And More Boat Maintenance

Vlad's pretty pleased about changing zincs.

Bocas has been good for us in the maintenance department, and we really knocked some tasks off our list, including an engine tune up, reattaching the insulation in the engine compartment that decided to peel off, and scrubbing the bottom of the boat. This last one is a major issue in Panama, where life just seems to grow everywhere. After a month here, we had to destroy an entire ecosystem that had popped up on the bottom of our dinghy, and I didn't even recognize some of the sea life growing on the dink.

Additionally, we've stripped the varnish off the outside teak and in the sewing department I made new side curtains for our cockpit to keep out the rain, a sunshade for the foredeck and a rain catching system. Shockingly, the stitches are even straight on occasion. Baby steps, right? We also replaced the rusting grommets on the bimini top, replaced the zincs, did battery maintenance, oiled the windless and fixed the sinks. Vlad put in the watermaker, though we haven't got her working quite yet, and, everyone's favorite job, he rebuilt the head, which didn't even take him that long but his expression said otherwise. 

And to change the subject entirely, we got to see a caiman! A four footer in a muddy pond on Isla Bastimentos.

She had little ones nearby and watched us like a hawk as soon as Vlad said he wanted to catch one, you know, for a boat pet. He's said this phrase more than once - "You know what this boat needs? A caiman" -  but for some reason I keep saying no. Strange that.