Plodding Along

Yesterday morning I visited Neil at Marina La Paz to show him my drawings and other documentation. He got interested in the project and we spent over an hour working on the documents. At one point he went down to the main office and produced an enlargement of the engine section of the boat plan. Using the photocopier he then adjusted the size of the engine plans supplied by Volvo so that he was able to literally cut the Volvo side drawing of the engine and paste it over the engine section of Pachuca's plan. The result was pretty good.

Neil was satisfied with my drawings and then had a look at the shipping list that Mark had sent to me. He also saw my photos of the engine compartment while I emphasized the ease with which the SABB could be extracted from the boat and the marvelous accessibility of the engine compartment.

It was a good and productive meeting and I think that Neil and I will work very well together.

I then rushed back to Pachuca then motored over to Adios at noon to pick Bob up then motor to Estelle. We were to help Bob motor his boat to a slip at the marina, and he needed to get it over at slack tide. So all three of us Bobs motored to east along the Magote anchorage until we had the fisherman's cross abeam on our port side, then swung to starboard and took the narrow channel to the south side of the bay by heading directly for the municipal jetty. Even though he had a 10 knot following wind Bob swung his big boat into the slip with deceptive ease.

Bob Carroll and I then went to the "Quaker Oil" business where I purchased some engine starter (ether in an aerosol can). We then motored to Pachuca to try to bring her engine to life.

We first tried two starter "cigarettes" that Bob's friend Mike had provided from his stock that he uses to start his SABB engine (with one cylinder, I think). They really did look like cigarettes: complete with red tips. We unscrewed the cigarette holders from each of the engine's heads and they fit nicely. We then screwed the holders back into the head which I had estimated would put the red tips right over the pistons. The idea was that when we hit the starter the engine compression would ignite these starters, producing enough heat to enable the diesel fuel to ignite. Unfortunately this turned out to be a miserable failure. When we extracted the starters we found them intact and covered with what we thought was diesel fuel.

We then tried the ether starting gas. Bob hit the starter for about 5 seconds while I provided the air intake with oblique and minimal whiffs of starter. That didn't work, so we tried again with more aggressive spraying. Still there was no sign of life. On the final try Bob hit the starter button for well over 5 seconds while I gave the air intake a full blast of the starter, directed at about 45 degrees from the vertical tube. From what I had heard this should have been enough to cause pre ignition and possibly crack a head. However, there was not the slightest hint of combustion.

At this point Bob and I were pretty sure that I had a serious compression problem. We were definitely sure that we had gone as far as we could and needed help.

I emailed a report to Colin and that evening he responded with the question of what I wanted him to do. I asked him to visit the boat whenever he got a chance with the suggestion that he do a compression check. He thinks that he can visit tomorrow.

In the late afternoon I set up my storm anchor for a really fast drop in case of emergency. The anchor is now fully assembled, with the stock ready to be locked into the shank. I've connected the anchor rode to the anchor, ready for a hand drop over the rail. The rode is now properly flaked so that it will pay out smoothly. I am pessimistic about the future of the SABB engine and expect a long stay at anchor. I've been told that over time these anchors can get fouled up from the boat's movements and I am reluctant to try to redeploy it without an engine. (If I do it in current I'll drift and if I do it in slack water the chain might drop on top of the anchor and foul it.)

This morning I visited the documents business and was told that they can produce my engine importation permit in two working days for $60. I asked if the papers would be suitable for flying in the engine with Alaska Airlines and they could see no problem with that. I'm told that I could go to Pichilingue and get the paperwork myself but I figure that the cab rides alone would cost $20, and I can't be bothered walking into town and finding out which bus to take.

Back at Pachuca I spent several hours investigating the Alaska Airlines option. During the process I telephoned the Alaska's 1-800 number and learned a bit more about how the consignment would be handled by Customs when it arrived at Los Cabos (not far from Cabo San Lucas). The airline was emphatic that I must have an import/export broker acting on my behalf. I will make enquiries about that tomorrow.

During this time Mark and I were interacting via email on various aspects of the importation and installation process.

In the meantime I am awaiting a response to an email message that I sent to the La Paz office of Columbia Transport requesting an estimate of the cost of trucking the engine from San Diego to La Paz.

Also, today I received a message from Bill Breaker. He and his partner Kristi visited Arnold and myself during our stay in Richmond. During the visit he and Kristi took quite a few photos which can be seen at http://roughoperator.com/photo/2010/jan/pachuca Seeing how warmly we were dressed then reminded me of how much of a climatic change this visit to Mexico has provided. I gave Bill, Kristi, and Rob Nikzad my best wishes. I have fond memories of them.

The first photo is of the two Bobs engaged in what appears to be serious discussion at Estelle's helm. We passed that wooden hulled schooner on the way out of the Magote anchorage.

The third photos shows me with the cigarette holder in hand ready to screw into the #2 head.