Author Archives: Melissa

Cheap Boat Tricks: Interior Teak

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We are here in Bahia Chamela on the Pacific Coast of Mexico and we are not feeling the love here. One of the dark little secrets of the cruising life is that not all anchorages are worthy of your time and attention. Many times it depends on when you are there and what the weather is like, what the surf is like.  Now Bahia Chamela has a very pretty beach, but the water is too murky for snorkeling and the swell and waves are pretty intense right now due to the wind out there. We took the paddle boards out but it was just too rough to be fun. There’s a restaurant on shore, but frankly this is so common in Mexico that it’s just not tempting enough to take the trouble going to shore. Lots of folks love this anchorage; we just aren’t feeling it. We don’t need to keep eating in restaurants.  We’ll be moving on pretty quickly, always in search of a good snorkel adventure.

Anyhow I was in a mood.  I needed a small, easy to complete project and this one filled the bill and is high on the ‘wow’ satisfaction factor. Galapagos has a lot of interior teak, including the ladder down into the salon that gets used about 50 times a day. I noticed that the finish was looking pretty ratty and the handholds were filthy because they were getting hard to clean, again, because the finish on the wood was worn away.

The guy who remodeled our galley way back before we left the dock is a wooden boat builder from way back and he shared this trick with me for making interior teak on these old 1970’s boats look good again without having to do an entire refinish.

The trick is using real shellac. Not polyurethane, not varnish. Shellac. Shellac is easy to work with, dries quickly (unless it’s old, in which case it needs replacing), and can be cleaned up and thinned with alcohol. We keep a can on board the boat. This brand comes in clear or amber. Our woodwork has the traditional honey colored wood. The amber matches it perfectly. 

The process is dead simple. Lightly sand the areas where the finish has worn away. I used first an 80 grit, then followed behind with a 220 grit. You are just looking to remove the old finish in the worn area so definitely use a light touch. Remember, as Mike says, “We aren’t building the Parthenon here.”. Don’t let perfection be the enemy of ‘good enough’. You are not refinishing fine furniture at this point. Just repairing a worn finish so you can put off refinishing the whole thing, which is more work.

Once you’ve sanded, go over the area with a tack cloth. Get a load of this tack cloth that probably came from our garage. It’s an old one. But unopened, it’s still good.

This store has been gone for decades.

Now just use a cheap tip brush or a sponge brush and brush the shellac on the exposed wood, taking care to tip the new finish into the old. You’re supposed to let shellac dry before sanding with 220 grit and then recoating, but I’m too impatient for that. I let it get tacky and then go over it again. Works just fine. I’ll let the photos do the rest of the talking about this project, which took all of 30 minutes to complete. My work for today is done. Time to read a book. Maybe see if there are any animals around that need looking at.

Each step was worn on the edge where our feet hit it many, many times per day.

It was this area that grabbed my attention. These handles had pretty much no finish left. We also need to replace the non-skid, but we don’t have the material on hand. I’ve put it on the list of stuff for our expedition back to the states.

The sun makes this look orange. But it’s not.

Standing back, the steps are looking much better.

Maybe some day Galapagos will have all this interior wood refinished. Probably right before we sell her to the next cruiser. Don’t hold your breath. We’ve got some cruising yet to do.

S/V Galapagos, standing by on channel 22a.

You Wanna Iguana?

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Just a quick update to give me an excuse to post photos. We are living marina life for an entire week.  The last time we were on a dock was two days last December. We finally made it to Paradise Village Marina near Puerto Vallarta, where we were hoping we could live the good life: the life of laying around by the swimming pool and ordering Happy Hour drinks. Alas, that has yet to happen, although we did get one evening of pool and hot tubbing.

While enjoying the pool we had a short conversation with a woman who was sipping on a frosty pink concoction she called a Miami Vice. She had two of them because she ordered during two-for-one happy hour. Mexico loves it some two-fer deals when it comes to alcohol. So she was holding one in the swimming pool while the other awaited her attention on the table. I’m pretty sure these were not her first drinks of the day; wink wink, and we both said silent prayers that she would keep her drink in her cup as she paddled around. We asked her what was in them and she had no idea. But she knew she liked them and highly recommended we try one. I guess that’s good enough. According to our new friend, we had just missed happy hour. She was having a good time so I imagine we’ll hit up a happy hour or two once we get all our work done. Talking to pleasantly drunk people in the pool: it just doesn’t get better than that for free entertainment.

This is the river where the marina is located. This water is deceptively still looking. It took us three tries to get into the slip due to current and wind.

Paradise Village is a resort and everyone here is on vacation. Everyone except the cruisers that is. So it’s pretty interesting in terms of people watching and we had a great visit with a few people sitting in the hot tub with us. It may have been my imagination that the woman next to me moved over just a bit when she found out we lived on a boat. When she asked if we had brought the boat down from Washington, just the two of us,  and I said, ‘Yes’, she just shook her head and looked away. I think she just didn’t know what to say. Sometimes I feel that way, too, lady so it’s okay. We know we’re weird, believe me.

Anyway, this place is like a cruise ship on land. This kind of resort takes the term ‘one stop shopping’ and cranks up the volume full tilt. Right here on the property you have your room, entertainment, food, swimming pools, spas, the beach, massages on the beach, craft vendors, even an American style shopping mall (such as it is), and unlimited bars. It’s kind of like being at Disneyland, only without the rides. For me and Mike, it’s like visiting an entirely different country. It’s not quite Mexico, and it’s also not quite any other country either. Anyway, after our dip in the pool and our hot tub visit we were ready to get back to the boat, so we decided to take a pass on ‘Western Night’, (complete with barbecue ribs, a mechanical bull,  some kind of western town mock up that looked like a movie set, and a live band). I’m sure it must have been a real hootenanny.

How I wanted that water slide with the big teeth to be open! Alas. But the hot tub is in that cave in the back. Pretty cool.

Anyhoo, we have been working pretty hard since we got here; gearing up for journey south. My first effort has been cleaning all the upholstery on the boat. It was getting annoyingly salty, which means it never felt dry. Now we are working on cleaning the deck. Unlimited fresh water with decent water pressure? I haven’t seen such a gift since, hmmm. I’m trying to remember. Marina Real up in San Carlos was rationing water when we were there in December, so we had it for one day and the pressure was not great. Puerto Escondido had water back in the spring, but again, not much pressure at the dock for some reason. So we are giving the boat a good scrub, hitting the stainless with vinegar, and generally doing some much needed house keeping. Honestly, unlimited fresh water is such a treat. I can’t wait to have a full water tank again.

Meanwhile, this evening we went on a little foray up the river in the dinghy; looking for crocodiles. There are signs everywhere warning you not to swim in this river (as if I would – no thanks) because of crocodiles. But I’m beginning to wonder if these are mythical crocs because we sure haven’t found any. There are plenty of places around here under the mangrove trees that look just right for a croc to haul out onto the bank, but nada. Still, we saw literally hundreds of the crocodile’s smaller cousin: iguanas. I am not exaggerating. The trees were filled with iguanas of all sizes laying around on branches trying to blend in.  I was in a moving boat, but I did manage a few portraits. Their expressions are fascinating but I’m still hoping for crocodiles while we are here.  Enjoy.

Hard to imagine, but this is just a representative tree of hundreds of trees filled with iguanas. Who knew they were so big? They are like small dragons.

I wonder what they talk about.

Smug Iguana.

Sly Iguana.

Shy iguana.

Green iguana! Do you see the tail of his friend?

There were dozens of these nice Yellow Crowned Herons in the trees. This one had just caught a fish and had his feathers all in a ruffle.

S/V Galapagos, standing by on channel 22a.

Everything Grows Here

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We’re growing barnacles on our hull. When we left San Carlos in December we had a brand new bottom job. Naturally we had hoped that this would see us through the year, at least. But we’re just ignorant that way; and also still accustomed to the colder waters of the Pacific Northwest, I guess. I mean, why else would we have what has turned out to be unrealistic expectations? Friends here in this anchorage with us left San Carlos with a new bottom job at about the same time as we did and they, too, have barnacle growth to attend to. Maybe that’s normal in these waters.

My hull scraping cutting board and suction cup handle. I have plans on how to make this cutting board work even better.

It’s not that there are big huge creatures attached to our precious hull, it’s that they are small and numerous and I know we cannot leave them to grow. So I find myself in my snorkel gear, earplugs firmly intact, using a flexible cutting board as a wide scraper, swimming along the side of the hull removing hard growth and attracting myriads of smaller fish who are pleased with the growing smorgasbord in the water. I was using a smaller putty knife but it doesn’t remove enough material at once. I’d be there until Christmas that way. I’m kind of ready to hire someone to do this for me, actually.

Such a clever fellow, blending in as he does. These iguanas live close to the marina and like the shrubs next to the walkway. I wish he’d let me give him a pat. He looks so nice and scaly and dry.

One of the many things about this lifestyle that has taken us a little by surprise, because we just didn’t think much about it, is how you have to constantly adjust to new environments. I don’t mean the usual ‘finding the grocery store here’, or ‘which place has the best tacos’. I mean the change in climate, water temperature, air temperature…all that stuff.

The difference between our lives here in Banderas Bay (because it feels like we live here now) and our life in the Sea of Cortez is profound. We are dealing with humidity, increasing heat, and we are enjoying the warmth of the water, which means we swim almost every day. It’s a whole different world. This, apparently, has exposed us to new and exciting organisms that, while invisible to the naked eye, find hospitable purchase to grow in our bodies. Everything seems to grow here with wild abandon.

Here are our two lessons we’ve learned the hard way so far: always clean your ears out with hydrogen peroxide after swimming, and always wear a full mask that covers your nose when swimming. In other words, keep the salt water out of your orifices. Who knew? Well, I guess we do now.

We had been here about 2 weeks when Mike began to feel ill. He actually had a fever, which is pretty rare for him. Lethargic and with a painful jaw on one side he wondered about an infected tooth, but none of his teeth hurt. I wondered about a sinus infection, based on my considerable experience with those. He felt like crap and slept a great deal.

Giving him the once over I discovered increased blood pressure for him, and an increased pulse. Hmmmm. No bueno.  I decided to take a look in his ears. In what turned out to be a prescient move, I had invested in a cheap Dr. Mom otoscope when we were back in the states. It was an impluse purchase that I felt would come in handy. I checked the ears and found, to my horror, that he had what appeared to be a bulging, red and purple weepy area on the ear canal. It was not behind the ear drum, but it was definitely not something that belonged anywhere on a human body. Something alien was in my beloved’s ear. This meant a definite trip to the doctor. Immediately.

There are two places to see a doc here. One has an office attached to the pharmacy in town. I understand the fee there is extremely reasonable (read: cheap) and you can get your prescriptions filled right there. The other is a 24 hour clinic that is more focused on the tourists in the area and is quite a bit more expensive. We went by the pharmacy doc’s place first, but he was out to lunch and Mike felt too ill to wait for him in what was turning out to be a very warm, humid day. He was fading fast. We went to the emergency clinic. Mike was seen immediately.

Lots of water here, making a good place to see this painted turtle. There were about 5 of them right there. He’s a good sized turtle.

About 100$ later the doctor had given him antibiotics and some steroid drops for his ear and told him that an organism had found its way under the skin probably due to some tiny scratch in the ear canal. It had created an ulcer. He said it happens frequently and we should wash our ears out with hydrogen peroxide on a regular basis, and especially after swimming. Huh. We aren’t in Washington State anymore, I guess. Although you could never have paid me to swim up there.

The antibiotics helped over time and I kept a close eye on that ear, checking it everyday. It took about 11 days for the thing to heal enough that it didn’t look like an open wound. We feel like we were lucky to catch this because his ear didn’t hurt and it was only because his jaw was hurting that I thought to look in the ear. The doctor made it clear that had we waited much longer, this would have been a serious infection and much more difficult to treat. Damn. Way to put the fear of the gods into us.

I don’t know what this little guy is, but he was clearly too pretty to swat and made no trouble.

So Mike is fine and back to swimming and practicing standing up on the paddle board. Thank goodness for good medical care that is affordable. In the states, we probably would have avoided going to the doctor longer due to cost. The freedom of not having to worry about the financial implications of treatment is considerable.

Soon as he was well, I got sick. What?? I feel sure that my bottom-cleaning antics are to blame because I made an unwise decision and wore swim goggles, which do not cover your nose, rather than my full face mask. Even as I was sideways against the hull with organism debris all around me, that little voice of wisdom in the back of my head was telling me this was not a great idea, that I needed to keep the salt water/debris out of my nose better than this; that keeping air pressure in my nose wasn’t cutting the mustard. I hate when that little voice is right AFTER the fact. I got a nasty sinus infection, which I fortunately had antibiotics for on board the boat. I’m better and back to swimming (WITH my face mask, thank you very much), but between Mike’s illness and mine, we’ve been kind of growing attached to La Cruz. It’s not a bad place to be stuck, but I’m wondering if we need to check our own bodies for barnacles, we’ve been here so long.

I finally found my piece of Huichol art. I’m kind of in love with it. That’s the ocean Goddess on the right side.

One of the good things about being in a place too long is you make more connections with the people who are here. And that leads to some opportunities. In our last post we talked about how we realized we were looking at inflatable dinghies with longing. (Well, it wasn’t actually the dinghy we wanted, it was the ability to move faster and with more power. Frankly if we could do that with our Pudgy we’d be happy.) But anyhow, if you are following us on Facebook you’ll already know that very shortly after that post Mike was chatting with a guy at the dinghy dock and somehow it came up that we were kind of thinking we needed to be looking at other dinghies. People always ask about our Pudgy and admire her, so these conversations about dinghies are common. This guy had a dinghy he was selling for 100$ but it was deflated on his foredeck. His woman was seriously ready for it to be gone because it was taking up space. He was feeling the pressure.

Mike took a look at it but was pretty unimpressed. It looked like it had seen way better days and as a rule, we believe you get what you pay for, although we are completely open to gifts from the Universe, as it were. While not really interested in the dinghy, Mike kind of felt for the guy and realized he was under pressure from the wife. So he offered to come the next morning during the calm water time to help the dude just get the thing off the deck, get it in the water; just cruisers helping other cruisers. That would at least move the situation along and take the sting out of his complete disinterest in moving forward with that particular dinghy.

That afternoon the guy pulled the dinghy up to our boat and said, ‘Here, give it a try. Don’t worry about paying me. Just see if you can use it.’. Well… OK. I guess that was a bit of a surprise, but why not?

A sad looking vessel, to be sure. And filthy.

It was a sad looking boat, let me tell you. Filthy, no seats; it was like my first bicycle that I pulled out of the trash at the tender age of 5. It only needed everything to be just perfect. Still, it was floating, it had a fiberglass double floor with a drain, it was hypalon (not PVC), and it was the right size. Having invested nothing, we had nothing to lose by trying it out. It was made by Avon, which has a really good reputation for lasting decades if cared for. We went down the research hole on the interwebs and determined that based on what we found, and on the feedback I had received on the Women Who Sail forum, we would see if we could save this apparently worthy dinghy. Hey, if you know S/V Rubicon, this used to be their tender long ago.

We soon found a leak on one side, so that would need fixing. We took it in to the marina and talked to Horatio, the local dinghy repair chap. He looked it over and came up with a plan to fix that leak, then we could determine if there might be more, smaller leaks that would show up after this one was fixed. He said after he fixed the leak, we should use it like that for awhile and see whether it held air and if we liked it before spending more money on restoring it further. I liked this guy. He was clearly looking out for our interests as much as his own and I felt he was honest about what he could do for us. He didn’t want to see us invest a lot of money in a dinghy that turned out to be a poor investment. If we decide to keep it, he can replace all the seams for us. It also needs a new rubrail, but we will have to get that from the states.

Checking the bottom.

So we played with it a bit and we enjoyed how big and comfortable it was. We put the Octopus engine on the thing and even though our engine is a 2.5 hp baby, it pushed that dinghy along much faster than the heavier Pudgy can go. It cut our time to get to the dock by at least a third. It’s a way wetter ride, though. Maybe with a larger engine that can get it up on a better plane, the ride would be a little drier. But inflatables have a reputation for being wet, something we had not appreciated about our Pudgy as much as we should.

Mike, testing the speed. See how his hair blows in the wind? What a feeling.

At this point we are not ready to give up the Pudgy, but we’ve got Andrew and Jill (check out their cute blog) coming to spend time on the boat in September and if we are lucky Claire and Dan may make an appearance this spring. This dinghy will be grand when they are here. That will give us enough time to use it and see if we want to invest in a larger engine with this dink, or if we need to look at other inflatables once we get to the states. Storage is the only issue, but what else is new? We think we have a plan but we haven’t tried it yet. I mean, we’re already well into the Beverly Hillbillies vibe on our cabin top, so what do we have to lose? We’ll see.

Our current look, minus the shotgun, of course.

While we had planned to spend the summer on board, once more that is not happening. We need to go to Tennessee to visit Mike’s family. And since we’ll be in the states we will go see my family as well. We plan to get our car in San Carlos, pray it still runs, and drive that to Tennessee where we will stay for a few weeks. We’ll then need to drive the car back down to the southwest and store it somewhere, probably near Tuscon I’m guessing, so we can fly home to Washington. We will leave the boat here in Banderas Bay at Paradise Village Marina. It’s a good hurricane hole.

We think we are almost ready to go exploring now but I hesitate to say that out loud. We plan to spend a few days in Paradise Village Marina before we leave as they have potable water. Have I mentioned here that a water maker is high on our list of requirements for going further with this whole cruising gig? Hey, mentioning the dinghy paid off in spades, even though that guy has never heard of this blog. I have nothing to lose by throwing it out there that we need a water maker, especially for when 4 of us are aboard. Bring it, Universe. Bring it.

S/V Galapagos, standing by on channel 22a.