Ready for Splash

Pachuca is tonight hanging off the boat lifter straps ready for lowering into the water tomorrow morning.  We were all (total of 8 people) set for the drop at 5 PM  when Luis suggested that tomorrow morning might be better because a boat on the jetty near the lifting bay would be moving overnight.  I had no problems with that. 

I have made arrangements with Neil at the Marina de La Paz.  When Pachuca is safely tied up at the jetty after the splashdown I will go to the Marina office and a launch will be sent out to tow me back to my slip 111.  Somebody will be waiting on the jetty to take my lines.  As before I must back into the slip because of the planned engine work.

This morning the shaft was slipped into the boat then the propeller, PSS dripless packing, and coupler were put on.  That operation took less than 1 hour.  I made sure that the propeller was less one shaft diameter (1.25") from the cutlass bearing.  Space at the end of the coupler took up another precious 20mm of space into the engine compartment but it looks like there is still just enough room for fitting the engine.  I can gain another 15mm by cutting into the front of the wooden engine compartment and perhaps another 10mm by moving the coupler back down the shaft.  As a last resort I'll move the propeller another 15mm away from the cutlass bearing, though I am confident that it will not come to that. 

Zinc anodes were then fitted to the propeller shaft and the strut holding the cutlass bearing, and then the propeller and shaft were given a coat of "Propspeed" (http://propspeed.co.nz/).

The establishment of the final price to be paid to the boat yard was a study in things to look out for when doing business in Mexican boat yards.  Early this morning when I asked Roza for the cuenta she asked me what I had been quoted for the haul out.  Fortunately I had recorded that information and had my note book with me.  The bill came out to $1358 USD which according to her translated to 17246.7 pesos.  Brenda and I made a trip to the ATM so that I could draw out my daily limit of 6,000 pesos and she could draw out enough to lend me another 2,400 pesos.  When I went to pay in the afternoon Roza's sister Andrea was at the desk.  She had the original cuenta but it was still in the $1358 USD and I asked her for the amount in pesos, just to see if I would get a better rate.   I was quoted 17613 pesos, an increase of 366 pesos since the morning.  I showed her Roza's peso figure and asked Andrea what exchange rate she was using.  Andrea immediately let me have the lower amount.

I then questioned the $165 USD that I had been charged for raising the water line 2 inches.  I pointed out that when I made my initial contact a week before my boat was lifted out of the water Roza had quoted me $110 USD.  Eventually Luis was called and he said that he'd look into it.  When he showed up at the office at 3.30 PM he hadn't contacted Roza but after some discussion he knocked the charge back to the $110 that I had been quoted.

The final charge for the haul out and work done by the yard staff was $1293 USD or 16,421 pesos.  Pachuca was on the hard for a total of 12 days but I was not charged for any of the 9 days in excess of the 3 days included in the haul out package.  However, the yard really stuck it to me on labor charges.  For example, I was charged $22 USD for the installation of about 3' of 9mm plastic hose on the PSS packing.  I could have done the job myself for maybe a third of that but let's not forget that I was not allowed to do anywork on the outside of my boat.

If I ever go through this exercise again I'll take better notes, clearly documenting the date, who I was speaking with, and the details of the various quotations.  In the particular case of this boat yard there was no issue of deviousness but rather one of professionalism.  It is a family owned business with brothers and sisters filling various roles and the office procedures are unsophisticated to say the least.  But I must say that in the end Luis was willing to listen and proved to be very flexible.

Also, I dealt in cash because Alejandro told me that there would be a 5% surcharge if I used my Visa card.

Brenda's Bird of the Day is La Paloma which means dove or pigeon. The large bronze in the photo, called La Paloma, was made in 2008 to commemorate the dedication to conservation of some islands near La Paz. It is one of several bronzes along the walkway by the sea (the Malecon), and in my opinion is the least appealing.

A real pigeon that is here and needs no conservation effort is the Rock Pigeon or Dove, a well-known international species. This bird was introduced to north America from Europe by early settlers. These city pigeons are known to be fond of roosting on standing outdoor art works over much of the world, but on the Malecon, they prefer a model lighthouse to the giant pigeon.

Finally Shafted and Breakthrough

 

DON ROBERTO PREPARING FOR HIS MEETING WITH DON ERNESTO

The new propeller shaft seemed a long time coming.  It was due on Thursday afternoon, then yesterday morning.  Brenda suggested that I give to Ernesto her mobile telephone number so that he could communicate directly with me.  This turned out to be of great assistance because through several more delays I was able to go about my business without doing a slow bake in the boat while I waited for the shaft.  At midday on  he said that he had run into an unexpected problem with fitting the connector, he would have to make a keyway in the shaft, and he needed two more hours.  Then he telephoned for 2 more hours. At 4 PM Luis said that they could still install the shaft that day but I told him that it was after 4 PM, very hot, and it would be better to wait until today when it was cooler and everyone was fresh.  He agreed.

I went into the boat at 4.30 PM to prepare a bed for measuring the pitch of the propeller, wondered why I was dripping sweat all over the piece of plywood where I was trying to make my markings, looked up at the thermometer and saw 38.0C which is equivalent to 100F.  I had known that I was running out of time with the propeller, could find nobody who could tell me for sure its pitch, so went on the internet to learn how to do the calculation myself at http://www.propellerpages.com/?c=articles&f=2006-03-27_manual_pitch_measurement. 

Ernesto finally delivered the shaft at 5.30 PM.  I told him that he looked like he'd had a hard day, and he said that he had.  He said that he'd have to charge me another 1000 pesos for the work to fit the connector and I had prepared for this.  I handed him a sandwich bag with the 6600 pesos originally quoted.  It was a bit breezy so we decided to complete the transaction in the cab of his pickup truck.  When we settled in I asked him where the money was.  It was in his back pocket.  I asked him to count it in case I had made a mistake.  He did this and the amount was spot on.  I then pulled out my wallet and had exactly 1000 pesos to cover the extra work.  That totalled 7600 pesos which is about $675 Aussie dollars or $570 greenbacks.  I let him keep the old shaft and coupler which turned out to be a mistake.

Later I realized the amazing amount of trust in that transaction.  Nobody saw me give Ernesto the cash.  He initially didn't even bother to count it.  I got no receipt.  Legally it never happened.  It boils down to a people thing rather than a Mexico thing.

After Ernesto left I took the propeller into the cabin to do take the measurements.  The propeller is right handed with a diameter of just under 17".  Its pitch is 16", which is higher than the 14" recommended by the propeller pitch calculator for the new Volvo engine. This pitch is not surprising since the Sabb manual specified a prop of 20" diameter and 15" pitch.  I'll stick with this propeller for now and if I detect a serious efficiency issue I'll get a new propeller after I return to Australia.

This morning the workmen slid the shaft in and it appeared to protrude 6" into the engine compartment instead of the expected 3".  I measured the length of the new shaft, 66.5" and gave Ernesto a call.  He rang back and said that the old shaft was 63.5" long.  I have photographs that prove that the old shaft ended at the bulkhead.  The only thing that I can figure out is that the propeller was set back farther from the cutlass bearing than the prescribed maximum distance which is equal to the diameter of the shaft (1.25" in my case").  In any event, it looks like I have 30mm (1 3/16") to spare between the front of the engine and the front of the engine compartment.  I might lose 12mm of that by dead space inside the coupler but I think that I'll squeak by, partly because the backward tilt of the engine will be of some help.  If it comes to that I'll move the propeller an extra inch back from the cutlass bearing.

Luis told me that they could return the boat to the water today if it was really urgent but I suggested that we take our time and wait until Monday.  He agreed that Monday would be better.  The way I figured it, the boat yard crew would knock off at noon for the weekend and I didn't want a rush job, particularly if there were any key personnel missing.  I want the propeller and coupler to be put on nice and tight and the PSS dripless packing to be properly installed.

I had a look at the literature that accompanied the Volvo coupling and saw almost immediately the cause of Ernesto's problem.  The coupling is provided in millimeter diameters.  There is only one exception: you can get a coupling for a 1" diameter shaft.  The closes diameter for my 1.25" shaft was 30mm, which was about 1.5mm (1/16") shy of the required diameter.

I used 30 minutes of the remaining cool time in the boat to look at the construction of the base upon which the engine cover slides.  One of the sides was a bit shaky and I figured that strengthening it would be much easier without an engine in place.  One thing led to the other and I discovered that the base is free standing, held in position by the floor boards and the galley counter.  (You've got to wonder what will happen if the boat rolls over.)  It appears that I will be able to slide the entire base forward and lift it out.  I consider this a breakthrough because it will be of enormous assistance in the preparation of the engine bed since it will fully expose all of one bed and half of the other down to the floor level, allowing easier use of tools and easier fiberglassing.  I hope that I can pull it off (literally).

The photo of the engine compartment area shows the amount of protrusion of the shaft.  I expected 3" and got closer to 6".  The last photo, of the packing area, clearly shows that the old shaft coupler was directly under the bulkhead.

Brenda's Bird of the Day. In the evenings we often find ourselves sitting on the bench outside our room, sipping the last of the dinner wine and watching the sunset. Very soon after the sun goes, a couple of nighthawks can be seen making good use of the airspace as they search for flying inscts. The local nighthawk is the Lesser Nighthawk and that is probably the one we see, but I haven't been able to be sure of any distinguishing features.

Waiting on Shaft

The new propeller shaft was supposed to arrive today, so I made a point of spending most of the day in the boat.

In the morning I did rearranging the Racor fuel filter and raw water fuel filter.  This addressed a problem that I've been having with the Racor.  It had been sited on the left side of the photo in Port Townsend on my decision not to have a vacuum gauge.  Later it was deemed highly advisable to have a vacuum  gauge so we fitted it to the left of the filter.  The gauge was so close to the galley bulkhead that I was forced to chisel out a slot on the sliding engine cover lest it shear off the gauge when I pushed it into position.  Even so, I worried about the possibility that on a port heel in a rough seaway the cover might start banging against the gauge and damaging it. So this morning I took my time to figure out an improvement and wound up swapping the positions of the filters.  The Racor, which is a pretty heavy unit, is now supported on a wood base and the lighter raw water filter is bolted directly onto the aft bulkhead.  Note that the gauge is now out of harm's way.

After that I removed the 3" (75mm) frame at the bulkhead which the engine cover had been meeting.  That had been necessary to accommodate at the front of the Sabb engine the 160 amp alternator that had been installed in New Zealand.  Removal of that frame allowed the cover to rest directly against the bulkhead and restored the half step  that we had lost from the last step into the cabin.

At 12.30 PM I followed the routine of making the 5 minute walk to the hotel, grabbing a cold beer from the refrigerator as I passed the kitchen, then having a shower after being revived by the Pacifico Clara beer.  The kitchen and dining area is really part of the veranda which is cool yet part of the landscape of pot plants and palm trees with birds darting all over the place.  In the background we can see the bay.  After lunch with Brenda in this pleasant setting I had my usual short nap then headed back to the boat which we both knew would be like an oven.

I checked with Luis as I passed by the office and he assured me that the shaft would arrive that afternoon.  I told him that I would be inside the boat and to knock on the hull when it arrived so that I could pay Ernesto.  I was carrying about 12,000 pesos in my backpack to cover the payment.

Unfortunately the boat was indeed an oven this afternoon.  The breeze was not to arrive until after 6 PM.  Because my main switch panel is dead I could not run the fans.  I was sweating so hard that I could not see and had to keep wiping my head with paper towels and later a real towel.  I did a bit more work setting up the latches for the new engine cover setup and at 5 PM I headed back to the hotel by way of the office where Luis told me that the shaft would be in tomorrow morning, maybe 8AM and maybe 9AM.  (Thanks, Luis, but why didn't you tell me as soon as you knew so that I didn't have to feel like a baking patata for so long?)  He asked me if I was hoping to get the back into the water tomorrow.  I replied with a restrained "Yes, as soon as possible" instead of the more direct "Hey, is the Pope Catholic?  What do you think?") 

Tomorrow will mark the 9th day on the hard stand.  It will be Friday the 16th of July and we haven't started the actual engine installation yet.  It's not like we are suffering because Brenda and I enjoy life at this hotel very much, but Brenda must return to Australia in early September and I want very much that we be able to do 3 or 4 weeks of travelling before her departure.

Here are some photos that we took around  our little hotel world.

Brenda's Bird of the Day does not need a photo as it is so well known, occurring over most of North Ameica and much of the rest of the world. According to the Bird Book it is 'omnipesent in populated areas' and this definitely applies to La Paz. The bird is the House Sparrow. Of course these sparrows have won the hearts of many including the men of the palapa of knowledge (morning breakfast group) who make sure that a little sparrow that cannot close her beak properly has some choice crumbs.

Visit to Pepsi Cola

Ernesto is the man building Pachuca's new propeller shaft.  His shop is referred to as "Pepsi Cola" because Ernesto worked for Pepsi Cola before starting his own shop.  I asked Luis yesterday if I could visit the shop to see the old shaft and propeller and wanted the address so that I could take a taxi.  Luis said that Ernesto was coming by today and could take me.  I asked what time and Luis said 10 AM.

Something must have been lost in the translation because Ernesto in fact made a special trip to the boat yard to take me to his shop.  Brenda was with me too because we were hoping to visit the Soriana shopping center afterward and at 10.30 AM we were in Ernesto's car heading for his shop.

Along the way I raised a couple of issues that came up when Neil and I did some poking around the internet in his office.  One site was adamant that bronze and not stainless steel keys should be used on propeller shafts.  Ernesto replied that he was happy to make a bronze key but he provides a stainless steel key with just about every shaft that me makes and has never seen a problem.

I raised the question of square vs rounded corners in the keyway and he said that he could make the key slot either way.  He agreed that square corners would increase the risk of fracture and he agreed to make rounded corners.

I raised the issue of material standards.  He agreed that Aquamet 22 is a stronger material than 316 but said that the 316L that I would be using would last me 20 years or more.  He did not expect any corrosion or dimpling in it.  316 is what he uses for most of the propeller shafts that he makes but he could bring in Aquamet 22 for me in 4 or 5 days if I really wanted it.  I decided to stick with the 316L. 

He made a telephone call during the drive to the shop and by the time we got there one of his people was mounting the old shaft on a lathe.  I was shown how the part of the shaft in the packing gland area was actually thinner than the rest of the shaft.  Once this was pointed out to me I could both see and feel the slight saddleback in that part of the shaft.  To me this was a sign of pure wear from year after year of the shaft turning while constrained by the packing.  At the propeller end of that area was a sharp edge that must have been a half millimeter high.  The coupling end of the shaft was full of dimples.

The shaft was then spun and I could clearly see and feel the bend in the shaft.

I then asked about the propeller and he pronounced it OK.  He said that it is indeed a right handed propeller, 17" in diameter, and he thinks that it has a pitch of 14".

I thanked Ernesto for the time that he had put in to bring Brenda and myself to his shop and to set up the old shaft on the lathe.  I then asked him for the directions to the nearest bus stop but he would not have it, even though I told him that Brenda and I didn't mind doing some walking.  He got his son to take us back to the boat yard or wherever else we wanted to go.  We asked to be dropped off at the Soriana shopping center that Brenda and I had not been able to visit because of its distance from the Marina de La Paz area. 

Brenda and I spent several hours at the shopping center but I must admit that we were disappointed at the Soriana shop itself.  We managed to get some 1-liter casks of white wine but no red.  Worse, we could find  no nuts of any kind, and I've been hankering for almonds  lately.  However, we did have a great inexpensive lunch and left with the satisfaction of knowing that Soriana's was about.

Back at the boat yard I saw Luis and thanked him for setting up the visit to Ernesto's "Pepsi" place.  I told him that Ernesto was a top man and I had left his shop very satisfied.  Luis shook his head in affirmation with a look like he had heard  this before.

I also asked Luis for a quotation for cleaning and polishing my hull.  That morning I had seen the miracle that the yard crew was performing on the hull of "True Blue" with old fashioned elbow grease and figured that this would be the perfect opportunity to spruce up Pachuca's hull before her final run to Australia.

I then dropped off the Sabb instruction and parts manuals and the remaining 3 engine mounts to Joel just before he finished his day at 4 PM.  The Sabb engine is in his shop fully assembled, clean, and covered.  I am hoping that Joel  will find a good home for it.  On Monday I sent a report to Neil on the state of the Sabb, noting her fairly new no. 2 head, skimmed no. 1 head, all valves ground, both injectors serviced with a new nozzle in oneof them, easy starting, and no smoke.  I did mention the slight leak in the transmission and recommended a compression test. 

Then I returned to the hotel for a cold beer, shower, shave, and another cold beer.  It was 5 PM and was the end of the working day as far as I was concerned. 

The first photo shows Ernesto's well staffed shop.  The second photo is of the old shaft on the lathe.

Brenda's Bird of the Day is the House Finch. This is a bird native to this area but it has spread or been introduced over most of North America. It has a tuneful song reminiscent of a canary and can often be heard from the Marina or from the inn where we are now.

Propeller Shaft Hiccup

This morning I went to the boat yard expecting to have the boat back in the water by the end of the day.  Instead I was told in a telephone conversation with the propeller shaft man that there were two problems: (1) he could not straighten the shaft, (2) the diameter of the shaft was slightly smaller than the coupler. Later Alejandro told me of another problem: the  area of the shaft where the PSS dripless packing was to be fitted was too rough for the PSS packing, which required a very smooth surface. 

My initial information was that a new shaft could  be made with 316 stainless steel that was on hand.  This was not the Aquamet 22 standard  used in the USA so I telephoned Mark to discuss it.  He suggested that 316L (low carbon) would be preferable and fortunately there is 316L in stock in La Paz. 

The next decision was mine to make alone because I am most familiar with the drawings.  I decided  that I could take advantage of being forced to buy a new shaft by making it 3" (75mm) longer than the old one.  This will result in the new engine being sited further forward in the compartment, slightly higher from the bilge, and resulting in less digging out of the engine bed.  Also, it gets the gear shift mechanism away from the bulkhead, aft of the compartment.

So I have ordered the new shaft which should be ready in 2 or 3 days.  The quotation is $550 USD but will provide a new shaft that is well mated to the propeller at one end and the coupler at the other and will host the PSS dripless packing.  I have made arrangements to visit the shop tomorrow to look at the old shaft, see what I can learn about the pitch of the propeller, and discuss the construction of the key way (e.g. rounded corners) and the material of the key (bronze).

Brenda's Bird of the Day is (again) a Costa's Hummingbird. Why a repeat? Today one flew by the window of our room which is on the first floor. When I looked out, I saw three hummingbirds zooming around in a tecoma shrub nearby.

Sunday Morning Side Show

Pachuca's anchor well has four drain holes: two at the base and not far above the waterline, and two at the upper level where my spare anchor is stored.  I had plugged up the two upper drains thinking that the water would simply fall though the upper level to the base and drain out.  But twice I saw the anchor well completely full of water because the drains could not keep up with the amount of water coming in from around the anchor well cover as the boat plowed through the seas in rough weather, so I wanted very much to free up the upper drains to help with the draining process.

The hardstanding of the boat presented the perfect opportunity to remedy the problem except for one problem: the boat yard prohibits owners from doing any work outside of their boats - they can do work only inside their boats.  Outside work must be done by boat yard or other local labor.  I didn't mind using local labor in principle but it was going to be too hard to explain exactly what I needed done.  The stainless steel plates had to be removed then a pilot hole had to be drilled from the outside at slightly up and forward angles.  Once the pilot hole verified the angles then larger bits would be used.

I remembered Bob Carroll's advice that it is better to just do something rather than ask because it is less likely for the authorities to say No than to say Yes.  So this Sunday morning was the perfect time in which to be naughty and break the rules.

I had a dream run with everything going well.  I bored the holes to 1/2" then used white 2-part marine paint to seal the holes and while I was at it seal a small chip on the bow caused by a loose anchor.  The guard didn't seem to care what I was doing and I was able to borrow other ladders and stands to make the job easier.

While I was working a man from one of the yachts berthed at the jetty passed by and asked if my ladder was properly tied on at the boat rail.  I showed him the ropes on each leg and he seemed pleased.  He told me that once he saw a man at the top of a ladder longer than mine and suggested that there should be somebody below steadying the ladder.  Ten minutes later the ladder went over and the fellow wound up with two broken arms with the fractured bone showing through the skin.

We had a short conversation and he told me that he first visited La Paz 15 years ago and had been here ever since.  He has friends who moved on from La Paz, sailed around the world, and returned to La Paz wondering why they had ever left what to them was the best place in the world.  This frightened me a bit.  I mean, will I be the next sailor caught up in the gravitational field of La Paz?

It gave me  the idea of a song that I could write which I would name "Hotel Baja California" with lyrics such as "You can check out any time you want but you will never leave."  (Apologies to The Eagles)

I was back at the hotel at noon for a shower, lunch with Brenda, followed by the World Cup final on TV.  Viva Espana!!!!

The photo shows one of the upper drains that has been bored out.  The blue tape is to capture any paint that drips from the opening.  (Dark spots are from using the older camera.

Brenda's Bird of the Day is the national bird of Mexico, the splendid Crested Caracara. I have seen only one of them. It was perched on a tall cactus and I saw it from the coach as we drove back to La Paz from Los Santos.

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Bilge is Clean

Today I finished the cleanup of the engine compartment and bilges.  It was the sort of cramped, hot, sweaty, and dirty job that makes one wonder why he has a boat.  Nevertheless the work had to be done and now we are ready for beginning the engine bed preparation in earnest.  I also managed to remove the two mild steel angle irons to which the engine was bolted, using a hack saw and a bit of patience.

I was not able to solve an electrical problem.  After the Sabb engine was removed I noticed that the boat's main electrical panel was dead.  Anything connected directly to the bus bar, such as the radios, is working fine.  The "house" bank was at 13.2V so that could not have been the problem.  I used the crossover switch to combine the "house" and "starter" banks with no success.  Using the multimeter I confimed that both of the bank switches are receiving power.  I cannot figure out how removing the wires to the alternators and the starter system of the old engine could affect the main panel  and I will have to seek assistance with this.

 The first four photos are "before" and "after" shots of the engine compartment and bilge area.  I have enlarged the side view of one of the engine beds because it will  give us an indication of how to approach the task of cutting down the beds.  The beds appear to be made of wood in several sections, possibly glued together.  There is a gap  of about 2" behind the bed which will be of assistance with cutting tools that we may use.

Following that is a photo of the two pieces of angle steel on which the engine was bolted.

The photo of Pachuca shows her on an impeccably clean concrete  floor.  There seems to be a permanent yard man who constantly sweeps and tidies up.  Note Pachuca's  higher  waterline and the absence of a boot topping line.  The new waterline is uncomfortably close to the lower anchor well drain holes.

Then there is a photo looking through the new cutlass bearing to the propeller shaft stern tube.

The photo of the propeller shaft shows no obvious evidence of bend.  The shaft, propeller, and new coupling have been sent off for assessment and fitting.

Brenda's Bird of the Day is Heermann's Gull. This gull breeds near here and the birds I saw today from the Malecon, were young as are those in the photo (which is again from the web.) Last year on our trip from Port Townsend to Vancouver, we used to see adult Heermann's Gulls each alone on a floating island of seaweed.

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