Life in a Boatyard, Nov. 5 through Nov. 17
As mentioned in the previous entry, we weren’t planning to spend much time in the boatyard. Chris wanted to put on some antifouling paint over the current coat, and to give the boat a cleaning. We had accumulated a lot of Oregon pine needles in the cockpit from out stay in Oregon, sand from Lake Mead and Yuma as well as just general everyday dirt.
Closer inspection of the hull revealed that much of the paint was peeling off, and the entire hull needed to be scraped to get a good coat of antifouling paint. Further scraping lead us to understand we needed to take the bottom down to the fiberglass and totally re-do the bottom protection.
For those non-boaters reading this journal, when a boat is in water, especially salt water for extended periods of time, algae, seaweed and microscopic and not so microscopic sea creatures grow on the bottom of the boat. This growth slows down and alters the sailing performance. When making passages from island to islans reliable sailing performance is important.
Also, since staying in the boatyard was pretty inexpensive, we thought it was a great time to get all those small projects accomplished. We won’t bore you with the blow by blow details of each project, but will share that they involved starts and stops; plans and altered plans; finding or manufacturing oddball fittings, pieces of equipment and supplies that were hard to find, especially in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language well.
We took several trips into the nearest large city to us, Guaymas, to find the things needed. The US has had its influence on Mexico. WalMart and Home Depot both have stores in Guaymas, as well as some of the fast food chains. We found much of what we needed at these major retailers, but enjoyed Mexican food far too much to frequent US fast food joints. Still it was always fun to go to Mexican stores that sold the things we were looking for, like the hose store for fuel line, the paint store for the epoxy paint (3 coats) that needed to go on the bare gelcoat as a base, the antifouling paint (3 coats) that needed to be painted on, and the hardware store that let us into the back to look for what we needed instead of trying to figure out from our drawings and gestures. They were always so pleasant and helpful.
While on one of our trips to Guaymas, we finally decided to purchase a Mexican Sim card for one of our phones. We had been disappointed with the lack of cell access, especially data while we were in Canada. A reasonably priced American plan didn’t provide the data we felt we needed. Prior to leaving the US, I had my phone unlocked so that could accommodate a Mexican Sim card. I also put our AT&T accounts on vacation hold so we could maintain our phone number. We went to the main TelCel store and told them we wanted a Sim card and the Amigo plan and to speak with someone who spoke English. They were amazingly helpful, knowledgeable and fluent in what our needs are. For about $24 we purchased Mexican SIM that we can keep forever, and for 500 pesos we purchased a cell and data plan. The Data plan was 3 Gigs, but had to be renewed after a month. The 3 gigs may have been excessive, but was only $8 more than the 1.5 gig. We are delighted with the service.
One thing we learned on one of our trips to the Mexican Naval Bank to get the temporary import permit for the boat, was that no sunglasses or hats are allowed in Mexican banks. The security officer had to approach Chris and tell him to remove his baseball cap. I thought it was because it showed a lack of respect, but later I saw signs at several bank-like places showing no hats and sunglasses. These places all had thick glass panes between the tellers and the customers. All the tellers were women with beautiful black hair, gorgeous makeup and deep red lipstick. Maybe robbery has been a problem.
One thing we learned on one of our trips to the Mexican Naval Bank to get the temporary import permit for the boat, was that no sunglasses or hats are allowed in Mexican banks. The security officer had to approach Chris and tell him to remove his baseball cap. I thought it was because it showed a lack of respect, but later I saw signs at several bank-like places showing no hats and sunglasses. These places all had thick glass panes between the tellers and the customers. All the tellers were women with beautiful black hair, gorgeous makeup and deep red lipstick. Maybe robbery has been a problem.
Daily life in a boatyard is quite the experience. Everyone living there was working on a boat, many as fast as they can to get it into the water for their winter cruising. Others were slower and more methodical about the things that needed to be done before their boat could go in the water. Some folks lived on their boat while working in the yard, others brought trailers to live in on the grounds outside the yard, and still others had homes, or were renting condos.. Some people were working on restoration projects, some were preparing for cross-Pacific journeys.
Needless to say several times a day you are asked “When are you putting in? Where are you going?” Those going in quickly were secretly envied because it meant they didn’t have as much work to do. Those who had lots of work, or who preferred to take it slow and easy, developed a comradery that made the tasks easier and more enjoyable.
Needless to say several times a day you are asked “When are you putting in? Where are you going?” Those going in quickly were secretly envied because it meant they didn’t have as much work to do. Those who had lots of work, or who preferred to take it slow and easy, developed a comradery that made the tasks easier and more enjoyable.
The yard community is homogeneous through interest and purpose. Everyone there loves boating, has tons of experiences to share and lots of knowledge about boat repair and maintenance. There is also a wide range of experience ranging from new boat owners to Jan Socrates who held the record for the oldest woman to sail single-hand non-stop around the world. Almost everyone willingly shared advice, supplies, tools and solutions to problems making life in the boatyard feel like a large extended family.
While we worked in the yard, we were up at dawn, had a light breakfast, worked virtually non-stop (except for discussions and seeing what other people were doing on their boats) skipped lunch and then took showers and headed for dinner at about 5:30 pm. Since food was so reasonable at the restaurants around, it was not worth the effort to cook dinner after working. Dinner with a couple of drinks (about 10 or 12 bucks for both of us) and then off to bed, gave us the nourishment and energy to continue working the next day.
While we worked in the yard, we were up at dawn, had a light breakfast, worked virtually non-stop (except for discussions and seeing what other people were doing on their boats) skipped lunch and then took showers and headed for dinner at about 5:30 pm. Since food was so reasonable at the restaurants around, it was not worth the effort to cook dinner after working. Dinner with a couple of drinks (about 10 or 12 bucks for both of us) and then off to bed, gave us the nourishment and energy to continue working the next day.
The yard was filled with interesting people. There was the “Capt.” who is still repairing the boat he was working on when we were down there in 2005. There was the older German American gentleman who was slowly working on his boat. Each morning at dawn, he went and got his morning coffee, read the Tucson newspaper and would come back and report to us the status of the stock market. (We’re not in it and really didn’t care, but he seemed to think it was really important for us to know.) At noontime he would go buy a pint bottle of beer and some cheese for his lunch and then take his afternoon siesta. He loved the ladies and would try to tell Chris and me about his escapades, however we were way too busy to listen to his long stories.
There were some wonderfully friendly Canadians in the yard who we will keep contact with in the years to come. They shared a wealth of experience and knowledge with us, not to mention a couple of bottles of wine.
In the end, when all was done, our planned 3 days in the yard had extended to 12. As we were fond of saying, it really didn’t matter, we’re retired and have no specific schedule other than to meet our son in Phoenix, AZ at the end of the first week of Feb. It was kind of sad to leave the yard. I wondered if we would be able to continue our friendships, and what was next on the horizon.
There were some wonderfully friendly Canadians in the yard who we will keep contact with in the years to come. They shared a wealth of experience and knowledge with us, not to mention a couple of bottles of wine.
In the end, when all was done, our planned 3 days in the yard had extended to 12. As we were fond of saying, it really didn’t matter, we’re retired and have no specific schedule other than to meet our son in Phoenix, AZ at the end of the first week of Feb. It was kind of sad to leave the yard. I wondered if we would be able to continue our friendships, and what was next on the horizon.
Improvements, repairs, tasks done:
BOTTOM:
Sand bottom down to gelcoat (hired that out)
Apply new epoxy paint to the bottom to seal the gelcoat
Paint the bottom of the boat with antifouling paint
Re-fiberglass the gouges in the keel and bow of the boat
Re-fiberglass part of the rudder
Fill hole in rudder where tiller is attached and re-drill (It had become elongated and the tiller wobbled)
Sand bottom down to gelcoat (hired that out)
Apply new epoxy paint to the bottom to seal the gelcoat
Paint the bottom of the boat with antifouling paint
Re-fiberglass the gouges in the keel and bow of the boat
Re-fiberglass part of the rudder
Fill hole in rudder where tiller is attached and re-drill (It had become elongated and the tiller wobbled)
HULL AND EXTERIOR OF THE BOAT
Compound the finish to remove oxidation, marks and dirt
Use a polymer finish (Starbright) to seal the paint
Apply two coats of Turtle wax to the outside and buff
Remove, sand and oil finish all the exterior woodwork – at least 3 coats
Polish all of the stainless steel
Wash all of the cushion covers, interior and exterior
Install hooks for interior organization
Build shelving unit to hold 3 plastic drawers and a silverware drawer under the galley counter to hold
food, kitchen supplies and frequently needed tools
Tighten loose fittings
Complete motor hookups
Inspect rigging
Repair port forward chain plate
Needless to say many of these tasks required taking almost everything out of some portion of the boat or another and then re-installing it.
Compound the finish to remove oxidation, marks and dirt
Use a polymer finish (Starbright) to seal the paint
Apply two coats of Turtle wax to the outside and buff
Remove, sand and oil finish all the exterior woodwork – at least 3 coats
Polish all of the stainless steel
Wash all of the cushion covers, interior and exterior
Install hooks for interior organization
Build shelving unit to hold 3 plastic drawers and a silverware drawer under the galley counter to hold
food, kitchen supplies and frequently needed tools
Tighten loose fittings
Complete motor hookups
Inspect rigging
Repair port forward chain plate
Needless to say many of these tasks required taking almost everything out of some portion of the boat or another and then re-installing it.