Ensenada

Hey all,

 It has been a fun, busy spree.  We had a wonderful time in San Diego preparing for Mexico and visiting with family, friends and making new.   My mom and a friend Cassy came to visit for a week and we caught some time with Kathy & Greg, some friends we haven’t seen in ages.  Doug took mom and Cassy to the zoo.  Cindy stayed with the cats.  I should add by choice.  Not really a fan of crowds and smells.  Unknowingly we had timed the visit for the same time as a boat show so incorporated that in.  Kathy and Greg joined us at the boat show while mom and Cassy rested from the previous day at the zoo.  Kathy and they went to the safari the next day.  I stayed with the cats again and did some catch up and planning.  Of course we also did lots of shopping, touristy and provisioning…  We even had lots of time for them to spoil Maui who went through withdrawals of affection when they left.  Cause you all know we never give the kids enough attention.  Haha!  Good time had by all.

We then focused on preparations to head south.  Turns out if you don’t live in the states for 330 days per year you don’t have to have or pay penalties for Obamacare..  Naturally everything took longer than it should have.  lol  We made it!  Left about 4pm on Tuesday to pumpout and gas up etc., finally getting under way about 6.  That meant traversing the bay with all the lights shining at dusk.  Takes a lot more focus to identify red and green markers in the water from traffic lights on land.  Lol

Part of those preparations was a new prop installed and the barnacles scrubbed off the bottom of the boat.  We were surprised how much faster that combination allows us to motor, since there was again NO wind…  wonder why we bought a sail boat???   Anyways we were moving over 7 knots when we used to get 5ish.  We cut the throttle several times to slow down so we could enter the bay in daylight and clear customs.  Turns out we could have left in the morning and travelled the whole distance in the daylight.  Probably not to clear customs the same day but certainly in time for marina paperwork.  Lesson learned!  Hopefully that means the end of overnight travel…

We arrived yesterday morning about 7:30 and went up to begin entry procedures when the office 'opened' at 8:30.  Ha ha, first lesson in patience.   We visited with others waiting for about an hour.  then they opened, did what we needed here then went to the immigration office to finish up.   Back to the boat to make breakfast.  But instead, we were immediately proven how friendly everyone here is. Mostly other cruisers so far but obvious the community supports each other.    We were inundated (in a good way) with visitors and information overload.  We finally got breakfast about noon.   I took a nap and Doug tried to deal with internet.  Then dinner with friends Vickie and Steve and early to bed.

Working on communication options today.  Lots of research was done stateside but action needs to come from here.  We are still on old methods but...  phone calls $1per minute, texts  .50 to send and .05 to receive.  Internet is a bit sketchy but supposedly good at the office.  So, Doug spent the morning dealing with a customer issue and is now back at the boat figuring out the wifi booster so we can work from here.  : )   Then telcel office today or tomorrow.  Office is located on street known as “Gringo gulch" and 2 cruise ships in port today so tomorrow is likely the best day even without other issues.  

We are loving Ensenada so far and considering it as ‘Mexico on training wheels.’  We will get communications figured out, including learning Spanish!  We have always wanted to learn but not prioritized it.  Now we have more reasons.  Tourist areas it is not necessary but certainly enriches the experience and makes off the beaten path fun instead of stressful.  Some of the smaller bays are most beautiful and peaceful but helps to know the language.

Finally got logged in… now to post???  Only took a couple of days but wifi appears to work, slowly as expected.  . 

...and in with the new

Cory and his team got the new engine in, a little longer than expected because of an air leak in the fuel system, probably damaged in shipping.  Installation required moving the new engine in to place, making a bunch of measurements, then removing the engine and fabricating new engine mounts for it.  Install the mounts, then put the engine back in and hook up all the hoses and wires.

The engine mounts were perfect, there was no adjustments necessary for prop shaft angle.  Sea trial did show we needed a new propeller, this was not unexpected. The old one was pitched too high for the previous engine, which explains the overheating.

We got the boat to San Diego with the new engine,the new prop has been delivered, and we will get a diver to install it this week.

Accomodations

With the cabin re-arraigned for the new engine, the new cabin cushions are in the v-berth, which is in the front of the boat, where we both  usually sleep.  Okay, usually the four of us.  We were able to shove the cushions to one side, making room for Cindy and Squishy.  Doug and Maui are relegated to the aft cabin.  This will work out well, because Squishy is getting dental work tomorrow, so can't have food after midnight.  Maui has behavior issues when he's hungry.  So Doug and Maui are in the dog house with the door closed.  We don't choose to use a special name for the v-berth when it's just the ladies.

Dinghy woes.

We have a 4hp Mercury outboard for the dinghy.  The motor stays mounted on the stern rail of Spartan when not needed, gets put on our inflatable dinghy when it is needed.  The inflatable is another story.  The outboard stayed on the stern rail mount for 4 months, ever since Moro Bay.  We're now in Newport Beach, moored on a float in the bay.  We had a friend's car on the other side of the bay, about two miles away.  Cindy need to get to an appointment, so we pumped up the dinghy (part of the other story),  put the outboard on the dink, and set off.  The outboard wouldn't start.  Now in  hindsight, we should have rowed back to Spartan and fixed the problem.  No, we didn't do that.  I started rowing, occasionally stopping to try to start the engine.  No luck on the engine, the rowing was giving me great exercise and helping with the problem I have with displaced ribs.  The jerking on the starter cord was exacerbating a shoulder injury, and ultimately causing "tennis elbow" in my left arm.  We got Cindy to where she could get to the car and get to her appointment, I got myself lunch and a think.  I walked to the local grocery store, where I could pick up a wrench (to remove the spark plug) and a can of starter fluid (to prove if it was a fuel system problem or a spark problem.  Not bad for a computer geek).  Got back to the boat, squirted some starter fluid in it, it caught and ran for a bit, then died.  Not spark, must be fuel.  I found a screw to drain the carburetor bowl, turned it with my pocket knife.  Water, then gas.  .  We'd gotten water in the fuel tank from sitting on the rail for 4 months.  I was then able to start and run the motor, though it ran a little unevenly.  I motored across to the fuel dock, drained what was in the tank and what was in my gas can and replaced with fresh fuel.  The engine ran all the way back to Spartan, then started again and ran back to where I needed to pick up Cindy.  It even ran out of gas, I re-fueled, and it started again.  I get to the dinghy dock, kill the engine, and wait for Cindy.  She get back and the engine won't start.  Nothing.  Had I brought the outboard tool kit this time? No.  Did I even have the starting fluid that I'd bought a few hours ago?  No.  I had fixed the problem, why would I need that.  The drain hole just drained gas, so it had to be spark (compression was never a questions).  Cindy had helped a boat that had just come over from Catalina to dock, they gave us a tow over to our boat before heading further south to Dana Point. 

Next morning I found the outboard tool kit.  Too long a story shorter, I replace the spark plug, and the engine has run flawlessly ever since. Lessons learned:
Carry the tool kit when in the dink.
Know where that drain hole is.
When you have water in the gas, change (or clean) the spark plug, along with the fuel.
Cover the engine if it's going to sit out in the rain.

Out with the old....

 We had a pleasant afternoon/evening anchored out in Newport Bay.  Really wondering why we took up mooring balls, anchoring was more peaceful and didn't cost $16/night.  Anchor holding in mud was excellent except for washing the mud off of the anchor after hoisting.  Sunday is race day for the Harbor 20 fleet. Winds were light, but here's the view from on board:

Our new engine arrived last Thursday.  This morning we got the call to motor in to the Balboa Boat Yard.  While Cindy, Squishy, and Maui Boy lounged (hid) in the v-berth...

Cory and his team removed our old engine.

This old engine has served us well this last year.  It has always started quickly, and run well as long as we didn't over-rev it.  It's crimes:

It is LOUD. (Yes we have added sound deadening, no help).
It leaks oil, about 1 qt per 20 hours (about every 1000 miles in a car).
One of the injectors leaks.
Might have some piston blow by.
Overheats above 2000 rpm (rated at 2600 rpm)
It is 30 years old.
Hard to get parts for internationally.

To fix items 2, 3, and 4 require removing the engine from the boat.  Item 4 requires a rebuild.  For a couple thousand more, we could replace the old engine with something:

New
Quieter
Lighter
More fuel efficient
Can get parts anywhere in the world.
Better sized for this boat.
Quieter (the cats wanted that one listed twice)

So that's what we chose to do.

Installation is on schedule, will post more tomorrow or Wednesday.

A rainy day after a late night

Ah, January in Southern California.  It's been raining for two days, reminds us of late spring in the Pacific Northwest.  We were moored out in Newport Bay, but moved in to a slip at the Sheriff's dock to facilitate getting to Irvine to sit our granddaughters while Sally and Shrini went out on a date night.  We tried to play Monopoly Millionaire (who at Hasboro thought this was a good idea?) and otherwise had a good time.

Windstorm 2014-12-30

There was quite a windstorm Tuesday night.  We were at the public slips in Newport Beach, CA, right inside the mouth of the bay.  It was windy, bouncy, and noisy, with waves on the beam making the boat rock out of time with the pier.  The cats were neurotic, and no one got much sleep.  Our friends Steve and Vicky were out at Avalon Harbor, Catalina Island, where we had just come from.  The reported 50 mph winds and  6 foot waves in the harbor, one sailboat sunk, three power boats on the beach, two drowned (one was Harbor Patrol), and one still missing, and one of the dingy docks destroyed.  They got through without damage, just no sleep that night.

We spent another night in the slip due to the winds, then headed out to a mooring deep in the bay today (January 1).  It is much more peaceful.  Cindy was able to use her sewing machine even without shore power by turning (or having me turn) the hand crank on the fly wheel.  We'll hang out here until we learn more about our new engine on Monday.  The boat yard is only a few hundred yards from here.

Wishing everyone Peace and Prosperity in the New Year.