is an article on the decisions to be made about repowering, another on what you need to know before removing the old engine, others on the installation of the new engine, and there is even one on "Do it yourself engine alignment".

I then mentioned a boat that had dragged anchor and wound up against the marina breakwater. We had been watching it for days as it came close to another yacht in limbo and we had both noticed that the day before the two boats had been back to back and touching. Anyway, Bob told me something about these boats (e.g. liens on them for non payment) and other boats past and present in this Bay. Without going into details Bob has the material for a best seller along the lines of "Inside La Paz Harbor: an insider's amazing true tales". We're not talking about charming John Steinbeck stories here: we're talking about sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll.

I asked Bob about my immigration status now that I will be forced to stay another 6 months in La Paz. All I could tell Bob was that I had processed in Ensanada but other than having a 10-year import license for the boat knew nothing about my status, principally because I couldn't read the documents written in Spanish. I dug out my papers and we established that I have a 180 day permit which expires on 15 August. Before that time I will visit the immigration office, which is bilingual and is only a short distance from the marina, and try to get an extension after explaining my situation. Failing that, I will apply for an FM3 (see http://www.mexperience.com/liveandwork/immigration.htm) which appears to be a residency permit. I told Bob that I see the FM3 as my first step in the 10-year process of becoming a Mexican citizen. (5 years with FM3, 5 years with FM2). (Just joking.)

Not long after Bob left, Peter Ainsworth dropped by with very interesting and welcome information. There is a French couple at Marina Palmira who have a truck and are thinking - would you believe? - of driving to San Diego to pick up a new Yanmar engine. They are not aware that Joel here at Marina de La Paz is Yanmar certified and that the marina can expedite the importation process. We might be able to help each other here, so I hope to contact them on VHF 22 tomorrow or the next day.

Peter made a remark about my engine problem that gave me some comfort. He figured that as long as the engine was running salt water ingestion would not have been a big deal because the water would be vaporized and expelled. The problem arose when I let the engine stand idle. To me this gave rise to the possibility that the engine had not been damaged as much as I had thought.

It is unfortunate that Colin did not spot the problem when he was here only a day or two after we arrived from San Evaristo. He could have taken another 15 minutes (literally) to remove the no. 2 head and I could have cleaned the cylinder before there was any damage. On the other hand, it is fortunate that we got our "divorce" because had he rushed back and installed the no. 1 head we would have started the engine and done who knows how much damage to the no. 2 cylinder.

After Peter left I got down (literally) to the business of the engine. I could not free it up with a wrench so I gave the starter two jolts and when I looked down on the engine I saw that the no. 2 cylinder was at the top of its cycle instead of the bottom as before. I spent the the next hour meticulously cleaning the cylinder. When the piston was at TDC I rightfully or wrongfully used fine grit sand paper to clean the crud off the top of the piston. Then I moved the piston down in 20mm stages cleaning any material left on the cylinder wall as it retreated. I then went through a cycle of putting plenty of oil in the cylinder and cleaning off more material as the piston went up and down.

The result was pretty impressive to me. I was able to turn the engine over using the wrench on the shaft of the large alternator without even having to tighten the belts with my hand.

I then removed the no. 1 cylinder, over which I had taken so much trouble to tighten down. I was motivated by two things. One was that I had not oiled the front no. 1 cylinder very well in the expectation that I would soon have the engine running. The only thing protecting it was a coat of WD40 and I did not want to take a chance of corrosion in this cylinder. The other reason I will explain further down.

At the end of the process both heads were off, both cylinders liberally lubricated, and the engine would turn very easily. I probably could have turned it with a forefinger on the wrench.

I am becoming familiar with the engine. It no longer terrifies me nor even mildly frighten me (helped, no doubt, by the fact that I have nothing to lose). I know how things fit together, how they will behave when I operate on them, and I even know what size wrenches are require for which nuts.

But before I become blase' and complacent I'll make some confessions to the blog about being saved from mistakes.

When Mark saw the photo of the no. 2. injector he made a comment to be sure not to lose the thick copper washer that fit between the injector and the head. This made me think. I didn't recall a copper washer on the no. 1 injector. I had to take it out and have a look.

Bob had asked about the bolts that I required for the no. 1 injector. I told him that I had gotten them at a place near Lopez Marine. Were they stainless steel? Nope, I said, they were mild steel. Bob expressed some surprise that they were not stainless. By then I had the No. 2 injector out and saw that yes, stainless steel was required. I don't know that mild steel bolts would have been a disaster since that area is well lubricated, but I don't like to take chances and much prefer to stick to the specifications.

I removed the no. 1 injector and there was no copper washer. I'm afraid that I'll have to chalk this one up to Colin. I'm convinced that he took the no. 1 head with the injector bolted on, had the head machined and the injector checked, then returned the injector with no bolts and no washer.

It was just after noon after this effort and the temperature in the cabin was 35.7 C (96.2 F). No wonder I was pouring out sweat.

I have three comforts in the La Paz heat: (1) the evening sea breeze (2) the wonderful little electric fan that I can direct to either my bunk or the navigation table (3) the refrigerator. For a while I didn't use the refrigerator because it was draining the battery. However, expediency, some thought, and advice from Bob has solved the problem.

I run the refrigerator during the bulk of the day, when the sun supplies enough power to supply the refrigerator without a drain of the batteries. Bob pointed me to where I could purchase a block of ice at The Dock restaurant cheaply. At 17 pesos the ice is certainly cheaper than what I would pay in Australia. So every 3 days I purchase a block of ice which helps carry the load throughout the night.

By noon today the beer was so cold that it was right on the cusp of icing up - you know, when the small granules of ice dissolve in your mouth as you sip the beer. In the refrigerator are my vegetables, butter, bread, and 1/2 kilo of fresh fish. Yesterday at CCC I purchased a kilo of wonderfully thick fillet of fish, "cazon" or sole, for 65 pesos per kilo. That's about $5.20 USD which is probably 20% of what I would have to pay in Fremantle, that city on the continent surrounded by water. So I had a wonderful fried fish dinner last night and will do it again tonight.

The first three photos show the cylinders cleaned, oiled, and maybe ready to fight another day. The third photo reveals the amateur touch: plastic storagIe bags to seal the cylinders from contamination.

The final photo is an attempt to document the mystery of the stalk with a screw driver slot at the end shown on the left, which does not appear on the other cylinder head. The stalk passes through the no. 2 head and curves to the throttle area. You can see a glimpse of the tube at the bottom left of the slot at the right as it passes across to the right. I had been going nuts trying to figure out why the no. 2 head had this fitting but the no. 1 head didn't. The "Duh" moment came when I realized that the top of that shaft is in the valve rocker area above the heads so it is probably as Mark suggested: oil lubrication for both of the rocker sets.