Fire Extinguishers and Companionway

Pachuca's 3 fire extinguishers have been serviced and recharged.

The are three extinguishers, all powder type (Ammonium Phosphate base).  The largest one (2.3 kg) is mounted in the hanging closet, the smallest one (1.0 kg) is mounted next to the companionway, and the middle one (1.3 kg) is mounted between the quarter berths.  They were on the boat since I purchased her (in 2005, I think).  Once in a while I would invert them and check their pressure gauges but did nothing else until now.  Jak and I had discussed replacing them and I got prodded two weeks ago when I noticed that the pressure in one of the smaller ones had dropped.

Last week I asked Bob Carroll if he could suggest a place where I could purchase new fire extinguishers and he suggested getting the current ones serviced.  His recollection was that I could simply drop them off at the marina office and it would be done.  I visited the office and Cytia said that yes, there was a fireman who would pick them up, service them, and return them sooner or later.  I dropped them off that afternoon and today I picked them up.  The total cost was 500 pesos. 

I'll keep an eye on the pressures until my departure.  If thinks work out OK I would have saved not just money but also the time and effort of mounting the new brackets.

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Today I filled in all 60 holes at the entrance of the companionway where the teak used to be.  I used one of those marvelous sticks of epoxy where you slice off what you need then knead it until the color is consistent.  You wind up with a thick putty that is excellent for filling and repairing.  Jak had suggested taking with me epoxy that can be used under water, and he may have been referring to this, because it can be used under water.

For each hole I had to poke the material in with the butt of a drill then go below and cut off any excess that was dangling from the hole.  Both sides of the hole then had to be finished off appropriately.  I started the work at 7.45 AM and didn't think that I'd be able to finish before the sun heated up the work area, but I got lucky.  Progress was faster than I had expected and the morning partial cloud cover lasted just long enough for me to finish the work at 11.15 AM.  By noon the sun was blazing on the companionway but I had the work nicely protected by a couple of sheets.

I expect to discuss the possibility of covering the area with teak with Reggie on Monday morning, but it is likely that I will simply paint the area, as it was originally intended to be.