S/V Loomba-Loomba

but Loomba-Loomba is.  We're in Palm Springs for Christmas. Kelsey and RL fly in tonight. Drew is coming and going from L.A. because his Distribution Center for American Apparel is almost ready to open and he's pretty busy. It's so nice to have a change of scene and we're so looking forward to spending time with the kids. The painting project from hell is still not done. Last Friday the final step was to paint (roll) the non-skid. Unfortunately Domingo decided to go ahead and paint even though there was a chance of rain. It DID rain and the rain ruined the paint. When we left Guaymas the following Sunday Domingo was in the process of removing the ruined paint. So now he has to remove the paint, sand, mask, paint primer, paint the top coat, and clean up everything.  Before we left our San Carlos condo we moved everything into a storage unit. When we get back after Christmas we'll have to rent the condo again until we can get into the boat and install everything

Something a little different from the usual taco cart: A sushi cart! We spotted this on a side street in Guaymas on the way from San Carlos to the boat yard in Guaymas. It doesn't look like it's been operational for awhile. On our way to the boat yard one morning there was a caravan of trucks transporting these huge tanks through a "suburb" of Guaymas. There were several crews of linemen from the local utility who would disconnect the overhead wires ahead of the caravan and then circle around behind to re-connect after the caravan passed. No traffic control in sight. This was on the screen of a computer for sale at Sam's Club in Guaymas. We happened onto the "Grand Opening" of the first Home Depot in Guaymas. Christmas trees for sale at............ Walmart Home Depot And Santa Fe Market in San Carlos. Another unique food cart (seen at the Empalme Sunday Market). Also available at the Empalme Market: "F

Well, it's been almost two weeks that we have not been able to go aboard Loomba-Loomba. We go to the boat yard almost every day to see what progress is being made. Yesterday they actually sprayed the Awlgrip primer! We can't get too excited, though, because there is still more "filling and sanding" (two words I hope I never hear again) and non-skid to apply before they actually spray the top coat - which Domingo said would be done "probably on Saturday" - I've heard that before! In the mean time the temperatures are cooling down - high 70's/low 80's during the day and low 60's at night - nice not to have the AC on all the time.  Since it's not so hot we've been riding our bikes quite a bit. Every day we usually go for a kayak, bike ride, or beach walk. Unfortunately the water temperature is going down right along with the air temperature so we aren't swimming too much anymore. Kayaking around San Carlos:  Biking

Progress is happening, although it seems at a snails pace. Domingo is doing a meticulous job, but it's getting harder to be patient. It's been about a week now that the taping and masking was done and we have not been able to go below. Almost done digging out the cracks. Here they are doing more filler and sanding. Then they taped and masked. Then they sprayed a coat of high-build primer. Now they paint on this green putty stuff that highlights any imperfections. This is what Loomba-Loomba looked like yesterday (Thanksgiving). The next step is more filling and sanding. Then apply the new non-skid. Then..........it's a coat of Awlgrip primer and 4 coats of Awlgrip topcoat. After that it's clean up and re-install.

Step by step painting of the hull: Sanding and filling. High build primer, plus sanding and filling. One coat Awlgrip primer and 4 coats Awlgrip topcoat. Taping for the bootstrip and sheer stripe. Boot stripe and sheer stripe painted. Adding the name and hailing port. (done by Jim and Chrissy) Domingo and crew taking a lunch break. The hull is now done! Now back to the deck and cabin.

Well, looks like we’re going to be here in San Carlos/Guaymas awhile longer. The hull was painted last Thursday, the boot and sheer stripe are going to be painted tomorrow, but the deck and cabin still have quite a bit of prep work left before they will be ready to paint.   We’ve been trying to stay busy accomplishing small projects: cleaning up the shaft, strut and propeller, cleaning up the anchors, sanding and varnishing what we can down below (we’ve taken what we can remove back to the condo to do), figuring out the installation of the new windlass, making flags for the South Pacific countries we will be visiting,   etc.. We can’t really do much aboard Loomba-Loomba until we can start re-installing everything after the painting is done. We are chomping at the bit!   In the mean time we continue to get to know the San Carlos/Guaymas area. A hike up Nacapule Canyon: Can you find the lizard?    Tarantula! Kayaking on Estero El Soldado: