The Last Detail

It's been a diverse week.  I went to the Madonnari Festival in Puerto Vallarta, which features chalk art on the sidewalks by both established artists and beginners.  It has been done for several years in partnership with Puerto Vallarta's U.S. sister city, Santa Barbara.
I also went to the weekly market in Lorenzo Cardenas Park.  Even bought an interesting glass mask from a nearby shop.
With the start of the new cruising season, cruisers are arriving and departing often.  Had to help one friend dispose of his leftover food and wine one evening.  No sacrifice is too great.  I spent one day back in La Cruz helping my friend Bob remount his cockpit table, and of course I had a few minor projects of my own, mostly annoying little details.   Yesterday I hopped on a plane to LA to look after Carol while she recovers from the foot surgery she's having tomorrow.  Now suffering from both jet lag and culture shock.

At the Madonarri Festival at Plaza de las Armas

The public market in Lorenzo Cardenas Park

Interesting, but not my style

I did buy this mask for 300 pesos.

I liked the modern look, the iridescence, and...

...the way it changes in different light.

Helping Chad use up the last of his wine.

I taught Bob how to drill and tap stainless

Starboard seat refinished and portlight cleaned up

Dorade cowls repainted

Chimney cover cleaned up

The grunge underneath

Better

Chased off a hostile boarder

About 4 feet long

Smaller, less hostile, but still green

Saying "Adios" to my buddy at the airport

Waiting to take off

Runway off the end of the wingtip

Bye-bye Nuevo Vallarta!

November 7, 2013

I completed the installation of the fourth and final ABI port this week. The process was basically the same as for all the others with a couple of minor wrinkles.  I had to patch the plywood liner on one end and fill a gap between the plywood and the fiberglass cabin side on the other end.  With a total of four large ports in the main cabin now, it's much lighter and more airy  I also reinstalled the port side cockpit seat.

The new project of the week was to get the 55 lb cast stainless steel Danforth anchor off the bow and securely and neatly stowed on the cabin top.  To do that, I needed to design and fabricate some teak brackets and mount them securely.  I completed the first phase this week.  Lots of sawing, grinding, sanding and sawdust. Next week I'll complete the finishing of the brackets and hopefully get them secured to the cabin top.  I hope I'm lucky in terms of where the mounting holes will need to go.  I'll probably need to remove the overhead panel in the head to gain access.  We'll see....

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October 31, 2013

Carol was in New York this week, so I had no excuse not to work on the boat over the weekend.  I was pretty worn out by the end of the longer work cycle, but happy with what was accomplished.  I finished installing one of the big ABI ports, which is a big job for several reasons.  Among the many steps is a lot of unpleasant grinding of fiberglass and the need to hoist and manipulate the 25 lb port time-after-time while grinding and fitting it in the new cutout.  But it's nice to have more light and openness in the saloon.  So I started the installation for one on the starboard side.

The threat of rain forced me to turn to inside projects, so I finally replaced four of eight indicator lights on one of the electrical switch panels because they weren't working.  I also moved the ship's clock from the place it lost to the new port into the aft cabin.  It looks nice with the brass oil lamps and it's nice to be able to glance up from the berth and see what time it is.

Finally, I finished the refurbishing of the port side cockpit seat. It just needs to be remounted.   No wonder I'm pooped!

Oh, I almost forgot!   BOO!!!