view from the top

 We finally pulled out the Bosun's chair last week and made it up the mast! Karin went first, she was excited to go up, and enjoyed the ride! I enjoyed it too, but would not look forward to trying it at sea. Last minute  (that:s us!) projects and details continue... we're here until the 5th, so the clock is ticking......

Charge it!

Finally... the new alternator and voltage regulator are installed and functioning! It really wasn't too hard, but the wiring and calibration for the voltage regulator took some time. We had lots of help from our friend Pete (the old salt), and our other friends, Kenny, Paul, and Pete.

 We're making the conversion to 100% DC; we've removed our old fridge, and the microwave. Sailors don't need ice, or hot pockets! Hopefully, this week we'll get the solar panels up and running, and we're almost ready to go. Theres going to be a swap meet here at the marina on the 16th, so we'll stay for that and try to get rid of some stuff, then, get outta here! We need to go sailing soon, maybe a day sail or two here in Ensenada next week, then south!

Progress

It's been a week since our last post, and we've been busy. We did get our MMSI number for our VHF, and got it linked up with our GPS; what that means is, if we get in trouble, we hit one button on the radio and it sends out our exact location and  our type of vessel. Kind of like Onstar for sailors!

 The major project for the week was cutting holes in our fuel tank. We had to siphon out the last 10 gallons of fuel, then clean the tank. While we were cleaning, Karin held up a wire brush and asked if it was mine? Well, no....... turns out, we found two wire brushes, and two hole saw cut outs in the tank! The last part of the project was installing the inspection plates, and refilling the tank. Our fuel has been filtered, treated, and the tank is clean. Peace of mind; priceless! Today we'll get started on the new alternator/ voltage regulator....progress!

Random pics from the last couple of weeks

 

We had a cold and blustery 24 hours so we just snuggled inside, made tacos and watched videos. Mad Men marathon! 

 

 

 

Video of us leaving San Diego, tried to upload the one of us coming into Ensenada, but to no avail, maybe later.

 Jack loves when Uncle Kenny comes to stay.

 Kenny the hero helping out a couple who got towed in from 80 miles out due to both engine and sail issues.

 My Valentines dinner,  Alemejas de Joe..sooo good, and just 1 buck for the clams

 Our good friend Kevin brought us Skipper and Gilligan hats.  I'm sure there are future photo ops with these.

 Jack doing his ear squish on the black lab across the dock. If you've seen the Seinfeld episode you'll get it.

                                                                           Classic Jack

 She is slowly learning to tolerate the punk. I think she actually likes him a little bit. She's a good dog!

                                                          La Mascota the Jackabunny

                                                  DISCHARGE OF OIL PROHIBITED. 

                                                                   Night in the Marina

Sailing into Ensenada. Captain Joe and Navigator Tom.

Project update

 Carnaval was fun; but back to work. One of our neighbors, Pete, an old salt, and really nice guy, came over and helped diagnose our overcharging situation. As he lit his pipe down in the engine compartment, he said...." I don't like that alternator." He was right, after only a few minutes it was putting out 14.6 volts and climbing. We shut down the engine, and the alternator was too hot to touch! Our new Balmor 100 amp alternator and multi stage regulator have been ordered, and should arrive this week. This was a significant issue, and hopefully didn't cook our batteries too bad. I'm sure we lost some life and charging capacity, but I think they'll be o.k.

 Water.....our fresh water system has been functional, yet annoying. As with any old plumbing; when you fix one area, another starts to leak. The dog chasing its tail... after a few attempts, I'm over it.... it's not going to sink the boat, we'll live with a few drips until we can replace the whole system. Otherwise; building our Solar panel tower shouldn't be too hard; LEGO with stainless steel. Installing access ports on our diesel fuel tank will be a bit more challenging, and lastly,  getting our electronics and navigation systems to sync. There's alot to this boating stuff, but the rewards will be many..............

We are giving up Carnaval for Lent

Carnaval has been over for a few days now and we are back into boat projects. We're hoping to continue south by the end of the month. Ensenada is wonderful and the Marina here at Cruiseport is full of great people along with an amazing staff, but the shake down cruise has put adventuring in our veins and we are anxious to head back out to sea.

                                          Tres Amigos!!

                                         Stripper puppets!             

                  My fortune being told, it said to enjoy my good luck and not be greedy.  Me gusta!

                                        Joe on the Extreme Loop, our favorite ride

                      We were told we were too tall to ride the Drop Zone, para ninos solamente. DOH!

                                            La Bufadora (the blow hole) awesome place!

                                                        Kenny had to be in the shot!

 

Carnaval!!

Joe and I are finally settling in here. Last night we went into town (just a 5 min walk from the marina) and joined in the festivities of Carnaval. We rode some rides, but really loved the loop one!

Then we stopped at a street taco stand and had the best pork adovada sandwich ever. We have totally fallen in love with the street food here. There is another stand around the corner from the marina that makes the best carne asada tacos for a buck twenty five. The town bells ring on the hour and half hour adding to the charm of this place. Come see us if you get the chance, we're leaving in eighteen days..........weather permitting of course.

 

 

 

 My apologies for the crudeness of the page we are still trying to figure this blog thing out, but being that we're more concentrated on boat projects Flyin Sideways gets our attention more. Once underway and a little more time on our hands we'll polish things up.