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