Epic Repair of 2010

If you are going to survive on the ocean you have to be able “to make chicken soup out of chicken shit”. That is exactly what we did in Turtle Bay. We have come many miles since then and been dealt a plethora of other challenges but the story of our time spent there is worthy of recollection. I can only hope to pass on some of the emotion that surrounded that epic repair.
It all started around 3 am when a loud clunking noise startled the Captain and Sharkfoot as the night watch was being passed over. I crawled out of the V- berth to find a confused Misty Crew. “Maybe it’s a large air bladder from kelp banging on the hull that’s stuck in the prop”. We killed the engine and hove to (this uses the jib to keep you from moving- essentially an E brake). We rationally discussed what to do and what the potential problems might be. I offered my services to do an underwater assessment of the prop and started to gear up into my wetsuit. I descended into the water via the swim step while attached on a harness to take a peek. Some kelp did come out and all appeared clear in the prop. We cranked her up and yep, the most horrifying noise you can imagine your boat making at 4 am still remained. We were worried the prop might eat through the hull so again we hove to. The decision was made to foul the prop since that would eliminate the noise and prevent further complications. We knew we wanted to keep the propeller from spinning and also keep all parts attached.
The moon was nowhere to be found and even heaved to we were doing 2-3 knots. To be blunt, it’s a terrible time to get in the water and work on your boat. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Fear and rational aside, I descended into the water while a scared crew (only later confessed) watched from on deck. My only goal was to get the rope wrapped around the blades of the prop so it would not turn. The swell combined with the speed over ground was intense and I found myself being pushed and pulled around in the water as I worked tirelessly to do what had to be done. After 15 minutes below, Sharkfoot demanded that I get out and I did because I was satisfied with the rig. Exhausted and cold, I climbed on deck and mumbled the specifications of the fix. It was now possible to cover some ground without the clunking. Silence never sounded so promising.
We had planned to continue on to Magdalena Bay (235 miles away) but decided it best to sail back north 10 miles to Turtle Bay. We made great time until early morning when we hit the “doldrums” and progess was almost non- existent. We were 5 miles out and hoped to arrive by day’s end. Moral low and totally exhausted, we heard “misty moonlight” being hailed on the radio and all 3 of us got a little choked up. Our friends had waited for us all night and within a couple hours arrived to give us a tow. We dropped anchor under tow and started the “epic repair of 2010”. We took some underwater photos of the propeller to determine the problem and through assessment realized that the previous diagnosis was incorrect. Actually good news!! Diagnosis: The new strut on the propeller shaft was nearly corroded all the way due to electrolysis.
Plan:
1st Remove propeller shaft from under boat while avoiding sinking the boat
How? Send 2 divers under boat to pound out 4 screws and quickly insert homemade plugs (time : 6 hours)
Note: it is a bad idea to drop the cutlass bearing to the bottom of the ocean during this process. It is a good idea to
get GPS coordinates for where you dropped it since your tank is out of air and the search will take place tomorrow.
Sleep.
2nd Drink coffee and get geared up and ready for the great bearing search
How? Find some air to dive with and some nice Mexican folks that want to help you.
Note: The only air available was from a air compressor and you had to remained connected to a 30 ft. hose at all
times. There were 2 mouth pieces and down we went ( Manuel and I). Visibilty was around 4 inches and the bottom
was black mud that loved to turn into a black cloud.
Result: Manuel, the guapo, blue eyed diver found the cutlass bearing. It was no short of miraculous.
3rd Take the cutlass bearing to the “shop” where Dad and Sharkfoot have been manufacturing a stainless steel brace.
Note: The captain and I arrived to Alberto’s (the local mechanic) to reunite the bearing with the strut which was a
joyous occasion. We ate chicharrones in celebration.
4th Tow misty to the local fishing boat with giant winch to get ass end out of water for reassembly.
5th Lift boat
Note: it is a good a idea to ask if the winch is operating. If not, no worries, man power will suffice.
6th Send misty divers to pound out plugs and reattach newly braced strut with gobs of 5200 (the nastiest waterproof glue
on the market that is now everywhere we look)
7th Lower boat, put 6 strong hands on the steering wheel, put her in gear and crank her up!

Note: this all came together in less than 36 hours, thanks to:
Manuel, the diver
Dad, the designer and overall hope
Alberto, the mechanic shop owner
Enrique, the shuttler
Ernesto, the smile that helped coordinate
Mom, the spicy soup provider
Pedro, the guy with the fishing boat

And it was time to head south the following day with a rebuilt strut and the belief that anything
you want bad enough is possible with a little hard work and a lot of support. Those days in
Turtle Bay are why we are here now. I honestly think we could still be there if not for the
kindness of strangers and friends. Sharkfoot and Captain Luigi, we made it.