As the plane descended, the sun was setting in the Sea of Cortez, silhouetting San Carlos and the harbour of Guaymas where New Life was waiting for us in Gabriel’s boatyard.
We had spent Christmas and New Year discovering southern Mexico. Along the way we met some really interesting people, like our very first encounter in Puerto Escondido when Google proved unable to lead us to our accommodation. Napoleon was out looking for lost cows but stopped to show us the way to his cousin’s horse farm, Finca El Yayo, with Nico along for the ride on his tractor.
Sticking to an unspoken accord, during our time away we barely talked of the boat and the numerous problems holding us back from setting off across the Pacific. But the time away did us good and we were ready to get back to work – that is if we did not decide to chuck it all in, once we were actually in the boat yard again.
Back in October when we left Salsipuedes Island, after the summer spent in the Bahia de Los Angeles, a problematic crossing of the Sea of Cortez had brought us back to San Carlos. It was our first stop to let us meet up with other boating families and old friends.
Not long after, by end of that month we took New Life out of the water in nearby Guaymas and began to take the keel apart.
As we had suspected, the liquid roofing tar used to cover the lead weights in the keel had hidden rust. By now it was beginning to perforate the keel. So we cut open the sides and prised each block out to let us use diesel, scrapers and brushes to painstakingly remove all traces of tar.
Just getting to the bottom of all this proved difficult, both literally and figuratively speaking. With advice from other boaties, an engineer using ultrasound to check the steel hull thickness, and carefully disassembling parts of the boat we reluctantly arrived at the decision to completely replace the steel sides of the keel.
Then a friend helped remove the prop shaft that had played up during the crossing. The engineers at a nearby marine fitter and turner’s workshop found that it was not as straight as it should be. The recommendation was to get it replaced rather than trying to straighten it out. And that may well require lifting the engine up to put it back in place.
That leaves two portholes (i.e. cabin windows) to replace due to rust in the frame, the solar panel rack to rebuild after storm damage, the entire fuse and switch board to replace and rewire after being sprayed with sea water in the same storm, as well as fixing the air vents above the chart table to prevent that re-occurring.
And that’s not to mention routine work like antifouling the hull, repainting the topsides above the waterline, eliminating rust on deck and painting it all again. Then there is varying plumbing, wiring and woodwork repairs to keep all systems operational.
No wonder we needed a holiday to recalibrate our family relationships, to confirm that we really enjoy this lifestyle and to get excited about continuing our waterborne explorations. But to do that and avoid depleting our reserves, we will need to find a way to recoup costs by writing and filming our story to share with paying subscribers. So we signed up for a Patreon creator’s account and got the video camera out again to offer exclusive insghts into our unpredictable life for a small monthly contribution. To find out if and how we solve all these problems, join us at The Curious Sailors on Patreon.
It was late at night when we reached New Life after Cesar delivered us from Hermosillo airport, 3 hours drive away. During our absence, the yard had visibly emptied out with many other vessels back in the water. But our boat welcomed us back, lights and water came on without problem, and it felt good to be home again. Tomorrow’s sunrise would bring another day …
