Panama - Linton Bay Marina - 2 weeks on the Hard

So it’s been two weeks since we Hauled out. News is that my toe is definitely broken…. Treatment remains the same - RICE. I limp around and go/do things more slowly, but that’s okay. My toe is well strapped to the toes on either side.

Saturday was Ally’s birthday, but due to boat stuff, both Dulcinea and Meshugga decided it’ll be better to celebrate on Sunday, so we all piled into our rental vehicle and set off for El Castillo Restuarant about a 40 min drive away.

Not as though we don’t see the sea every day…. Just saying….

Nicholas has selected a Contractor (he had three quotes). Our Contractor works with two chaps, so it a party of three. They have cordoned off the Starboard Front Cabin with heavy duty plastic and duct tape, and enter the cabin via the forward Heads (bathroom) hatch (ceiling window), with a ladder to get down. Inside the cabin there is a huge extractor and an air conditioner. The contractors work in full suits (like Hazmat) and with full face covers with breathers, so that they don’t breathe in fiberglass or get itchy. It’s been a very noisy two weeks with the Contractors cutting out the Tabs and all areas where the fiberglass has ‘let go’ and where we have tears in the bulkheads.

By end of day, I need a few Tylenol due to headaches from the constant grinding noise and vacuum cleaner and extractor fan going flat out.

Nicholas is taking photographs and I’ll get those from him in due course and post a blog on the repairs.

Here at Linton Bay Marina we are about 3 miles away from a small convenience / hardware store which stocks basic stuff. However, the vege man, Charlie who I met two years ago, and who used to come to the Marina with his truck with fruits and vegetables each day, now has a store on the grounds which is a Refrigerated Container with loads of fresh fruits, vegetables, cheeses and dairy products, and a few freezers with meats. In addition, another weekly truck arrives with great fresh produce as well as coolers with prawns/shrimp and fish on ice. I look out for him as he does not seem to come on the same day each week, and I buy 2-3 pounds of Camorones (prawns/shrimp) for a pig-out.

Camorones sauted in butter, garlic, chillie and ginger with brown rice.

Thankfully we have Aircon running 24/7 inside Meshugga as outside temps are 35 Deg with 80% humidity. It’s great to be able to sleep in relative (to us) coolth - as our Aircon only gets the temperature inside down to 25-27 deg C. At night (for us) it gets positively chilly inside with the Aircon running and the nighttime drop in heat, and in the early hours we need a light blanket over our top sheet :-) Nicholas has linked up drainage hoses to lead out from our kitchen sink as well as our shower and basins -  so we live aboard comfortably.

Panama - Linton Bay, Haul Out

The little Bird that caught a ride for about 20 of our 26 hour trip from Bocas to Linton. All little birds like our bendy chart table light as it’s like a branch. This one was no different. He didn’t budge all night and slept soundly.

Stunning Sunset on arrival

Now that we’re here in Linton Bay Marina, it’s time to start prepping Meshugga to haul out and arrange contractors to assist with our repairs.

A week after our arrival, Matt and Ally arrived from Bocas del Tora with their new Crew, Kian. We naturally had to meet up for drinks and dinner to compare notes on our identical trips.

The Linton Bay Marina Office, Chandlery and up on the first floor the Restuarant, The Black Pearl.

Local Panamanian Beer, Balboa.

New Dulcinea crew Kian, and Matt

Me and Himself

Ally and I

This is going to be a much bigger/longer haul out than any of our others. 

We discovered movement in the furniture in one of our cabins which portrays that there might be movement in one or more bulkheads.

This means that we needed to remove all contents from lockers and cupboards, and then for Nicholas to uninstall all the furniture, bed furniture, wall cladding, ceiling etc., to find out if we had compromising of bulkheads.

The findings are not good, and we immediately reached out to experienced Boat Builders and Lagoon for input and to make plans for its repair.

The Marina kindly made a storeroom available for us to rent, and I’ve spent my days hauling our cart back and forth between Meshugga and the storeroom.

The start of my unpacking cabins.

I am horrified at the amount of stuff we have aboard, the weight and volume, and am now on a drive to sort, pair down, sell, donate and turf.

Thursday was Haul-Out day. The Haul however is pretty straight forward…., except as we turned 180 degrees in the channel to reverse into the Lifting Pen, we suddenly had no reverse or forward propulsion on our Port Engine. Lucking there was only a very light breeze blowing, and we drifted sideways onto the fuel Dock, where I threw handlers our lines.

Whilst running thru the cockpit to throw lines to the handlers I kicked my toe on Nicholas’ Table Saw Stand, which he’d taken out to lower once we were chocked. (And is not usually there so I did not register it whilst quickly moving from Port to Starboard to lower fenders etc., to be ready to go alongside the Fuel Dock).

It seems like I either broke or have a severe sprain to my middle toe on my left foot. The bruising has subsequently deepened and spread up my entire foot, and I’m trying to following RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation) for a few days to try accelerate healing and minimize the pain.

The Marina brought a large dinghy, and side towed Meshugga into the Lifting Pen, which is 39 foot wide (we are 33 foot wide), so we have 3 foot on either side. The Travel Lift slings are dropped and lowered in the water. Divers go down and ensure that the slings are positioned correctly, and then the Operator slowly starts the Lift.

We had coffees whilst Meshugga was high pressure washed of slime, and on inspection quickly saw the reason why our Port Motor lost propulsion. A stray rope was caught as we pivoted 180 degrees, and was around the shaft.

Then it’s a Very Slow walk across to the assigned area for Meshugga. The Operator,  Kevin, ensures that Meshugga does not swing back and forth, and at a snails pace moves the Travel Lift about 150m to where they’ll position us.

But the lowering of Meshugga was the tricky part with needing our hulls to pull back into place, so that the bulkheads can be fixed back into their correct positions.

Nicholas and Matthew using water levels to check that the entire boat was level.

We had a team of people both on Meshugga and on the Ground, co-ordinating with Kevin to ensure that the bulkheads and hulls are in the correct position before chocking the skegs.

All went well!!!!

We are now on the Hard. Water and Electricity connected. We will stay aboard whilst we uninstall more furniture, and remove more stuff from the boats.

We’re the Blue Dot.

It was a long, hot, tiring, stressful day, as we’d left our berth at 8am, and final chocking was only completed at 5pm, so we showered and had a little celebratory Haul Out dinner at Nancys with the Dulcinea crew.

Excellent pizzas, Balboas and Mango Juices!

We await final quotes from Contractors, and then the work will start.

Panama - Linton Bay Marina, Week 3

We’ve been on the Hard for 3 weeks.

Generally it’s been hot and humid, often raining at night with thunder and lightning. Today is unusual with heavy downpours, grey skies, lots of wind and the obligatory thunder and lightning. 

So we’re inside catching up on household chores and resting. 

A few work photos;

Me, with my mask and goggles, to protect me from the paint particles as I’m sanding the hull, and the paint has copper in it, which is not healthy for your lungs. It’s tiring work, and I can only get one side of one hull done in a day  

Nicholas fiberglassing the extension to the Rudder

We’re raising our water-line, and I’ve sanded the old water-line ridge away so that there won’t be a tell-tailing line.

The props have been sanded, cleaned with acid, taken off and serviced, and has new PropOne Primer and Paint on them, and new Anodes. Bagged to prevent Anti-fouling paint from the hulls splashing onto them. 

This week we’re into the final stretch with a short jobbing list of items to complete, and then we can start with Epoxy Primer on the new waterline area, fiber-glassed areas and any other spots needing Primer. 

After that it’s Anti-Fouling.

Other than that, we waiting for a Grounding Plate we ordered from USA, one of ours ‘blew off’ when the lighting strike wave hit us, a month ago.

Of interest, we watched the Ocean Innovations Sea Pod being launched.

This is the Base which gets anchored to the Sea Bed, and floats

This is the Sea Pod. This one is an apartment consisting of a Living Room, Kitchen, Bedroom and Bathroom.

The Pod being placed onto the Base

The Pod floating on its base. The Pod will also have Solar Panels, a Water Maker, and a Jacuzzi.

Ocean Innovations hope to sell these as Homes. I don’t really see that happening, but would make a fabulous Eco Friendly Vacation Accommodation.

Panama - Linton Bay Marina, On the Hard, Week 1

A week has passed and we’ve been busy.

Plus, it’s Hot, Humid and Rains most of the Time.

And the Mossies are Rife. Huge and Blood Thirsty.

Most urgently and importantly I made new Hatch Screen cover for the front four hatches, and Unrolled the big one I have over the Cockpit sliding doors. I also installed the Mossie Net over our bed.

Forward hatches covered with a new Mossie net covering

Mosquito Net over our bed

Otherwise, it’s been normal bottom work

Our table and rest setup under Meshugga

Nicholas grinding the areas of the keel which needs work 

Nicholas has grinded the Port Rudder and added new foam to start the fixing of the rudder

Removing Through-Hull Fittings (there’s plenty to do) …..

I’ve been removing the rust from Stainless steel fitting, and acid washing the hulls. Whilst Hi-pressure washing the Guard Rail, Stanchions etc, I lost concentration for a second and the water bit my foot. Ouch!

Not fun when you’re working with Acid, which stings like a Bitch !!!!

Panama - Linton Bay Marina, Goodbye Jenny, and Hauling Out

We left Shelter Bay Marina and did a tour of the Colon Bay, looking to see if there were any other anchorages, as we might be returning here next year.

Cargo ships in the Bay

Looking toward one of the two openings in the Breakwater

One one corner it seemed to be a Graveyard for ships

We arrived back at Linton Bay, and Jenny made arrangements to leave us, after being aboard Meshugga for 7 + 1/2 months.

We made arrangements to Haul Out, and on a windy Saturday morning 30 July, we Hauled with Jim and his team for a Very Professional Haul 

Jim, the Hard Manager, and Crane Driver, Nicholas and the Diver who checked the straps were all the in the correct position

Meshugga hauling in the bay

Slowly moving to our spot

By the time we were Chocked, it was 11.30am. The marina staff Hi-Pressure Hosed us for an half hour then packed up and left! And did not come back after lunch!

We took out our small Hi-Pressure hose, and soon thereafter Jim came to apologize that they’d run out of time, and lent us the Marinas Big Hi-Pressure Machine.  Whilst not ideal, we had their machine for the whole weekend, and was able to give Meshugga a fabulous once over, thus reducing the amount of sanding we’d have to do 

One very Blue, and dirty Nicholas