While anchored in Bahia San Padro and waiting for a weather window to head south, I noticed a rock arch in the hills above the bay (circled in red).
Asking the locals, I am told it is called “Big Trunk Elephant” (“Elefante de Trompa Grande”). It took about two hours to hike to the arch, first through washes to the base and then bushwhacking to the arch itself. Once there, I discovered the rock to be loose and dangerous to climb. Also, it appeared that rock climbing would be needed to actually get to the hole. Perhaps the backside would be more accessible.
Sailing from Bahia Algodones to Bahia San Padro, the starboard jib block failed. It’s nut suffered unseen crevice corrosion, causing the pin to pop out and the sheave to be slingshotted across the cockpit. The nut that failed was split in four places! Chloride ions can cause localized corrosive attack (pitting and crevice corrosion) of stainless steels.
Fortunately, the winds were light at the time , all of the parts were recovered, and a replacement nut was on-board.
A Garmin inReach GPSMAP 86i has been activated. The “safety” plan was selected, which is the least expensive subscription. The plan allows unlimited SOS messages, ten text messages/month, and unlimited check-in messages. The check-in messages are sent to selected e-mail addresses, the Facebook page, and the Instagram page.
Since the solar panels were installed in the hard dodger, I have been concerned that the topping lift was not beefy enough. Quarter inch double braid seemed to be insufficient and it was not possible to increase the diameter without significant modification of the boom. Also, the single block did not deliver sufficient leverage to lift the boom with the extra weight of the sail pack when the mainsail is lowered. The boom vang struggles with the extra weight as well. To deal with these issues, I replaced the double double braid with block with Dyneema and the single with two blocks, a Schaefer 3 Series Single Block Stainless Steel Cheeks with Becket and Swivel Shackle and a Schaefer 3 Series Single Stainless Block with Front-Side Shackle. A Brummel Lock Eye-Splice was used to attach the Dyneema to the becket.
I have been focusing safety equipment this week (ditch bag, InReach, AIS, etc.). Today I registered an Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon. The beacon was registered with US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Since a Category 1 EPIRB is being used (which means it is capable of automatically deploying, it was mounted out-of-the-way on the deck.
Category I EPIRBs are housed in a special bracket equipped with a hydrostatic release. This mechanism releases the EPIRB at a water depth of 3-10 feet. The buoyant EPIRB then floats to the surface and begins transmitting.
Upon deployment, the EPIRB’s built-in GPS will fix your position to within a few meters and then utilizes a powerful 406 MHz signal to relay a distress call to orbiting satellites. When triggered, the EPIRB broadcasts a unique registered distress signal (that includes the vessel’s MMSI) that not only tells rescuers where you are, but who you are.
An additional feature of the EPIRB is a 121.5 MHz secondary homing transmitter which means that once Search and Rescue teams have been deployed, they are able to home in on your exact location. The rescue is also assisted by a a LED strobe built into the EPIRB.
When I purchased the boat, it can with a hard-chined rowing boat for a tender, a Walker Bay 8, which was poured by a Yamaha 2.5 hp engine. While the Walker Bay was perfect for the Sea of Cortez, it was inappropriate for where I plan to go. I needed a dingy that could carry provisions, that I could beach in a surf, and that I could dive off of. The new dingy had to fix on the foredeck (9′ or less) and had to be light enough to launch single-handed. I also wanted a RIB (that could plane, and thus be relatively fast. I settled on an AB 8UL, which is constructed of Hypalon and has an unfinished aluminum hull. I saved $800 in taxes and $800 in shipping (and perhaps a month) by driving to Oxnard California to pick it up. I sold the Walker Bay to a local for $150 today and the RIB is now in its place. I need to sew chaps for the new dingy and a cover to store it on the foredeck.
I have been struggling with ideas for storing my folding Dahon Mariner D8 bicycle. Eventually, I decided it is best to store it below deck (to avoid corrosion and thievery), but I wanted something to protect it and its surroundings. Most generic folding bicycle cases as simply too big and bulky, so I sewed my own. The case consists of two layers of Sunbrella material in-between which is quilted 1/4″ closed-cell foam. Most of the case was sewn with a Sailrite LSZ-1, but one of the sides and the zippers has to be stitched on by hand using a Speedy Stitcher.
I am preparing to install a Simrad TP32 Tiller Pilot. I have read that the lifetime of the autopilot can be expanded markedly by keeping it covered, so I sewed a cover. It has a piece of vinyl that allows access to the control buttons and it is held on with a piece of velcro.
The previous owner of the boat had removed all of the plumbing for the head and the holding tank. He had left behind precut lengths of Shields Series 148 hose to put it back together again. After staying the lengths of hoses, I realized the the boat had been previously plumbed so the head would only deposit to the holding tank and the holding tank could only be pumped overboard. I wanted the options to pump the head directly overboard or pump the holding tank out via the port on the deck. Further, I wanted to replace the manual pump with a macerator. The small space available to accommodate the plumbing required considerable planning. The components were laid out in the settee area for a couple of weeks as various options were explored inn what amounted to a three-dimensional chess game:
Eventually, a configuration was decided on and work was begun to route the plumbing through some very tight spaces. Shields Series 148 hose is very stiff, so the order of the pulling and connecting of the tubing had to be carefully planned.
Since a new model of toilet was installed, the fiberglass of the shower pan was patched and painted with Interlux Bilgekote.
When the plumbing and painting was complete, the wood was refurbished with teak oil and the toilet was installed.
Because the fixtures were corroded and the manual pump handle was broken, all the fixtures were replaced.
A panel just to the left of the sink provides access to the macerator, the two diversion valves, and the main seacock.
While the anchor light worked before the mast was stepped, it stopped working shortly after the boat splashed. Not able to find the problem, the photodiode system I built was removed. Eventually, I discovered the problem was a bad wire splice at the top of the mast. For the sake of simplicity, I decided not to reinstall the photodiode box.
