One of my closest friends and daily blog followers gave his daughter away last night and then watched as she got married. I know this was a special moment for Gregg and Lisa. Becky and I want to take this time to let them know we are thinking of them and the joy they must feel. Congratulations

Saturday brought the last of the rewiring of Kokomo to a close. The past 3 weeks the decks of our boat have been stacked with our belongings as we do work to the boat. Tomorrow we get to start putting stuff away. I think the marina will be happy with that as we have been looking like trailer trash for some time. Becky will be happy to as she has accused me of leaving stuff laying around just because I can.

Life is good on Kokomo

Denny

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Changing a diesel engine in a sailboat is different than getting a new outboard. With an outboard all manufactures have a standard way to attach the engine to the boat. With a diesel every engine sits different in the boat. Getting the old engine out was easy; to put the new engine in required making a new bed in the boat to put the new engine mounts on. This required grinding away some of the old so the new would fit. The new engine has a bigger exhaust hose so we used a sawsall to cut bigger holes threw the galley and aft cabin so the hose would fit. Then Becky and I spent two hours pulling the larger hose threw the new and larger holes. We both grunted and grown as the hose moved inch by inch. (Becky is not much for grunting so she was not happy) then we cut the hose to size. I was most concerned about drilling a bigger hole threw the outside of the transom as if something went wrong everyone would see it but all my worrying was for not. The hole saw cut right threw. Twice we did fiberglass work once in the engine room and today I fiber glassed the new exhaust hole into the hull. Fun if you like being upside down with one hand holding a jar of resin and the other a paint brush. Sometimes I would hold the brush with my teeth so I could lay some more fiberglass cloth. So far all the cutting sawing and drilling has worked out just fine as Kokomo is starting to come back together.

Fiberglass, acetone and a beer make a good cocktail.

Life is good on Kokomo!

Denny

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Today I wired the new control panel for the engine. I did not like the layout for the new panel. I wanted the key to be separate from the panel in the lazerette like it was with the old motor. So I cut and spliced wires and moved things how I wanted. Soon when the engine is all hooked up we will see if I know what I'm doing or if I need to rewire my rewire.

I have hired two guys locally to help with the install. The first is Jeff the mechanic. In Bocas the morning net is controlled by the locals. The VHF radio is like a phone out here and if you don't have a boat name then you use BEN (Bocas Emergency Network) plus a number (ie: Ben 10) as your name. Each morning it's Ben 5 calling Ben 33 or Ben 16 calling Ben 45. Jeff the mechanic is Ben 69. The second guy we are using is a stainless welder. His name is Dave and he likes to be called Kiwi Dave or Kiwi for short. All these people are x- pats from the US and its best to talk about the future as the past is just that. Both Jeff (BEN 69) and Kiwi Dave are great and the work they have done is second to none. I feel lucky to be replacing our engine here in Bocas del Toro.

Life is good on Kokomo

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While Denny is playing with his new engine, I take my computer up to the bar & grill at the marina. The internet connection is must faster there and I have so much to look up! Also, if Denny needs my help, I'm just a few feet away. I order a beer and away I go surfing the internet. One of the guys that works there is named David. He and his partner live on their boat in the marina. He is such a nice guy. We talk about movies, books, cooking, and latest entertainment gossip. He is so much fun to talk to, I think Denny is jealous :)

Life is good on Kokomo!

Becky

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Each day I get up and stare at the new engine. It just sits there waiting for me to hook it up and turn it on. Their are several things still to do before the first time we start her up. Yesterday I used a Saws-All on the boat for the last time, I hope. We are getting ready to pull 28 feet of 3 inch exhaust hose threw the side walls of Kokomo. I didn't even know their was a side wall. this project could take 3 or 4 people to do as each person will need to bend and move his section if hose in unison. Also I have yet to cut the 3 inch hole in the back of our boat as messing that up will look bad and we all know Kokomo must look good. Well, time to get back to staring at the engine.

Life is good on Kokomo

Denny

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We have received several e-mails regarding the armed robbery where we are at. We are fine. We have been told this hasn't happened in at least 5 years. This sailboat is anchored just outside the marina. Before we moved into the marina, we were anchored next to this boat. This couple is in their 70's that do canvas work and have only been here a couple weeks. Security has been increased at the marina and they are talking about adding security to the anchorage. A $500 reward for the capture has been posted. The locals are upset, they need us cruisers to come to their town and spend money. The cruisers are gathering together this Saturday for a fundraiser for the couple. The marina has offered to move their boat into the marina, free of charge. Many of the cruisers are helping out however they can. We are all stunned and saddened.

Article below from the Panama Guide:

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - A pair of armed and dangerous assailants brutally attacked an American couple last night aboard their sailboat anchored in the "South Anchorage" of the Bocas Marina, next to Isla Colon in the province of Bocas del Toro in the Republic of Panama. The attack started after midnight last night, during early morning hours today, Sunday, 8 July 2012. The assailants pulled up next to the couple's sailboat at 1:00 am early this morning in a typical Panamanian wooden cayuco. The two assailants boarded the sailboat, held the couple at gunpoint, and tied them up. They ransacked the boat and stole everything of value, including cameras, electronics, a computer, cash, and jewelry. The attack lasted at least two hours, during which time the victims were assaulted and brutalized. The victims were finally able to put out a call for help on the radio at 3:30 am in the morning, after the assailants had left.

A Description Of The Assailants: The two men are described as skinny, black men, medium height, and short hair. They spoke both English and Spanish. During the assault one of them called the other by the name "Emilio." The victims say the men had a "Jamaican accent" but it's unlikely they were actually from Jamaica. It's much more likely the attackers are from the Afro-Panamanian community in the area of Bocas del Toro. Many of the members of the "Afro-Antillean" community are West Indian immigrants from Trinidad, Barbados, Martinique and Jamaica, brought to Panama in order to build the Panama Canal in the early 1900's. There are several concentrated communities of Panamanians who are members of this "Afro-Antillean" community, specifically on Isla Bastimentos and on other islands in the Bocas del Toro Archipelago.

Dinghy Recovered: The assailants took the sailboat's dinghy when they left. After dawn this morning someone spotted a dinghy floating free off of the coast of Isla Carenero. Someone swam out and recovered the dinghy. It's possible (assumption on my part) the assailants took the dinghy in an attempt to keep the victims from being able to leave their boat, and they simply abandoned it near Isla Carenero as they made their escape in their own cayuco.

Police Report Filed: The victims have filed a complaint with the National Police in Bocas del Toro. The woman was taken to the hospital.

A Possible Earlier, Related Attempt? There is a report that some would be assailants - possibly these same two men - tried to board another sailboat at 10:30 pm last night, on Saturday 7 July 2012. Reported these would-be victims were able to "repel" that boarding attempt, and nothing else happened. I suspect the DIJ detectives will be investigating and comparing the details to determine or confirm if the two events are related. It seems like too much of a coincidence to think they might not be related in some way.

Editor's Comment: Obviously this is a very serious attack. I've passed this information along to my contacts in the highest levels of the Panamanian government, as well as the Panamanian news media. I'm sure the National Police and the Department of Judicial Investigation (DIJ) on Isla Colon will be doing their jobs to investigate this case, identify and find the culprits, and to bring them to justice. It's bad that this happened. From what I understand this couple had only been in Panama for a couple of weeks, and the cruiser community is burning up the networks discussing this situation. The Panamanian government, law enforcement, security, and judicial authorities are aware of the situation, and they know that the best thing they can do now is to find and punish the culprits as quickly as possible. If you have any information you think might be related to this investigation or of value, you can report it to the National Police, the DIJ, the FBI, or if you would like a confidentiality firebreak - send it to me. And, I'm sure the community of English speaking expatriates in Bocas del Toro will band together to help and support the victims. For now, let's focus on catching the bad guys. Please spread the word.

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