Joel Finished and Refrigerator Ordered

Joel finished removing the contact cement from the V-berth area after 3 days of work.

I think that he found it a good experience in spite of the unpleasant work.  On the second day we had established a routine.  I would meet him at the marina at 7 AM and use my cable and padlock to secure both of our bikes together, then we would walk to the boat.  At the boat I would hand him a Sprite bottle full of frozen water then he proceeded  to the V berth and started to do his thing and I would continue the varnishing and painting of the head.   Every once in a while I would have a look at his progress and ask "Todo lo Bueno?" He used thinner at a much faster rate that I had so I solved that problem by bringing in two 4-liter containers of the stuff.   At 11 AM he was ready for lunch so I would give him 120 pesos because the lunch that he chose on the first day cost 117 pesos, and off he would go.  I knew that I could have brought in sandwiches for a lot less money but I figured that it would be good for him to get away from the boat into the fresh air and sunlight for a while.  He would finish working at 2.45 PM and I would escort him to the bicycles so that I could free his, and off he would go.

I let him go an hour early today and to my surprise he asked if he was coming back tomorrow.  I told him no because his job was finished and "La pintura es de trabajar para una", trying to tell him that the next phase was painting, a one man job.  I told him "Trabajo mas tarde", trying he tell him that there would be work later.  He seemed to understand.  In fact both Ib and I are thinking of engaging him to polish our hulls.  The first photo shows Joel at the work site.

Unfortunately there is still quite a bit of preparation work to be done in the V-berth area.  The lining material had been used to hide all sorts of irregularities in the surface so I will dedicate a day to fairing and filling in holes.  The accompanying photos show the situation.

Have a look at the photo looking down the length of the V berth area.  The dark square is the patch that I put in (a double patch actually because it is a double bulkhead with a 5mm cavity).  Notice that the patch is set in what appears to be a larger patch, as though the boat was originally built with a rather large access to the chain locker.  Without a strong watertight door this would have been a disaster (as I found out) because in a rough seaway the chain locker can fill to the top with water.  It looks like someone may have walked the same path that I did.

At mid morning I had finished the latest round of work in the head and used my time to once again take the windlass foot switch apart.  It had given trouble when Brenda and I were at the islands and the symptoms pointed to the recurring problem of corrosion.  I cleaned the contacts and stripped away the silicone sealant that I had used in an attempt to keep the sea water at bay.  The switch is fairly new - installed in New Zealand - and is in good condition, so I see little to be gained from replacing it.  The problem seems to be invasion of salt water from the chain locker below.  So my plan is to keep the chain locker empty at all costs.  For long legs of blue water cruising I'll take the anchor off the roller and move it and the spare anchor aft - possibly lashing the 50 lb Swarbrick to the deck just in front of the mast, and storing the 45 lb plow anchor below.  I discussed the problem with Bob who paid a quick visit today and he suggested storing the 38 meters of chain down below in a milk crate.  Great idea.  I'll put the milk crate between the V-berths directly below the front hatch, which will make the job of shifting the chain back and forth much easier.   It means that I'll have to find a new home for the large rope bag of the 18 ft sea anchor which currently sits in that area.  That would leave only the 80 meters of rope and 14 meters of chain rode for deep anchorages in the chain locker.  Even with a lighter bow I'll be very vigilant and if need be I'll either shorten sail or heave to.  The days of pounding to weather in gale conditions watching the bow bury itself like a destroyer are over for me (except in an emergency).

While I was in the cockpit working on the foot switch I saw Roger Wise walk by after delivering two solar panels to Ib and Yadranka.  Roger had done a "house call" on Pachuca shortly after we arrived in La Paz while we were at anchor at the Magote and gotten the refrigerator going again by stopping a leak and re-gassing it.  I told Roger that the unit had failed again and a shot of R12 gas had done no good.   It was time for a new one.  His wife Jean will send me an email with details on an Italian-made refrigerator that according to Roger is currently rated the best in the world.  I was glad to hear that it has a Danfoss compressor.  (They all have Danfoss compressors he told me.)  He can get one delivered in about a week, which should be just about the time when the work on the V-berth area has been completed and I am able to clear the starboard quarter berth to give Roger access to the compressor area.  Roger gave the OK for me to remove the evaporator from my refrigerator compartment so that I could paint it.  Doing that and giving the compartment a good scrubbing was my last job of this day.  In cleaning I found some hitherto unknown gaps at the top edge of the compartment which one would see only be sticking his head in and looking up.  This is unacceptable so I am making plans to do some fiberglass work.  It won't be a pleasant job - laying fiberglass upside down with my head inside the compartment - but mercifully the strips to be laid are short: in the order of 2 ft and 6 in.  The last photo shows the refrigerator compartment.  The large hole is for the lines.  The other holes will be filled in.  The fiberglassing job will be under that strip at the left.