Boat Yard Happenings

Summer/Fall 2001

Monday August 13, 2001

Lanikai was loaded on a trailer and hauled out of the water early this morning.  We rode her down the street to the storage yard.  There we climbed down a ladder provided for us and looked at her bottom.  We immediately noticed that she is again covered with little blisters.  Bill talked with the yard boss about the bottom blister repair but he still needs to meet with the workers’ boss to decide how to approach our other out-of-the-water projects.  Tomorrow they plan to get started.   Lanikai will be moved to the sandblasting pit and the old bottom paint removed.

Friday August 17, 2001

Much has happened in the last few days.  Wednesday Bill met with the yard foreman and their contractor to discuss the removal of 5 thru hulls and enlargement of the anchor locker.  Their goal was to get started on Thursday.  Early Thursday morning we were back on Lanikai and I emptied out everything from the vee-berth area and forward ex-head while Bill disconnected hoses and provided access to the 5 thru hulls.  He then removed the old knot log fitting from the 6^th thru hull and, with much effort, got the old thru hull fitting out.  This will be our new water inlet replacing the five we are removing.  Having 5 less holes under water will feel real good!!!  The workers finally showed up about 2:00 PM to start working and they, again with much effort, removed the 5 thru hull fittings before it was time to quit for the day.

Today, instead of working on sealing up the holes, one of the workers got busy sanding off the old epoxy barrier coat.  He sanded for about 30 minutes at a time and then had to wait for the sander to cool before he could continue.  All in all he put in about 3 hours and sanded about 1/3 of the bottom.

Saturday August 18, 2001

Today we made another step backwards.  No more work was done on Lanikai.  The grinder was broken so any more sanding had to wait for it to be repaired.

We ate breakfast at Evie’s Café, finally finding it open.  Since our e-mail was set to go on the laptop, Bill tried using the pay phone down the street to send/received our e-mail but the phone lines were too noisy.  Bill finally succeeded by linking up using the phone line at Evie’s (an internet coffee breakfast shop). 

When Bill got to the boat, late in the morning, he discovered it was weeping diesel out of the old patch in the lower tank.  We had “solved” this problem 14 years ago, but now we will have to solve it again.  After informing the office of the problem he proceeded to pump the diesel out of that tank and into the main tank.  This process took most of the afternoon.

I arrived at the boat mid-afternoon and removed the rest of the water from the two water tanks.  It was very muddy, especially from the bow tank.  A good wash down with bleach water before we seal the tanks again in the fall will be order.

Wednesday August 22, 2001

Monday, the yard worker sanded off more of the old barrier coat.  He is now over half done but failed to show up yesterday to do anymore.  I got the sewer hoses off the holding tank and out of the forward head.  In the process I removed several Y valves and a vented loop that are no longer needed.  The hoses will come out later when we can get to the port-side seat under which they all run.  Bill went into Guaymas Monday and had the a groove in the anchor chain’s bow roller reground just a little larger so that the chain will not stick in it.  Yesterday he drilled out and tapped the rotten brass bolts holding the strainer on the engine thru hall.  The plate seemed to be just held on by paint when he knocked it off the evening before. 

This afternoon Rex and Jeanie from Margaritaville stopped by and drove Doreen into Guaymas for some food shopping.  We picked up a cooked chicken and fixings for lunch on the return trip.  After gathering up Bill we all ate lunch in our apartment and then moved to their boat in Marina Real.  We spent the rest of the afternoon snorkeling with Rex, Jeanie and pup-dog Wiley having a wonderful, wet, cool time in the clear water.

Thursday August 23, 2001

We were up early, having slept well after yesterdays afternoon in the water.  Since the mornings are cooler we took off to Lanikai early to get a few small chores done, all of which were accomplished before the workers showed up to finish the sanding.  The sanding off of the old barrier coat was completed today but that left us with not much of the outer glass layer and what is left is mostly Swiss-cheesed with blisters.

Saturday August 25, 2001

The last two days no more was done to the hull.  It was decided to grind off the rest of the first layer of glass.  Then after drying the hull, add a new layer of glass before adding barrier coat and paint.  The grinder was ready to go this morning but they wanted to move the boat to a more down wind position so that the glass fibers do not blow all over everyone else but the move never happened.  Arturo has finished with the mold for the new anchor locker and it ready to build the fiberglass one.

Bill spent much time contemplating the new plumbing yesterday while I sanded more of the dark blue paint off the toe rail.  We’ll build a manifold to connect the five salt-water hoses to the one remaining thru hull (for the domestic uses of salt water) and connect the small Kubota engine for charging batteries to the salt water intake of the main engine; lots of new hoses and valves.  Today we pulled out the plumbing parts box and Bill found much of what he needed to get started.  He got the diesel battery charger engine raw water plumbed into the main engine intake completed except for running the hose. 

The last few days have been pleasant although hot but not very humid.  Today that all changed and it is quite humid and therefore not comfortable out.

Monday August 27, 2001

Tomorrow we are off the Tucson to purchase a small car to use for the next few months, until Lanikai is back in the water.  The yard decided not to move Lanikai but to grind on the hull where she sits.  Still no more yard work and no hull grinding occurred today.  Since it looks like we will be here a while longer and the hotel is booked up for this next (labor day) weekend, we decided that now was a good time to run off to Tucson.  Hopefully we will return with some sort of wheels to make supply runs into Guaymas more practical and the possibility of finding a cheaper room a little further out. 

Tuesday August 28, 2001

We now own a car!  We were on the morning bus to Nogales, taxi to the border, shuttle to Tucson airport where we rented a car for the day.  We then drove to several used car dealers and purchased a nice little Ford Escort wagon late this afternoon.  Tomorrow we need to go to the insurance agent and complete paperwork for 3 months of insurance and then Bill wants to take the car to a Jiffy Lube or comparable place to have fluids checked/changed or whatever.

Thursday August 30, 2001

We got the car insured for 6 months yesterday morning.  Then we were off to a car repair shop where we scheduled the car in for 8:00 this morning.  The car has now been thoroughly checked over, a new timing belt and water pump installed and the air conditioning charged up.  We spent most of the day at the shop reading news magazines, catching up on current, and not so current events. 

Saturday September 1, 2001

We are back in Mexico tonight staying in a hotel in Santa Ana.  Friday morning we drove around Tucson picking up goodies to take south with us.  In the afternoon we drove south to explore the Titan missile site.  The site is now a National Historic Site and the only undestroyed of the missile silo that for 20 years held nuclear warheads ready to launch upon word from the President.  It was quite interesting, as our guide had actually served on the site in its active days.

Earlier today, we made a slight detour on our way south to visit Kitt Peak National Observatory.  It is a very active astronomical site although quiet in the daytime.  We visited the large solar telescope.  We crossed the Mexican border about 5 PM with no problems.  At the checkpoint down the road Bill got a Sonora-only permit for the car that cost us nothing.

Tuesday September 4, 2001

We arrived back in San Carlos mid afternoon on Sunday and without much trouble found Bonnie’s condo.  Since it was a winter-use only condo without air-conditioning, it was quite hot inside.  There was a breeze most of the afternoon but sleeping was poor as the breeze died with the sunset.  Late Monday afternoon, after the Labor Day tourists had left, we drove back to the “Pink Palace” (the Ocean View Apartments) and got a room with air-conditioning.

While we were gone, the yard finally finished getting Lanikai’s bottom ready to sit and dry.  They think that she will be ready, dry enough to epoxy etc. in about 4-6 weeks.  Arturo has done some more work on the mold for the anchor locker wall and today got some glass in the mold.  Bill told him that we were heading stateside in the morning for a month and Arturo said “no problema”.  He would finish the wall and leave it in the cockpit for installation when we return.

Wednesday September 5, 2001

We took off early heading north for a 6 week circuit of the Western States today, putting our newly purchased car to good use as we visit family and friends.  See the previous page of our log for that story.

Monday October 22, 2001

We are again in San Carlos beginning work on Lanikai.  Last week we drove south from Tucson to San Carlos on Tuesday.  Then spent Wednesday checking on the boat, making motel reservations and getting paperwork organized for a trip to Mazatlán.  Thursday morning early we took the bus into Guaymas carrying the stainless steel rudder from the Fleming wind vane steering system.  There we caught a great first class bus that got us to Mazatlán at 8:30 in the evening.   The next morning I took off to migration and Bill headed to the marina.  I got all the paperwork finished and turned in for the fourth renewal of our FM3 visas.  Bill missed Rick, Cape Starr, but Phil, Sea-Mint, drove Bill to the SENI Yard where Rick was working on his boat.  Bill purchased the needed Hemple bottom paint and primer.  Phil then drove Bill to Rosete’s stainless steel shop with the rudder.  Phil took the paint and left Bill there to organize the rudder repair.  Bill then took the bus and walked to Migration to meet me.  We had all of our chores done and it was still before noon!  Getting an earlier than expected start on the day, due to our watches being off by an hour, helped too.   We enjoyed a leisurely late breakfast at Panama’s before returning to the marina to visit with friends.

Bill and Phil took the paint that was in plastic containers off to the Comex store to get it all transferred into metal cans.  Saturday, when we were packing the paint for the trip north, we discovered that they had given us one defective and leaking can.  Too late in the day to attack the store, so we wrapped the can in layers of tape to seal the leak.  All arrived safely back in San Carlos Sunday morning after an all night bus ride.

Saturday October 27, 2001

Monday and Tuesday Bill reinstalled the covers and plumbing to the two fresh water tanks while waiting for Arturo and got many lists written.  Thursday Arturo got started with the installation of the new bulkhead for the enlarged anchor locker.  He got the new wall fitted and removed the old one below the attachment of the new.  Friday, he put on the outside layer of fiberglass, attaching the new wall to the hull. 

Tuesday I got started on the freezer, chipping out the old resin that was left clinging to the foam around the lip.  It took a couple of days to get it ready but yesterday I epoxied in a layer of glass over the foam. 

Friday November 2, 2001

Another busy week!!  Sunday Arturo got back to the anchor locker and glassed the inside side of the new wall to the hull.  That freed things up so that Bill could get started remaking the floor for the vee-berth area which he finished mid-week.  The new doors for the anchor locker were his next project and it is still ongoing.  He also made time to re-plumb the primary fresh water system when a hose that he tried to move cracked from age.   I finished glassing the lips of both freezer and refrigerator hatches on Wednesday.  Since the freezer was ready for paint on Thursday, Bill and I drove into Guaymas to purchase some white Dupont Imron.  We arrived at the store during siesta time so took the opportunity to take a drive around the bay, ending up at the old harbor where there is a fisherman monument.   Today I applied two coats of the white paint, almost completing the freezer project.

Thursday was a big day as we finally could reload the cubbies in the vee-berth area freeing up the salon table for the first time since last August. 

Every evening on our way out we stop by Sunbear to check with Gene and Jo on their progress.  Their keel contained individual lead bars for ballast, all packed in tar.  They have had continual problems for the last 5 years with keel cracks and leaking tar, so this year they decided to remove it all, clean the tar off and re-bed the lead in resin.  A very messy job that makes all the rest of our work look easy!

Monday November 5, 2001

The freezer project got completed today when I applied the third coat of paint to the top of the lids.  Bill completed the anchor locker door on Saturday, so after a little sanding it got two coats of paint on the inside and stain applied to the outside. 

The last two days Bill has been sawing boards to line the new anchor locker.  He has the boards cut to fit and only needs to add a few holes for drainage and screws to keep them in place, tomorrow’s project.  This evening I am heading off to Mazatlán in hopes of picking up a repaired wind vane rudder and renewed FM3 visas. 

The yard just today started working on our hull again.  They have a worker grinding out the old patches and any remaining blisters.  The boat was lifted and reset so they have access to the bottom of the leaky diesel tank.  Work should progress this week on filling the decommissioned thru hulls and the fuel tank repair.

Friday November 9, 2001

Yesterday I returned from a fun and productive two day trip to Mazatlán.  I returned with our FM3 visas, renewed for another year, the repaired wind vane rudder that Rick, Cape Starr, had picked up from Rosete’s for me the day before I arrived, and a small bags of purchases, things that we have not been able to find in Guaymas but knew where to get in Mazatlán.  While I was gone the yard had done no more work on the hull, but yesterday they finished the grinding out of the old patches and even washed the bare glass. 

Bill had spent the two days fitting and installing the divider in the anchor locker.  It allows us to store line in half the locker and chain in the other, with the chain taking over the lower sections of the locker.  After I arrived I got the foam, the stuff that we use for covering bare fiberglass inside, glued to the new wall.  Then I refilled the remaining vee-berth area.  This cleaned off our bed and our favorite seating area around the table.  There is still much stuff from the forward head and bilge area stored in the aft head and under the table but progress is at least now visible. 

Today I spent the entire day trying to clean off several months of grime from the topside and was only somewhat successful.  The sun has baked the tan gunk on so hard that it took much scrubbing with ammonia to get the deck even somewhat white again.  Bill put together the saltwater manifold.  Including several store runs, the project took all day but is complete and ready to fill with water to check for leaks.

Tuesday November 13, 2001

Still more boat work these last days but we did take yesterday afternoon off to visit with friends in Marina Real.  Bill is moving along with the installation of the salt water manifold.  Today he got the watermaker re-plumbed and we got the new florescent light installed above my seat at the table.  I have also, again, been sanding the dark blue off the toe rail.  Hopefully it will all be painted the white deck color soon. 

Friday November 16, 2001

We are finished in the bilge for now as the salt water system is installed as much as possible until the hull work is completed allowing us to install the new thru-hull.  Bill also plumbed in the watermaker with his improved water flow plan and removed all the extra sink and head parts from the ex-forward head, filling in holes as needed.  We got new lights installed and older ones moved, discarding a few in the process.  After several days of sanding, the first coat of paint went on the toe rail today.  No more burned knees when climbing out of the dink!

The hull work should commence soon.  Arturo talked to Bill on Wednesday and said that the hull was dry, but the rudder would take a bit longer so they would start on the hull, putting the rudder off until last. 

Monday November 19, 2001

The toe rail painting was finished up yesterday.  Bill and I took spare treasures to the swap meet on Saturday morning and returned with somewhat less junk.  When we arrived at the boat it was being worked on.  The entire hull was sanded on Saturday and today they finished up sanding, sanding the rudder and then washed the bottom.  This morning, Bill and I removed the ceiling panel above the galley.  Bill then got all the loose wires properly fed, including those from the solar panels.  Then we got everything put back together again before we quit this afternoon. 

Thursday November 22, 2001

Much progress the last few days!   The yard has started in earnest on their part of the work.  Tuesday was Mexican Revolution Day and an important holiday.  Since the yard was quiet Bill started drilling and filling the rudder with spray foam while I worked on patching the old knot meter hole.  Wednesday the yard got started again on Lanikai; they got all the thru hulls that we wanted eliminated ready to close off with much grinding of the area around each of them.  Today the thru hulls were sealed off both inside and out, and filled with epoxy and small circles of glass mat.  Bill, over the last two days, filled the rudder with foam making a glorious mess with the gooey stuff but ending up with a mostly filled rudder.  

The leaky fuel tank is our only question left.  The bad area in the bottom was ground out on Wednesday and today I cleaned out what I could reach inside and on the hull where the diesel had seeped.  Arturo is contemplating how to best make the repair.

Wednesday November 28, 2001

After last Thursday until today no more work was accomplished by the yard but Bill and I have been real busy.  Bill finished all the saltwater plumbing except the final attachment to the thru hull; that will have to wait until after the hull is re-glassed.  He also completed installing the cooling system to the genset and its diesel supply lines along with the little pump.  We are now down to the smaller projects on the list and Bill and I seem to each attack two or three every day.  I have been filling and painting the many holes left from the removal of various no longer needed goodies as well as “prettying up” worn spots on the painted deck.

Sunday we took the day off and found a nice beach in a pretty little cove to spend the day.  We set up chairs and enjoyed reading in the sun.  The water was even warm enough for a swim but we had not taken any snorkel gear so we kept it to a short swim. 

Today the yard workers again attacked Lanikai.  This time cutting two small “windows” (or gaping holes!) into the side of the leaking tank.  I immediately swabbed down the inside with straight ammonia then a worker showed up and spent much of the afternoon with soap and water scrubbing out the tank as well. 

Friday November 30, 2001

Things really started moving along today.  About three-quarters of the port hull was painted with epoxy and the fairing compound applied to all the divots and low spots.  Cleaning in the diesel tank has continued with a worker scrubbing it out each afternoon and me cleaning it with ammonia each morning.  This morning after I cleaned the tank, Bill (at my request) removed the two dip-tubes that were in the way for a through cleaning of the tank bottom.  The dip-tubes enter the top of the tank just in front of the engine and in the process Bill got himself stuck in front of the engine but managed to twist his body to freedom.  We enjoyed a nice dinner out, visiting one of the many great restaurants here in San Carlos with Bill and Diane from Golden Ring. 

Tuesday December 4, 2001

Saturday the yard finished up applying the coat of epoxy to the starboard side and adding filler where needed.  They still ignored the area around the leaky diesel tank and the rudder.  Yesterday the entire hull was again sanded fair. 

Saturday and Sunday Bill and I continued to work down the list of smaller projects.  I have been painting, running wires and cleaning.  Sunday Bill built a new solar controller for the anchor light to turn it on at dusk and off when the sun reappears in the morning and today he got it installed on the boat.  The masthead light appears to be out so we still are not sure if it all works.    Monday morning after breakfast and picking up e-mail at Evie’s Cafe we drove into Guaymas.  There Bill dropped me off at Ley’s for food shopping while he ran around to various shops.  A few parts were left at the machine shop for pick up today and he picked up a nice shade of light blue paint for the boat trim.  I have completed all the touch up painting and needed another project so I plan to re-paint the dark blue trim with a lighter shade this weekend when the yard is less busy (one of the projects from our “to do sometime” list).

Today Bill finished up installing the sealing foam on the freezer hatches.  The first layer of foam on the freezer lip needed trimming so that the lids would fit.  He then added another row of foam to the lid giving the freezer a really good seal.  We then turned the on switch to cool the box down!!

Wednesday December 5, 2001

Bill’s lack of a project was solved last night when he tried “hibernate” on his computer (with a re-built hibernate file to take account of the extra memory he added last October) and killed the hard drive.  He spent much of the night and all of today trying to again read his hard drive to no avail.  This is a bad deal for us as all our important information was stored on his machine. 

It was a cloudy yucky day but work is progressing on Lanikai’s hull.  The yard is actually epoxying on the new layer of glass over a large part of the hull.  The leaky fuel tank is hindering their work in that area and no work has been done yet to repair the tank.   With the boat being held by fewer stands as they work and glass fibers flying everywhere it is a good time to stay away.  We did make one trip to the boat to check on things and to transfer some items from the apartment freezer to the now-cold boat freezer. 

Saturday December 8, 2001

The yard has finished adding the new layer of glass and are currently adding fill and sanding to create a nice smooth surface.  Thursday afternoon and Friday they repaired the leaky fuel tank by adding many layers of fiberglass to both the inside and the outside bottom of the tank.  Then they glassed in the “windows” that had been cut into the tank to gain access into its inside.  Arturo says that they should be done with the entire bottom work by next weekend. 

Yesterday after several days and long nights Bill recovered his computer’s hard drive with all files still intact.  Today he is busy making back up CDs of all his important files.  The last backups were made almost exactly a year ago when the hard drive on my computer died. 

Tuesday December 11, 2001

Sunday, while the yard was quiet, we washed much fiberglass sandings and dirt from Lanikai’s deck.  Bill took the empty propane tanks off in preparation for our getting to move back on.  Monday he got them filled while I did a large grocery run in Guaymas.

Monday afternoon Bill spent several hours trouble shooting the solar switch for the anchor light.  He finally found a short that had occurred when he stuffed the electronics into a pill bottle to protect it.  Problem was solved with electrical tape, both the liquid and tape type.

This morning Bill removed the prop with the help of the yard worker.  They had to grind some of the new fill from rudder for the prop blades to fit off, so now they understand the clearance constraints.  Bill also got the shaft out in preparation for replacing the cutlass bearing.   Late this afternoon, Bill helped guide the drilling of the two thru hull holes that will eventually take our new plumbing.  One is the main salt water intake for the boat and the second is for the drain from the watermaker and new chain locker. 

Saturday December 15, 2001

Bill and I have had very little to do on Lanikai the last few days but the yard workers have been busy.  Wednesday they got three layers of West System Barrier coat on her bottom.   We then noticed a slight problem with the rudder; a few of Bill’s “foam fill” holes were still gassing, forming little bubbles in the fresh epoxy layer.  Thursday morning the entire hull was again lightly sanded with deeper sanding on the rudder and at a few other spots where the epoxy was not quite smooth.  They then filled the rough areas and painted the entire hull, except the rudder, with a fourth coat of barrier.  Yesterday after more light sanding two more barrier coats were applied.  Today the seventh and last barrier coat was applied to the hull and a layer of the primer paint rolled onto the tacky epoxy.  The rudder and the areas where the 7 stands sit are still undone.

Monday December 17, 2001

The hull is finally red again.  Yesterday Bill and I moved back on to the boat for the last few days before we head to the states for Christmas.  It was cold so we spent much of the day huddled below with the small ceramic heater on.  Today the yard got busy early sanding the entire hull again.  They then filled more low spots.  After these had set up, late afternoon, the hull was spot sanded and both a last layer of primer added and the first layer of red bottom paint.  They finished just as the sun was about to set. 

Wednesday December 19, 2001

Tuesday Bill installed the new large thru-hull that will provide the salt water inlet to the boat.  He then got it plumbed into his new salt water manifold.  The yard crew spent the morning waiting for the trailer to lift Lanikai so that all the stands could be moved.  After all the stands got moved to new locations on the hull, they got busy sanding and then barrier coating the spots where the stands had been moved from.  Today they added three more layers of barrier coat, two coats of fast drying primer and, just as the sun was setting, a coat of red bottom paint to those areas. 

Tomorrow another full coat of bottom paint goes on and Bill plans to install the thru-hull for the watermaker and anchor locker drain finishing up our work here in the yard.  We plan to drive to Southern California for the Christmas/ New Years Holidays, returning here in early January to splash Lanikai and head south to warmer waters.

Saturday December 22, 2001

We are in San Diego to spend Christmas with Bill's brother, Rick, and their mother.  We did leave San Carlos on Friday morning but the full coat of bottom paint never got added.  Arturo says that it will go on when we return, just before the boat is launched.