Repowering and Antifouling

Yesterday I met three of Bob's friend at a table at The Dock cafe. These were older men (like me) who like Bob have been around La Paz for many years and had a lot of local and boating knowledge to share.

They were aware of my repowering project and offered advice on engine selection, matching the propeller, etc.

I mentioned my hull fouling problem and from what they told me I must retract all of the complaints that I have been making about the antifouling work done in Port Townsend (and it's a good thing that I didn't name the company). It turns out that the warm and nutrient-rich waters of this bay provide what must be the ultimate conditions for marine growth. According to them it doesn't matter what antifouling is used - there will be fast growth. I asked how barnacles could survive on 3 layers of 80% copper hard antifouling and the reply was that the antifouling will slow the growth down but it will not stop it. I grumbled that I had had my hull scrubbed in Ensanada maybe 6 weeks ago and was told that I was doing OK. One man at the table has his hull professionally cleaned every month. That's par for the course in La Paz. I had been living in a fool's paradise in Australia, where I didn't have to look at my hull for up to 3 years.

I told them that I had seen a cigarette butt floating by as I did my diving and wondered what else was going to float by. The advice was to dive immediately after the flood tide when fresh water has flowed through this narrow neck of the bay into the large area further up. And oh, by the way, never mind the few boats dumping their effluent into the water; there is a sewage plant at that back end of the bay. Nothing like local knowledge (says he tight lipped).

Later Bob told me about Lycra body suits that in Queensland are called stinger suits. It turns out that there are invisible critters in these waters that can give painful stings. Also, the Lycra suit would also protect against barnacle cuts. Bob will tell me where I can have one tailor made in one day for about $40.

The Lycra suit and a cover to protect the Zodiac from the intense sun are two items on my list as a result of my extended stay in La Paz. I also plan to formally join the Club Cruseros, which is not very expensive.

This morning I got the following message from Colin regarding the SABB:

Robert, heads are ready, in the back of my truck, Injector was firing at 850psi should fire at 1470, nozzle no good, new nozzle and injector cal will cost 700pesos I told them to go ahead, will be ready tomorrow, do you want to go to the diesel lab with me?

I telephoned Colin from the boat do discuss it. They tried cleaning the injector but the nozzle had been damaged by water. Colin thinks that the water invasion has been going on for a while. The only path that he could see was through the exhaust system. I told him that the antisiphon valve had checked out OK. I passed on a suggestion from boating friends in Western Australia to keep the seawater inlet cock shut when the engine is not in use. He thinks that is a good idea so I will adopt that practice in the future.

I will meet Colin at the ramp at 8.15 AM tomorrow and go for a ride with him to this diesel lab place. He said that he'd have to charge me for two hours of his time and I told him that I understood that this running around takes time and I had no problem with paying for his time.

By the way, I ran into Roger Wise, "Mr. Cold Beer" who repaired my refrigerator, yesterday morning. He told me that someone named "Mike" from a boat named Beyond is running a 2-cylinder SABB, probably a 2G. He is anchored at the Magote and Bob knows him. Mike might provide an outlet for my SABB engine. I hate to just trash the engine if some of the parts can be used by someone else. (Think about it: a nearly new head, recently serviced injectors, starter, ... Wow, I wish that I had had that opportunity.)

I've pretty well made my engine selection but I have a few things to check on before I make an announcement on the blog.

Today will be busy for me. First, clean the shaft area aft of the engine. I exposed it last night to take some measurements and photograph it and will take the opportunity to clean it and dry it out. Then I'll go diving at 11.30 AM for some more hull scrubbing. I plan to visit Bob's boat Adios to look at his engine setup, then I'll have to go ashore and walk into town to visit an ATM. It may not sound like much but for me it is a full day.

If the SABB parts thing goes OK tomorrow morning, I'll spend the weekend reassembling the engine while sneaking in an hour a day for hull scrubbing.

Ah, this lazy idyllic cruising life! It's just like those pictures in boating magazines. (yeah, right.)