Matt returned at 0540 this morning, sporting a brand new souvenir, a birthday present to himself-- a Samoan tattoo. We had birthday cake after the hamburger grill out after the Friday night race; Michael again joined Zion and they had a great time and also placed pretty high on the race list.
Our "to do" list is extensive, as this will be the last (somewhat) convenient place to do, or have, work done. There's a lot of stuff being shipped to us, as upgrades and improvements continue aboard. Locally, finding reliable craftsmen has been a challenge, as many folks don't return calls, or are "no shows" on previously scheduled jobs. We rely on word of mouth of several of the Yacht Club members to steer us in the right direction, and even then, it seems some folks recommended just don't bother to follow up. At any rate, our dodger is off the boat as we tore one of the window zippers in Panama. The Perkins fuel injection pump has leaked since French Polynesia, and has been pulled, and along with the injectors, sent for servicing and repair. I've also arranged for a pressure test to be done on the valves to ensure that we don't need an overhaul before departing next season. The rigger has been busy, as we've pulled the original Lefiell tangs off the mast and I'll be replacing them as well as the original Navtec turnbuckles. Although five years ago I replaced all the 3/8" SS standing rigging and used all new Hayn Hi-Mod terminals, I didn't replace the (now) 32 year old tangs or turnbuckles. Considering Infini has already been thru one circumnavigation and is now well on her way towards a second, the SS metal fatigue and metal "cycles" take their toll. We don't see any cracks or obvious problems with anything we've removed, but I think prudence is necessary and feel it will be money well spent. The watermaker project is progessing very slowly. Hunting down the myriad parts, both large and small, is taking days of time on the phone and internet and has been a real headache. I've ordered the Frigoboat system for our freezer, and look forward to installing the keel cooler when we haul out for bottom work in Jan or Feb. The boat is a bit disorganized, but we're trying to keep things as neat as possible, all things considered! So, that's a brief summary of some, but certainly not all, the ongoing projects we're dealing with on a daily basis. We're keeping busy!
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