Goodies From Australia

The photo shows all of the goodies that Brenda brought from Australia. It is a daunting view of the amount of space and weight that burdened Brenda during her journey, and I certainly appreciate her effort.

Working from the front my new Fujifilm Finepix S1500 camera is at the left, along with its cables, batteries, lens cleaning pads and CD. (Thanks for picking it Stephen.) That square paper with the blue fringe is the label from Yacht Grot's 2009 wine. ("Still potent enough to stun the crays before you throw them in the pot, it is exceptional value & has a multitude of uses on board any seagoing vessel. Should you choose to drink the wine ....") On the right is a set of movies that Stephen sent. (Thanks Stephen!)

Further back is a container with 1.25 and 1.50 strength glasses for better long distance vision. To the left are two jars ov Vegemite and a bottle of Shiraz from Chris and Jim's Condingup Vinyard near Esperance. (Thank you C & J.) Then there are the two cabin vents that Brenda brought from Yacht Grot, where they cost the equivalent of $43 USD (Thanks for the special pricing Trevor and Roger.) whereas here in La Paz they wanted to charge $65 USD each.

To the right of the vents are two waterproof bags and at the back are a high quality Aussie courtesy flag to eventually replace my present one which is having a hard life in the La Paz environment (Thanks again Stephen.) on top of various shopping bags, two which are insulated and will be very useful for carrying groceries in the La Paz heat.

Last but definitely not least is the storm jib that Victor sent from his boat Chiquita. It will be great carrying one of Chiquita's sails and I have no doubt that it will make Pachuca safer and more comfortable when sailing and hove to in very heavy weather. I am looking forward to using it in combination with the storm trysail. (Thanks heaps Victor!)

Volvo Engine On Way

UPS picked up the new Volvo engine from Shoreline Marine yesterday afternoon. I have a tracking number which should become useful by Monday.

I have alerted Judith here at Columbia transport and passed on to her all six customs and shipping documents that Mark had sent to me. On Monday I will contact her and try to get the Columbia paperwork on the move. Hopefully by then we will have an ETA of the engine at the Columbia depot in San Diego.

Mindful of the difficulty that Mark had had in getting full insurance coverage for the engine during its transport to San Diego I had asked Judith how much coverage Columbia's insurance actually gave. Her disappointing response was that it would cover only about 15% of the total value of the engine. The insurance seems to be designed to cover minor shipment damage to not total loss due to say, a road accident. I'll speak with her on Monday about getting better coverage.

After my discussion with Columbia I should have enough information for a visit to Neil here at Marina de La Paz to begin detail planning on the engine swap.

Brenda Arrived OK

Brenda's plane arrived 20 minutes late at 11 PM last night but otherwise everything went to plan.

Rafa came to the marina with his taxi at 10.20 PM and off we went on the 15 minute drive to the La Paz airport. He waited for us in the parking lot.

Brenda was understandably tired after a 40 hour trip involving 5 air planes and 6 airports. Rafa got us to the marina and I paid him a well deserved 600 pesos for his services.

Then came the hard part. It was a moderately windy night of 10-15 knots, which was not dangerous but somewhat challenging and damp in the middle of the night. Fortunately I had thought of bringing a hefty wet weather jacket that I had purchased in Neah Bay which helped Brenda keep warm and dry. I wore my wet weather trousers. Brenda had one heavy luggage bag and a backpack, and I was carrying my own backpack. I had never approached the boat at night but the green flashing light on the channel marker got me off to a good start and once past that I had no trouble identifying Pachuca, the only boat with her cabin light on.

When we reached the boat Brenda sat still while I tied up the dinghy and unloaded the baggage. Then it was up to Brenda to face her last hurdle of the trip, climbing from the dinghy onto the ladder then up and over the rail. She did that well and soon she was safely in Pachuca's cockpit which to me marked the end of her long journey.

More Volvo Photos

I received these photos from Mark this morning. Note the high exhaust riser which may be gold plated for what it cost me.

Mark also sent copies of the shipping and customs documentation, so we can expect the engine to be on the road to San Diego soon.

Zodiac Maintenance

For some time the flooring of the Zodiac dinghy has needed attention. It is composed of slats rather than solid sheets of material so that the dinghy can be folded up and stored. Bits of this slatting have been breaking off to the point that too much stress is being put on the bottom of the dinghy.

I wound up using "exterior" grade 3-ply. I had been warned that the ply available in La Paz is pretty horrible, unless one gets marine grade ply which is extremely expensive. At the timber yard the only solution that the man could offer was 3-ply. I was about to turn him down when he mentioned that it was made of Meranti. I know Meranti. It is a very good wood out of the tropical rain forests of Asia. "De Indonesia?" I asked. "Filipinas" was his reply.

The bad news is that I had to purchase an entire sheet of ply for the six slats. But the price was only 450 pesos and they would include all of the cutting. So I had six slats cut and four panels suitable for use as flooring on the dinghy to place over the slats.

Back at the boat I spent a couple of hours using my tiny saw, a rasp, and some sand paper to chamfer the corners and sides of the slats.

The photos tell the story. The first photo shows a blue piece of broken slat next to a new ply one. Next is the repaired roll-up flooring in place. Finally there are the two panels over the lot.

Let's hope that it lasts at least through my stay in Mexico.

Engine Preparation

Mark asked me if I wanted the engine set up for hot water taps and I said Yes. It will give me the option of setting up a hot water system on Pachuca later or, less likely, a cabin heater.

He has also rotated the gear lever clockwise 90 degrees so that the cable will pull from above and not behind. This will eliminate possible problems with the shifting mechanism being too close to the aft bulkhead.

The photo shows how the cable will pass down through the vertical support to the lever, marked "fwd". Note the adjustable engine mount at the right and the 8 degree tilt of the shaft coupling at the left.

Engine at Shoreline Marine Diesel

I've received a message from Mark informing me that the engine has arrived at his premises in Port Townsend.

He sent the accompanying two photos of the engine (without the transmission, which must be mated with it).

The first photo shows the front and left side the engine. That is a 115-amp alternator driven by a flat belt. Above it is the cooling water expansion tank.

The second photo shows the front and right side of the engine. The only maintenance access concern that I had was the oil filter at the lower aft part of the engine. That area will be covered by the galley bulkhead but I should be able to reach it from the top.

Some comparisons:

Volvo weight: 177kg/390 lb, Compression ratio: 23.5:1, capacity 92.6 cu in, max revs 3200
SABB weight: 390kb/860 lb, Compression ratio 20:1, capacity 92.1 cu in, max revs 1800

So it looks like Pachuca will be 213kg/470lb lighter after the change.