Category: 2025-02 (February)

Reneé was up at 6 to start breakfast. The rest of us got up by 7:30.
We got the water toys out, two paddle boards, the tandem kayak and the dinghy. We tested the ladder for the dinghy to get into it from the water, it works! Then we took the other stuff for a tour of the Anchorage. Then back to the boat, lunch and underway for Yelapa.
We motored some and sailed some and finally at the end of the back to the motor and then coordinated a mooring ball and parked for the night. I am not sure why, but the alternator is not charging the house bank, so we ran the generator and had dinner on deck.
Today we saw a bunch of whales, some when we were kayaking, some when we were having lunch and some when we were motoring and some when we were sailing. Some of them were breeching, some were spanking the water with fins and tails, some were adults and some were babies.

 

Up at 6:30, breakfast, the net, bible study, some went to the market and then out into the bay. This morning on the net, there was a report of an attempted outboard theft.
David, Susan and Reneé went to the market, I cleaned up the mess under the engine. It was a very small amount of oil, and mostly sea water. The most likely source of water will be the raw water pump, the impeller was changed, so after it’s warmed up I will look for it. I added coolant (very red antifreeze) this is to be expected, as the heat exchangers were just rodded out, so the coolant was changed. Then took out the trash.
After everybody was back we left the marina and sailed for a few hours. Had lunch on the boat, dumped the holding tank, then when the wind died down we motored into the anchorage and dropped anchor.
We swam and bbq’d. After dinner we played some Mexican train.

Up at 6 am for Reneé. She made muffins. Then the rest of us got going and eventually everybody was up. Reneé did not have a good day. She saw the dentist and found out the tooth was cracked all the way down to the root, and had to be pulled. She had a second appointment later to get a bone graft for the future implant. She was on the bus back and forth all day.
David, Susan and I got our act together and headed into Puerto Vallarta. We were at the bus stop when I saw the bus go by to the left (a dead end, so they have to come back) but I was not standing up when they came by. The bus did. not stop so we evaluated sitting there for 30 45 minutes for the next bus and took a cab. We walked the Mallecon and did some tequila tasting and headed out to a favorite restaurant (Marisma) and they were closed. So, we went to the pizza brewery here, Los Muertos. We walked some more and took the bus back.
We met Reneé at the mall and eventually made it to Judes for dinner at about 6 pm. then showers and bed. By the end of the day we had walked about 18,000 steps.

 

Up at 6:30, headed off to church by 8:15. They are serving breakfast as an anniversary celebration.
Breakfast was a Mexican favorite, chilaquiles (corn chips with salsa, and cheese) these were served with meat, eggs and beans. This is one Mexican meal that I really find pointless.
The message was very good, and the church was full.
After church we walked through the arroyo shopping for a new hat, no joy.
Back to the boat for a nap, then off to the airport. We missed the bus, so took a taxi. We met our friends David and Susan Poole there and grabbed a taxi back to the boat.
After a tour of the boat and some chatting, I took them on a dinghy ride up the river while Reneé got dinner ready.
After dinner we watched Groundhog Day, since today is Groundhog Day.

Up at 6:30 breakfast, the net and bible reading. We are moving stuff about 9 am.
We got the stuff moved, Reneé did her shopping, and we had lunch about noon. Then I set up the water maker and got it started by 1pm. Then I cleaned the forward head and shower. This is one of the things on this boat that are bit strange. The previous owner used the forward stateroom, head and shower as the primary. We like the aft setup but too each their own. One of the things that has to be done regularly is to clean strainers, particularly pump suction strainers, there is one for the engine and generator raw water inlet, one for the air conditioner raw water pump, one for the refrigerator/freezer drain pump, one for the raw water for the water maker. One for the anchor wash down pump, one for the freshwater pump and one for each of the shower drain pumps. All most all of these strainers are relatively easy to access, and are easy to clean, simply unscrew the cap/lid remove the screen and clean with a tooth brush in the sink. Total time for each filter on the order of 3 to 5 minutes from deciding to do it until complete. The forward shower drain pump is in the compartment under the port settee, which requires removing all the cushions, then opening the settee, then emptying the compartment, finally unscrewing the cover etc. time to clean this filter from deciding to do it about 45 minutes. This is background to the activities today.
So, before we left the boat last time, I had determined that the shower drain pump was operating erratically, that is sometimes it would not turn on even though the switch was in the correct position. The switch is physically open and the contacts are exposed to the air (sea mist). It is installed in the wall of the shower and mounted behind a panel with a cover in the way to get at it. Before we left I was able to get the old switch out of the wall, which took a couple of hours working one handed barely able to see what I was doing. I took the switch back to the states and ordered a new one. I brought it back last month and installed it AND TESTED IT!!! Installing that switch took about an hour maybe two. Today after cleaning the head and shower, I rinsed it down and started the drain pump……… NOTHING!!!
I waited a minute and tried again. NOTHING. Then I checked the through hull (conveniently mounted behind the washing machine on the other side of the boat. Open, not the problem. So, next was to look at the pump and see if I disturbed some wire to it. I tore apart the settee, emptied the compartment and had access to the pump and strainer. I had Reneé start the pump and it WORKED! Once again why?? We have guests that will be using that shower for the next week. So, we will see. So far, I have replaced the pump and strainer(2019) and the switch (2024) I am unaware of anything else to change. The first pump change was because it no longer pumped water, but may have just been doing what it is now, only working part of the time. Anyway, shower, the head and the strainer are cleaned, the pump worked. Now I just have to put the settee back together.
Ok, an hour later, the shower drain pump aft, the AC raw water pump, the engine and generator strainers are all cleaned the settee is bak together and the we have 66 gallons of fresh water into the water tank.
Next up is a repair of the aft lazarette door jamb.
Water tank is full 176 gallons 6 hours and 20 minutes. 10 1/3 gallons per day. 17 days with 3 days (2 nights) in the yard.

Reneé found a worker who said yes he could fix the door. It’s in progress now (6:35 pm Saturday). 8:40 pm it’s done!! We asked how much, he refused to give as an amount, we gave him 1000 pesos (about $48 USD) probably less than we should have, I don’t know. He fiberglassed in the cracked door and rehung it, he wanted to come back and paint it but we said no it’s good. (He wanted to paint where you can’t see it from the inside of the boat).