Friday, January 19, 2007

 

Iguanas!


I finally finished the knitted sample of "Harry's Golf Vest" for the pattern photo. I took the picture on my hammock here in the new harbor in La Cruz, Mexico. It is very windy today so I had to clip it to the hammock so it wouldn't blow away while I took the photo. You gotta believe me, the neckline is really fine - it's just being blown open.

So I'll trot this off to the parcel service in Nuevo Vallarta next week when we go back to check up on our Mexican Resident Visas (again), so it will be on it's way to Montana. Hasta la Vista baby!

Well, we FINALLY got to see some iguanas! We went to old town Puerto Vallarta to do some shopping and looked up and voila! there was an iguana in the tree. A few steps later, and there was another one in a different tree. I thought that they were all supposed to be bright green, but these guys are the same color as the bark on the trees.

Well, we just finished an expensive repair on our boat. We had been experiencing lower and lower storage of charge in our batteries (two giant 4D Deep Cycle batteries). They just wouldn't charge up much, and then they discharged way too quickly. We had to run the generator three times a day just to keep the refrigerator running (and play on the computer a little bit). So, Jonesy did a lot of research and testing, and finally determined that we had one completely dead battery and the other was going downhill fast.

Okay - bad enough when you're in the US, but we are in Mexico and marine equipment is not readily available. Jonesy scoured the potential sources for batteries, and there were no 4D's anywhere. The next possiblility was four smaller, golf cart batteries. Okay, good idea. But, the only place that actually had these was asking almost $170 US dollars EACH!! Plus, how do you get these heavy suckers back to the boat over an hour away by bus?

Jonesy hired a local guy here (the same one that brings us purified water and gasoline for our dinghy) to drive him into town. First, they tried to find them cheaper in some of the little towns between us and Puerto Vallarta. No luck. So, they bit the bullet and bought them in Puerto Vallarta. Then, we had to hoist each battery, one at a time, out of the dinghy and up, up, up onto the deck by using the block and tackle we have for the dinghy engine.

First Step: Move the boat from the anchorage, into the calm of the harbor so the boat won't rock so much as we do the replacements. But, the harbor is under construction, and the other week a fellow boater hit a rock coming into the harbor and had to get hauled out for fiberglass repairs ($$$$). But, we timed our entrance for high tide and made a safe trip.

Next Step: Remove the old batteries (130 pounds each!). How? Jonesy set up a block and tackle and we hoisted them up from the bilge and through an open hatch out to the deck. I (Terry) did the pulling on the line outside to hoist the batteries and Jonesy guided them out of the bilge. Who needs to pay for a gym? I'm building muscles everyday working on the boat (even if they are only my finger muscles some days from knitting).

Next Step: Lower the 4 new batteries (68 pounds each) down thru the hatch the same way. Finally, Jonesy worked fast and furiously making cables to connect the 4 batteries, removing an old battery charger that isn't even hooked up anymore, and getting everything back into working order. Ta-Da! Everything works beautifully now!! We are CHARGED and READY TO SAIL SOUTH!!! (well, when the visas are ready.....)

Comments:
And here you thought it would be easy ... :)

I'm so glad you're enjoying. I'm certainly enjoying keeping up with you.

Smooth Sailing.
LP
 
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