Thanksgiving, Thawing Out and Drying Up

We had a quiet and pleasant Thanksgiving Day at the Morales household. 

Sandra presented us with the healthiest TD dinner that I've ever enjoyed: nicely baked turkey, cranberry sauce, light stuffing, sweet potato, the greenest green beans that I've ever seen, accompanied by white wine .  Even after my two helpings I was able to avoid that oh why did I eat so much glutton's remorse.

The snow in this area has melted and road conditions are back to normal.  I took the accompanying photo through the kitchen window.  Note the outdoor thermometer at the bottom left.

On Friday afternoon (2 days ago) Arnold drove us to Port Townsend where we visited Mark at Shoreline Marine Diesel, which was officially closed for the day.  It was good to see Mark again and it gave me an opportunity to thank him in person for his great service to me in defining and overseeing the engine repowering effort in La Paz.  He agreed that it was one of his more unusual projects.

I passed over to Mark the incorrect buzzer harness cable that had been sent with the new engine as well as the alternator that I had brought from La Paz.  We all agreed that a faulty on-board voltage regulator is the prime suspect, and Mark will put the alternator on a test bed in the coming week.  Later, when the shop is formally open I will obtain from Seth the replacement buzzer harness and the new Volvo single-lever throttle and gear control.  Mark told me that the throttle and gear cables will be identical (Morse 33?), which will make life easier for me.

Mark suggested that I might want to photograph 6 or 7 boats that came to grief during the recent snowfall.  My understanding is that they were caught at anchor when strong winds came somewhat unusually from the north.  I recall hearing several times that Pt. Townsend Bay does not have very good holding ground (due to weed, I think).  I hope to take some photos of these boats in the coming week.

I had brought to Port Townsend a large mailing envelope containing almost everything required for my US passport renewal application: a filled-out application form, a $170 money order ($110 standard fee plus $60 fee for expedited processing) which I had purchased at the Kingston post office, my current passport (which expires in March 2011), and a copy of my confirmed travel itinerary from Alaska Airlines where I highlighted the fact that I was flying to Mexico on 5 Jan 2011. 

I asked Mark if he knew where I could have some passport photographs taken, and he pointed me to a photography shop just past the ferry landing.  We found the shop with no problem, I had the photos taken, and as I was paying I asked about the opening hours of the main post office at the top of the hill.  The lady pointed out that there was a post office agency about three doors up from her shop.  How convenient.  Before long the package was on its way by certified mail - literally on its way since it was ready just in time for the transfer of mail from the agency to probably the main post office for sorting. 

The normal processing time for passport renewals is 6 weeks.  I have asked for expedited processing which should reduce that time to as little as 2 weeks, and I hope to receive the new passport before the Christmas holidays.

Yesterday I went solo with Arnold's RX7 on a short excursion to fuel up the car and do some grocery shopping.   Now that the road conditions have improved and my upper respiratory system is finally starting to dry up after the worst cold in years I expect to hit the road in the coming week with visits mainly to Port Townsend.

Picture Windows

Views from Arnold's office and the living room.

The hot tub (hot and ready to go) and deck.

The dog house and tree house on left.

Looking to the front of the house.

Snowbound

Monday morning.  Sandra going out to fee the birds (and possibly the local bear), and a panoramic shot of the back yard.

Snow

We got a bit of snow yesterday, though it did not last long on the ground.

And I'm nursing my first cold in many moons.  Undoubtedly I picked up the bug during my travels, probably at the human zoo of LA international airport.

Back in the USA

The trip to Seattle went OK and I am now comfortably at Arnold and Sandra's home here in Kingston, but I must say that it was an ... interesting day of departure for me.

After a pleasant meal with Ib at a restaurant in town on Wednesday evening I woke up on Thursday morning comfortable with the state of my preparations for the trip.  I had until 2.30 PM before we were due to leave for the airport - plenty of time given that my bags were packed and there was little to do besides closing up the boat.

Things got interesting when I decided to start up the Volvo engine for the first time in several weeks. Twenty minutes into the run the alarm sounded with a battery symbol on the tachometer display.  I checked around and everything seemed to be functioning normally: engine at 1000 rpm, Volvo meter showing 13V, temperature good, and the independent BEP monitor reporting 52 amps flowing into the batteries.  The House and Aux battery banks were at 13.1V and the Starter bank was at at 13.2V

Revving up the engine did not stop the alarm.

After a second engine run with similar results I sent a message to Mark in Port Townsend describing the problem and asking for his opinion.  Mark is often out of the office for much of the day and I didn't really expect a reply before my departure.  I was merely alerting Mark of the problem for discussion when I visited him in Port Townsend.

Soon I heard "Hello Pachuca" and went outside to see Cheryl Ainsworth from Stolen Kiss.  I had not seen Peter and Cheryl for months because they had been based on the mainland side of the Sea of Cortez.  They had just arrived to deal with a battery problem and would leave in three days.  After a hug and a quick chat with with Cheryl I then walked over the Stolen Kiss and had a brief conversation with Peter, who was busy making preparations for a technician due to visit the boat.  I told him that I would return to their boat at about 2 PM for our final farewells.  Cheryl soon passed by the Pachuca again and told me that their faulty batteries were being replaced under warranty.

I checked my mail while munching on a turkey sandwich and saw a message from Mark to phone him immediately.  He asked me to check the output voltage of the alternator and after probing the leads with the ammeter I reported to him that the alternator output voltage was running at about 13.5V.  Mark replied that it should be 14 V, and the alarm was set to go off when that output voltage dropped down 13.1 or 13.2 volts (which I realized later happened to be the same voltage as the battery banks).

I then ran the engine for a fourth time and found that the alarm was now intermittent: on for maybe 30 seconds, then off again.  Bob Carroll then paid me a farewell visit and when I started the engine for the fifth time there was no alarm.  By now the battery banks were a bit higher - at about 13.5V.  I also noticed that the Volvo volt meter was reporting 13.25V instead of the previous 13V.  I reported this to Mark.

He suspected a problem with the alternator and suggested that I remove it and take it with me to Seattle because Volvo will not make a warranty replacement without the broken part.  Gulp! Mark, I've got to get into the cab in just over an hour!  His reply was You'd better start working.  He assured me that the alternator could be removed using standard wrenches.  Unfortunately I had no choice.  We didn't have the luxury of extensive investigation of the problem and mulling it over for a few days - it was now or never.  OK, so I've got a hot engine, not to sure what has to be done, and less than an hour to do it.  Better get on with it.  Fortunately the extraction went well.  I photographed the wiring, tried to work calmly, and used a towel when pulling the hot alternator off the engine.

I placed the alternator on a cockpit seat to cool off, rushed off for a shower and shave, then came back and stuffed the alternator into my duffel bag amongst the clothes and gifts.  The two bottles of tequila were traveling in my backpack.

Unfortunately due to the alternator drama I did not get to see Peter and Cheryl again.  They are headed for Ecuador via various stops in Central America, but by the time I get to Ecuador they will be on their way across the South Pacific.  Worse, it is likely that by the time I reach Fremantle in the spring of 2012 they will have already left on a planned cruise of the Indian Ocean.  But you never know how this sailing life will work out.  I'm just grateful that we had a chance to say hello.

At the La Paz airport we waited for Ib's wife Yadranka to emerge from her flights from Australia and I knew that the timing was going to be close..  Fortunately we all caught sight of each other briefly through the door and waved, but I was then forced to say my goodbye to Ib and rush to my boarding gate.  Again, I was grateful that we at least had a chance to wave.

There was a hitch with my documentation and I knew that it was serious when a girl asked for my FM3 residency card and passport then set off running.  Well after the other passengers had boarded she came running back to tell me that everything was OK but next time to visit the Immigration office before flying out.  I told her that I would remember to do that, but protested that I was the victim of bad advice from Eco Naviera, the office that had helped me to get my FM3 residency.  The previous week I had visited their office with the specific question of what formalities I must attend do for the trip.  I was told to simply fly out and then present my FM3 card the re entering the country.  Wrong!  I'll send a message to Eco Naviera so that this needless trouble can be avoided in the future.

The flight to Seattle went well, though with modern Coach transport being what it is due to competitive pressure, there wasn't much to eat and drink.  Between my lunch on the run aboard Pachuca at noon and arrival at Arnold's house after midnight I had two glasses of white wine on the LA leg and one glass of orange juice with a bag of pretzels on the Seattle leg.  That turkey sandwich saved my bacon.

LA airport was a real zoo with its hordes of humanity controlled by flimsy lines of rope.  I needed every bit of the 2-hour layover to make the Seattle flight, arriving at the counter after boarding had started.  Fortunately during the transfer of my baggage to the domestic flight I asked one of the attendants if it was OK to keep the two bottles of tequila in my carry on back pack.  The reply was an emphatic No, so I moved the booze to my duffel bag and the alternator to my back pack.  So at the next screening I was asked to step aside and follow.  "It's an alternator from a marine diesel engine." I explained to the lady as we walked to the inspection bench. She took out the alternator, put it on the bench, and I exclaimed "Beautiful, isn't it?" as we stared at the marvel of engineering and design, set off nicely by the gleaming copper winding.  She replied that she didn't know much about these things but her boss had one look and let it pass.  (I mean, hadn't she ever seen a gray haired old guy humping a heavy alternator on his back?)

Arnold was waiting for me at the baggage claim area and I must admit that it was great to be headed to Kingston in the comfort and security of his car rather than having to battle my way across the airport hoping that there would be enough room for me on the next shuttle to Kitsap.

All My Bags Are Packed

... and I'm ready to go.

Everything fits in my one check-in duffle bag and carry-on backpack.  I'll also be carrying my Acer webtop.

My in-box this morning contained an email from Alaska Airlines by which I was able to check in and also pay the $20 bag fee.  I've now got my boarding passes through to Seattle.

Very efficient.

Ib and I will share a cab to the airport at 2.30 PM.  His wife Yadranka will arrive from the last leg of her flight from Australia, we'll exchange greetings, then I will board the same airplane for my first leg to LA.  I will board at 5.08 PM in La Paz and arrive at 11.40 PM in Seattle, where brother Arnold will be waiting for me.

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I think that I figured out a solution to the problem of sufficient storage space for my anchor chain.  As you can see in the photo, I purchased a second plastic milk crate which fits neatly over the first one.  I will remove the floor from the top crate and wire its sides to the lower crate to hold them together.  I could add a third crate if necessary.  The flange at the bottom of the upper crate fits neatly into the lip at the top of the lower crate, ensuring that the floorless upper crate will not spread out under load.

Blog Statistics

A few weeks ago Al asked me why my blog got more visits than his.  I didn't now how to respond to that but later I figured out that a blog about a circumnavigation would have an advantage over one about a more localized cruise.  Anyway, I got curious and today I snooped around and gathered some statistics.

Any visitor to this blog can see all sorts of statistics by scrolling down to the bottom and clicking on "site meter", a very informative facility that Stephen installed on 2 Nov 2008.

My first posting on this blog is dated 25 December 2006, in which I described the specifications and equipment of Pachuca.  Since then there have been 1072 postings.  

There have been 37,058 visits to the blog, including the 4,425 that were made before we started running the site meter. This is alleged to represent an average 54 visits per day.  The average length per visit is stated as "1:41" which must represent minutes and seconds rather than hours and minutes.  The last 100 visits came from USA, Canada, Australia, UK, Scandinavia, India, and China.  I have occasionally seen Africa on the list.

My initial motivation for the blog was very modest: to provide an efficient means of letting a few friends and relatives know what I was up to without my having to repeat the same thing over and over again.  But unexpectedly I got into a virtuous cycle of increasing interest out there and increasing motivation in here.

And there have been personal benefits.  I like the discipline of sorting things out in my head so that I can express them - kind of brings structure and clarity to the head.  And the documentation is invaluable, both for analysing problems and for vivid trips down memory lane.

So there we are, the confessions of a blogger.

Bike Ride

I rode the bicycle to the other end of town to have a key duplicated and found myself in the lunch hour trap: it was 3.15 PM and the place was closed 2-4 PM.  It was a nice day so I decided to keep heading east along Revolution to have a look around.

It turned out to be a very pleasant part of town, which I would describe as elegant and leafy residential.

Only a few blocks into my exploration I came across the La Paz's Alliance Francaise building.

I couldn't resist photographing the sign posts of street names with social/political significance.  Forget street names like "Elm" or "Seaview" - the old town has  names of significance such as  "Benito Juarez", "Miguel de Legaspy", "5 de Febrero", "5 de Mayo", "16 de Septiembre", "Reforma", "Independencia", "Constitucion", ....

The Palapa

This is the core of the palapa of knowledge, wisdom, and truth that meets for coffee/breakfast at The Dock Cafe six morning a week. 

Clockwise from the left we have:

Ken, who recently took over my apartment,
Bob Carroll, with a cap indicating that he must be the star of the show,
Rick, who seems to be pretty active marina life,
Dave, computer expert extraordinaire,
Al, who lives on a comfortable power boat (a Cape Hatteras, I think) with his wife.


They must all be righteous men because none objected to having his picture posted on the internet.

Boats Around the Marina

The marina is full boats again, thanks to the advent of the Baja Haha fleet (http://www.baja-haha.com/) in the Sea of Cortez.  Yesterday I took a stroll to take photos of some of the boats on this jetty (there are two others).

The first photos (ignore the toy plastic boat in the background) are of Kialoa III, a legendary aluminum hull Sparkman & Stephens 80 with an extensive and very successful racing history, including winning the 1975 Sydney-Hobart race with a record that stood for 21 years.  (http://www.orangecoastcollege.edu/NR/rdonlyres/B4B9ECFF-57A7-4EB9-A843-FF6F3C91EB60/0/Page3fromOCC_AnRpt053.pdf)  Kialoa III is in private hands again with David, who is doing some interior renovations.

Though she is luxurious inside, she must be a handfull to manage as a private recreational yacht.  John the rigger was moaning that the mainsail weighs 1000 lb and required 3 men to remove it from the boat for repairs.

David promised to take us for a sail when the boat is ready for sea again, and I hope that happens.

I've nicknamed the next boat "Chainplates".  Its high freeboard and large coachroof are a bit much for me.

Toward the other end of the scale is the long and thin boat which reminds me of Chris's McGregor.

Here are a pair of center cockpit boats.   Enlarge them and you'll note a lack of shelter for the steering stations.  Hopefully some sort of framework can be put up to prevent the helmsman from roasting in the sun.







And finally the sad Footprints, hard aground at the Magote bar.  Footprints is one of those neglected boats scattered around the La Paz bay: ferrocement hull, no rudder, engine not working, probably stripped by vandals, absent owners.  Arnold and I twice reported the boat as dragging anchor a few days after we arrived in La Paz.  The reply that I got to my second call was nonsense about long anchor scope and the "La Paz Waltz".  The responder's last comment was "call back if it drags another 100 yards", which would have been moot because it would by then struck other boats.

For the net few months the boat dragged up and down the channel at the whim of the tide.

You may recall that Footprints became such a threat to Pachuca, which was riding at anchor without a working engine, that David on Puddytat kindly towed us from danger.

Well, Footprints is no threat for the moment because she is hard aground at the Mogote sand bar.  During the next hurricane she will pushed over the bar and wreak havoc on any downwind boats trying to ride out the storm at anchor.  Then if the script runs as expected, she will end her days on the beach adding color and romance to the Mogote peninsula.

Milk Crate and Light

I made the three purchases that I had planned for the day: 6 spare neon tubes, the milk crate, and the LED light.

When the time comes the yellow rope bag will be moved into the main cabin and the crate will sit directly on the sole, ready to take the chain dropping from above.  I doubt that the crate will hold all 38 meters of 10 mm (3/8") chain, but it should accommodate the bulk of it.

I mounted the LED and light switch in the head and although it has a bit of an industrial look it provides outstanding illumination.  According to the BEP meter, the light runs on 300 milliamps.

The round light next to the mirror runs on AA batteries and times out after about 30 seconds.  I like it because it is independent of the boat's electrical system, so if due to some misfortune the boat is plunged into darkness I'll know where I can find emergency lighting.

Pretty Good Day

After coffee with the guys of the palapa I walked into town with Bob so that he could take me to a shop where I could purchase the velcro that I need to keep the backs of Pachuca's seats from falling over.  I was able to get 4 meters of 50mm (2") wide velcro.  The seat backs already have one side of the velcro sewn in.  We figure that I'll be able to use contact glue to fix the other side to the painted wooden surfaces.  We also visited a very good hardware store and on the way back I picked up fruit, vegetables, and a kilo fresh tuna at the Bravo market.

After putting away the food I had a look at the companion way landing and decided that 5 coats of varnish was enough, so that was the end of the varnishing.

After lunch and a short nap I took the bike out for another shopping circuit.  The first stop was Arcos where I was hoping to get replacement neon tubes for my failing galley light.  Each of the 3 neon lights on Pachuca has a pair of foot-long tubes, number F8T5/D.  My fear was that these tubes would be available only in the Australian-European world and I would have to replace the lights.  I need not have worried.  Arco had the exact F8T5/D tubes and the price for four of them was only 37 pesos, which works out to about 75 cents each. 

I then swung back to 5 de Febrero to a place that sells solar equipment to have a look at an LED strip that had caught my eye in an earlier visit.  The small LED in the head had quit working and I had thrown it out a month ago only to find out from Ib later that LED's frequently shut down if the voltage is too high - and Pachuca's battery bank had been running at over 13.5 volts.  Anyway, I showed up at 3.30 PM and the place was closed.  The posted store hours stated a generous lunch shutdown of two hours, 1-3 PM.  I walked across the street to Lopez Marine and Hamish told me to try them after 4 PM.  I replied that if I hung around his boat shop until then I would go broke from all of the goodies that I'd wind up buying.

I walked crossed over to another corner and and had a look at some plastic milk crate type of boxes that might be good for a suggestion of Bob.  When I am sailing over the horizon, particularly in my run around the horn, I can lighten the front of the boat by feeding the anchor chain through the front hatch straight into a milk crate directly below, in that secure triangle of floor between the V berths.  That space is currently occupied by the sea anchor rope bag, which I can move into the cabin, on the floor on the port side of the table against the forward bulkhead.  I took measurements of a crate that I thought might be suitable then noticed that the solar shop was open so crossed the street again.

The LED strips look good - about twice the size of what was there before, and should light up the head very well.  The strip is priced at 390 pesos (about $32) and the switch is only 15 pesos. 

Back at the boat I changed the neon tubes in the galley and cabin lights, and tomorrow I'll purchase four more tubes to carry as spares.  ... Yes, I know, neon tubes cause electrical noise and use more power than modern LED lights.  But these lights are well made, work well, and are already there.  I don't want to get involved in a major lighting effort.

I then confirmed that the milk crate will fit nicely in the V berth area to take the chain and after that planned the mounting of the LED strip.  So tomorrow I will set out on the bicycle to get the milk crate and LED strip.  I should be able to lash the milk crate to the bike's small carrier rack.

The northerly winds are definitely back.  Today we had 10-15 knot winds from the north which are the strongest that I can recall since the beginning of summer.  Out beyond the islands the wind will have been much stronger.

Which reminds me, I dropped by the office and notified Adriana of my travel plans.  I am to leave a key to the boat with the office along with my contact information during my absence, as well as the name and contact information of a person that I nominate to watch over the boat.  I then asked her if all danger of hurricanes this year had passed.  She replied Yes, so I got to the real point of my question: would I have to remove my headsail before I left?  To my relief she replied No.  If my absence had occurred during hurricane season I would have been obliged to strip the boat of all sail (except the mainsail, I think) and canvas.

And I must confess that I fell into the trap of visiting Club Cruceros to look over the latest batch of books.  I walked out with Tom Wolfe's The Bonfire of the Vanities.  I'm trying to diversify because last week I picked  up The Battle of Leyte Gulf and Dumb But Lucky, Confessions of a P-51 fighter pilot in World War II.  I need help.  There must be some 12-step program to help me control this mania before I overload the boat.

Anodes and Painting

I was shocked when Jose told me a few days ago that the anodes on the propeller shaft needed replacing after only a few months in the water.  He also advised protecting the propeller by using a screw-on anode that I didn't quite understand.  Today at Seamar I got the two anodes for the shaft and the anode for the propeller.

The photo shows the propeller anode.  The bronze piece is threaded and is screwed tight against the propeller.  The slots on this piece are for fitting the cotter pin through the shaft.  The anode slips over the bronze piece and is held by the screw at the end.  The stub of the old shaft was invaluable because it eliminated all guess work.  I was frankly amazed that the nut on the bronze piece matched the thread on the stub, because I have become accustomed to being tripped up by differences in USA-Australian standards.

Late in the afternoon I re assembled and mounted the newly-painted cockpit table.  I must admit that I miss the previous "woody" look but I'm sure that I'll become accustomed to the more practical white treatment.  The table has three coats of Dupont Imron, which is basically a total coating of plastic.  I wasn't satisfied with my finish of the final coat and plan to spend an hour sanding the visible parts of the table and then putting on a final coat.  Working on the jetty in the full glare of the sun is not conducive to ... er ... artistic sensibility.  For one thing, the paint was thick and fast-drying.  For the last coat I will cut the paint with yet more thinner and go a bit light on the accelerant.  The dampness shown in the photos is the result of my hosing down the cockpit to get rid of he sanding dust.

The character of the marina has changed drastically in the last 5 days.  Boat from the annual "Baja Ha Ha" rally from California have begun arriving.  My understanding is that most of the boats will come to La Paz.  This marina is booked out and there are expectations of around 80 boats at anchor.  I try to present as friendly and helpful demeanor as possible, because I remember when Arnold and I arrived wide-eyed, not having a clue of what was what.

Having said that, after 7 months here I feel like an old timer resident, trying hard not to be smug and condescending.  I think that deep down inside I feel that staying in La Paz during the full onslaught of the summer heat gives me a bit of ... hmm ... stature and street cred.  Also, going through the process of repowering the boat has given me depth beyond what the average visitor will experience.  And finally there are the guys from the Palapa of Wisdom, Knowledge, and Truth who are true residents of La Paz plugged in to the nitty gritty of day to day life here and have helped immeasurably in making me feel part of the scene.

By the way, the weather in La Paz this time of year is absolutely outstanding!!!  The nights are cool enough to warrant a sheet and blanket, and the days are, well, for me, of perfect temperature.  All this is under day after day of crystal clear skies, meaning bright sun and sparkling stars.  I love it!

Finally, I dropped by Eco Naviera and asked them if my FM3 temporary resident status would allow me free travel to the USA.  No hay problema.  On the way back I will present my FM3 card to Mexican Immigration and hopefully straight through I will go.

I'm 40 Again

A parallel project since the beginning of my boat renovation work has been a strict diet in order to trim down.  I did not use the term "lose weight" because I have no access to a scale and besides, the only index that interests me is the size of my waist line, which is "down" to 40 inches (102 cm).  This represents a reduction of just over 3 inches (7.5 cm).

This time I avoided the trap of strenuous exercise (which usually leads me to back trouble and colds) and relied on the demanding boat work and La Paz summer heat to take care of caloric outgo.  Other than that it involved overpowering and subduing the usual culprits of alcohol and fat under the banner of calorie reduction (to an estimated 2000 per day), which put me in danger of vitamin and mineral O.D. due to the enormous amounts of fruit and vegetables that I shoved down my throat.  A bland and boring menu of rice or potatoes with fish or beans or the occasional eggs, a teeny amount of cheese and a limit of 2 slices of bread per day helped.  (I mean, would you want to choke on rice for lunch and dinner 5 days a week?)

I had to let my head and not my stomach dictate when what and when I ate.

But I can't crow too loudly:  there is still a lot of gut down there and I've got the dangers of the conviviality with family and friends at Thanksgiving and Christmas ahead of me.

Life is tough.

Propeller is off

Jose showed up 10 minutes early and got to work while I finished the varnishing.  He used a hookah supplied by an electric compressor.  The job took more time and effort than I had anticipated, principally to force the propeller off the tapered shaft using pulling equipment.

He had been confident that he would be able to find markings identifying the propeller diameter and pitch.  I showed him "Australia" and "17LRX" stamped on the hub.  The 17 represents the diameter, the "R" must indicate that it is a right handed propeller.  He thought that the position of the letter L in the alphabet might indicate its pitch, which would suggest a 12 inch pitch which we both agreed was too low.  On the other hand, the letter X would suggest a 24 inch pitch, which seems much too high.  Tantalizingly, the letter R would suggest an 18" pitch.  The rule of thumb is that to gain the required 600 rpm we should drop the existing pitch by 6 inches, which if we accept the 18" pitch would suggest a requirement for a 12 inch pitch which as pretty close to what has been proposed.

Jose showed me nicks in the propeller due to electrolysis.  I asked him if the propeller was still OK and worth re pitching so he passed a rope through the hub, tied a knot, held the propeller up by the rope, and hit each blade which rang like a bell.  He pronounced the propeller as good.  A dead sound would have indicated a problem.

He told me that the two anodes on the propeller shaft need replacement.  WHAT??? I asked - the anodes are only a couple of months old.  The good old La Paz Bay gumbo has struck again.

That's Ib looking at the propeller, then a happy Jose.

The last photo shows the companion way landing with its second coat of varnish.

More Brush Work and Propeller Removal

On Saturday I began the projects of painting the companion way landing (i.e. top of engine cover) and the cockpit fold-out table.

The companion way landing has been on the agenda from the beginning.  I held it to last because I needed fast passage through the companion way for the work that I did inside of the cabin.  I plan to lay down at least 5 coats of varnish on that landing, then leave it in peace for at least a week to give the varnish time to cure and harden.  During this time my primary access will be via the front hatch (HO HO HO!), though it is possible to pass through the companionway by climbing along the side of the galley sink.  Part of the preparation involved punching down and filling over 30 nails that I must admit were not very visible but nevertheless had to be done right.

The cockpit table is a new project, given that I still have 11 days up my sleeve before departing for Seattle.  The table is well designed and constructed from a good blond wood out of Tasmania.  However, it is varnished and over the years the lower edge of the table has turned black due to anaerobic bacteria, according to Ib.  I have decided to paint the table white using the 2-part Dupont Imron paint rather than staining and re varnishing it.  I figure that the paint will last much longer than varnish in the harsh conditions of the cockpit.  This required my borrowing of Ib's sander yet again and using it for two hours to remove all of the old varnish.

Following Ib's advice yesterday I knocked out the fiddle (lip) at the end of the table to expose the end grain and soaked it for over 30 minutes in a weak solution of bleach in an attempt to kill the bacteria.  I then rinsed it off an put it on the deck to dry.  Today I will re-mount the fiddles (with pins and glue) then apply the white primer, and tomorrow I should be able to lay down both coats of Imron.  The following day I will reassemble the table and its fittings.

At 9 AM Jose is to dive and remove Pachuca's propeller.  He is charging me a hefty $60 even though I showed him that the propeller is clean, accessible, and was mounted on the new shaft about 2 months ago.   Nevertheless he will have to use pulling equipment and besides, I couldn't be bothered to shop around and try to save $10.

No Linkage, No Sail

When I went to start the engine to warm it up 20 minutes before departure on today's sail I found that the gear lever was firmly stuck on "forward".  I could not understand it because the lever had worked as recently as 3 weeks ago with no hint of trouble.  The problem seemed to be at the control lever rather than at the transmission.  Soon Bob and Ib were on board and Ib proceeded to dismantle the control box.  We got to the point where either there was something wrong with the gear lever mechanism that we could not understand or the cable had seized up.   I felt that I needed Joel's advice, given that he had made the installation.  Bob had seen Joel in the area and 15 minutes later had him on board Pachuca.

Joel had a look at the control levers then removed the cable at the transmission end and confirmed that there was no problem with the transmission.  He pronounced it a cable problem, possibly due to it having kinked up inside of the sheath. 

The cable is non standard to say the least.  It is a steering cable because that is the only type that will fit the strong but antiquated controls that probably date to when the boat was built in 1983.  Bob asked if it were better to replace the controls with modern standard ones rather than replacing the steering cable and Joel replied that yes, it would be better.

Bob and I then tried several suppliers in the area but non had controls suitable for a sailboat. 

My plan is to try to get standard Volvo controls while I am in the Port Townsend area.  That means that the boat will remain in this slip until I return to La Pa on 5 January.  However, I will still exercise the engine in the slip, managing the propeller direction directly at the transmission.

Once again Pachuca has tested my character.  Today's events remind me of a similar incident in New Zealand where two days before we were due to depart for French Polynesia I went to start the engine and discovered that the steering wheel was frozen and would not move.  That turned out to be the autopilot linear drive that had seized up and had to be replaced.  And as in New Zealand I can see the bright side: at least we discovered this problem in the safety of this slip, with supporting friends on board, Joel close at hand, and no urgent sailing plans.  Better yet, it has manifested itself before my visit to the Port Townsend area.

It's all a great shame because today's winds were splendid and we would have had a great day out. 

I owe Bob and Ib a sail and Pachuca owes me Big Time!

Zodiac Ready, Boat Ready, Sailing Tomorrow

I pressure tested the latest two patches on the Zodiac and they were fine.  I then spent an hour scrubbing the inflatable with a solution of gentle (biodegradable) degreaser and a hard brush.  This was the first time that I had properly scrubbed down the Zodiac and it came up well.

I then bundled it up and sought a place to stow it.  The normal place when cruising is in the cockpit in front of the binnacle.  However, I was determined to keep the cockpit unencumbered for tomorrow's sail.  The natural place would normally be in front of the cockpit spray dodger, on top of the sliding hatch cover (aka "turtle", "garage").  Unfortunately I have learned the hard way that if I put any pressure on that cover the sliding hatch develops a scratching drag as I slide it in and out, as though there are screws a bit to proud and cut across a static surface.  Investigating this requires dismantling of the entire area, a job for my home port Fremantle.  In the meantime, I have to avoid putting any weight on this area.

Happily, I found a new place that may work out very well.  I have placed the Zodiac on top of the life raft, tied down to the three sturdy padeyes that I bolted through the deck to hold down the life raft.  This setup will not do for blue water cruising, since the life raft must be free and unencumbered for fast deployment either by myself or by itself if the boat has sunk to 3 meters below the surface.  Besides, it would be vulnerable to heavy breaking seas.  But for gentle sailing in local waters the arrangement may work out well.  We should find out tomorrow.

If you enlarge today's photo of the port side of the boat you will see the Zodiac strapped down on the life raft, just forward of the mast.  Note, by the way, that I have cleaned the unsightly grease marks from the hull.  

Tomorrow.

Well, it looks like Ib, Bob Carroll, and myself are taking Pachuca out tomorrow for a sail.  (Yay!  Yippee!  Cartwheels!!!)  I have also invited Dave, owner of the legendary Kialoa III, berthed at the end of this jetty.  Kialoa III is an S&S 80 that has a pedigree a mile long, including setting a course record in the Sydney-Hobart race that stood for 20 years.  (http://www.arvelgentry.com/k3donated.htm)

One of the requirements was to ensure that the propeller and hull were clean enough for the sail.  That started off badly but ended well.  At the beginning the hull looked very bad, in spite of it having been antifouled only a couple of months ago.  I could see that the propeller was very furred up with growth.  My dive to the propeller yesterday confirmed my worst fears: marine growth at least 1/2 inch thick which meant that we would not have been able to even back out of the slip.  After 30 minutes of work with a hard brush the growth was gone then it was time to switch to hand-to-barnacle fighting with a paint scraper.  There were enough barnacles to upset the laminar flow of the propeller surface, greatly hampering its performance - and how could I show off the power and versatility of my new Volvo engine with an inefficient propeller?  After another 30 minutes of hacking away at the propeller I cleaned shaft, skeg, and anodes.  Then I turned my attention to the "beard" along the waterline of the boat.  At this point things looked grim.  I expected heavy and tenacious growth along the waterline and plenty of barnacles further down.

But to my surprise and delight the beard came off very easily.  That job went quickly and my biggest problem didn't turn out to be the risk of being crushed between the hull and the jetty (because the movement of the boat was minimal and the fenders did their work well) but rather scratching myself on the veritable reef of growth on the jetty pontoons.

This afternoon I went for a second dive and confirmed that below the waterline there is only a thin film of slimy growth that is easily removed with a brush - and no barnacles.  Because the water is so murky I cleaned only an arm's length down, breathing through my snorkel, and will rely on the rushing water as we sail to clean the rest of the hull.

So I am feeling much better about the hull.  Next week I will engage a diver to remove the propeller for shipment to Mazatlan via Ib on Aeolus for re-pitching, so a fouling prop will not be an issue during my absence to the USA.  Ill give the hull one last scrub in 10 days and hope for the best while I am away.

And finally a post script on my cucaracha problem.  Bob Carroll read about my problem on the blog and gave me the solution: boric acid.  Today at the Palapa of Wisdom, Knowledge, and Truth (the morning kaffeeklatsch that includes healthy-living Bob, big Al, smoking Rick, computer-nerdy Dave, and  striving Ken who has taken over my apartment) I got an expansive explanation of the solution to my problem and later Bob delivered to my boat the boric acid as well as a liquid application that I can paint up bulkheads.  The universal opinion is that my cucaracha problems are solved. Ya Gotta Have Friends, Folks.  Why oh why don't I always consult first with the Palapa for all of my problems?

More Leaks, Microphones Are Up

When I spoke with Brenda yesterday evening I told her that the leak that I had repaired on the Zodiac was bigger and higher up out of the water - on top of the pontoon, actually - than the one I recall finding months ago.  Brenda described her recollection (port pontoon aft, just above the water line) and then I remembered too.  This morning I found it almost immediately with the help of a running hose.  I checked the entire bottom of the Zodiac with the running hose and found nothing else, but as I was orientating it to allow the sun to reach the area of the leak I heard a faint telltale sssss sound.  There was a pinprick of a hole on the starboard side that was so small that it did not show bubbles when I played the hose on it.  I began to think that I had a systemic problem due to the age of the Zodiac.  It is about 6 years old but has spent the overwhelming amount of its life in its bag protected from chafe and UV rays.

I was telling Bob about these leaks this morning and when he mentioned barnacles I realized the probable cause of the leaks.  There is a blog entry from a few months back where I describe (including photographs) the scraping off of many tiny barnacles off the bottom of the Zodiac.  They had developed during the many weeks in which I left the Zodiac in the water while Pachuca was riding on anchor.  This is a mistake that I will not make again. 

In the photograph you can easily see one of the leaks circled in red on the right side.  You should be able to make out the other leak in the blue part of the left side.  Early this morning I applied the patches and will pressure test them tomorrow.  Which reminds me to add that the patch that I applied yesterday pressure tested OK this morning.

Then I mounted the radio microphones onto the new panel.  That panel looks amazingly good given that it was cut from a piece of locally-purchased exterior grade ply that I happened to have on the boat.  As I clipped on the white VHF microphone I noticed that it was labelled "submersible". To the right you can see the aperture for the HF transceiver (Micom IC-M700PRO) badly in need of trimming.

I plan a trip to the Walmart-Home Depot area today with insect spray as my top priority.  Last night I saw on the galley counter what an appearance close enough to a tiny cockroach to spook me. I want to nip possibility this in the bud, so I will move out my kitchen equipment and vulnerable food stores then fumigate the boat.

Zodiac, Fenders, Sailing Again, and Shaft Stub

I patched a pair of holes on the Zodiac this morning.  The process started with a little help from my friends - Bob Carroll loaned to me an excellent article with step-by-step instructions on how to patch an inflatable boat.  He also gave to me the 2-part glue that I would need.

I couldn't find the patch material provided with the Zodiac so yesterday I bicycled over to Lopez marine and the first question that Hamish asked was whether the material was PVC or Hypalon.  (Huh?)  Back at the boat the Zodiac manual didn't say so I went on the internet and found out the the Zodiac is made of PVC (expected life 5 years) rather than Hypalon (expected life 20 years).  I went back to Lopez and the assistant took me to the large roll of PVC material.  "Is it expensive?" I asked.  Well, it was priced by the square inch (gulp!) - 20 US cents per square inch.  I purchased 50 square inches, enough for two good sized patches.

I was up at dawn this morning because I was anxious to get the work done before the sun shined on the work.  I assembled all of the required items, including 100 grit sand paper and acetone and got to work, doing everything by the book, including timing the 5-minute intervals between the 3 coats of glue.  Tomorrow I will pressure test the result but must not load test it for a minimum of 48 hours.

The spoon in the third photo is for working out any air bubbles. The last photo shows the new patch under some weight.

I then got to work on the three old fenders that I had cleaned with acetone.  Their surfaces were sticky, indicating to me that the PVC coatings are degenerating.  I took up Ib's suggestion of applying boat polish to them, which helped.  Then Bob came by and suggested, as Ib had, that I simply put old T-shirts over them.  Well, it so happens that after my recent marathon painting and varnishing effort most of my T-shirts are in such poor shape that I am ashamed to hand them in to the laundry.  So T-shirts it was, binding them tightly around the collar with plastic ties.  The photos shows one of the fenders, with the appropriate message "hang loose".

Bob will arrive at the boat at 9AM on Friday for a day sail on Pachuca.  I'll inform Ib, who is completely flexible on the matter.  That gives me an ample two full days to prepare the boat for sea.   Today I will clean the grease spots left by the boat fenders on both sides of the hull, then hose down and scrub the deck and cockpit.  Tomorrow I will scrub down the Zodiac and stow it on the deck in its proper cover. 

Yesterday morning I asked Joel if he would cut off a section of my old propeller shaft so that I'll have the exact pattern required for any future propeller acquisitions (good idea, Mark).  The shaft stub was waiting on my cockpit table when I returned from Lopez marine.

Settling Down

I'm steadily settling down after the fast pace of the last two months.  My awareness is expanding from minutiae such as whether or not that painted edge is dead straight or those screws are perfectly aligned to the environment around me. And I must say that I enjoy life at this marina.  There is always something interesting to see and I've gotten to know enough people that I can't walk anywhere without saying hello to somebody. 

And the weather is superb.  The season changed about 4 weeks ago and I now sleep under a blanket wearing track suit pants.  The days are sunny and crisp and the wind either low or gentle.  The current temperature at 8.30 AM is 63F (17C) with a predicted high of 89F (32C), which feels perfect to me after the torrid summer.  It's a great time to be in La Paz.  All of the Gringos and Canadian Snowbirds can come back.

After speaking with Roger I feel comfortable in uttering the "H" word that Bob Carroll banned me from using.  It looks like the danger of hurricanes in the Baja area has passed.  The temperature of the Sea of Cortez is dropping and the northerlies are starting to blow. One person told me that this has been one of the quietest hurricane seasons in the history of La Paz.  We got one tropical cyclone very early in the season that passed well to the left of the Baja peninsula and died.  Then there was a low pressure area heading this way that spooked Brenda and myself enough to interrupt our short cruise of the islands  for a couple of days to take shelter in the marina.  That threat faded too.  Otherwise nothing, and that suits me just fine.  This is in contrast to the other side, where the Gulf of Mexico has gotten its usual allotment of hurricanes.

Yesterday morning I finished the floor carpeting.  It looks and feels very good, though I may have to figure out a non-invasive way to hold it down. 

After lunch I prepared with great care a rectangle of ply board that I can screw onto the bulkhead behind the navigation table for my microphone brackets.  Today I will give it a second coat of varnish and tomorrow I will mount it.  This is a temporary measure because during my visit to Kingston I hope to find a nice piece of solid wood for the job.

I then spent 90 minutes cleaning the 3 old fenders that had once again become gummed up with a thick oily coat.  I grumbled to Ib that I suspected that their plastic coatings were degenerating but he suggested that I have a go with acetone and then possibly coat them with hull polish.  The acetone worked well.  I then scrubbed them with engine degreaser (biodegradable, would you believe).  Today I will polish them.  This is their last chance. 

This marked the beginning of turning my attention to Pachuca's deck and hull.  Today I will give the deck and cockpit a much needed scrubbing.  I am trying to prepare the boat for a day sail that I hope to take with Ib and possibly Bob Carroll later this week.  After that sail I will arrange for a diver to remove Pachuca's propeller.

As luck would have it Ib will be sailing his boat to Mazatlan for a short stay in order to get his new engine checked out.  He has offered to take the propeller to have it re pitched.  I have been in touch with the company, Total Yacht Works, and everything is arranged.  This will save me the practical and possibly bureaucratic hassle of taking the propeller with me to Port Townsend.