Weebles in Mexico - the adventure resumes (aka Tales from the Cruising Crypt)

[PierreR]

What do you more experienced owners think about Steve Seaton's designs? Being new to trawlers I'm still trying to figure out what to look for, but his designs seem very sound and it's a look I kind of like.

When I think of Steve Seaton I think of custom heavy comfortable luxury designs. Builders of his designs vary greatly in quality. Buy the right boat and it can be tea time in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

 

[Blissboat]

When I think of Steve Seaton I think of custom heavy comfortable luxury designs. Builders of his designs vary greatly in quality. Buy the right boat and it can be tea time in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Add Chuck Neville's name to this informal roll-call of designers in the cruising trawler space. He and Seaton were both apprentices of Charley Morgan, at different times.

(Sorry, Peter - your thread is now no longer merely adrift, it's racing downwind).

 

[PierreR]

I would say my favorite designer is William Garden for west US coast influence and second would be Nat Herreshoff on east coast for salty looking boats.
The most under rated and the most influence on modern design I would assign to Steve Dashew.

 

[KnotYet]

Since the brakes are now off I'll add the name of Philip Rhodes.
He designed hundreds of vessels for every purpose and material.
My previous boat was a Rhodes designed motorsailer that motored and sailed wonderfully.

 

[Serene]

What about Jay Benford? This is one of my all time favourites;

 

[Mac2]

What about Jay Benford? This is one of my all time favourites;

A beauty! Stretch it a little bit, throw a couple masts up and it’s a Kadey-Krogen 54. Shrink it a bit and it’s a 46 Nordhavn. I wonder how we’re all drawn to the similar style trawler. Is it the beauty of the lines or is it the knowledge of what those lines are capable of?

 

[PierreR]

Is it the beauty of the lines or is it the knowledge of what those lines are capable of?

After pursuing yacht design for a while in my younger years I quickly came to the knowledge that it's the beauty of the lines and the beauty is what sells.
Beautiful salty lines are not synonymous with economy or seaworthiness. You can have a salty looking trawler styled house boat. Buyers will perceive it as more seaworthy than it actually is.

 

[Wtrguy]

A beauty! Stretch it a little bit, throw a couple masts up and it’s a Kadey-Krogen 54. Shrink it a bit and it’s a 46 Nordhavn. I wonder how we’re all drawn to the similar style trawler. Is it the beauty of the lines or is it the knowledge of what those lines are capable of?

Being fairly new to the search, it surprises me how often a boat that is visually appealing to me sells almost immediately after hitting the market, while others that don't have that capable, salty look to them sit for months. There are exceptions, of course, but the longer I look the more apparent this trend is. The options included don't seem to have near as much bearing as the seaworthiness and capabilities of the vessel.

 

[Mac2]

After pursuing yacht design for a while in my younger years I quickly came to the knowledge that it's the beauty of the lines and the beauty is what sells.
Beautiful salty lines are not synonymous with economy or seaworthiness. You can have a salty looking trawler styled house boat. Buyers will perceive it as more seaworthy than it actually is.

In my defense, I was including the underwater lines (probably the most important) of the Jay Benford drawing above. No house boat will have those curves. I do understand what you are referring to. I won’t name the brand, but I was shocked when I saw the boat on the hard. Damn near flat as a pancake in the stern sections.

 

[Mac2]

Being fairly new to the search, it surprises me how often a boat that is visually appealing to me sells almost immediately after hitting the market, while others that don't have that capable, salty look to them sit for months. There are exceptions, of course, but the longer I look the more apparent this trend is. The options included don't seem to have near as much bearing as the seaworthiness and capabilities of the vessel.

I discovered the same thing. The boats I could afford would typically sell in a couple weeks. I ended up selling my condo, and living in a shoebox, so I could move on a boat quickly. I actually got confronted by a guy at Fisherman’s Terminal that claimed I bought “his” boat. Good luck in your search.

 

[Mac2]

I had to go back to remember what this chat was about. My wife yells “squirrel” when I wonder away from the topic. Maybe some more food pics? What is your opinion of electric scooters or bikes for your running around for parts/food?

 

[mvweebles]

Fair warning - more travelogue. We return to the boat tomorrow

There are two etiquette norms in Mexico that I am slow getting used to. The first is Whatsapp. Don't get me wrong, Whatsapp is the best messenging app going and I love it. Mexico runs on Coca-Cola and Whatsapp. The part that drives me nuts is it's apparently impolite to just ping someone with a question "Hola Luisa. Can you recommend a good place for tapas and wine?" First you must establish contact eith "Buenos dias" or the like. And then you wait for an acknowledgement. And wait. And wait. And wait. Stretches my patience to it's limits. Why not just ask the question straight away?

The second etiquette item that I begrudgingly respect is not putting toilet paper in the toilet (see pic below) but rather in the waste basket next to the toilet. Better than some other parts of the world - at least Mexico has toilets. But still....

Etiquette items I like are many - not uncommon when entering a restaurant for guests to great the entire restaurant with "Buen Dia."

Thisay seem like a strange positive but begging is more tolerated in Mexico. It's not that I like that there are poor people, but the response is to give a little. Extremely common. There isn't much in the way of public assistance for poor so giving a few pesos to beggers is normal. Those that give don't always look well off but they apparently have something to spare. And there are a lot of people doing small tasks for tips - bagging groceries, waving traffic as you back out of a parking space, etc. Everyone gives a tip if only a few pesos.

I once at at a restaurant in Ensenada. A relatively fancy place with large windows in the street. The place was mostly empty except for a table with a family of four who looked like this was a special once a year meal. A begger on the sidewalk came up to the window and motioned that he was hungry. We shooed him away, but the father at the next table took some of his meal, wrapped it in a napkin, and brought it out to the begger. Why didn't I do that? It would cost us nothing (we carry plenty of spare calories) and the begger looked like he was genuinely hungry. So we are now much more free with our spare change. Maybe we get scammed from time to time (though I doubt it - most beggers look like they could use the money), but that's okay.

Peter

 

[Bmarler]

We’re never too old to learn lessons from our caring neighbors. Those are the ones you remember the clearest.

 

[Serene]

I'm still waiting for my tacos al pastor with pineapple.

I lived and worked in Southern California for ten years and I will take some Baja fish tacos please.

 

[mvweebles]

A few years ago, Netflix did a documentary series called Taco Chronicles (in Spanish but very watchable). Taco culture in Mexico is very interesting as they vary widely.

 

[NWexplorer]

One more symptom: weird dreams. I cannot tell you how many dreams Weebles has been in over the last few months. We somehow ended up going down a small western trout stream a couple weeks ago. No bigger than a babbling brook yet there we were going downstream.

I can relate to the dreams. We're new to the trawler world. We live 7 hours drive time from our boat. I have been getting out there once a month or so to move projects along ahead of next year's cruising. I woke up the other day having dreamt I fell down a bottomless hole in the middle of my boat. It pretty much sums up the feeling of the learning curve/roller coaster I'm on. Enjoy your travels!

 

[Jdornick]

Monday morning we board an Aeromexico flight from Tampa to Tapachula via Mexico City - we're flying first class because we can each carry two 70-lb suitcases for free so it's actually cheaper than coach. Its a one-way flight - no return scheduled. Below are a few screenshots from Rony ("Tony" with an R) who keeps track of Weebles while she's in the yard. He sends me a video the first of each month showing the boat has been washed inside and out and kept clean, plus he checks her weekly to make sure the dehumidifier is working. He's sanded the bottom in prep for fresh bottom paint just before launch, probably in a week or so.

Weebles has been laid-up on the hard since April of last year so 1-1/2 years in the hot/humid climate of southern Mexico just 10-miles from Guatemala. The marina there is new-ish and even has a small pool, but it's 30-minutes from the small city of Tapachula so fairly isolated. It has a great cruiser community with WhatsApp being the adhesive that holds it together. Earlier today, someone reached out on WhatsApp that they needed a second pair of hands to "back" a bolt while they tightened from the inside. A few moments later someone replied "I'm on my way....."

True confession time: I'm nervous. Weebles has been on the hard for 1-1/2 years and while I visited a couple months ago and she looked great, my mind races with all the things that can go wrong during an extended layup in a hot/humid climate. Bugs in fuel tanks? Bugs in water tanks? Will the engine start? Are the batteries trashed? Is the water maker working? I can think of a zillion things. There are very limited resources for parts or help if needed - someone recently posted they had West Systems Epoxy shipped in from Puerto Vallarta which is over 700 miles away. Funny, I'm pretty good and confident on diagnosing stuff on other peoples boat. On mine I sometimes lack confidence.

I'm guessing 3-4 weeks in Chiapas before heading south. There are a few inland treks we'd like to make and we're not in any hurry. And then there is the pool and other cruisers who will be a welcomed distractions......

I'll keep an ocassional diary here.

Peter


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Welcome back.

 

[mvweebles]

Launch day.....after 1-1/2 years. Hope the engine starts

 

[slowgoesit]

Peter, Fingers crossed, but you should be fine!
I should be careful how I say this, especially if Cheryl is around, but that's a really nice looking bottom!

 

[SteveK]

Peter, Fingers crossed, but you should be fine!
I should be careful how I say this, especially if Cheryl is around, but that's a really nice looking bottom!

You should hope Laura does not see this. What were you thinking.

 

[Bob Cofer]

What her weight (Weebles) with all of your modifications?

 

[mvweebles]

She started right up and is now in her slip. Tonight is the last night in a hotel (thank you Marriott points!!). Tomorrow we move aboard and start figuring out our punch list.

Peter

 

[slowgoesit]

I didn't figure she'd let you down!

 

[Delta Riverat]

Me neither. If a diesel cranks most likely it will start. All the best on your new adventure!

 

[mvweebles]

I didn't figure she'd let you down!

Thanks Scot. The old Perkins is the most reliable piece of equipment on Weebles. We'll start our punch list today. I want to do a several hour sea trial to make sure the rear main seal and transmission seal that were replaced don't leak. Having a rental car here has been very handy since the marina is in the hinterlands. Most of the cruisers in the marina don't venture too far.....

Peter

 

[slowgoesit]

Thanks Scot. The old Perkins is the most reliable piece of equipment on Weebles. We'll start our punch list today. I want to do a several hour sea trial to make sure the rear main seal and transmission seal that were replaced don't leak. Having a rental car here has been very handy since the marina is in the hinterlands. Most of the cruisers in the marina don't venture too far.....

Peter

Just don't do what one sailboat did while we were there, and decided to go on a short cruise to test something, without getting permission/clearance beforehand . . . That close to the border, they're REALLY SERIOUS about things . . ..

 

[mvweebles]

Just don't do what one sailboat did while we were there, and decided to go on a short cruise to test something, without getting permission/clearance beforehand . . . That close to the border, they're REALLY SERIOUS about things . . ..

Good reminder. Ensenada was prickly about movements too.

Peter

 

[SteveK]

Good reminder. Ensenada was prickly about movements too.

Peter

Just tell them you are picking up debris dropped in the water from a plane.

 

[CapoBeach]

BTW - here's a chartlet of our general cruising area.

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This looks amazing! What an adventure.

 

[mvweebles]

Slowly working through my punch list.

• Check windlass and thruster power
• Replace inverter
• Change oil in engine
• Align engine
• Align Alternator
• Repair slight leak on bypass exhaust air lock hose fitting
• Replace rear bilge pump
• Sea trial engine and such.
• Install winch for dinghy
• Install cigarette lighter for fan
• Replace shaft seal

I've decided to outsource some items - there's a decent diesel mechanic here who's rate is around $30 USD. For the eagle-eyes on TF, that means much of the work I should be doing will be done by someone else. I feel so lazy these days - it gets hot and all I want is to head to the pool and have a beer ($40 mx, around $2.25 each). For around $150 USD, Mario will do my work for me. He's happy, I'm ecstatic. Liliana is happy too (she's the bartender at the pool).

Fair warning - anything boat related is done. Rest is Lonely Planet travelogue type stuff.

Our visa expires on November 14th. In the past, we've always gotten 180-days when we've checked in with immigration. This time they only gave us 40-days and we just didn't notice. Could we be gone by Nov 14th? Yes - and we might do just that. But we're also thinking of taking 10-days and hiring a car to take us to La Antigua in Guatemala, the ancient capital of the Maya. We were there 20-ish years ago and it was simply magical so we'd love to return. Our conversation on affordability goes something like "In 10-years, will we remember spending more than planned, or will we remember XXX?" (in this case, going to La Antigua).

Most cruisers here in the small marina are rice-and-beans type. Renting a car is out of the question. We've been meaning to return our rental car but at $25/day, its hard to give up, especially since the marina is a loooong way from anywhere. We've had it for 2-weeks and planned to return it tomorrow. Turns out today was 2-weeks so we're late. After a half-hour of WhatsApp chats, plan is to go to Hertz tomorrow and have a chat ----- and extend the rental for another week.

I gotta take more pictures.......

Peter