R&R in San Carlos:  January 2025 Update

 

During a break in Orquesta Sinfonica Vallarta rehearsals in Puerto Vallarta at the end of 2024, I drove up to San Carlos, and spent 2 weeks, with significant local assistance, moving several repair or upgrade projects forward:

1.   1. getting the rudder back on the boat with new gudgeons,

2.      2. installing a 2^nd house battery and switch bank whose main purposes are providing power to the new Pelagic autopilot when underway, or recharging the Torqueedo electric outboard batteries when in port or anchored out somewhere, and

3.      3. installing a new dodger with a roof consisting of solar panels charging the new 2^nd house bank.

The rudder project began back in October, with local mechanic Francisco Navarette helping me get the rudder removed from the boat.  His air-powered tools and expertise were invaluable in this part of the project, resulting in a rudder laying on the ground and some large holes in the back end of the boat.

 

 

 Luis Hernandez, a machinist in Guaymas, inspected the old gudgeons and pintle I brought over to his shop, and immediately said “I will visit the boat to make patterns for new gudgeons.”  Each old gudgeon consisted of three overlapping straps of not very high quality metal, with the longest strap of each triplet reaching to the hole in the rudder or hull furthest from the pintle, and the middle and shortest pieces reaching to the middle hole and the one closest to the pintle.  He did not find this solution by the builder to be well done, and the problems I was having with play in the gudgeon/pintle system resulted from several design deficiencies in the old pieces.  Luis made new gudgeons and polished up the old pintle while I was down in Puerto Vallarta in November and December, fiddling away in the orchestra.  Upon my return just before Christmas, Francisco came back, filled the old holes in both rudder and hull with epoxy, and re-installed the rudder with some help from the boatyard’s crane operator in getting the rudder into the correct position for new bolt holes to be drilled.  The result is a thing of beauty, if you like shiny stainless steel.  The rudder moves smoothly, with no play at all. 

 

The crane operator who removed the rudder from the deck of the boat, where it had been stored since early November, also picked up my new 200 AH battery and put it onto the deck.  I neglected to take pictures of myself struggling with the battery thereafter – nor did I record the words I was using as I moved it below, discovered it was not going to fit under the companionway ladder, and then moved into a position next to the mast.  I built a wood box to enclose it, and installed 2 new solar panels on the top of the dodger frame with temporary wiring as the dodger fabric from Jorge of Corky’s Canvas had not yet arrived.  Once the box components were painted, I installed them around the battery, providing a protected area for this valuable power source.  Unfortunately, I also accidentally disconnected the negative wire connecting the battery to the solar power controller, which fried the controller.  More non-recorded words were uttered.

 

The next day Jorge arrived with the new dodger:

After he finished the installation, tweaking this and that, putting in a lot of snaps, I had fun permanently installing the panels on top of the dodger, and creating better wiring leading down to the spot where a new solar panel controller will be installed.  Meanwhile, the monster battery was on light duty, powering the solenoid for the propane gas tank when I needed to do some cooking.  By the time these tasks were completed, it was time for me to fly back to Puerto Vallarta and resume my duties as a member of the 1^st violin section.  Etoile du Sud will have to wait until April for further adventures.

The quality of the local marine trades people in San Carlos is very high, yet they provide their services as very affordable rates.  I highly recommend this boatyard, Marina Seca San Carlos, if you have significant work to do on your boat.  I shudder to think what the rudder repair would have cost in the United States, and I know about what the dodger would have cost from prior experience in Washington State.  I think I would be facing bankruptcy right now if I had to have this work done in Washington (which also has some very highly skilled marine craftsmen).  I am very grateful for the work done by Francisco, Jorge, and Luis, mis amigos en San Carlos y Guaymas.