Chip & Debbie Willis on s\v Elegant'sea: 2022

We went to the "Mayor's Raft up" last night - 2022

We went to the "Mayor's Raft up" last night for fun and some great food. Surprised at some of the food, being these boats are at anchor. Pizza, spring rolls, yummy desserts etc! There were eleven or so dinghy's there and a drone of course. In a few weeks you can probably triple that number.

Finished off our Spectra 200T water make rebuild -2022

Today we did some more Spectra Ventura 200T Watermaker work.

This was leak prevention at the end of the membrane and the "J" tube that was leaking at the bottom of the Clark pump on the right piston. That one of course is hard to get at so it has to all come appart. That is, we pull the membrane from the Clark pump and then turn the Clark pump upside down and remove the mounting plate etc. The membrane end we removed along with the plugs and fitting then replaced two "O" rings.

s/v Elegant'sea ⛵ Chip & Debbie 💑 in Marina Puerto de la Navidad(Barra Marina)

⛱ Pacific Mexico

We spent another many hours and came away with one very slow drip at a different spot. We can take that as a win. We would really need to buy new piping as we have the ferrules and end caps but purchasing the piping and getting it here for one small drip is not what we care to do. The water maker is running like a champ and making great water!

So no serious leaking and one very slow drip.

The water maker is under our settee and is a lot quieter once we put the covers on then the cushions (plus the conditioner is running because it's quite warm here with quite a bit of humidity - not complaining compared to the extreme weather in other parts of the World.)

We really needed this win!!

Mexican train in Barra - 2022

A fun game of Mexican Train Dominoes with Danny and Deborah on s/v Cyclades. First, we ate a delicious lunch at the Grand Bay Resort then we played. Deborah and Danny kicked our butts, yet fun was had by all!!
s/v Elegant'sea ⛵ Chip & Debbie 💑 in Barra de Navidad, Isla Navidad Marina ⛱ Pacific Mexico 🇲🇽 December 12-2022

Cleaning chain\bridal etc in Bara de Navidad - 2022

Checking, cleaning and re-mousing the CQR anchor swivel

on a shackle.! It will be in use soon!

Debbie took on the VacuFlush 5000 series VacuFlush toilet repair today (fresh eyes). We are trying to purchase a new base for the toilet, as this one (we think) is shot. It has served us for 14 years but now seems to be worn out.

Mermaid 5200btu repair invoice - 2022

November 2022 - s/v Elegant'sea is currently in Paradise Village Marina in Banderas Bay Mexico (by Puerto Vallarta)

One of our errands today was to run by Opequimar boat yard to deliver a gift to Coral (she collects Minion Legos and we picked up a kit for her while we were in the USA). While we were there I asked if they had any XL shirts....so I was able to score a shirt after years of trying off and on to get a XL. They always seem to have the small or large but not the XL but this time was a charm! They also gave us a couple of hats and a bag to carry the schwag in!

Our new cockpit cushions came yesterday. On time and on budget! Probably a first for many years now. We worked with Tapiceria Sandoval (aka Emmanuel) - Alder and Vidal. We had them made thicker and they seem comfy.

Our leak is not with our J Series Vacuum Tank (Dometic Sealand J Series Vacuum Generator) anymore. While fixing that I replaced the hose from the VacuFlush 5149 series toilet to the vacuum tank. I think the base of the toilet cracked while I was replacing the hose.

Yesterday we took out the Spectra Ventura Watermaker 200T Deluxe and had to separate the membrane from the Clark pump. Then we removed the high-pressure stainless-steel tubing and checked the fittings etc for reason they were mostly (3 of four) leaking.

Came back to our boat to find Starlink was delivered a couple days early, that was fast! It is now up -and-running.

Achilles LSI-310E Dinghy chaps serviced for season - 2022

Debbie is sewing some wear spots on the Achilles LSI-310E chaps she made many years ago now. They take a beating while cruising and usually require a little touching up each year. Debbie keeps the Sunbrella chaps doing their job!

Spectra Ventura 200T water maker rebuild - membrane replaced - 2022

It is time to finish our Spectra Ventura Watermaker 200T Deluxe rebuild/install.

It has been a while since I last had a work light I have liked. A fellow came over to our boat the other day with one of these "NileBoom LED Work Light" "Flashlight-work-multi-tool Work Light" rechargeable usb foldable- Ratable light. It has a flashlight and a strip light. It has a ton of configurations and is compact.

Debbie is sewing some wear spots on the Achilles LSI-310E dinghy chaps she made many years ago now. They take a beating while cruising and usually require a little touching up each year. Debbie keeps the Sunbrella chaps doing their job!

Car ac repaired in Buce Bucerias - 2022

Debbie and I stopped for some morning street tacos while we waited in Bucerius near the car a/c shop a day or so ago. I am the blue man.

Debbie and I inflated our Achilles LSI-310E dinghy after it has been in storage for hurricane season + and it is still looking great! Our Achilles LSI-310E dinghy is over 12 years old and still looking new and so is our outboard.

Here yesterday, gone today, our Honda 9.9 outboard. Luis' guys came by in their power boat and picked it up off the mount on our boat. It will get serviced.

This morning we are flushing our Mermaid 5200 btu HVAC system so that when the a/c guy gets here it is all done. We just did this in January as we would not be using it for many months. We also then flush it with fresh water, so it sits in that till it is time for us to use it again.

Today (11-3-2022) I took out the VacuFlush J Series vacuum tank pump and piston for service and to find the air leak. The other day I put in new duck bills and O-rings and some new plastic fittings, but it did no solve the air leak. Today after removing the pump and disassembling the housing of the piston etc I did not see anywhere it was leaking.

Well, no extra O-rings in the piston area. I put the piston we were using back and now it works better but there still is a air leak. I will pull the J Series vacuum tank out next week and remove the top and re-seal it.

(now Dometic VG4 Vacuum Generator, 12 V).

We have gotten. the cockpit livable! In fact, I meditated here after walking and it was quiet and comfy. Our mechanic will be coming by soon to take our Honda 9.9 hp outboard off and to his shop for servicing, no more me doing it!

It was Garmin GPSMAP 942 chart plotter chart plotter day, among other jobs and it went well. Next will be AIS and transfer a bunch of waypoints I did this summer to the chart plotter.

We did some work on the sanitation system. Namely the J Series vacuum tank by VacuFlush (now Dometic VG4 Vacuum Generator, 12 V). It has had a small air leak in it for some time now.

Today we are removing our stern-most part of our boat cover! Times getting a bit closer to cruising off the dock!

This light (LUMENOLOGY portable motion light) is going to be a safety feature for our dock steps/stool for getting on/off the boat.

IRONLAND Small Zippered Tool Bags, Small Tool Bags, Waterproof, Pack of 4 (7/9/10/12 inches)

We have some loose sockets both metric and SAE that will put in a couple of these bags.

The mic on our Icom M-802 SSB/Ham radio has lost a lot of the insulation on the wires leading to it from the radio. It falls off and makes a mess on the nav station.

UanofCn 06192ZW9000 - Water Pump Impeller Service Kit for Honda Marine Outboard 8 & 9.9 HP 4-stroke cooling engines, replacement 06192-ZW9-000 Sierra 18-3493

This will probably a spare one as I am not sure how many new one, we have? We have a couple of old ones, but they would only be for an emergency as they could not last long.

Two Baldwin PA3419 - Air Filter for the Beta 38 hp diesel motor purchased. These are easy to get in the US and about a third of the price rather purchasing them in Mexico. Purchased from Amazon.

NGK 6689 - Standard Spark Plug CR5EH-9

Picked up a couple spare plugs for our Honda 9.9 outboard motor. I think we have some but am not sure so well have some more. Easy to store and buy here. Not so easy to get in Mexico while we are out cruising. I know we have spare fuel filter etc.

Johnson Pumps 09-810B-1 Impeller Kit

Grabbed another spare impeller for our Beta Marine 38 hp diesel motor. Not sure how many we have in our spares - some old ones for spares but even if we have a couple of new ones one more will not hurt.

Picked up a couple more zincs. These 1-1 /4" shaft and "D" cone zincs are hard for us to find on the mainland Mexico. We also ordered some engine supplies for the Honda EU 2000i, Honda 9.9 outboard and the Beta Marine 38 hp diesel.

Purchased from Marine Exchange.

New cutters, adjustable wrenches and hydrometer - 2022

WORKPRO 3-piece Adjustable Wrench Set CR-V with Rubberized Anti-Slip Grips 10-inch, 8-inch, 6-inch

Picked up a few tools that we needed. The adjustable wrenches we needed one of really. It locked up and I tried to free it but no good. Happened to remember that so, got some. I use them for through hull valves and fittings etc. They are ok if I have room and it is not too critical as they will not grip like the correct size wrench for the job.

It is time for new boat cards. This is sailing in Banderas Bay, Mexico. We were sailing with a sister boat s/v Apogee, another Islander Freeport 36 ft sailboat. They also took this photo, thank you! s/v Elegant'sea Sailing Banderas Bay.
Made by VistaPrint.

Today Debbie and I walked up to the pickleball courts and had a lesson from "Lucas" and he pronounced us ready to play in the beginner's crowd. Debbie has played a lot of tennis and I volleyball and ping pong, so we were not real new to this type of game. We had fun and then walked back. Got in over five miles!

THERABAND Resistance Band Handles, Soft Handles Pair, Accessories for Elastic Resistance Bands & Tubes
We got our Thera-Band handles, and they work great. Good for our fitness on the boat. The handles have no metal to bang around. They go on easy-peasey, lemon-squeezy!

Antizer Flameless Candles 4" 5" 6" Set of 3 Ivory Dripless Real Wax Pillars Include Realistic Dancing LED Flames and 10-Key Remote Control with 24-Hour Timer Function 400+ Hours by 2 AA Batteries

These candles take AA batteries and are quite good looking at night. We use them on our boat as the nights will be getting longer in the coming months while we are at anchor. We have been using them for years. Every so often we need a fresh box. Gives the boat a nice ambiance. We scatter them around the boat.

Fitbit Charge 5 Advanced Fitness & Health Tracker with Built-in GPS, Stress Management Tools, Sleep Tracking, 24/7 Heart Rate and More.

It is getting closer for us to return home to s/v Elegant'sea! I made the decision to upgrade my Fitbit Charge 4 to Charge 5 before we head back. Mainly because I do most of my exercising, especially in Mexico, outside - paddleboarding, walking etc.

Hanperal 145 PSI Explorer Scuba Diving Dive 2nd Stage Regulator Octopus Hookah, Hookah Dive Regulator

We picked up this inexpensive dive regulator for a backup for cleaning the bottom. Our old dive regulator broke, started leaking and we brought up to the US and had it repaired but I'd did not last long. So, this will be our back up for our old US Divers backup regulator we are using now.

Polyte microfiber towels

The microfiber towels work out great for us. On the boat they dry out quickly. They do not take up much space and are light in weight.

Picked up four more of these stainless-steel alligator buckle clamps 1". We use them with strapping to make tying things down on the foredeck with strapping easy.

Today we went to the Chula Vista Marine Swap Meet. We were told that it was about half the size of last year, which would have been what we were used to from years past. Still, it was about 4x bigger than the La Cruz swap meets we have been to.

These Theraband exercise resistance bands have been working out good at my Cardiac Rehab three times a week. They have suggested them for workouts on the boat.

My poor arms get beat up now that I am a bit older. Bruising and thin skin that now cuts easy etc. These gauntlets should help with that, I am hoping. For when I am working in the bilge or engine, lazarette or wherever. They do not cut easily and are thicker than long sleeves. They go on/off easy. They are worth the chance to stop some bruising and cuts. We purchased these from Amazon.

We got two free suitcases from Facebook group "Buy Nothing (neighborhood)" and we had a bit of room left in the second one. When we get to the boat, we give away the suitcases. I thought that replacing our toilet seat would be nice.

We have had it for about five years, and I broke the self-closing part some years ago by forcing it closed. We have a household-size toilet bowl and this nice seat also. Now we will have a nice NEW seat. A simple thing and it gets used a lot.

Went to Marine Exchange on Shelter Island and purchased four "O" rings for our Sherwood Sea strainers. We have three 3/4-inch strainers and our original "O" rings are getting to where they are going to start leaking. We then took a nice walk on Shelter Island!

Sta-Plur by Forespar

On a trip to Marine Exchange the other day we picked up a couple packs of these through hull plugs. one pack for our mechanic "Luise" and one for us. We (luise, his sun and a diver) recently replaced a 1/2 inch through hull and valve.

Debbie purchased these ferrites from Palomar Engineering in San Diego. We purchased 4 MIX 31 1/4 INCH (1/4-inch diameter) and 18 1/2 1/2-inch diameter) for our Icom M-802 SSB Ham radio. We have a few on it but not enough. Got a good price and free shipping.