Progress is being made

We are still here at Paradise Village.

Rich is making progress on the engine and electrical system. He has verified that both fuel pumps work and set up an installation so if one pump is installed, he can quickly remove and replace with the spare unit. He traced and checked all of the engine sensor and alarm wiring, cleaning contacts and replacing wire where needed as well as adding to his wiring diagram. The wind generator has been completely disconnected to help isolate the problem. Yesterday Rich replaced the wiring in the solar panels that mount on the port and starboard aft quarters. This was an item on our to-do list. As part of his checkout he starts the engine every morning. The last few days the engine has been starting using just the starter battery with a residual charge. The start is not immediate so the electrical problem still exists but progress is being made.

While Rich has been working the engine, I have been doing other projects. I now have the AIS and the autopilot NMEA 0183 data being transmitted from the DMK unit to the Ipad 2 via wireless. This means that on the Ipad, using iNavX with the Navionics Gold charts, the AIS targets are overlaid on the charts, plus I may use either the internal GPS or the boat's GPS for our location and I can display the boat parameters such as wind speed, depth on the Ipad. To top it off, I loaded a diagramming app on the Ipad and now my wiring is documented. Another feature of iNavX is that gribs may be overlayed on the chart.

My other project has been cleaning stainless. I have done all of the stanchions and the Yankee track on starboard (the shady side) and the forward pulpit and anchor roller. I am taking a breather before tackling the port side. It is nice to have it shiny!

It has not been all work and no play. Our evenings are fun. We had dinner at the hotel beach restaurant with Three Sheets upon their return from Toronto on Tuesday. Keith and Susan had us over for stir fry on C'est La Vie on Wednesday.

Last night, Thursday, a group of us went to Tacos El Muelle or Tacos on the Dock. Rich and I picked up Heidi of SV Huck in our dingy and Reg and Phoebe of SV Three Sheets joined us in their dingy and we motored across from Paradise Village over to Nuevo Vallarta. We tied up to the older dock between the pangas with the banana floats and gingerly walked up the dock. The dock had seen better days and was in sore need of repair but we all made it unscathed. We were rewarded for our efforts to a delicious and very inexpensive meal with included 10 peso tacos with fresh tortillas made on the premises. The five of us split some guacamole and chips with a combination plate that included Mexican meatballs, quesadillas, sopatos (spelling?), plus we ordered flan and grilled plantains with cream for dessert. They do not serve alcohol but there is a convenience store next door where Rich and Reg bought some Dos XX, which the restaurant kept chilled for us. Excellent! We topped off the evening with the ride back in our dingies, looking at the megayachts.

This morning we dropped off the laundry and I got my haircut. It cost 300 pesos or $22 USD including washing my hair, cutting and blow drying. Much cheaper than I would have paid in the US. Rich helped Keith and Susan launch their Whaler which had been in storage. They also took us for a tour up the river. We looked for crocodiles but none were seen, instead we saw plenty of iguanas and herons of many varieties. We also motored passed some very nice homes.

We just returned from a walk with Reg and Phoebe which included a stop at a small restaurant along the river for a few beers. Now it is time for dinner and a movie.

Is this paradise or what?