Pre-launch refit - week 2

The town's outside rink - won't be long now.



Gosling's New Look



Thanks to Dave (Canada Goose)



Pinata killer Fran


Guaymas, Monday, 6 Dec 2010
It has been one of those very frustrating weeks of one step forward and 2 back. We are progressing, but finding some of the chores difficult if not impossible to do while others are taking much longer than anticipated. Forgetting parts at home doesn’t help either. The hinges for the salon table are somewhere in the workshop where the table was refinished over the summer. There are also a couple of wooden mouldings there, part of the head-liner framing. Those we can replace here but the hinges are a British product and there is nothing close available here.
We are waiting for the mechanic to show up to remove the prop and replace the cutlass bearing. The prop was last removed just after we bought the boat and is refusing all attempts of removal so far. The fact that it is on a 1 ¾ inch shaft doesn’t help. Normal prop pullers are designed for smaller assemblies. Hopefully the mechanic will have done work on fishing vessels.
The plan to swap out the solar panels has gone by the wayside and we have had to look for other solutions to install the 2 new ones on the rail. Mounting brackets are difficult to find here but the brackets for the Scotty rod holders will fill the bill nicely for now.
This week we finally took the plunge and removed the wind vane. It was a difficult decision to make but one that has given us peace of mind. It has been the source of constant trouble for the past 3 years so this season we were planning to replace the entire mounting assembly, however, the prospect of having the mounts welded by Sr Hernandez, a very good but notoriously unreliable local welder, had us concerned that it would hold us up. Mike (Tazmo) had shown an interest in the gear since he first saw it so it was sold even before it was removed. The scars left from the mounting brackets then had to be filled and the entire transom repainted. Now we have a very bare and pristine transom.
One of the most essential tools I have is a rechargeable drill that Fran gave me for Christmas some years ago. It has a saws-all and a circular saw attachment so is a very versatile tool. I even had one of the batteries rebuilt last summer but, as (bad) luck would have it, the charger has given up the ghost. I am lost without it. We just managed to get friends, who will be arriving later this week, to get us a new Dewalt drill/driver combo to replace it.
Over the past 2 days we have re-rigged all of the running rigging and have put up the new “stack pack” sail covers. What a difference they will make to the appearance of the boat and the stowing of the sails. Fran also had a cover made for the dinghy by our German friend Elke.
One of the chain plates had been showing a bit of corrosion that appeared to be a crack so it was removed and re-welded. More piece of mind.... Before the end of the week we will have to take apart the furler in order to tighten the forestay. This should simplify furling the foresail when under pressure, something that has bugged us for some time now.
Fran has now recovered from her falls (stitches to come out today) and has been sewing winch covers while the dinghy has been out for a new cover. She has been borrowing a Sailrite machine from a friend but has now decided she would rather work with a sturdy Singer type, one that can do both heavy and light work. She has found one at a local Singer repair shop, and will pick it this week. Soon she’ll be making the fuel and water container covers and curtains. She has started making up winch covers using a borrowed machine.
On Sunday night we were invited to Elke’s 60th birthday party. It was a pot luck affair with Ted (the refer man) cooking up tempura onions and shrimp. The highlight of the evening was the piñata that Fran brought. Fran survived the 3rd Sunday unscathed even from the swinging piñata sticks.
Hope this week goes better.