Finishing up the bimini with Dot Fasteners - 2015

End of October 2015 - House sitting at private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico
First we used a pencil to mark the holes for punching.

Ocean Kayak Malibu Two 8" hatch installed at Nuevo Vallarta house sit - 2015

End of October 2015 - At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico
We found this video on Youtube and followed the instructions plus the instructions that came with the Ocean KayakMalibu Two hatch for the Malibu Two.

Inside cover for bimini window to keep sun out - 2015

End of October 2015 - House sitting at private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico
Finished product - here's the process!
The sewing projects continue! (That's the beauty of having a seamstress in the family and the wonderful Sailrite sewing machine!!)

Varnishing the stateroom louvered doors, yes lots os louvers! - 2015

End of October 2015 - At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico
This is the last can of gloss varnish for the season we had to buy - gloss.

Debbie made us a tool pouch for canvas tools - 2015

End of October 2015 - At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico
Debbie was feeling creative on Saturday after being cooped up after working hard at getting the boat hurricane-ready (see post about Hurricane Patricia) now that the threat has passed.  She made this handy "tool roll" for our snap/grommet tools.

Meet my new best friend Muriatex Alamo\Muriatic Acid acid 2015

 We were looking for ways to get rust stains out of the gel coat and found this video.
We have some rust stains on the bow and stern and up in the anchor locker etc we would like to remove. So here is what we found out.

Off to Honda dealer for outboard spin on oil filter - 2015

End of October 2015 -At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico

 We went to the Honda Puerto Vallarta dealer. Not the Honda car dealer but the motorcycle dealer. They also sell Honda generators there and 4-wheelers etc. They do not have Honda outboards on sale but do have and can get parts. We picked up a spin-on oil filter. We happen to be in the neighborhood.
www.comotohonda.mx

Re-furbished Magma Flopper-Stopper at Taler De Torno Gonzalez Machine shop - 2015

End of October 2015 - At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico, house sitting

More "eye candy" all around - here are some motor boat parts, rudders or stabilizers!
We went to the Machine shop - SS welding to pick up the last of this years' welding projects.
Taler De Torno Gonzalez tel 322 224 0784

There went Hurricane Patricia! - biggest on record!big surge at marina - 2015

End of October 2015 At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas BayMexico

Chamela (Perula Bay) when we were anchored there in 2014.
The Sierra Madre mountain system of Mexico is on the edge of Puerto Vallarta and saved us from all but a heck-of-a-lot of rain from Hurricane Patricia.Boaters at the marina (and some tourists) were evacuated off property but the mountains saved us - just as the "old timers" predicted.

Polishing the hull - starboard side done! 3 of 4 2015

End of October 2015 - At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico


A little touch up paint on the gel coat.


As it turned out we ended up cleaning a section of hull and then compounding it with White Shark compound. 
Doing this by hand did not remove much gel coat. We then put on the White Shark Selant wax and then the Past wax. Lots of rubbing.


Still smiling. Remember it is in the 90's and very humid!
The hull does look nice and clean now and will not chalk up, at least not till the wax wears off we hope.

Turists :)




Varnishing the trim again by the nav station and by the steps - 2015

Middle of October 2015 - At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico

We got a coat of varnish on the trim here and the trim on both sides of the companionway stairs.

Nubee Temperature Gun - purchased

Middle of October 2015 - At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico
 Found this old post that never got published?
We had a temperature laser type gun but it has an oddball battery. And it is not easy to use.

So when Morris and Debbie on s\v impulsive said they were going to sell their extra Nubee     Temperature Gun  at the La Cruz swap meet this month we grabbed it.
 This is simple to use and has a 9v battery. Easy to replace and find.
Note 2018: 
We have had this gun now for a few years and it still works good. This was a good purchase.

Dinghy 20' cable cleaned, Schlage cable locks purchased, paddles drilled etc - 2015

Middle of October 2015 - At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico

  
We had this made up at Downwind Marine in San Diego.

White 30 amp power cord - cleaned and ready. - 2015

Middle of October 2015 - At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico 
We cleaned up the 30 amp white 50' power cord and have it ready for use.

Nav station seat pad, Done!

Beginning of October 2015 - At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico

We fit the seat to the Nav Station to see for sure if it would work. Was it going to be too thick so you could not fit the legs under the desk for instance. All is great so Debbie went ahead and finished it off. This is all done with leftovers from other projects.





Here you see the strap to keep the pad on the seat. 

Also you see the velcro across the back which holds the outer cover onto the blue inner cover and padding. This allows the outer cover to come off for washing/

Nice job. The seat is sitting atop a bedspread.

Flushing the fresh water\antifreeze - 50\50 to 40\60 - 2015

Middle of October 2015 -At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico
From  the Beta Marine Engine Forum
"You can disconnect the large hose at the bottom of the heat exchanger tank between the tank and the engine fresh water pump or disconnect the small water heater hose from the bottom of the tank under the exhaust outlet."


More info from  the Beta Marine Engine Forum.

"Due to a lower specific gravity, a 40% coolant /60% water, ratio transfers heat more efficiently than does a 50/50 coolant ratio. It still gives more than adequate freeze protection in tropical climates. 

My first recommendation would not be distilled water. Use normal tap water that is not "hard" or filtered water. Distilled water lacks any mineral content and has a tendency to attract minerals from its surroundings."

Sold El Jefe's dinghy a deal for a cruiser - 2015

Beginning of October 2015 - At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico

 We just sold El Jefe's dinghy for him. We were asked by the homeowner we house sit for to sell an older 13'  Avon dinghy. He gave us a price range and we got somewhere in the middle. Everyone is happy - El Jefe and the cruiser who purchased it. It was a bit of a pain for us but it comes with the house sitting turf and we got to meet some more nice cruisers. 
The aluminium flooring.
Holds air.
Even has dinghy wheels
Note:.
He eventually got rid of the aluminum flooring. That flooring was really heavy. He made the flooring from plywood. Regular ply wood as marine plywood is impossible to find here. He painted the plywood with epoxy.




New (5) DaNard inner tubes from DaNard - 2015

Beginning of October 2015 - At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico 
In earlier posts we described our DaNard inner tube problem. Also that DaNard sent us five new tubes. Just incase another cruiser had the same problem. Well we decided to give two to Morris and Debbie on s\v impulsive. This would work with what DaNard was looking for. Morris and Debbie will be sailing to the sea to meet up with Vandy and Eric on s\v Scoots and then they will be coming back to PV and then making the Pacific Puddle Jump. So the South Pacific will have a extra set of DaNard dinghy wheel tubes for a cruiser in need. Plus Morris and Debbie on s\v impulsive also have DaNard dinghy wheels.

House sitting Skype with super fats WiFi - 2015

Beginning of October 2015 - At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico


 We have super fast internet here. We get about 2 megs download speed. Debbie has been enjoying the Skyping with our daughter Lindsey, grandson David and her sister Melissa. Yes some things are really invaluable and talking to the loved ones is one of them. It is definitely not always like this while cruising but it is for today.

Sail track cleat purchased at swap meet, painted, works great

Beginning of October 2015 - At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico

We had purchased this cleat at a swap meet and have used it for moving and tying off the boom from shading our solar panels while at anchor. Works great. It was just shabby looking with peeling paint. It is, after all, old!
I scrapped off the old paint as best I could and then sanded the cleat real nice.
Debbie then tapped it real good and it is ready for paint.
We had some Rust-O-Leum gloss paint from past projects Debbie used to paint it. 
It will get marked up in use but it will look way better and cleaner than before.
This will get another coat.

Flushing the fresh water\antifreeze - cleaned petcock, drained! - 2015

Beginning of October 2015 - s\v Elegant'sea is at a private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico
Always the hard spots to get to aren't they 😕

Varnishing the hanging locker louvered doors, sanding - 2015

Beginning of October 2015 -At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico
And the sanding just goes on. We did finish one piece and are about to finish another.

Debbie made a Nav station seat pad, yes! - 2015

Beginning of October 2015 - At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico
Original seat pad we purchased at store.

Boarding ladder, Edson Step with SHUR-LOC Ladder Catches 1 of 2 - 2015

October 2015 - At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico
The Edison Step works well but the lines going to our stanchions, even with chafe protection, messed up our cap rail. It will need some touch up.

Don't try this at home - vacuum hose melt

Beginning of October 2015 - At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas BayMexico
 Don't try this at home 😌
While doing some plumbing with the heat gun I placed the heat gun 
a bit too close to this shop vac hose, oops.

Beta diesel oil and filter change using Beta hand pump - 2015

Beginning of October 2015 -s\v Elegant'sea is at a private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico
Bow is where the Racor filters are at. 
The hose goes from the Beta hand pump to the container.

Varnish stateroom - two pieces done, no wait, lint oh my -2015

Beginning of October 2015 - At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico

They look good like it could be the last coat but in real life there is a lot of what looks like lint in the varnish. Dam. Want to get some of these off my plate.

Kato Marine Island Davit electric lift motor wiring 7 of 7 - 2015

Middle of August 2015 - At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico


Debbie painted out the lazarett.

Beta 38 hp engine port aft motor mount rust - cleanup - 2015

October 2015 - s\v Elegant'sea is at a private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico
The are where the  rust is below the area we cut out for the oil change pump. You can see part of the motor mount and rus here.

Debbie is making salon seat covers from HD tarps - 3 of 4 - 2015

End of September 2015 -At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas BayMexico
This piece is one of the corner tops.  

Polishing the hull - making progress 2 of 4 - 2015

Beginning of October 2015 - At private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico
Making progress. We are looking for the female parts to the GarelickShur-Loc-Ladder-Catches above my head. We found an answer!

Time to clean the Racor filters or the one we use - 2015

October 2015 - s\v Elegant'sea is at a private slip in Nuevo Vallarta in Banderas Bay, Mexico
 How quickly I forget. I was trying to get the bowel off the Racor fuel filter using a screw driver wishing Racor had used bolts. After taking a picture of the fastener my folly was revealed! They did use bolts. This is an annual affair so I am allowed to forget 😊