FABRICATION OF BOAT PARTS IN MEXICO

There is no doubt in our mind after spending the past year here in Mexico that one thing that makes life difficult on a boat here is the fact that parts coming from the U.S. or other countries are extremely difficult and expensive to get here in Mexico. Import fees here are extremely high and it is normal for items to get caught in customs when shipping for weeks or even months. Anyone coming into Mexico on a boat should carry as many spare parts as possible with them that much is clear.
Having said that I will also say that Mexico does a incredible job in the fabrication of parts and the stainless steel work done here in Mazatlan is beautiful and inexpensive.
Below are a few parts that we had fabricated here in Mazatlan. The first is a double belted pulley for our alternator. The pulley was not available in the U.S. or anywhere for that matter since they do not make a double belted pulley for a over-sized alternator that is spaced for the Ford Lehman. We brought in the double belted pulley that was on the boat (although never hooked up as a double belt due to the sizing issue) and a few days later we had a brand new steel double belted pulley for our engine...the cost $45.00 U.S.
The second item we had fabricated was a stainless steel exhaust elbow for our Northern Lights Generator. As you can see by the photos the old cast iron exhaust elbow was in very bad shape. We had gotten pricing for a new elbow in cast iron in the U.S. and the cost was about $350.00. We were so busy getting replacement parts from the lightning strike when we were back in the U.S. that we forgot to order it so when we arrived back in Mazatlan we took the old one off and had a new one fabricated out of stainless steel (which is much better than cast iron). The cost to have a new stainless steel elbow made from scratch here in Mexico $250.00.
We also had to have our stainless steel radar mount customized with a new foot print for our new radome since the new one would not fit the old mount. The cost for this stainless steel fabrication was $40.00.
I challenge anyone to have these jobs done in the U.S. as quickly or as inexpensively as here in Mexico.

Los Osuna......Agave Azul Distillery

We decided to make a trip to the Blue Agave Distillery of Los Osuna with our friends John and Rosie from the mv Serena Ray. Los Osuna is located approx. 30 miles outside of Mazatlan, within the state of Sinaloa. Los Osuna is a family owned operation that has been producing their tequila for over 134 years. The ranch has been in the Osuna family for over 200 years so there is quite a colorful history behind this distillery as you can imagine.

It was really interesting to see how they produce this extremely tasty tequila. They even still use underground brick ovens to roast the agave bulbs. After the tour we had a tasting of Los Osuna Reposado and I have to say that although I have never been a big fan of tequila this was without a doubt the best tequila I have ever tasted. If all tequila was this good I am sure I would be drinking a lot more tequila than I currently do. We did bring a bottle back to Chrokeva and since it seems the only place you can purchase Los Osuna is in Mazatlan (due to export taxes) we may have to pick up another bottle before leaving.

October 2010

Here are a bunch of random photos we took on a recent day trip to the outskirts of Mazatlan. Nothing particularly interesting but the photos are fun nevertheless. If anyone is wondering what type of animal is in the below photo it is a Coati Mundi which is a member of the Raccoon family, it is native to Mexico. The vaquero (cowboy) was actually picking up a six pack of beer at a local tienda and took the horse right inside the store (never even dismounted)...nobody even blinked an eye (except us gringos). I also thought the cactus growing on the roof of the house was a interesting thing...again only to us gringos I am sure :)

back in Mazatlan

Well me made it back to Mazatlan without incident. The border crossing was incredibly easy and although the drive was long it was uneventful. It really did feel good to be back where life moves slower and does not seem quite as hectic as it does in the United States. Life here in Mexico seems to be focused on fun and family (in that order) and I have to say it is refreshing.
We are now looking forward to next cruising season and although we have our hands full with repairs on Chrokeva we know in just a short time we will be leaving Mazatlan and heading south towards new adventures. We would like to be in Ixtapa/Zihuatenejo for Christmas which is approx. 500 miles south of Mazatlan (our current location (23º 16.0’ N 106º 29.0’ W to be exact). Hurricane season ends on November 1st so that would give us a little over 1 month to make our way to Z-Town (as the cruisers call it) for Christmas. We are hoping to have some old friends from San Diego join us for the way down the coast. For now we will keep a weather eye on the horizon.

August 2010

We spent the entire month of August visiting friends and family in San Diego and Arizona. It was really nice to get away from the heat of Mazatlan for the month of August which is known as one of the hottest months of the year. Although I have to say that San Diego was just downright cold in our opinion in comparison, Arizona was much closer in weather to what we have become accustom to over the past year (minus the extreme humidity). We made time to do some sightseeing in Arizona and even made a trip to the Grand Canyon....what a sight! Arizona truly is a beautiful state.
Amanda started school at Prescott College while we were there and while we are going to miss her incredibly we know that this is a great opportunity. We made her promise to spend her Christmas break with us in Mexico and said our goodbyes (at least for now).
We are now heading back to Mazatlan with a car full of boat parts with plans to start on the lengthy task of putting Chrokeva back to pre-lightning shape. It is amazing that we were able to fit all the items that we purchased in the US in this very small mexican rental car but somehow we did it so now all that is left is the work.
Purchasing the replacement parts for Chrokeva was no small task but I feel confident that she will be as good or better than before the strike. Our plan is to wait until the risk of lightning is over before installing the new electronics (a smart move in our opinion). There is still plenty to do over the next few months while we sit out hurricane season and try to stay cool in the hot mexican tropics.

HIT BY LIGHTNING!

Well the thing I feared most (besides a category 5 hurricane) actually happened to us on July 16th at approx 3:15 AM. It was a very stormy night with lightning and winds up to about 45 knots. Everyone was awake and Mark and been on deck most of the night trying to hold the canvas covers from blowing away. Unfortunately, we had no warning that weather was coming so it was a total surprise...not that knowing would have kept us from taking a strike but we would have been a little more prepared.
At approx. 3:15 we heard a very loud noise that sounded like a cannon and saw a bright white flash. I knew right away something was not right and yelled out to Mark asking if we had been hit. He went out on deck just in time to see the anchor/strobe light and VHF antenna come crashing down from the top of the mast to the deck....which was confirmation that we indeed did take a hit at the top of the mast. After that the night was a blur.
The list of damaged items so far are as follows:
o VHF Radio and Antenna
o 2 Battery Charges and Monitors
o 2 W-H Autopilots
o Raytheon Chartploter
o Windex wind/direction indicator
o Raytheon Radar and Radome
o Knot Meter
o all electricity to the mast (dead)
o Anchor/Strobe Light
People keep telling us we are lucky that it did not punch a hole in the boat but we do not feel very lucky. Still I suppose we need to count our blessings.
We had hoped not to have to put in a insurance claim but at this point it seems that we will not have a choice as there are some big ticket items that were damaged. It should be interesting trying to repair the boat from Mexico so I will update on how things go on the repairs.

El Quelite

It was nice to rent a car and take a road trip to the quaint town of El Quelite this past week. Out of all the towns we have been to in Mexico I have to say that El Quelite is the most beautiful and pristine. Every home in this little Mexican town is painted a different color and the town square which is a trademark of any Mexican village has the most gorgeous and incredibly maintained garden. After walking around the village of El Quelite we had a wonderful lunch at a local cantina. The food was not only great but the cantina seemed to be more like a museum than a restaurant.
It is now mid July and although we had expected the weather to be almost unbearable, much to our surprise, it has for the most part been only in the upper 80's which has been very comfortable. The marina here is extremely dead but the town is still very much alive with activity (minus most of the gringos).
In another few weeks we will be leaving the boat and Mazatlan to return to the states for the entire month of August. During this month we plan to get Amanda set up in Prescott to start her new life as a college student. It will seem strange to leave the boat alone for such a long time but we will hire someone to look after the boat and keep our fingers crossed that no hurricanes hit Mazatlan while we are away.

Mazatlan - June 2010

We are all tucked into our slip safe and sound on dock 5 at Marina Mazatlan. We have started to pull down our head sails in preparation for hurricane season. I am surprised by how dead things have gotten over the past month. It seems that most cruisers are really only cruising part time and head back to there home country in the hot summer months. There are alot of the full time cruisers that head up into the Sea of Cortez for the summer to continue cruising in the hot months but with our pending 1 month trip back to the states in August we are left to put a boat in a marina which reminds me of a graveyard this time of year.
It is a good time to get projects done so we have started on several already. Last week we had the leather settee in the salon reconditioned by a leather factory here in Mazatlan (see before and after photos below). They did a great job and the price was very reasonable so we decided to let them recover the settee in the master cabin as the upholstery is original with the boat. We are also working on the forward head as it has been more of a closet to Amanda over the past 4 years and with her heading back to school in August it seems that we could use another head rather than a closet.
We also made time to do some volunteer work at the local church last week. We met at the church in the morning and a group of about 8 of us made approximately 300 sandwiches that we delivered to the local dump in Mazatlan where hundreds of people work everyday digging through miles of trash looking for anything of value to sell in order to feed there families. I have to say it is a very eye opening experience to see how people live and to realize how much we as Americans have (even our very poor cannot compare). My heart especially hurt for the children and it is not something any of us will soon forget.
Amanda has been taking on line classes at the college and is busy with that for a good part of every day. She has decided to go into the nursing field so the prerequisites should keep her busy for quite awhile.