REFRIGERATION

To solve the problem of the bad copper tubing leak I removed the 12V valve and installed it in place of the 110V valve that was leaking. I then wired a cigarett lighter plug on it and just plug it in manually when I need to cool the refrigerator side of the box. It now works. All in all Ron did a good job and spent many hours on it that he charged me very little for. He and his Mexican wife are very nice people. When they were over today I showed her my salsa book and she spent a good two hours copying down recipes. I think she liked it!

I now have COLD beer, SOL a very low alcohol beer with tomato & clamato juice, sprite, and Ice water in the frige! I can even FREEZE fish now.

Met a nice couple from Scotland here in the yard a couple of days ago. They also have cutlass bearing issues!

Tomorrow I will attack the fiberglass issues, if it doesn't rain!

Another fiasco?

I have spent the last few days with Ron, working on the refrigeration. We found the leaky valve that was causing the problem behind the stove. It is the servo type valve that I had to wire direct to get the refrigerator side to work, a while back. To get the system working, until I can find a new valve, we decided to bypass it with a short piece of tubing. In this way I could either have a big double freezer, or a big double refrigerator. One or the other, but not a combination. Hey, it's better than no refrigeration, right?

CULPRIT VALVE

We didn'have any of the correct solder or flux to join the the 1/4" tubing, but Ron said what we did have would work, so he sweated the pieces together. When I looked at it, I mentioned that I could see small holes in the solder around one connection. He said that that was where he knocked off some excess solder and it was okay because it sucked into the joint as it is supposed to.

VERY TEMPORARY REPAIR

A new larger Parker Liquid Line Dryer that I had was installed to keep the system totally dry. It took 24hrs to vacum out the system, due to the pump having to be shut down to cool off. Anyway the system was leak free and holding maximum vacume pressure.

FILTER DRYER

The slow process of recharging the system with R-12 was started around four in the afternoon. It was decided to complete the process the following day. I was excited about once again having refrigeration.
The refrigeratior was cooling down nicely and I was instructed how to take temperature readings, so as to know when to shut the system down for the night.

REFERANCE

About  fifteen minutes after Ron left I heard a loud noise like air blowing out of a tire. Upon investigating the source, I discovered that the joint in the sweated fitting that was previously in question was the culprit. So now I have to repair/replace it and start the process all over again.

LEAK IS CIRCLED

Ron informed me that R-12 is no longer available in Mexico. It is unfortunate that I lost what we already put in the system. When the connection blew, it filled the boat with a heavy fog of R-12. I had to stay out for about an hour before it was clear enough to return. Unfortunately, I did breath a lot of it prior to being able to evacuate.

SEA-COCK & THROUGH HULL

Today I will try to have a tubing replacement made at a refrigeration shop in town, using the correct materials. I hope!

Prop & shaft

The machinest (Noa), brought the shaft with prop attached back and it seems that he did a good job with it. I picked up a zink that goes on the shaft that is an inch wide. It is a much better style than was on the Max Prop. It is a lot heavier so it should last a lot longer. I was afraid that by moving the taper back on the shaft to allow for new threads, a nut and pin, that the shaft might be too short and not allow room for the zink or the shaft shark. Then I remembered a 3/4" spacer I had machined for the shaft coupling that it turned out I didn't need at the time. I located it and now can use it to lengthen the shaft if necessary.

SHAFT WITH PROP AND ZINK INSTALLED!

I measured the cutlass bearing OD incorrectly, so must return to Star Marine in San Carlos on Monday to exchange it. Miguel asked if I he could go with me and I acquiesced. It will be interesting trip, as Miguel doesn't speak English and my Espanol is very limited.

MY NO NO-SEE-UM BUNK!

I repacked the stuffing box on the rudder and hope I put enough in and it was the correct size. Only three wraps went in and I thought it would take at least four of the 5/16" asbestos stuffing material. I am afraid to tighten it down too much and crush it, but I can only hope there is no air space in it where I can't see. When I splash I will have to watch it to make sure it doesn't leak. I also replaced all four of the SS clamps on the rudder post hose.

THE X-SHRIMP FLEET...FISHED THEM OUT!

I removed a sea-cock in the head that the drain plugs disintegrated when I tried to remove them. A fellow cruiser told me to soak the sea-cock in vinegar for 30 minutes to expose any flaws, cracks etc. I am a bit concerned about a possible future leak on the through hull, as it turned about a half inch when I was removing the sea-cock. I will try to remove the nut and re-bed it.

THE X-SHRIMP FLEET

Autobus

Today one of the guards (George), turned me on to a machinist friend that Works for a commercial fishing boat repair yard, who is moving the taper further back on my prop shaft, fitting my prop and making new threads long enough to install a cotter pin through th. Prop nut and shaft. That’s about four to five hours machine work. His price is 800 pesos. That’s about $60.00 US. I don’t even want to think what it would cost in the good old USA.


After making the arrangements with the machinist, I walked to the corner to catch the bus into Guaymas, about eight miles away.As I boarded, I handed the driver my 5 pesos (37 cents) and rode to downtown Guaymas. Now let me tell you, Guaymas is nothing like the cities in Baja California. Guaymas is the real McCoy. I mean it is a genuine Mexican city. Once I left the haul-out yard, the only gringo I saw was in the reflection on the window, and he was even starting to look like he almost belongs here.

The people here are very different towards gringos it seems than they are in BCS. A larger percentage of the older males tend to stare and ignore me if I greet them, but the younger males are very friendly. The women in BCS are very stand-offish and generally ignore greetings from gringo males. Here the women, both young and old, go out of their way to be cordial and seem very interested in speaking to male gringos. At least that has been my experience, so far. I suppose it is different in San Carlos, as it is a big gringo tourist town. I will be going there soon and will see!

Guaymas has just about anything one wants to buy. Today I picked up everything I needed (parts) at specialty stores (Hydraulic store, Oil store, fastener store, etc). It was amazing, every store I went to had what I wanted. This was a new experience in Mexico for me. In La Paz I would have to go to at least four or five stores and only about half the time would one have what I wanted. I like the people, the prices, the availability, and the food, but the weather is very hot, humid, and ELECTRICAL, as in lightening almost every night. The wether reminds me of the Oregon gray, and the hot sticky humidity of Oklahoma!

Today was my seventh day on the hard and they finally put the chains on my jack stands like they promised. I had to bug them every day since I arrived to get them to put them on. I guess they finally figured out that I am very tenacious, or stubborn, if you will!

I found a great Panderia (Bakery) that had all kinds of doughnuts and pastries. I didn’t know what would be good, so I got two of each. In that way I will know what to get next time. As I approached the check out, I noticed two trays of some different kind I didn’t have, so I picked up two of those. Well when I got back to the boat I ate all four doughnuts, yum! yum! Now, you would think would be plenty, and I'm sure it was, but one of the last two on counter I picked up just kept calling my name. Yeah, I crumbled and grabbed it! Now mind you, I had just ate doughnuts, so when I took a big bite I almost spit it back out. It certainly was not sweet, and since my taste buds hadn’t recovered, they were in shock. I was staring at this white stuffing with kinda pinkish flakes around it in the hole where I had bitten. It took a bit, but I finally realized that it was filled with not cream, but cream cheese and ham. About this time my taste buds started to come around and I took another bite. Hmmm, that’s okay! Hmmm, no that’s good! Hmmm, No that’s great!!! I couldn’t eat the other one, so I gave it to the guard at the marina gate. After total silence while he devoured it, he said only one word “Donde” (Where)!

HAUL OUT REPAIRS

Since I have been hauled out, I have been investigating the repairs needed while out of the water. Unfortunately, I discovered some ware inside the Max Prop that was caused by a clogged grease passage way. The damage will have to be repaired, or the prop rebuilt in the future. My plan was to put the spare prop on for now, which would get me by until the repair/rebuild is complete. Unfortunately I found this to be impossible, as when a Max Prop is installed the end of the shaft is cut off and a cotter pin hole drilled for a pin to enable clearance inside. This makes it impossible to hold on a regular prop nut with key. I don’t think there is enough room to have the shaft machined, because it would then be too short. The only way to fix it now would be to have a new shaft made. My only option for now seems to be to clean out the grease channels in the Max prop, fill it with grease and pray that it lasts awhile. At least until I can locate a shaft replacement that I can put the other prop back on.

SHAFT THREADS CUT OFF FOR MAX PROP INSTALLATION!

DEPOSIT ON SHAFT FROM VIBRATION!

I have to pull the shaft to replace the cutlass bearing, which means I will disturb the Drip-less seal. As long as it is out I will install new O-rings in it. While I have it out I will check to make sure there is no room for machining, to enable me to change props.

CUTLASS BEARING!

DRIP-LESS WITH O-RINGS INSIDE

The rudder shaft stuffing box had a slow leak that was quite annoying. Yesterday I finally got the packing material out and discovered two different sizes in it. The first piece removed was ¼ “ but the rest was 3/8” go figure. The larger size was ¼ “ wide and 3/8” high, so maybe it is a different type. I will have to find out and replace it with the correct material.

THE VIBRATING CULPRIT!

1/4" OR 5/16" OR 3/8" ? 

I also want to seal the cockpit hatch while I am here if possible. Actually if I pick up the materials I will be able to make the repair at anchor. I need to pick up some aluminum angle and make a gasket/seal for it. I will then bolt it down until I can locate some water tight latches at a reasonable price for it.

BARCO

The hull bottom is in good shape and I am negotiating a sanding price. I started to sand it and realized it would take me a month in 100 degree plus weather. If I let them sand it, I will have time to pursue other needed repairs, such as a crack in the bow. I don’t know if the crack is just in the gel coat, or if it is in the glass itself. One way or the other, I am going to make a fiberglass repair and then put a stainless steel wrap-around cover over it and bolt it in.

SURFACE CRACK?....I HOPE!

MYSTERIOUS DAMAGE!

Today the people who gave me a price on sanding and painting the bottom are supposed to start sanding. However, the man who gave me the quote was supposed to give me a copy of the quote and has not done so yet. I will not let them start until I have the written quote in hand. I hope he brings it with him this morning so there is no problem. Also Gabriel said three times that he would put chains on the jacks. It has been five days now and I still have no chains on my jacks. I will just have to wait and see what transpires later this morning when they show

Some photos for your perusal!

GUARDA CASA!

GUARDA MIGUEL!

 

CATCH-UP

I am going to try and catch up on my travels since I last posted on the blog. Let me say first that I have tried make posts, but I could not access the blog. Someone or some thing changed my password eleven days ago and I just got it changed to a new password and now have access once again.

ON OUR WAY

LET-N-GO IN PLAYA EL BURRO

I arrived safely at Bahia Concepcion and since it was only 1pm I decided to search the various anchorages for Dale on Let-n-Go. I finally located him in the third anchorage ( Playa El Burro ). This was a bussy anchorage along side of Highway 1, which runs from Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas. The semis were very noisy. The beach was packed with little Palapas that looked more like mini houses to me, and they were about eight or ten feet apart. That is what I came down here to get away from, so as a result, I didn't care much for Bahia Concepcion. Too city-fied for me. We left two days later and headed for Guaymas.


LOOKING AT YA!

INTERESTING SUNRISE REFLECTION

The sail? not, the motering to Guaymas was okay, but would have been much better if the wind predictions would have been correct. I lost a Dorado on the way over, which was okay, because my refrigeration is on the blink again and he was way too large for two people to eat. Later I landed a smaller Dorado which was delicious, I might add!

REFLECTIONS OVER DOLPHINS

WILEY SAYING 'COME ON"

On the way over at night I was entertained by Dolphins in the phospheresant water. It was an amazing thing to watch. They would shoot up under the bow, turn on their side and look at me, all the while lighting up the water, and then they would shoot forward and jump five to six feet out of the water right in front of the boat. Of course I would cheer them on and then one or two at a time they would come back, turn on their side to look at me and when I would cheer them on they would repeat their feat. They did this for at least 45 minutes before they left. However they returned after daylight and did a short onchore turning sideways to look at me on the bow each time. It made the trip very special.

THATS ME IN THE LOWER CORNER

HERE'S LOOKIN AT CHA!

When we approached the mainland, we could see a lot of lightening and dark clouds, due to the full moon. Let me just say that it was a beautiful display of fearsome lightening, that frankly I could have been perfectly happy to live without. Dale sailed through it to Guaymas. I being the coward I am, layed 25 miles off shore and let it go by, before approaching the area. I just don't have any desire to enter an electrical storm with my mast acting as a lightening rod.

PRE-STORM SUNRISE

GOING IN AFTER THE STORM

The next morning I sailed to an anchorage inside the point before entering Bahia Guaymas. The following morning we motored into Bahia Guaymas and anchored not far from Marina Fanatur. We spent some time provisioning in a great market, got some ice and retired to the boats, as we were exhausted.

JUST AN EARLY MORNING FRIEND!

I contacted Gabrial at Marina Guaymas and made the arrangements to haul out! To be continued!

THE LAST REPLACEMENT!

I finally got my Visa card delivered yesterday. Boy, what a hassle. First I had to get an address to have it shipped to, which was a major problem in itself. A friend of mine who managed the Tri Pui Hotel last year is now running the Palapa Bar and Rental at Ensenada Blanca now. They have three pangas with guides at the palapa that he oversees there also. That business is called "WILD Loreto." Carlos (nicknamed "ROJO") came to my rescue by letting me use the "Wild Loreto" address. Now "Wild Loreto's" mail address is at the Santa Fe Hotel in Loreto, but there buisness office is in the lobby of the Palmar Hotel at Ensenada Blanca. The currier (DHL) said the package (envelope) would take two days to get to Mexico plus four days to get to Loreto B.C.S. In the middle of that six day period was a weekend, so I added two days and expected it to arrive in Loreto in eight days time.

MAMA & BABY JUMPING TOGETHER!

MORE JUMPERS!

The envelope arrived in Loreto in five days, not six or eight. However I got this feeling that I should check the tracking # to make sure it wouldn't be late, as I had to sail to Loreto to get it and that would take a full day. When I checked, the package had left La Paz two days prior for delivery it said. Now La Paz is around 100 miles or more away. I had to assume that it was being carried by vehicle, but had no idea where it actually was.

SUNRISE AT EB!

SUNRISE OVER ISLA CARMEN!

I went into the Palapa Bar to speak with Carlos about it and was told he was on vacation. I knew he was going to go on vacation, but not so soon, as he was supposed to go sailing on Wind Raven with me. I then e-mailed Carlos explaining that the package might be in Loreto. I stressed all day waiting for his response. He got back to me that evening and said that another man who worked at sales department in Loreto had picked up my package. Carlos was not happy and asked me to complain about him at the office. The next morning I went in search of my Visa card, starting with the office at the Palmar Hotel. I was very up tight due to the fact that if the envelope had been opened by any one of the many hands that had now handled it, the card would be compromised and I would have to start from scratch again. This one had taken almost a month to do.

ISLA CARMEN, DIFERENT ANGLE!

ROCK FACE ON ISLA DANZANTE!


The Hotel office sent me over to the Wild Loreto office to check with them. After explaining the situation to the clerk, he turned around and reached into the safe and handed me the DHL envelope that was opened. My heart fell, but when I looked inside the other envelope was unopened with my card safe and sound, and a day early to boot! As the saying goes "All is well that ends well"