La Palapa

Vessel Name: la palapa
Vessel Make/Model: catalina morgan 440
Hailing Port: long beach ca
Crew: roger
19 January 2010 | tobe' departing palapa for perhaps the final time in australia
09 January 2010 | Launceston, Tasmania
01 January 2010 | anchored off of the sydney opera house
01 January 2010 | Sydney Harbor
23 December 2009 | North Carolina
23 December 2009 | Washington, D.C.
23 November 2009 | Brisbane, Queensland
18 November 2009 | Brisbane, Queensland
09 November 2009 | Brisbane, Queensland
07 November 2009 | Dockside Marina, Brisbane
05 November 2009 | Mooloolaba, Queensland
02 November 2009 | Fraser Island, Queensland
01 November 2009 | Fraser Island, Queensland
01 November 2009 | Fraser Island, Queensland
29 October 2009 | Port Bundaberg Marina
29 October 2009 | Bundaberg Marina
29 October 2009 | Port Bundaberg, Australia
29 October 2009 | Bundaberg, Australia
27 October 2009 | Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia
25 October 2009 | Coral Sea, Pacific Ocean
Recent Blog Posts
19 January 2010 | tobe' departing palapa for perhaps the final time in australia

end of an era

tobe' reluctely poses in front of la Palapa a week before she starts Work again.

09 January 2010 | Launceston, Tasmania

On to Tasmania

we're now about as far south as we can get, visiting friends Hobson and Larissa in Tasmania. We've been treated to a first class tour of the entire island, and have enjoyed camping in the carparks among wallabies and kangaroos, visiting historic convict sites, dining on some of the best oysters I've [...]

01 January 2010 | anchored off of the sydney opera house

new years in Sydney

tobe' and i had a great new years here with our friends seth and Elizabeth on their 38 fit catamaran, honeymoon. we anchored right down under the fireworks.

01 January 2010 | Sydney Harbor

New Year's Eve!

After putting up with as much cold time as we could, we flew back to Sydney to celebrate New Year's on board Honeymoon. The fireworks were amazing, as we were anchored among the chaos in the harbor. We were very sad to have to say good bye to Seth and Elizabeth, as they rejoin life in California. (of [...]

23 December 2009 | North Carolina

Meeting the Nephew

And of course, while we were on the east coast, it was time to finally meet the little nephew, born while we were somewhere between Mexico and the Marquesas.

23 December 2009 | Washington, D.C.

Christmas

yes, it's been awhile. We've been having a whirlwind land tour of the world over the last two months, while Palapa remains neglected, growing an even fuzzier grass skirt on her waterline. After a last day sail out of the Brisbane Harbor in early December, we hopped a plane to the U.S., and spent close to a month visiting family (me) and working (Roger). We experienced shock therapy of going from 95 degree humid weather to 20 degree snowy weather, but managed to survive with a lot of borrowed clothing. We even made it down to see the National Christmas Tree and State Trees. Turns out: not that exciting.. I'd have to rate 48 of the 50 states a D- on effort. The worst offender may have been Massachusetts, (pictured) who couldn't seem to even close the plastic enclosures properly. We then spent a fabulous Christmas with both sets of parents, Roger's bro, and Shauna!

Exhaust Elbow update!

25 July 2009 | Mooring ball off of Bora Bora Yacht Club
roger
Wanted to thank everyone for their input on the repair strategies! In the end i did just about "everything". You are looking at the elbow installed (not yet tested). It was a major pain, there is actually only about 10 inches of clearance between this side of the generator and a bulkhead so the camera shot is a better view than i could ever get. to get the part in and out I had to loosen the engine mounts on one side and prop the engine up 1.5 " with a string of 1/2 inch socket extensions. for the repair i went with rescue tape on the outside (rated at 500 deg F). as you can see because of the shape there was virtually no clearance to build up on the outside and i was only able to get the nuts on because the rescue tape gives a little. I then filled in the holes on the inside with jb weld (rated at 300 deg F, apparently the only two tubes on the island of bora bora). once that was hardened i added several layers of the muffler compound inside (it does harden like ceramic). tobe' sanded the face of the assembly down and i then applied high temp RTV silicone gasket maker as i had no gasket either (rated to 650 deg F). now i am waiting for the 24 hour cure time on the RTV to give it a shot. we really hope it works as if it does not we miss our weather window tomorrow and have to wait at least a week. any one want to put money on if it works and if so how many hours it will last? i think the week point is now the connection to the engine, i looked up inside the part on the engine and noticed pitting inside this part as well. as a result the mating surface is not completely flat but i smoothed it down as much as possible with a knife and wire brush. i am torn between over tightening the bolts and pushing the RTV out and not tightening enough and having it blow out under pressure/temp. incidentally the latest theory (from carl the genset guy who installed it) is the line run from the exhaust to the side of the boat is too long allowing standing water to build up in the system and cause problems while it is not running. this is not stopping him from charging me $250 for the part and another $250 for shipping.

cheers, roger

About & Links

SailBlogs Friends
Hello World
Carinthia
Honeymoon