January 30, 2013

Calm blue water close to shore has brought a swarm of Sailfish into our area. The Wanderer released eight beautiful Sails with clients Jim and Scot Bates. The action started strong early in the half day trip and held fast all the way until sunset.ย 

This perfect day was underscored by Captain William’s keen billfish hunting skills and safe releases by First Mate Alex to ensure the safety of angler and fish alike.

Usually we don’t stay offshore this close to sunset, but when the bite is this strong it is hard to resist squeezing every minute of good fishing our of the trip.

The Discoverer Project – January 30, 2013

“Thats a lot of work, I am curious to know if you have calculated the amount of weight you have added with all that glass and resin?

I am also wondering why you did not use non woven biaxial fabrics to save weight and improve the overall strength? You could have also used a light weight fairing putty to fill the low spots on the deck and skipped that final layer of matte.

It seems like you guys are doing more work than you need to but I will give you tons of credit for taking on the job. Good luck and keep them pictures coming.”

-Dave Meyers, Florida Sportsman Forum Senior Member

January 30, 2012 โ€“ Day 296

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the reply! You are totally correct that the approach we are taking with the nose seems extremely overbuilt, and common wisdom tells that a lighter nose / bow means a softer ride, better gas mileage, and less horsepower required to get up to plane.

We currently have a boat almost identical to the Discoverer in service down in Costa Rica and the front deck has been a constant source of concern in our specific application. We keep this boat (the Wanderer) in the water year-round tied off to a mooring point and last year a freak set of waves swelled into our harbor at Garza Bay.

The Wanderer incurred serious damage from this event as a rouge wave came over the back, filled the cockpit, and sprung the whole boat up on her nose. When it crashed down, here was the result:

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Also as a charter boat we have come to expect the unexpected when it comes to client behavior. Sometimes we have hardcore anglers want to sight fish off of the bow; other times we have 10 yoga students who want nothing more than to hang off the bow and look at dolphins:




The Wanderer has taught us the value of having a strong foredeck because the unexpected is always right around the corner for us. Read the details on the whole in-country repair process here: Wanderer repair – September 2011

As for the weight issue, we have a very short ride to the blue water (less than 6 miles) and never need to exceed 25 knots even during tournament time. With the Discoverer I figure we have added approximately 75 pounds to the nose so far and will probably end up just short of 100 pounds added by the end of the process.



As for the finish work, you are also right that we could use either a lightweight fairing puddy or even a micro balloon mix to fill the low spots rather than fussing with whole sheets of fiberglass mattes. However in this case we are trying to replicate the materials that are available to us in Costa Rica.

You see our area is so remote that there are no legitimate boat suppliers. The only materials we can acquire locally for repairs are standard polyester resin/hardener and matte. The best way to make sure that we can easily repair this foredeck with local materials is to only use locally-available materials from the start.


Another example of this is our choice to spray gelcoat rather than marine paint…you can’t find good marine paint anywhere in Costa Rica, but gelcoat is available in almost every hardware store. Here is a link to our last gelcoat spraying escapade: Wanderer Refit – September 2012

It seems like you guys are doing more work than you need to but I will give you tons of credit for taking on the job.

You are totally correct, and thank you for the kind support. We will keep the pictures coming and should be spraying gelcoat soon. Here you can see that Captain Jack has plowed ahead with prep-sanding the interior and the cabin. A little more clean-up and a few more repairs and we will be throwing material at her in the next few weeks.





January 28, 2013

Our good pal Mike Young took to the Explorer in the afternoon and Captain David headed right back to where the fish were in the morning with similar results. No Snapper in the afternoon, but a nearly identical 40+lbs. Dorado was found on the end of the line



The Explorer continues her mission to deliver consistent, fun action for all of her clients. Great work as always by Captain David and Mate Carlos.

January 28, 2013

Carl Hammond of California booked the blue beauty for a 6.5 hour excursion to Sailfish City and the mighty flagship strutted her stuff as usual. They released six beautiful Pacific Sailfish throughout the trip ranging from 75lbs. to 100lbs.

Caution: Low flying Sailfish!

They also KO’d a nice 50lbs. Dorado for the dinner table to round out their day of trophy releases.

Great day on the water by Captain William, First Mate Alex, and the unbeatable Wanderer.

January 28, 2013

Michael Reed and his posse had a whale of a good time on the Super Panga Explorer with the legendary Captain David. The highlight of the fishbox was this trio of perfect-eating sized Mullet Snapper:

These fellas lose their meat density when they grow over 25lbs., but these pan-sized morsels are ideal for table fare. They also added a 40+lbs. Dorado which tastes great big or small.

Another fantastic trip to the fish market by the unbeatable Super Panga Explorer!

January 23, 2013

Fantastic day of all around action from Captain David on the unbeatable Explorer! With Carlos on duty over on the Wanderer, Garza local Steven stepped up to the mate position and the mighty super panga didn’t show the slightest letdown.

Client Michael LeChance and his wife laid a beating on several Dorado early in the trip, then set their sights on massive Sailfish.

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They had three bites and one wonderful Sailfish release during the mid-day bite, then Captain David headed inshore to mop up on Snappers.

Once again good things came in threes with a trio of Snappers in the fishbox.

Looks like everyone had a great time on the baddest super panga you’ve ever seen, the Explorer!

January 22, 2013

Time for another installment of the FishingNosara maintenance odyssey! This time, the crew of the Wanderer replaces mooring point in Garza bay that we have used for over 3 years to tie off the beloved flagship.

You can see here that the rope itself has begun to fray and stretch:

Not pictured are the four 55-gallon drums filled with concrete that serve as the anchor point for this rope at the bottom of the bay. Captain William and Alex prepared a new floating ball system and affixed it to a hefty length of 2-inch diameter marine-grade rope.

Next up the boys strapped on the re-breathers and dove down to the bottom. Let’s hope no vengeful Sailfish find their way into Garza and exact revenge on the two most productive fisherman in the area!

Everything went smoothly below the surface and the Wanderer is sitting pretty on her new leash. Excellent work by the best crew in Costa Rica on the water, on land and even under the water!

January 21, 2013

Kathy and James Preis continued their strong offshore performance with a second trip on the flagship Wanderer with Captain William and First Mate Alex (freshly back from his weekend in San Jose). The fish clearly missed Alex while he was gone cause they swarmed the boat like moths to a flame.

Kathy nailed this excellent Dorado around 10am, then the stage was set for a massive Sailfish battle that would see three successful releases out of five hookups.

You think Alex is pumped to be back on the water? Check out the “Superman Pose” on this release shot.

Another great trip from the best boat in Garza, the Wanderer!

January 19, 2013

The evening of January 19 was a time for family and friends on the Super panga Explorer. Captain David was joined by his wife Betsy, Head groundskeeper of Nosara Paradise Rentals Grevan Hernandez, and our newest employee, Mechanic’s Mate Marino.

Marino has distinguished himself as the master golf cart mechanic in the area after many years working with our buddy Mike Eisenhower of Island Buggies. It is a treat to add such a skill member to the team and especially nice to see him haul in this nice snapper on the evening tides.

As usual the hot rod belonged to Betsy as she had a hand in filling the fishbox several times over.

Awesome evening of fun and fishing with friends and family…Pura vida!