Amazing trip across Bandaras Bay, to end up literally on the Malecon in Puerto Vallarta. It’s so strange to step off the boat and be at one of the great seafood restaurants in PV.

This trip was focused around prep work for the engine replacements as well as some lingering hard fixes:

First, replacing the galley appliances that have been strewn about the boat will free up a lot of space and give me both gas and electric cooktops, along with a new sink.

Second, the horrible odors from the aft cabin due to some leaky poorly cut out access holes will be properly sealed.

Third, the house batteries are moving into the cabin. There is a fairly natural place for them with a little bit of woodwork and some minor rewiring. This will make maintenance on the batteries a lot easier.

Finally, all the foam is getting removed from the engine rooms and fresh paint is being applied.

While I was there, I fixed another headache of mine: the wind speeds are all wrong. I replaced the wind display device with a digital one. This turned out to be a huge win: the digital display features trend history for wind and depth, as well as alarms for high and low values for wind and depth. Also, it works fine with the autopilot. It also seems to have a way to calibrate the paddlewheel so I can get better speed through water, and therefore even good current and windage estimates! Calibration might be a challenge but should be doable.

I left the original depth and speed gauge installed so I can monitor depth with only one instrument powered up, which is useful in some anchorages.

Some pictures, before I cleaned up everything:

After that, focus was turned on engine replacement measurements. New, wider intake hoses,larger vented loops, and control panel work are at the top of the list.

I am strongly considering redoing the whole instrument panel to put the switches and gauges I use all the time in more convenient locations, but this will have to wait until later due to the massive work required. I will stick with removing another dozen or so unused wires for now.