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.