Leaving San Diego for Mexico in February ?

[engele]

Thanks guys. I have never run low on coolant. It did just come down the coast to San Diego on a truck, but I don't see how that would be an issue. I checked the pencil zink in the heat exchanger and it dissolved with finger pressure. I may need to flush the heat exchanger. I am actually wondering about the sender. It isn't the one that came with the gauge, and I did replace the gauge in Turtle Bay. Still it read 180 all the way until the last leg to Cabo. We never let it above 190 until I started to push it harder testing it (without the thermostat). Even if the sender didn't match the gauge, I would think that the temp should be stable even if wrong. I tried to buy a cheap auto temp gauge here in cabo, but it didn't work when I installed it (defective, and really not terribly cheap). It was difficult to get directions to an auto parts store even. Everyone said I needed to take a cab, but in the end the store was literally three blocks from the marina. I did buy some coolant flush solution. I think in order to use it on the heat exchanger I will need to take the exchanger off and fill it with the solution, wait an hour, drain, fill with coolant and re install. It is my next step.

[Cheechako]

If it's like mine was, there are two rubber end caps.Just remove those and slide the exchanger out of the housing. Removing the whole thing is a bit more work. You should be able to look through the tubes and see if they are crudded up. If crudded, a cab ride to a radiator shop and you might get it cleaned out reasonalby cheap. I tried vinegar once on another engine... forget it... doesnt touch the stuff. Always get a price first before you leave something... or get a cab etc in Mexico! Go in the am, not much gets done after lunch., and beware: manana means in the morning, or it also means "later on" + tomorrow, next week, next time they get around to it.... Cabby's are helpful, ask him where he would take it for fast service...

[zeehag]

please check it out-- shouldnt be running that hot. the water here will make a difference. check sending unit and look for obstructions in water system and filters and make sure your intake, heat exchanger, impeller and raw water pump and fresh water pump are awesome good. bon chance and see ye south of la cruz de huanacaxtle, as i wont stay here much longer.....

[engele]

Yeah, we made a short run today to San Jose and the temp stayed just under 180 the entire way. Still no thermostat in. I may actually get lucky and have had a sticky thermostat. Still I am going to pull apart the heat exchanger and dunk the parts in the cleaning bath. I am also going to pull the hoses off and make sure they are free of obstructions. Our friends ended up with some small sea life (shrimp?), in their head after leaving Mag Bay, I started having our problem on the same leg of our trip. We were about a hundred yards away from where they were anchored. I think getting a new sender is also in order. I'll let you all know when I have it figured out. San Jose del Cabo is a welcome relief from the anchorage at Cabo San Lucas. No Jetskis. No parasail boats. No wake. No rocking. No sidewalk Rolex salesmen. The marina is nice and we have a slip without power, so not terribly expensive either. All in all, a welcome change.

[gjordan]

About your heat exchanger! I used to pull mine about once a year and soak the innards ( all the little brass tubes) in a bath of diet coke for an hour or so. I would take a cardboard box and line it with a garbage bag to make a bath for the tubes. It worked very well. You will never drink diet coke after seeing what it does to calcium and brass. (Nasty stuff). It is also a good idea to take a 22 rifle cleaning kit with you to really clean those little tubes. Just some thoughts.____Grant.

[engele]

Thanks everyone. The heat exchanger needed cleaning. It was never an issue until the water warmed up. I pulled a plastic clothing label out of it as well. Things are better now. We cross for Mazatlan, weather willing day after tomorrow.

[Cheechako]

Watch for the ferries... they seem to be on autopilot! One time on a day crossing, there was ZERO wind. Stopped to swim off the side of the boat and scrape off check the prop.... When I looked under the boat... there was a huge Marlin just sitting there!

[zeehag]

are you going to the marina or to the anchorage?? there will be 6 ft breakers in the entry to marina for a few more days and the old harbor isnt susceptible as much to those... but wind hurts in the anchorage-- try stone island anchorage if the entrances are difficult to manage....is a wee south of old harbor and more open but easier to enter than the marina ...is 7 mi south of marina entrance.

[engele]

Thanks Zee. How do you secure a dinghy when you come ashore from the Stone Island anchorage? I really don't have a preference, but I don't want to spend too much money on moorage, and I would like to get a few jerry cans of diesel as well (and a few empty cans to fill, and some bimini fittings). We don't plan to spend too much time there before heading on South.

[Capt.Don]

Originally Posted by Lowcountry

Just got done doing the Ha Ha on a 46' Hallberg-Rassy. Seas were small, and wind was annoyingly light. We were hard-pressed to find more than 10kts of wind for the majority of the trip. I don't know if these were typical conditions or not, as I'm an east coast sailor. Turtle bay was ok. There was nothing at Bahia Santa Maria. Cabo was nice, but $$$$$$. Good luck, have fun!

LC, We too did Baja Haha last year and found the winds to be pretty good at 10-15 knots the entire way. Our last night we had 22-25 knots, which shut-down around 8:00am as we drifted towards Cabo! We stayed very close to shore, gybing inside the rhumb line. I suspect most of the fleet went way offshore and experienced the light to no winds, thus motoring most of the way. We sailed the entire way and had a blast.

This is definitely a down-wind spinnaker run. We put the heavy spinnaker up after they called the rolling start and it was up for the duration. A couple times we tried the asyo and the light spin - didn't set well.

Don

[zeehag]

not sure because i havent been to stone island anchorage, but if there is a tree-- use it!! most wwith engines go to club nautico for the 50 peso wifi and security and showers capability....is safe and say hay from me to them...

[Patrick_DeepPlaya]

Originally Posted by Capt.Don

LC, We too did Baja Haha last year and found the winds to be pretty good at 10-15 knots the entire way. Our last night we had 22-25 knots, which shut-down around 8:00am as we drifted towards Cabo! We stayed very close to shore, gybing inside the rhumb line. I suspect most of the fleet went way offshore and experienced the light to no winds, thus motoring most of the way. We sailed the entire way and had a blast.

This is definitely a down-wind spinnaker run. We put the heavy spinnaker up after they called the rolling start and it was up for the duration. A couple times we tried the asyo and the light spin - didn't set well.

Don

We did the ha ha in 2011 and our experience was the winds were much lighter than that. We had to motor to keep up. Ha ha is really for boats with crews capable of fling spinnakers 24/7 otherwise you get almost no rest days on the way down.

[zeehag]

everyone sailing down to here has a different experience--i found spotty big winds on my way down in april 2011. friends sailing a week after i did found bigger winds and funner sailing.
across the sea of cortez isnt always same--i went across in dead calmness--friends left mazatlan 2 weeks after i arrived and found 70 kts all the way to la paz. look at the systems crossing over pnw and time your sailing on the results of those systems on the pacific -- you will have a good time.

[engele]

We are about 8 miles from the Stone Island anchorage in Mazatlan and have been blessed with glass water the entire way. A bit more wind would have made for a quicker and more enjoyable trip, but I'm not greedy, I'll take the light stuff over the really heavy stuff. We have picked light days to travel, but a boat in Muertos via Mazalan was beat up a few days ago. It really does depend I guess. We haven't seen much wind either in the sea or on the way down.

[zeehag]

port capt is 2 blox from old harbor. is a longer trip from stone island. take dink to club nautico for proximity. you found conditions similar to the ones in which i crossed sea during---flat, glassy calm. ouch.good job.