Life's a Beach | Expat Life in Playa del Carmen : Playa del Carmen , Boating

Project Panga - Update #2

Rob Kinnon — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 16:56:00 GMT

The week or so of bad weather really put a crimp in Yimer's work schedule. His workshop is way too small to pull the boat into (I'm not sure the trailer is quite up to it anyway) so he is restricted to working only on dry days. The long and tedious process of sanding, filling and sanding again is not a lot of fun and he has had a bad time finding willing helpers. We stopped in to check on things and I was surprised that he had been able to do as much as we saw, given the weather.

We have decided to move the console back a bit from where you see it here, behind that first "rib". The floor of the boat is going to need some reinforcement in places to support the weight of the console and captain. We had originally planned on using fiber-glassed plywood but Yimer has settled on using sheets of fiberglass cut from a supply of bathtubs currently residing in his workshop. Don't ask.

After some debate, we have decided to try to "finish" the interior of the boat as best we can. At one point, to save pesos, we were just going to sand it down, gel coat it and not worry too much about how pretty it looks. After repeated sandings, it appears that we will need to put a bit more into it to have it look decent. So be it.

Rob's trip to Cancun to buy rod holders and other fittings for the boat left him reeling from sticker shock. The marine shop in Cancun wanted several HUNDRED dollars for each rod holder. We can buy these in the States very reasonably and we plan to do so. We may have a look in the fishing store in the Belize/Mexico free-zone next week as well. Everything up here is ridiculouly over-priced!!

***Note to self - Open a marine store, motor repair and parts exchange in Playa.

Project Panga - The Beginning

Project Panga - Update #1

Rob Kinnon — Tue, 27 May 2008 11:30:00 GMT

Just a quick photo update from Project Panga.

The boys have just about sanded and grinded the boat down to her bones.

The console and seats are being measured and constructed and the first stage of filling and smoothing the exterior of the hull has begun. I chose a pretty caribbean blue for the hull and the rail and interior surfaces will be white. She should look quite sharp when the gell-coating is done.

Rob is in Cancun today buying the rod holders and any other fittings he can find. This is actually moving along much faster than we anticipated. What happened to "Mexico Time"?

Previous Entry - Project Panga - The Beginning

Project Panga - The Beginning

Rob Kinnon — Sat, 17 May 2008 03:42:00 GMT

As some of you may know, Rob and I purchased a 28' fishing panga a few months ago. Because we have been up to our eyeballs with clients, we haven't had much time to dedicate to the "new" boat or to give it the attention it needs. Until about 2 weeks ago, the poor vessel had been sitting in dry dock in Paamul, unused and unserviced. Just recently, a friend of ours, a local boat captain, lamented that his current employment situation was unsatisfactory and that he was in the market for a new job and a new boat to command. Immediately, we recognized an opportunity to not only get our boat back in "ship shape" with a professional captain to take charge of the re-fit but also a way to carefully test the waters in the very competitive world of charter fishing on the Riviera Maya. A lot of work lies ahead of us and we are going into this new business with our eyes open and a willingess to learn and adapt as necessary.

This is the first post a series of journal entries documenting the process and our experiences, good and bad, along the way.

Friend and "yacht" broker, Bart, with La Reina del Caribe as we purchased her.

We may want some more seating options.

....and a bit more power on the back.

Last week, under the supervision of Captain Genaro, our boat was moved to a workshop in the colosio to be reconfigured, re-fiberglassed and gel-coated. Yimer and his assitant went at it for hours and hours with grinders removing layers of old paint and smoothing the surfaces as best they can.

The body work is well underway and we are now in possession of a nearly new 175hp Yamaha. Perhaps a bit too much "umph" for this little panga but Genaro seemed pleased. Better too much than too little, I suppose. Now it's up to us to choose our paint colors and select a new name for her.

To be continued........