Pierless Sailing Adventures

I was invited to breakfast today by some of my neighbors.  We ate at one of the restaurants in the marina area.  It was a nice treat as well as a break from my somewhat monotonous fare.  There is usually a good size group of sailors at breakfast, so it is a good time to exchange information and share stories.  My new radar dome installation is finished!  All the electrical connections are completed.   All that is left is to update the software on the plotter and test it out.  I will need my new laptop for this step.  It should arrive next week.  Two of the blocks (pulleys) at the base of the mast need to be replaced.  I cleaned up the area today and will start that project tomorrow.  I tried to find blocks with the same base dimensions so I wouldn't have to drill new holes in the deck, but no luck...  Instead,  I'll drill new holes and fill the old ones with epoxy. I have several new neighbors on my pier.  A coup...

I drilled out the last of the rusted screws on the stove.  Will dig into the problem over the next couple of days and see what I can figure out.  My mexico phone ran out of data.   I had been going to the mall where the phone store is for refills, but learned I can buy refills at the little XOXO stores that are sprinkled around down here like Starbucks.  This is much more convenient.  My data use would be much less if not for all the ads that get pushed at me... I finally bit the bullet and ordered an inexpensive laptop.  It has been very limiting trying to do some things with my tablet.  The laptop will help with the blog, updating my navigation electronics and make some of my online work go easier. I also picked up a board from one of the other cruisers.  I'll use it as a platform for my diesel fuel containers stored on deck.  Last year they moved around some and wore down my new deck paint.  The board will protect the deck, preve...

I mounted the radar antenna/dome today.  It went well, which means i didn't drop anything in the water...  It fit perfectly and all the mounting holes lined up perfectly.  The cables are connected, so now I need to hook up the power and update software on my chart plotter.  I look, forward to seeing it operate.  While climbing around on the stainless steele jungle gym that is my arch, I tried a little Bar Keeper's Friend polish to see how it worked on the thin rust spots.  It worked really well and was fast.  I'll start doing the rails in sections to spiff things up. I continued my efforts to repair my stove...  If I don't have it going soon, I'll cut my losses and set up the backup stove. I still have some linnens to wash, so I'll finish the day gathering together a load of laundry.

I've been having internet problems, so am a bit behind on this blog and with communications in general.  A slow lunch at a cafe is helping me catch up.  The marina wifi has been unreliable and my phone ran out of data.  Will see about a refill... I finished pulling the cables for the radar antenna and am ready to mount it.  This is a great safety tool.  It can be set to sound alarms if I am too close to another vessel.  I also fixed a shore power outlet I found dangling in a cabinet. My stove is still having problems.  I drilled out some old corroded bolts, so can open it up to attemps repairs.  I also bought an inexpensive backup stove in case my repair efforts are not fruitful.  I bought it at Woolworths!  Remember that department store?  I haven't seen one in years.  I am hoping to figure the stove problem out Tuesday. My neighbor Barry took me shopping Monday.  He is Canadian and has a car here.  He is much more f...

I have fallen a little behind on my project schedule.  Dealing with the bugs set me back some, along with the challenge of motivating myself when here on my own.  I am determined to make up for lost time!  My neighbors on pier 4, a Swedish-Canadian couple, have been prepairing their boat for cruising for the past 5 years (makes me feel better...).  They are getting rid of things and gave me some marine plywood (which I have already used), a new Highfield Lever (used to set up my inner forestay), bins for organizing clothes and other items.  I'll be doing the same soon. I made my second trip to home depot Saturday for some hardware, wood and glue.  Found most of what I needed and returned to the boat to finish reassembling the settee I had to dismantle to gain access to the water tank.  I'll finish it tonight.  This will let me get the cabin back in order.  The weather has been windy the last three days.  Cooler too.  It is a classic...

I have a large floor fan that is set up in the bow hatch to pull air through the cabin.  This provides a nice breeze and cools the boat at night.  It serves the added function of venting the limited but worrysome fumes from my cockroach eradication efforts...  This poor fan runs 24/7.  I check it every few days to see that it is turning freely and there is not too much dust buildup.  Yesterday when I power cycled it,  it was very slow to get up to speed - a sure sign the bearings need lube.  This became today's first task.  After disassembly, cleaning, lubrication and reassembly, it seems quite content to keep providing me its valued service. Feeling good about my start for the day, I heated water for coffee and made breakfast.  I find meals can be revealing in a number of ways.  What one prepares for a meal is influenced by many things including weather, mood, fatigue, the tools you have on hand and, of course, the contents of your pant...

Monday was a holiday here.  Benito Juarez's birthday.  He was the 26th president of Mexico, serving from 1858 until his death in 1872.  He was the first indigenous head of state in the postcolonial Americas.  Lots of partying and music. I planned to go shopping for food on Tuesday,  but just walked to the local XOXO for bread and milk - it was getting too warm out..  I'll go Thursday instead. The leaky portlight above the chart table is repaired.   This took more time than expected as there was a lot of old caulk to clean up.  I intended to replace the pane with a new one, but the ones I have are just a littletoo large...  I'll test it for leaks tomorrow, but it looks good. Both water tank leaks have been repaired.  The main tank took two tries, but I think I made a good seal using silicone.  I tried a gasket, but the fitting was too uneven, the cailk looks good.  I'll pressure test tomorrow after it cures.  Finishing...

 Back on projects today... I started the day working on the portlight above the navigation station.  It developed a drip last year, so i want it fixed for the trip.  It was a slow process getting it apart.   It was improperly bedded on both sides with adhesive caulk.  I had to gradually break the seal with putty knife and sharp picks.  I'll clean up the frame, then seal it with butyl tape on the outside only.  Butyl lasts years and stays pliant,  though it can be a little messy to work with.  Caulking on the outside is best as this is the where the water would come from and caulking both sides just serves to trap water where you don’t want it.   Best to see a leak early and fix it than to have water trapped in the deck.  I will install a new lens too.  The old one is crazed and you really can't see through it well. Turning my attention to the leaky main water tank, I sprayed the inside down as best i could to clean it...

 I mostly took the day off today.  I had grand plans, but needed a break. I read a novel, read up on radio interference in order to help a neighbor with their radio, took a nap and drank a few beers.   It felt good to just relax for the day.  I think I got off the boat twice,  and never left the marina area.  I'll get back to projects tomorrow. 

March 17 - All Cleaned Up! With a few exceptions, I am finished with boat cleaning.  There are a few more places to go over, but they will have to wait until I get the sails out on deck to free up space and access. Today was laundy day.  A couple here at the marina have a laundry business.  They charge by the kilo and do a really nice job.  Now all my cushions and linnens are free of bug residue! I removed the leaky thru- hull/flange on the water tank.  My spare will work perfectly.  Where it fits is a little uneven, so a regular gasket may not work.  Looks like a caulk job.  That is how the old one was secured.  Not my first choice, but it will work.  I just need to find a food-safe product.  Working on that... I finished prepping the deck prism light and filled the screw holes with epoxy.  It looks good so far.  I'll reinstall the cover frame Saturday. I placed an order on Amazon today, so will see how that goes.  ...

  March 16, 2023: Chirping in the night. I was making coffee and preparing breakfast when there was a knock on the hull. It was Richard seeing if I could lend a hand to one of the cruisers on our pier. Shannon is in the first slip on our pier. She wanted to turn her boat around so she could work on the other side from the dock. Mornings are best for this type of maneuver- there is usually no wind. Using dock lines and brute force, we pushed her out and swung her around. Piece of cake, but it is always a little tense when pushing a 12 ton boat around in a crowded marina... After breakfast, I started working on the deck prism. This is a large prism mounted flush on the deck. It brings a surprising amount of light into the cabin. It leaked last year, so was on my repair list. Getting it out was fairly easy. I then cleaned off the old caulk and inspected the brass frame. The frame was bent, so I'll have to see if someone has a vice I can use to straighten it out. The da...

  March 15, 2023 - Wednesday - Making the Cut... Finished port side cleaning. Cut board for access to water tank Helped Richard launch and dock his boat. Met two marina dogs. As I mentioned yesterday, problems with my laptop are keeping me from posting pictures (for now). I will continue the blog without and attempt to post daily. Fixing my water tank leak was my first priority today. There is something unnerving about taking a saw to a perfectly nice teak panel, but such was my first task for this repair. The starboard (right) water tank developed a leak while I was away, and the only way I could gain access to the area was by cutting my way in! Not my first choice, but it will work. With a little trim, it should look fine. I taped the line I wanted to cut, fired up my borrowed saw and made some noise. The cut came out pretty good for free-hand. With the panel section removed, I had clear access to the leak. As suspected, the flange seal had failed. I have a new flange ...

I took the bus to Home Depot today with high expectations... Should have known better. They didn't have many items we would consider normal stock. Oscillating saw blades, aluminum flat bar, etc. I found them all on Amazon, so will order there. I'm sure someone carries what I need, but no idea where. At any rate, i am resolved not to waste so much time running around town looking for things. My insect sticky traps had success last night. Just one, but what was lacking in quantity was made up for by size! I'm glad it didn't crawl over me in the night... I continue with the deep cleaning. Slow, but steady progress. My impression is that there weren't that many bugs on board. I have only seen about 6 or 8 so far. This is encouraging. I borrowed a tool for my cutting job, which is why I was in search of the saw blade. Fortunately another neighbor had blades I could use, so moving forward. For dinner, I joined the marina group who were heading out to have p...

More cleaning today!  Monday was a long day on the boat. I began pulling out boat cushions to wash off and clearing out lockers for the same. A slow process, but steady progress is being made. I also started working on the handfull of deck leaks we found last year. Almost all are deck hatches or port lights. The process is fairly easy, but takes time: Remove the frame, clean, repair if needed, apply caulking (I prefer butyl tape), and reassemble. I started with  one of the deck prisms.   The main water tank leak has presented a problem. I dismantled the boards and framing around the tank and found that the tank has been glued to the front board. After puzzling over this, I have decided to cut the front board just aft of where it is glued to the tank. This will give me access where I need and won't compromise the stability of the tank. It will be easy to trim over the cut so it will look okay. I started draining the tank too. This takes some time…   A new jam cle...

March 12, 2023 - Sunday: In a previous post I mentioned my problem with six-legged stowaways... In truth, I have only seen (and dispatched) three of the creatures. I have put out traps and boric acid so I hope they are (or will soon be) gone. Unfortunately they have left the mark of their presence far and wide on my boat. There is also a faint but lingering foul odor which I attribute to their bodily functions... Therefore, I am resolved to thoroughly clean the boat from bow to stern. This may seem a simple task, but it only seems so if you have never spent much time on a cruising sailboat. There are more lookers, cubbies and miscellaneous places to go through than you can shake a stick at. Not to mention all my gear and clothing and the gear I inherited from the previous owner. It is a daunting task any way you cut it! In the back of my mind, i knew had to do it. It's a matter of being able to live in your own skin.              In the process of cle...

This is a re-post of my first blog page on this date. Not sure what I did wrong, but it disappeared... I'll fill it back in as best I can soon.

 March 11: Having shopped yesterday, I was looking forward to a breakfast of granola, fruit and coffee.  I haven't had any coffee since I left home, and the coffee here is pretty good.  Because refrigeration is not universal here, many foods, including milk, are sold in sterilized containers which do not need refrigeration until opened.  Perfect for boat life!  While I do have refrigeration, it is about the size of a cooler, so not handy for large quantities.  The sterilized products reduce the number of times I have to shop. Back to breakfast...  Last year we were having problems with the stove staying lit.  There is a safety device called a thermocouple which shuts off the gas if heat is not sensed.  This is a good thing if the stove is turned on by accident or the flame blows out.  In my case, it never seems to sense heat even when the stove is going.  I tried getting new thermocouples, but the manufacturer said they no longer pr...

March 10: Temperatures have been comfortable so far. I spent a fair amount of time cleaning today. I tackled the head (bathroom) and the galley (kitchen). Lots of fine dust makes its way into the boat over the course of time, not to mention the (relatively small) evidence of my cockroach boarders... I shopped today, but broke the cardinal rule of shopping in Mazatlan: Go early before it gets hot!  I left around 11:00, mostly because the phone store does not open until then. I borrowed 100 pesos from my neighbor (have not been to the local cash machine yet) and walked to the bus line. The mall is about a mile or two from the boat. The bus costs 10 or 11 pesos ($0.50 USD or so, depending on which bus), but is worth it to avoid walking in the heat.  Taxis cost at least $5.00 USD. The mall is air conditioned, so very comfortable once inside. Buying a 1 month contract for my phone went smoothly. The mall was busier and there were no COVID restrictions as there were the...

 March 8-9, 2023 - Seattle to Mazatlan Today was a long one. The morning was busy with final packing and weighing. My friends Mary and Martin picked me up around noon and dropped me off at my motel in the early afternoon. Check-in was easy and the room was fine. I had some road food with me, so had a simple meal, showered and went to bed around 7. Since I was already tired and had to be up at 3 for my 6:00 flight, going to bed early seemed the thing to do. Of course, the problem with early flights is the worry of over sleeping. I set a couple of alarms and trusted that would be enough. I was up several times during the night, but managed a reasonable amount of sleep. The shuttle took me to the airport in the morning. Check-in went reasonably well despite my bags being over weight. I weighed them at home and at the self service scale in the airport and all were at lease 3 lbs. under the 50 lb limit. Not sure whose scales were off. After some juggling of items, I...