June 20, 2020

Our amazing crew has been working hard these last few months on the construction of Casa Bianca, so when Javier asked if he could launch one of the boats for a relaxing fishing time the answer was “Of course!”

Captain Alex and Mate Wilson of the Harvester found some nice Yellowfin Tunas just a few miles off of the beach. Alexander, Grevan, and Marino were happy to have these filets on ice.

Then, they spotted a large macha of porpoises a little bit further offshore. A funny thing happened on the way to the porpoise pod.

A 400+lbs. Blue Marlin caught up with a single lure that Captain Alex left in the water while in transit, and struck it while the Harvester was clipping along at 20 knots!

That is a new level of high-speed trolling! Safely battled by Foreman Dieter and released by Mate Wilson, this release is now part of the Harvester‘s untouchable legacy.

June 19, 2020

Casa Bianca is now striking a sweet silhouette against the jungle.

Progress accelerated in late-March. Now the second story is nearly complete.

It’s clear that our makeshift crew of boat captains, mates, and office staff has found their stride on this project. It’s an inspiration to see everyone working together on a common task.

Once all the blocks are in place, the final step in this phase is to build the concrete supports that will hold the roof and upper windows.

Here you can see Foreman Dieter showing the young guys the method:

The crew broke for the weekend of Father’s Day, but they are primed to keep pushing on this build. This roof wood is just dying to get installed:

Stay Tuned!

June 16, 2020

Lots of great progress this week on the new construction of Casa Bianca.

All of the window headers and door lentils have been framed and are currently being poured.

Once these are solid we will proceed to build the roof. Here is the sketch:

If you’ve been staying up-to-date on this build, then you know that we have a second crew set up in the boat shop sanding and preparing the wood for the roof. Check out this video for a walk-through of the wood shop.

June 10, 2020

What a week it’s been! The team was on a high after finishing the second story slab, and took the weekend to recuperate.

They were ready to start stacking blocks for the second story on Monday, but a fluke rainstorm forced them off the ladders. The crew showed their ‘never surrender’ attitude by going down below to get a jump start on spackeling the interior walls.

Speaking of work that can be done rain-or-shine, check out the rehabilitation done on the main office by Yoseph Castellon and Alex Hernandez.

It is safe to say that this wood has never been sanded this deeply in the last 20 years.

Great work by these concierge-turned-woodsmiths!

They also put the finishing touches on Casa Tranquilo.

Once the weather cleared up, the whole crew got back to Casa Bianca and started piling up the second story of the house.

Captain William is leading the charge with his classic can-do attitude.

Just like on the first floor we are splitting the walls to prevent potential earthquake damage.

On June 9 we took a special break at lunch to celebrate Javier’s birthday with the whole crew. Javier’s son Dario came by to share in the party.

After the party, Javier showed the boys his technique for pouring window headers and door lentils.

The team has followed his lead and kept on battling up and down the ladder to complete this second story.

We have heard from an engineer friend in San Jose who has been watching this project that in his opinion we are working at double the normal pace for this kind of project.

With a crew this good, the sky in the limit!

June 3, 2020

This weekend was lost to heavy rain, but the crew of Nosara Paradise Rentals and FishingNosara are back in action, progressing rapidly on the second story of Casa Bianca

Fortunately almost no concrete seeped through the new slab…it takes precision to make sure that the forms are well sealed from below, and you don’t know if they are tight until the concrete is poured.

Satisfied with the quality of the pour, the team soldiered on with stacking the blocks for the second story.

Nine courses of block have been stacked and filled in just three working days. These guys are in a groove and the speed of the work proves it.

Meanwhile, the wood-shop-in-the-boat-shop is sending clouds of sawdust flying into the nature preserve like a steamstack.

The beauty of this wood is revealed in each pass of the sander, and we are excited to see it in place around Casa Bianca.

All systems are go and we are excited to keep going.

Casa Bianca Door Design Contest

BIANCA WANTS YOU…….to help with the design of Casa Bianca.

We are putting out the call for photos of our beloved kitty Bianca to use as reference for the hand-carved doors.

Post your favorite photo of Bianca on the Nosara Paradise Rentals Facebook thread (here is the link), and we will pick the best 4 to live forever in carved hardwood.

There are a few photos to get you started and we already have several nice submissions. We look forward to seeing yours!

Debora Andrews: Awwww. Sweet Bianca

Pat Russell-Cowell: What a fantastic idea!! Love it!!

Misti Nolan: Miss Princess Bianca so much

Niki Russ-Warren: Bianca kept us company at Casa Capitan our entire stay. She was such a sweet cat.

Marjorie Cianflone Fredell: I loved this cat when we were there. She looked just like my Sydney.

Jennifer Wilson: Loved her while staying with you guys!

May 27, 2020

The crew hit a huge milestone on May 26 as Casa Bianca is really taking shape.

There is a lot of preparation to make sure the concrete pour goes smoothly. First up is to fit these 10-inch styrofoam blocks into the frame.

Similar to the first floor, we had to run the conduits, plumbing, and rebar for the second floor.

Of course the difficulty level of this process goes way up when you add the endless trips up-and-down the ramp.

Finally on May 26th it was time to put-up or shut-up. The crew started early and logged ten straight hours of tag-teaming up and down the ramp with full wheelbarrows of wet cement.

Then entire pour was completed in the early evening and we are so excited about this great result.

Great work by this team…the hardest working boat crews in the construction business!

May 19, 2020

For the first time in 59 days we have a fishing report to share with the people. The motor on the Explorer has been repaired, but of course she needed a quick water test.

Captain Alex took the helm for the test drive and was joined by Javier and Freddy for a 2 hour tour. They threw out the ceder plugs and the Yella Fellas couldn’t resist.

Clearly the fish missed us, because the boys boated THIRTY Yellowfin Tunas as fast as they could reel.

Do the math: 4 minutes per fish is world-class angling!

These filets will keep the team motivated on their construction projects, and remind us why we work so hard. What a blessing to get back out on the water!

May 20, 2020

The Nosara Paradise Rentals team is progressive at a rapid pace. For instances there are the eaves of Casa Tranquilo, which have been sanded and varnished.

This is difficult and dangerous work, but these guys are up for the challenge.

Of course the main project right now is the construction of Casa Bianca. We framed up the window and door headers.

Soon we will commence the monster pour of the second story slab. These styrofoam blocks will be encased in the slab, which is essential to save weight and improves HVAC efficiency while muffling the footsteps of the upstairs neighbor.

Here you can see the final form fit for the ceiling slab here:

Stay tuned for this amazing feat, as every drop of concrete will be poured from above one wheelbarrow load at a time. Here is what the road to success looks like:

Meanwhile the preparations for Casa Bianca’s roof wood continues.

You gotta love the depth and variety of colors in this lumber.

May 15, 2020

Look in the sky…it’s a bird? A plane? No…it’s the second story of Casa Bianca.

Now that the window and door headers have cured solid, the team has started to run rebar and frame the second story slab.

Part of building in Costa Rica is to anticipate earthquakes, and we do that by leaving gaps in the block wall and pouring in these concrete support pillars.

Here you can see Captain Alex and Captain Carlos roughing up the finished pour so that later we can add a wet-coat of concrete in a stucco-like fashion.

Meanwhile, the boat garage has been transformed into a wood shop. This raw timber needs to be sanded and cured for a few weeks before it is ready to be shaped into roof trusses, stairways, and trim pieces.

We are stoked with this progress and can’t wait to see what’s next!