The Saga of the Vessel Circadian: May 2018

It's definitely becoming summer with both temperature and humidity hitting 90. Any outside work needs to be done by 10 am, and even then I'm drenched in sweat. The main project this week has been removing, disassembling and resealing a port light in the aft cabin.
But it hasn't all been work. Curt and Mary left for Mazatlán this week, but Mike and Lisa returned from their road trip. I took them on my now semi-standard Puerto Vallarta tour and one night we had dinner at Fajita Republic with Bob and Maureen who just returned to La Cruz. Good times.
The nature photos this week are mostly from sunset beach walks rather than morning paddles in the canals.
And last but not least, the Cipro worked and my inner self is back to normal. Hallelujah!

Black-bellied whistling ducks migrate here for the breeding

season.

Ducks in a tree on the Rio Cuale

Pigeons enjoying a dip in a sculpture fountain on the

malecon in front of the Navy History Museum.

A falcon perched next to its handler near the

hotel restaurant.

A snowy egret foraging in the surf at sundown

Seagull in the sunset

The Puerto Vallarta Tour

Mike experiencing The Rotunda of the Sea, a work by

Alejandro Colunga on the malecon in Puerto Vallarta.

A Huichol artist working in a gallery on

the malecon.

Detail of a large Huichol parrot sculpture.

Top view of a pot by Guadalupe Ontiveros

Amazing detail in this miniature by Laura Bugarini

Mosaics adorn the columns supporting this pergola in

Lorenzo Cardenas Park in La Zona Romantica.

A painted tree

Lunch with Mike and Lisa at the Rio Cafe

Mexican Humor

I got stopped at least four times by

vendors on the malecon who spoke

English and wanted to know what

the meaning of the shirt was.

It was made to commemorate the

life of Carol's late landlord who

was a potter.

Tequila is always appreciated!

Senior Frogs

Relatively polite wearable comments on

the current political climate.

Projects

It pays to get up early to get the work done.

I've had plastic containers stowed in the engine room

chafe through, so I decided to do something about it.

First, it ALL had to be pulled out.

Then a foam pad was used to line the cubby before

restowing it all.

One of the port lights in the aft cabin developed a seep

last year (after only 45 years!), damaging some of my

laboriously done custom woodwork. The repair began

with the removal of the inner retaining ring.

Water damage

Removing the assembly is tricky because it takes quite a

bit of force after 45 years in place, but must be done

carefully to avoid damaging the frame or breaking

the glass.

It took some patience, but was not a problem because

I had evolved the right technique when I previously

rebuilt another identical port.

Little by little it came out.

A minimum of 8 out of 16 screws had to be removed

in order to disassemble the window. I managed to

get out all but two, that finally had to be drilled out.

After multiple applications of PB Blaster over two days,

I applied an arsenal of tools to try to get out the screws,

but had to be very careful to avoid breaking the glass.

Hence, no torch.

The frame opened up, the glass removed and all the old

sealant removed.

The old sealant had to be ground off the fiberglass

cabin side.

Cleaned up and ready for the rebuilt window.

Dry-fitting the reassembled frame

Glass reinstalled with silicon sealant and frame

screwed back together. The blue tape is to insure

that the glass is correctly centered in the frame.

The window will not be reinstalled until the silicon seal

cures and the window is tested for leaks.

Damaged woodwork removed and restored.

I'm starting to get into the summer routines: photography, maintenance tasks and/or exercise in the early part of the mornings, sometimes followed by trips into town; nap after lunch; sometimes dinner with friends. This week that routine was broken up a bit by a move into a different slip that is closer to all the facilities. While it was done by choice, it still created additional work such as removing and reinstalling awnings and cockpit canvas, and redoing all the many docklines that keep the boat from moving so much with the surge.
I'm escalating the battle with my intestinal issues by adding Cipro to the antibiotic arsenal after another episode occurred while taking only amoxicllin. So far, that seems to be working. There are many meds that are prescription only in the U.S., but not in Mexico. Sometimes the trick to finding it is knowing the Mexican brand name. That can usually be found online easily enough.
I've also been enjoying Curt and Mary's company while they are here. They will be going up to Mazatlán in a few days and will most likely remain there for the summer. Unless of course they decide it is worth sailing 400 miles back and forth to be in Paradise.