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Sweetie back from the spa

Dinghy Spa for Sweetie

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Our sweet 20-year-old dinghy has had a slow leak for a few months.  However, she has required air 2-3 times per day over the last few weeks which is simply unacceptable.  One it is annoying and two it is not good for the velcro holding the chaps (chaps=sunbrella dinghy cover).  We decided it was time to take Sweetie out of the water. 

Getting Sweetie onboard Sugar Shack

Our Yamaha 25hp outboard is a beast weighing in at 50 kilos (110lbs).  Way too heavy and awkward to lift by ourselves. We used the main sheet and the boom to hoist the outboard over the transom (stern of the boat).  Matt was in the dinghy, in the water, holding the outboard steady as I hand cranked her up over the lifelines.  She is secured on the stanchion while we work on the dinghy.

Next, we had to find out how to get Sweetie onboard Sugar Shack.  Matt decided it was best to copy our monohull friends. Using the spin halyard that comes from the top of the mast, hoist her over the side of the boat.  Our dinghy is an Avon rib with a hard bottom.  She weighs in at 82 kilos (180lbs) and is 3.4 meters in length (without the outboard).  Matt cranked this time raising the main sheet as I attempted to keep the dinghy off the side of the boat and over the life lines.  Once onboard and safely resting on towels (to prevent scratching the deck), we deflated her.  She looks so sad.

Dinghy deflated and sad

Dinghy deflated and sad

She IS 20-years old which is remarkably old for an inflatable dinghy.  We’ve been very happy with her and hope to get a few more years out of her before having to buy a new one.

Patching Sweetie – Slow Leak

One day while snorkeling, we noticed a leak on the port side bow (just below the attached line hold). The valve cover also has a slow leak.  It was time to repair them. But first, Matt took dish soap and water to the entire dinghy to see if he could find any other leaks.  Luckily those were the only ones that were found.

The pontoons are made of Hypalon (it like a heavy-duty rubber).  Matt had purchased specific glue made for Hypalon.  Unfortunately, it was a few years old and had dried up making it unusable.  Of course!  You try to be prepared by purchasing necessary items in advanced – but it doesn’t always work out.  Instead, he used G/Flex waterproof, flexible glue which we had used before.  Matt cleaned the area, applied the glue to the patch, then applied the patch to the dinghy, and added weight to it.  Now we wait 24 hours until it is dry.

The valve leak repair is only temporary as we are waiting for our new valve covers to come from the States.  We need a visitor (or as we like to call them “pack mules” – you know who you are :).

The first image shows the exposed or weak area causing a leak.  The upper right photo shows the glue during with “weight” and the last is the new patch.

Patching a slow leak

Patching a slow leak

Sealing Up another Leak

Our dinghy has a false floor.  The floor inside the dinghy is a flat surface and is called the “false floor.”  Which is great as the “V” shape floor makes it hard to stand, walk, keep your gas tank, and groceries flat and dry.  Back to our false floor.  Between the false floor and the actual bottom of the dinghy is a space that would periodically fill up with water.  Not a big deal as you simply pull the plug to drain it (see bottom right photo with 2 plugs).  The top plug drains water out of the dinghy (above the false floor) and the bottom plug drains water between the false floor and the bottom of the dinghy.  But how did the water get in there?We also would get water in our forward locker where we stow our dinghy anchor chain, tools, and inflate pump.  Everything can get wet, but they rust and make a mess.  How did water get in there?

With Sweetie out of the water we are able to explore all possibilities.  Matt decided to remove the tow eye (bracket) in the front of the bow that holds our painter (long line that we use to tie the dinghy up).  He noticed that it was not sealed properly which is not a surprise considering it is 20-years old.  It appears that water was getting in through these two holes filling up the bow locker and the space under the false floor – ah ha!

Photo: top right is the bow locker.  Top photos show the holes that hold the tow eye.  Bottom row shows the tow eye out and then secured back in place with new sealant. 

Sealing a leak at Tow Eye

Sealing a leak at Tow Eye

Gluing Velcro to Hold the Chaps

Sweetie has a blue dress that covers her pontoons to keep them safe and last longer.  The dress, aka “chaps” have been sewn and patched several times over but are still in good working condition.  The chaps are attached to Sweetie using velcro.  The velcro is stitched to a small strip of Hypalon which is then glued to the dinghy.  Glue adheres better when it is Hypalon to Hypalon. Part of this strip needed all new velcro.  No small task as the thread/stitching is smothered in glue.  After a few hours of picking, I was able to remove the old velcro and stitches.  The new velcro was stitched to the strip which was then glued back on to Sweetie.

The top image shows the old velcro (white) just above the rub rail. The new velcro (black) was sewn on to the strip of Hypalon which was then glued on to the pontoon (bottom photo)

Re-attaching the velcro strip

Re-attaching the velcro strip

RE-ATTACHING THE RUB RAIL

Every dinghy has a rub rail as the rub rail takes a beating to protect the pontoons.  It is not us ramming into things, but rather the dinghy bumping against docks while we are at shore.  Also, the glue loses its adhesiveness when the dinghy deflates as there is no pressure holding the rub rail to the pontoon.  So, we had to do lots of gluing with special epoxy to get the rub rail back in place.

Attaching the rub rail to the dinghy

Attaching the rub rail to the dinghy

SCRUB AND SHINE

The last part of Sweetie’s spa day is a scrub and shine.  I know she looks really disgusting with the green growth, but I have to tell you this is nothing compared to most dinghy bottoms.  However, this is bad for us and for our dinghy.  It is really difficult to clean her bottom as she has to be out of the water.  Our dinghy and outboard are too heavy to lift by ourselves unless we bring her on deck which is a huge ordeal.

It takes a lot of muscle and several products to clean the growth off.  We use “On Off,” bleach, and soap and water.  Some of the products we can only use on the hard-bottom surface while others we can only use on the Hypalon.  I’m pretty darn pleased with how she turned out.  The hard-bottom is white again and the green, black, and brown spots are done.

Bottom of dinghy scrub and shine

Bottom of dinghy scrub and shine

Fiberglass Repair

The hard bottom of the dinghy was a little banged up.  Partly from us dragging her on to the beach and partly just wear and tear.  So, Matt added some fiberglass and epoxy to some of the worn areas.  Almost good as new.  Top left photo is the “before picture” and bottom right is “after.”

Fiberglass repair

Fiberglass repair

After a week on the deck, she was finally ready to go back in the water.  Lucky for us, we did not need our “car” while at our current anchorage.  We swam to shore a few times. Remember, Sugar Shack is our home and our dinghy is our car to get from our home to everywhere else.  Putting the outboard back on the dinghy.  Matt tried a new method using a dynema line and 3:1 purchase which reduced the rubbing and pressure on the main sheet and boom.

Putting the outboard back on the dinghy

Putting the outboard back on the dinghy

It was really good to be mobile again. 

Sweetie back from the spa

Sweetie back from the spa

Dinghies can be very expensive so it is in our best interest to make our little girl last as long as possible.  Check out new dinghy rates.

Events from this blog post occurred during the month of January 2021.  Our blog posts run 8 weeks behind our adventures.

Carving School in Rikitea

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The main school in Gambier is located right on the water overlooking the bay. There is an elementary school, intermediate school, and a trade school which includes an agriculture and carving school.  Students usually attend “high school” in Tahiti.  I use quotation marks because the school breakdown is very different than what I am used to in the states.  The school is called College St Raphael Rikitea.

We met the carving school teacher, Hefara at our New Years Eve party.  He has since become a frequent friend of ours as we visit Rikitea.  He invited us to tour the carving school.  The first thing I noticed were the beautiful views of the bay from every building!  I imagine it is difficult to learn while being surround by such beauty.

College St. Raphael Rikitea

College St. Raphael Rikitea

The grounds are impeccably maintained with a huge grassy area between all of the buildings.  There are a few old relic structures on the grounds as well (see bottom left photo and middle right photo).

College St. Raphael Rikitea

College St. Raphael Rikitea

Inside the Carving School

Inside the carving school, I was shocked at how many work stations!  They had 12 stations for carving oyster shells and another 12 stations for miscellaneous carving (wood or special projects).

Inside the Carving School

Inside the Carving School

They also had about 4 grinding stations with 2 grinders each (top photo), 4 grind/buff stations with 2 stations each, and 4 buffing stations with 2 stations each (bottom photo).  They use these machines to clean and buff the oyster shells, wood, pearls, etc…

Grinding and Buff Stations

Grinding and Buff Stations

There were bags and bags of oyster shells, pearls, shells, and wood all over the building.  Ready and waiting to be made into the next master piece.

Teaching the Trade

We arrived just before lunch so the students seemed more interested in us than finishing their work.   We were able to watch 2 students carve oyster shells, one student carve a pearl, and one student buffing a piece.

Carving school students

Carving school students

Creative Outlet

One very creative student was carving eye glass frames!  Can you imagine how spectacular that would be to own a pair?

Another super creative student was creating a dream catcher!  I love this idea!  She had already made the large circle with carved oyster shells on the exterior and two small circles with carved oyster shells.

Dream Catcher

Dream Catcher

The school had beautiful carved wood everywhere.  A giant, life size tiki stood at the door, the Gambier archipelago (lower photo) and of course Christ (it is a Catholic school).

Huge displays held many treasures that were for sale.  Everything from jewelry (necklaces, ear rings, bracelets), oyster shells, key chains, and more.  Each item is a unique piece of art

Display cases showcasing art & jewelry

Display cases showcasing art & jewelry

It is amazing to see what they can do with the oyster shells.  They made these beautiful clocks that were surrounded by carved oyster shells.  In addition to the stunning boxes for your most prized possessions.  The each sparkled when the light hit them creating a rainbow of colors.

Art or Jewelry?

Of course, they had many carved oyster shells and a few super unique pieces including the swimming dolphin (top left photo), swimming manta rays (bottom left) and a beautiful gold painted headshot of Christ (top right).

Intricately carved sets of jewelry sets.

They had striking necklace and ear ring sets.  The photo on the right has hand carved wood and oyster shell!

Hefara wanted me to experience the joy of wearing one of their stunning necklaces!  I swear I felt powerful the moment it touched my skin.  I felt like a queen and could not stop smiling!  It was stunning.  Of course, it only cost 80000xpf ($800)!

I know this necklace was featured in the above collage, but I thought it deserved its own photo because it is so incredibly beautiful.  The student carved wood into the oyster shell on the left of the necklace and into the drop of the earrings!  In addition to the pearls and pearl shells near the top of the necklace!  It is 80000xpf or $800.

It was a fabulous opportunity to see the young generation learning the traditions of the island.  I feel blessed for having the chance to see all of their beautiful work.

Events from this blog post occurred on 2 February 20201.  Our blog posts run 8 weeks behind our adventures.

View half way up the mountain

Gambiers Welcomes Us Back

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What a pleasant surprise to pull into Rikitea (the main anchorage) with only 3 other boats!  If you remember from last season, we left when there were 35 boats in the same anchorage.  We found out that there are only 6-7 boats in all of Gambiers which is amazing and refreshing.  I am sure that will change once February rolls around that seems to be the time when the wind provides a better shot to this beautiful archipelago.

The weather was sunny, blue skies, and calm waters.  Rikitea had blue water and not the awful green murky water it’s known for.  Simply beautiful. We went ashore to see if we could find some fresh produce but most of the magasins (markets) were either empty or low on stock and quality.  The supply ships are coming soon.  We made a stop at Phillipe (the brioche guy) to do some internetting as we had been offline for 2.5 weeks and were not surprised by the very slow speeds!  Could not upload a photo to the blog and it took an extreme amount of patience to get to a website. Oh well, nothing new there.

Hike Around Mt. Duff

I am pretty sure Matt hoodwinked me.  He said he wanted to hike around Mt. Duff and hoped to collect some produce.  I should have asked for clarification about the hike as I was not ready for it at all.  It started out nice enough along the main road, behind the huge St. Michael cathedral and up toward the gap that separates Mt. Duff and Mt. Mokoto. 

The main road takes you past the Gambiers cemetery which has a mausoleum (which looks like a small church).  Inside the mausoleum is one grave.

Gambiers cemetery

Gambiers cemetery

Many of the gravestones have photos of the decease and either flowers or shells adorning the gravesite.

This same road takes you by the recycling area and the gravel yard.  The locals recycle cans, aluminum and glass.  Unfortunately, they do not recycle plastic yet.  If you go further down the road you will come to their dump, I did not think you needed to see that site.

Gambiers Recycling

Gambiers Recycling

We found a few papayas on the side of the road and loaded them into our back packs. 

Just before the turn off to the main trail we had this pretty view of the anchorage.  Can you see Sugar Shack?

And the view the other way is equally pretty.

Aukena in the distance

Aukena in the distance

Once we reached the trail, we had already walked 3.2 miles (7,865 steps, 30 floors).  Yep, I was tired already and we have not even started the trail.  What did I get myself into?  Clearly, I am out of shape.

The start of the trail

The start of the trail

A higher view of the anchorage from the trail.  The water color is just magnificent, don’t you think?

View half way up the mountain

View half way up the mountain

The Trail

The locals must have just cleared the trail as it was lovely and easy to walk on.  Usually the trail is covered in raspberry bushes, overgrowth, pine needles and such.  There are a few areas where you still have to traverse across a landslide, climb over a tree, scurry over rocks, and wade through pine needles.  But for the most part the trail was awesome.

Along the first part of the trail (as you go up toward the gap between the two mountains) you will find lots of informative signs about the plants and trees.

Many types of ferns, coconut trees…

Flowering bushes and trees

Huge Elephant ear plants and grass

And more ferns and grass.

We found tons of fresh fruit including papaya, raspberries, chili peppers, pomplemouse, noni, oranges, limes, avocado, tomatoes, lychee, and mangos.  Most of the fruit was not ready for picking so we let it continue to mature.  But we did come away with raspberries, papaya, lychee, and pomplemouse.

So many fruit, so little time....

So many fruit, so little time….

You might wonder what lychee is. We had heard about this delicious fruit for two seasons.  This fruit only grows in cool climates like Gambiers and Australs and it only blooms in December.  Lychee is red and you peel it like an orange and then eat the tasty white nectar around the seed.  It is super sweet and divine!

Lychee the sweetest fruit

Lychee the sweetest fruit

Summit

We finally reach the summit.  Keep in mind that the gap summit is nowhere near the top of Mt. Duff or Mt. Mokoto.  It is tall, but not as tall as the two mountains.  But the views are superb.

Total hike was 6.8 miles, 16,757 steps and 93 floors.    If you look at this map, we took the black road that starts at Rikitea (top right), went down (bottom right), to the orange trail.  Then we took the orange trail up and over back to the red “You are here” bubble which connected back up with the black zig zag line and took us back to town. 

The gap between Mt. Duff (on right) and Mt. Mokoto (left).  We hiked between the two peaks.

By the time we got back to the boat, I was exhausted.  I poured a cold drink, took some advice, hopped in the shower, and then collapsed on the couch where I stayed for the rest of the evening.  Yeah me!

Matt:  My Goat

Matt is truly part goat. I  say that in a loving and admiring way.  He has incredible stamina and can hike for miles and miles and miles without getting tired.  When I work on the blog he goes for a hike or a walk.  Part of me is jealous as I’d love to go exploring with him, but part of me is relieved.  One because I can’t keep up with him and two because he is far more adventurous than I am.

One afternoon I spent well over 5 hours working on the internet (blog, banking, etc…).  Matt hiked over 10 miles around the tip of Mangareva.  He finally came back exhausted, bumped, and bruised, and tired.  It was the first time, in a long time, that I had seen him spent.  The photo says “8” miles but it was really 10!

Events from this blog post occurred around 12 December, 2020.  Our blog posts run 8 weeks behind our adventures.