De nuevo a la yarda del trabajo

Back to the work yard. Dick has to back into the bay. The travel lift awaits our return.

I thought it was a heart-pounding experience. As you can see, there's very little clearance. There were four people onboard, Dick at the helm and three of us pushing the boat away from the walls when the boat got too close. Three others on land used ropes to control the boat once we were inside the bay. The travel lift slings got caught under the rudders at one point - another event to keep the heart pumping.

And so . . . we are back in dry storage. Dick must assess the work that needs to be done, decide what parts of the process he can do and which are better done by hired help, order materials and arrange for pick up in the USA. Sigh.

Está preparando . . . pero espera!

Getting ready . . . but wait. One of the other cruisers in the yard provided transportation for 3 of us to provision at WalMart. All this stuff, mostly food needs to be stored on the boat.

And all this stuff needs to be moved from the tienda (empty shop space) onto the boat or, hopefully, some of can be disposed of. In the lower left are two water tanks. Back left is our new dinghy - a porta boat which folds up when we're on longer passages. Of course the work bench at the back right (the former catwalk) won't go back on the boat, nor the plastic table.

But wait!! Oh no, Dick discovered 5 drips. Three of them are related to the diesel engine: the hydraulic cooling pump, two prop shaft packings. #4 - the transducer for the depth sounder.
But #5 was the worst - previously undiscovered BAD wood. Now the boat is not sea-worthy. More work is needed. This is so disappointing that saying "s---, f---, d---" is appropriate.

Uwe and Elke from Wind of Change came over for a consultation. Uwe has 35 years of sailing experience and is quite knowledgeable. They agreed, the boat must come out of the water.

Nuestra nueva ubicación

Our new location. The fuel dock.

Across the short expanse of water is one of the shrimp boat fleets. A few of them truly qualify to be called "rust buckets" and some have continuously-pumping/gushing bilge pumps to keep them afloat.

But, who cares? We are back on the water.

Salpicadura!

Splash! A most exciting day. It's been almost two years and here we go.

Walk the boat forward so the straps can be raised and the travel lift can back away.

Pick up the mast - a few "yachties" in the yard have said, "Now that's a stout stick." - a compliment in the boating world.

The crane is hooked onto the mast about 1/3 from the top. A collar has already been secured to the mast. Note the stretch wrap and the cardboard to protect the mast from dings and scratches.

Move the mast into position.

Almost in place, but the mast must hover in place for a few minutes

so Dick can push a bunch of wires through a little hole.

Uwe and Roberto attach the roller furling.

Dick climbs the mast to release the piece of wood along the first spreader, the collar (higher up), and all the cardboard and stretch wrap.

Leaving the bay - yippee!

Elevación y pintura

Lift and paint. Dick needs to finish painting the places that have been sitting on the blocks and stands. Orasio directs the crew and works the travel lift by remote control.

Hanging in the slings until the work is finished.

The new method for getting on/off the boat at the bow through the opening where the anchor passes. Yikes! this was scary, since I (a short person) had to stand on the top step of the ladder before sitting on the nets. I stayed on the boat for the next 24 hours.

El reloj comienza hacer tictac

The clock begins to tick. This is so exciting: the painting of the bottom began today! Once all 5 coats have been applied, the boat MUST go into the water within 48 hours to cure.

Two coats of barrier paint:

One coat of primer:

Two coats of bottom paint (50% copper):

Note how the shadows have moved. This has been an all-day job.

Bienvenidos dos mil once

Welcome to 2011. Tonight we went to Roberto's house for dinner and to visit with his son and family who are here from Monterrey. L-R: Jacqueline, Isabella, Bobby, Roberto.

Isabella will be 2 years old in February.

Roberto is such a good cook! He made shrimp stuffed chiles which are then deep fried and covered with a sauce something like soy sauce. A little salt and a squeeze of lime and it's perfectly delicious.