Tag: Maintenance

Adventurer’s New Top feat. Custom Marine Jax

As you know the FishingNosara build team can’t leave well enough alone, so we are ready to upgrade the top on our 23-foot panga Adventurer.

We built this boat five years ago and after 500+ trips in the Costa Rican blue water, the bimini top is nearly worn out. This is the same top that West Marine sells for like 400 bucks, and it’s fair to say we’ve gotten more use value than we ever imagined.

With our bigger boats we have grown to rely on Custom Marine in Jacksonville to build custom tops and bow rails. The work they have delivered on our other boats are second-to-none.

For example:

Harvester

Wanderer

For the Adventurer top we have a few unique challenges to overcome, mostly relating to the boat’s small size. The gunwale are narrow, so we are compensating with thicker baseplates (3/8″ instead of 1/4″).

Harper, Troy, and the boys at Custom Marine have tracked down a special order of extra-thick walled aluminum tubing.

In addition to the thicker materials, the top as a whole with be raked inwards. This triangulation will help distribute the forces evenly and hopefully prevent the sides from sagging.

The top on the Adventurer is taking shape and the rapid progress is exciting.

In this photo, right is the fore of the boat, left is aft. You can see the craftsmanship where the two middle pipe segments create a uniform curve from aft to fore.

The next steps are to add 2 antenna plates, 7 rod holders, and a custom canvas top. A collapsing/telescoping front hoop will be added to create 36″ of additional forward sunshade.

After a week of astounding progress, the bulk of the new top is complete.

The forward sunshade is getting a redesign, as Troy and Harper want to make it telescope into the top for storage rather than fold down. It should be a pretty stunning project once completed.

Here you can see that the telescoping front sunshade is starting to take shape. The two round tubes on either side of the top are the receptacles for the shade.

Here, the telescoping front sun shade is now complete and all that’s left is the custom canvas top.

The new top is complete and we are readying it for shipping to Costa Rica. Now that it’s finished, check out these fine welds:

Here is detail on the telescoping retractable front sunshade:

Brian has it all wrapped up and ready for freight.

The Adventurer’s new top was installed in late November.

Off Season Maintenance 2019 – Week 4

The off season maintenance projects are all barreling down the backstretch and heading for the finish line. Speaking of finish, check out this awesome epoxy coat on iconic fighting chairs from the Wanderer and Discoverer:

So clear you can see your face in them! That’s also the goal for the skylights in Casa Tranquilo and Casa Surfeando:

Casa Caribe’s bathroom remodeling is complete. New tile and a new sink pedestal are the highlights.

Of course the best part of the offseason is when we get to add new fish-fighting weapons to the fleet. Remember that we started to build the new livewell for the Explorer using a bucket for a mold:

Now the form has taken shape been bulked out with seven-layer of Woven Roven fiberglass:

We fabricated the lid and lip by hand, slowly removing material until we got a snug fit.

Satisfied with the fit of the lid and the tank’s placement in the aft-starboard of the livewell, we proceeded to ad layers of chopped-strand fiberglass for a nice finish.

It is currently in place secured with epoxy, and once it cured it was ready for gelcoat and final assembly.

The new livewell looks great, especially now that the rest of the Explorer is freshly gelcoated and ready for action.

Look out fishies…The barroom-brawler Explorer fights dirty!

The other boats are in the process of final gelcoat and polish. It’s great to see the bulk of the fleet shined up and ready for battle.

Off Season Maintenance 2019 – Week 3

Work continued into week 3 with more progress on the refitting the fleet for the 2020 season. Captain Carlos reports that the repairs on the Discoverer are complete and they are in the process of deep sanding and cleaning.

The hull repairs under the bathroom floor are complete, and the floor has been fiberglassed back in place.

We also plan on using this opportunity to clear some obsolete wiring and tighten up the wire runs on the big battleship. Back aft, the teak wood covering panel has been removed and replaced with fresh 5200 sealant.

The Adventurer has been similarly stripped and sanded.

Keen-eyed fans of this boat will notice the new gunwale mounted rail-mounts up front…These will be integral to a forthcoming secret weapon that we are adding to the 23-foot switchblade’s arsenal of fish-catching weapons.

Speaking of secret weapons, the 27-foot Explorer is getting a new toy this year with a fully-integrated livewell. We used a discarded bucket as our form for the first fell layers of material.

We are going to install this on the starboard side over the back of the splashwell, which will make it accessible to the rigging station and also help control the outflow of the tank.

Next week our shipment of gelcoat arrives and we are looking forward spraying and polishing. Speaking of a fresh new look, the staff has pressure washed and re-stained the fascia of the main office.

Here’s a before/after look:

Looking fresh!

Thanks for all the kind words on social media as we continue our work. We’ll keep everyone updated as we get the boats and houses in tip-top shape before the new season starts in November.

Off Season Maintenance 2019 – Week 2

Work continues to prepare Nosara Paradise Rentals and FishingNosara for another season of fun family fishing adventures.

The Explorer has been completely stripped of equipment and old gelcoat. This is the first time the tower has been removed since is was installed in 2010.

Captain Fico expects the Explorer to shine like  new dime by the time the season starts in November.

The Discoverer is also getting our attentions this offseason. For years we have monitored a small crack in the front-starboard area of the hull, and have spent many hours laying on the ground fixing the crack from the outside.

Now we have the chance to cut open the bathroom floor and inspect the repairs from the inside. A few heavy layers of fiberglass should put this problem behind us for the life of the boat.

Casa Privada’s kitchen is getting a long-overdue facelift. Check out this sweet new countertop and backsplash.

Before:

After:

The 2 bedroom house Casa Caribe is also getting new tile and fixtures for her bathrooms. Plus the kitchen is getting a fresh look.

Off Season Maintenance 2019

Still basking in the glow of our record-setting 102 trip month of August, the team continued to fish into mid-September. However the time has finally come to refit, repaint, and reload the fleet for an exciting 2020 campaign.

Outside of basic maintenance we don’t have any large-scale projects in store for the fleet this year; however once we start pulling them apart we will certainly find stuff to address.

The Explorer is already stripped and ready for new gelcoat, and the other boats will get the same level of attention over the next six weeks.

Elsewhere, we are upgrading the bathrooms of several of Nosara Paradise Rental’s older units.

It may be the ‘off-season’ but we don’t take days off around here!

October 17, 2018

As we barrel into the new season, the FishingNosara team is putting the finishing touches on the refitting and reloading of the fleet.

On the Discoverer we have replaced the old Polynesian teak covering panels with new pieces of a local-sourced wood called Guapinol.

The flagship Wanderer is also getting new Guapinol for the transom, plus is getting fresh runners down the gunwales.

We also have replaced all of the rod holders with Screw-less holders from GEM Products.

We’ve used these bad boys on the Harvester and are stoked to apply them to our old flagship.

Also the in-deck fuel tanks have been pulled, scraped, and re-painted.

Now that the essentials are in place, it’s time to clean her up and re-assemble.

The rest of the Wanderer has come out nicely and we will get her splashed this week.

Also Captain Alex has finished the rehab work on the Harvester and is ready to rock-and-roll.

Meanwhile, Casa Privada’s added bathroom is completed. No more going into the main house for late-night needs.

Off Season Maintenance

This is the time of year when we perform maintenance on our houses, boats, and vehicles. The houses may be empty and the boats are on the hill, but as usual there is a flurry of activity around the Nosara Paradise Rentals campus.

Both of our offices have a fresh face for the new year with new varnish on the exterior wood and new paint.

 

Meanwhile we have heard your feedback on Casa Privada’s bunkhouse and are adding a full bathroom. No more coming into the main house late at night when nature calls.

 

We have big things planned for the boats this off-season as well. As usual, all boats are being sanded, cleaned and resprayed with fresh gelcoat. Here is the flagship Wanderer, all stripped down:

It’s a lot of work, but this is what is required to keep the fleet in tip-top shape.

This rare Costa Rica-sourced Guapinol (Hymenaea courbaril) wood will replace the existing transom on the Wanderer (above).

Also, the Harvester is getting some long-overdue attention. Remember that last year we left her in the water for the off-season, meaning that this is the first repaint since her initial campaign in January 2016.

The barroom brawler Explorer is also getting spruced up for the new year. Top of the list is rebuilding and re-painting the consoles…they will look great with the new windshields that are coming soon.

The Adventurer is always getting new tricks up her sleeve. Last year we installed a single live tuna tube (unheard of on such a small boat), and this year we are adding a bottom machine.

Here is the custom stand that Captain David has constructed to accept the bottom machine.

Even the Transporter is showing some wear and tear.

Knocking around Garza Bay all day long has necessitated some structural repairs on the floor, and the outer gunwale is being replaced with this PVC section fiber-glassed into the hull.

Stay tuned next month for updates as we get the fleet back in the water.

February 4, 2018

The Discoverer suffered a setback during her trip on February 4 as one of her Yamaha F150’s blew up.

This oil pump assembly cracked, and in a matter of seconds seized up the crankshaft, flywheel, and stator.

We expect to have the battleship repaired and back in the water this week.

Big thanks to our pal Jamie at Tidewater Boat Works in Jacksonville to help us locate some hard-to-find parts for this repair, and of course big praise is due to Oldemar our Costa Rica Yamaha Mechanic.

October 25, 2016

It’s October 2016, and the boats are on the hill and the houses sit empty, but the action never stops at Nosara Paradise Rentals and FishingNosara. Like all great franchises, we don’t rebuild…we reload!

It’s the rainy season in Nosara during the months of September and October, so this is the time of year when our team prepares for another great season.

At this point our fleet has outgrown our facilities, so this off season we’ll be breaking-in our new 30′ x 40′ boat garage.

After years of dodging rainstorms, laying fiberglass under tarps, and scattering our tools all over the yard it is great feeling to have a dedicated facility to perform our maintenance.

The garage also features a new bodega just for boat supplies; this way we aren’t mixing up boat stuff with Safari Cart supplies:

Great work by Deiter, Javier, and the rest of the staff in building this marine mecca!

Our flagship Wanderer is getting a major facelift this season…after 30+ years on the water the hard top is finally going away.

The wooden top has become waterlogged over the years, and the heavy glass windows are starting to show their age; in place of these fuel-hogging wastes of weight we will install a new aluminum top built by our friends at Custom Marine Jacksonville

Troy and the boys knocked us out with the quality of the top for the mega panga Harvester, so it was a no-brainer to let them loose on the Wanderer‘s new top…clearly Captain William is already thinking about how it will look:

Custom Marine has produced another masterpiece. Measuring 9 feet wide and 10 feet long yet weighing under 100lbs., this top is a marvel of marine engineering.

We had to build a custom crate in order to ship this thing…after all UPS doesn’t make a box this size!

The top is set for delivery this week and we will have it installed in plenty of time to start the new season.

Also, all of the cushions on the boats are getting rebuilt and restitched by jack-of-all-trades Marino who is quickly adding sewing to his deep bag of tricks:

We are fresh home from Nosara and are proud to report excellent progress on the refurbishing of the Wanderer. To recap, this is what the boat looked like this time last year:

As our boat-building prowess grew, we came to realize the awesome power of synthetic Coosa Wood: super light and super strong. Last October we pulled apart the entire cabin and rebuilt all the pieces out of Coosa:

This change saves an estimated 400lbs. or more. It took the whole crew jamming for a week, but the new cabin made the boat ride like a champ and drink a lot less fuel.

This year we are continuing to shave weight by replacing the heavy wood top with a sweet tower built by our friends Troy and Harper over at Custom Marine Jacksonville

First step was to strip off the old top and prep the interior for sanding/fiberglass work.

There was a noticeable about of flex in the sides of the cockpit once the hardtop was gone; the windows, window frames, and top acted as a stabilizing connection. Therefore we had to replace the strength with these Coosa Wood ribs on the sides:

Fortunately the shipping crate for the tower has left us with a bounty of 12′ 2×4 lumber, so it was easy to brace these while the epoxy cured and layers of fiberglass were applied.

We test-fit the new top so we could mark our holes and epoxy-sleeve them:

It was obvious that the rear edge of the tower was a few inches too low, so we installed 2 inches of Starboard to lift the rear up to a 6’2″ clearance:

Our clients anglers tend to be big guys so we don’t want anyone knocking their head, however our Captains and Mates are short so the rod holders have to be reachable. This height seems like the perfect compromise.

Meanwhile, Brian installed our new command console to complete last summer’s wood-to-Coosa transformation. Here is the new console:

 

You can see that the switches and gauges has to be laid our differently per Captain William’s specs; after 1,000+ trips in 6 years the Master Captain has a firm grip on how he wants the tools laid out on the Wanderer.

This week the crew in Costa Rica will gelcoat the Wanderer inside and out, then reassemble her for the water.

We are aiming to be ready to fish in the first week of November, so keep an eye on the FishingNosara blog and we’ll let you know once she is back in her rightful place in Garza Bay.

 

After a whirlwind two month overhaul, the Wanderer is back in the water and ready to once again sit on the throne as the King of Garza Bay.

While it was a fun challenge to re-arm this flagship for another year of battle, clearly everyone is ready to get back to fishing…escpecially Master Captain William: