Our plucky panga the Transporter makes hundreds of trips per week from Playa Garza to the boats moored in the bay. This off-season we set our newest boatman Daniel on the task of rehabilitating the fiberglass around the upper rail of the boat.
You can see that there are major areas needing attention (the front prow and the rear corners) and lots of small spots around the seats and splashwell.
The inital trim reveals a strong barrier of fiberglass in the front.
Captain David wasted no time getting the 23-foot switchblade stripped down, repainted, and ready for action. Get ready for another amazing season from the Adventurer
The Harvester ran 178 trips in the 2022 season, and the interior needed cosmetic attention to prepare for the upcoming year.
The crew took care of the prep-work and disassembly, then Craig arrived to spray the gelcoat.
The got a good run of weather and managed to complete four coats a day in back-to-back sessions.
This is the exact result we want, and will finish up nicely once given several passes of fine-grit sandpaper (440g, 600g, then 1000g)
While we got the gelcoat cooking, might as well hit these panels with a fresh coat:
Also the cabin door and fighting chair for the Discoverer are being stripped and re-finished:
Even the luggage rack for our hard-working Land Cruiser got fresh primer and paint to ensure many more years of excellent service.
Casa Serena’s front facing windows got new blinds to replace the old curtains.
The big renovation this off-season is our two-bedroom house Casa Jardin. A major improvement was to install a fresh entryway.
The original doorway was bifold monstrosity that latched at the bottom and was a nightmare to open and close, especially to a first-time occupant.
The new doorway is a standard swinging door with side panels to allow maximum sunlight into the kitchen.
The house also got a fresh coat of paint, inside and out:
Continuing in the tradition of Casa Bianca and Casa Capitan, we have these one-of-a-kind carved doors for the new installation.
Casa Neptune also suffered from an overcomplicated entryway. The old sliding glass doors have been replaced with a standard door while still maintaining the natural light flow into the living room.
Casa Capitan got a fresh coat of her signature bright yellow paint.
Also the guys installed new aluminum flashing between the house and the patio roof, which had been leaky.
Casa Captain is looking good and ready to go for the 2023 season:
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
It’s a lot of work, but this is what is required to keep the fleet in tip-top shape.
The crews started working in late-August to strip the boats of their accessories and trim pieces. Craig arrived in mid-September to oversee final prep and spray.
Once young Dario showed everyone how it’s done, Captain Carlos led the way on sanding the Discoverer:
Supply chain problems got you down? Not us…We are too deep in the gelcoat game to worry about that noise!
Both the Discoverer and Wanderer got new rubrails thanks to our friends at Taco Marine. These black straps are critical to protect out hulls from the constant panga docking maneuvers.
Most people prefer marine paint instead of pure gelcoat for boat finishes. The gelcoat is many orders of magnitude stronger than paint, but it lays down with a flat finish.
To achieve a glossy, paint-like finish takes many hours of sanding. You can see here that the results are awesome when you put in the time…it’s like a mirror!
The sneaky switchblade Adventurer also got a lot of attention from Captain David.
Her fresh paintjob was augmented by new cushions for the clients, including a new center bench seat.
Two years ago, we shocked a lot of folks when Captain David modified a hand-me-down bottom machine (from the Explorer) to the 23-foot weapon. This year we’ve upgraded the brain to this new Humminbird Helix 5, which is the same machine we use on the 32-foot boats.
Captain David even built a cool mini-windshield to protect the machine from sea spray.
The last major job was to reinforce the in-hull fuel tanks in the Wanderer and Discoverer.
These protective layers of rubber matting under the takes will work in concert with the new double-coats of Rhino bedliner on the tanks.
A few spots of spray foam and a couple pieces of holding wood will keep the tanks secured in place for the whole season.
Also, the Harvester start to develop small cracks in the top. We recruited a welder from San Jose to spend a weekend in Nosara, and he repaired the top in short order:
We finished off-season maintenance for the Harvester and took advantage of a break in the weather on October 10 to return to the blue water.
Sam and Missy Morrow’s group nagged this excellent Sailfish release, then followed up with a nice stack of Dorados.
Sam and Missy Morrow continued to excel on October 11th. The Harvester stayed near-shore and delivered excellent Rooster Fish action:
All live released as usual. Super work by the mega panga.
Sam Morrow finished his three-day campaign on October 12, reporting a nice stack of Dorado filets for his efforts.
Hard to fell anything but joy after a week of fishing like this.
Also we are excited to announce the promotion of Wilson Mendoza from mate to Captain of the Harvester.
Wilson is the son of Master Captain William, but is very much his own man; he has proved his mettle with more than 600 trips on the mega panga over the last three years.
Everyone on the team is excited to see Captain Wilson take the fight to the fish this season.
After two months of strong effort, the entire fleet is ready for action on November 1.
All boats are ready for battle, and we can’t wait to get the season underway.
The Casa Bianca build was a wonderful way for our staff to stay motivated during the pandemic, but it also showed us the building talent we have on the staff.
This offseason, we wanted to bring some of the original Nosara Paradise Rentals houses up to the new standard of Casa Bianca.
Our main focus was the two original houses: Casa Privada and Casa Tranquilo.
Casa Privada was built by the legendary Richmond Phipps and she sold us the adjacent Casa Tranquilo. Those early years of being neighbors with Richmond set us up for the challenges of expanding into Nosara Paradise Rentals’ current footprint.
Richmond’s house has served us well for 15 years now, but the original red tile has seen better days.
Top priority for this off-season was to incorporate the lovely slate tile from Casa Bianca into the other houses…out with the old, in with the new!
It’s a little tricky to move the furnishings out of the work area while still keeping them safe from the rainy season conditions.
We love using the locally-sourced Costa Rican hardwoods throughout out houses. For Casa Privada we reimagined the entry way with this beautiful double-wide glass door trimmed with local teak:
Another thing we learned on Casa Bianca: we can build better furniture than the store-bought, IKEA-knockoff garbage that most of the hotels around here use. Check out these awesome new beds, cabinetry, and dividing walls:
The poolside duplex Casa Tranquilo also got new tile, wood trim, and new furniture:
New wood trim throughout really gives a sweet warm glow, especially in the afternoon.
We also sealed up the passageway between the new units; in the era before we built four two-bedroom houses, Casa Tranquilo was expandable to a double unit. In recent years this feature has become obsolete so now the two units are permanently separated.
The kitchen also got an upgrade, once again to match the vibe of Casa Bianca.
Finally you can see the results of many trips up and down the ladder to sand and stain all the woodwork in the ceilings.
We built so much momentum on these projects that the boys decide to bite off another chunk of work by performing similar upgrades to the two bedroom house Casa Caribe.
We are super-excited to see this house’s new look in the coming weeks.
After a furious four month stretch of action, the Explorer in in the shop for maintance and upgrades.
Our boats are on anchor in Garza Bay for 10 months a year, and as such there is constant upkeep to keep the fleet in fighing shape.
The top has been lowered so that the stiches can be re-enforced, especailly around the antenna mounts. Also the storage under the consoles have been reworked and strengthened.
Another clean-up project is the clutter that built up naturally under the splashwell. The livewell pump is now rewired and rerouted to better deliver fresh seawater to the bait fish.
Up front is a new coat of gelcoat on the floor and gunwales. Also the front-facing seats are being re-upholstered with thicker seat foam.
We are always striving to improve our boats and enhance client comfort. The Explorer will return to the water in early March 2021.
Casa Bianca is shining brightly in the Costa Rica sun, and our indefatigable crew is working hard to bring this project to completion.
The black tile countertops and pedestals are looking great in the bathroom, showers, and kitchens.
The black accents continue outside, where the front fascia of the building is being inlayed with dark volcanic stone.
This is a time consuming step but the end result is super sharp and helps enhance the curb appeal of Casa Bianca.
This black strap is a unique detail that you won’t find on any other Nosara Paradise Rentals houses.
A big development on the inside is the window installation. Once this is done we can start working inside without fear of the weather; for instance you can see that the A/C units have been installed.
Grevan Hernandez is the chief architect of our sprawling gardens, and he is all set to execute another masterpiece with Casa Bianca.
We are looking forward to the great work by Grevan and the rest of the team as this project nears the finish line.
We are in the home stretch on the construction of Casa Bianca. The crew has started to install the ceiling lighting. They are also perfecting the wood-to-concrete mating along the ceiling.
They also are framing and installing the windows. A titan of a task for sure!
Here you can see the first course of windows completely installed.
The exterior is looking gorgeous, and on the inside the fixtures are starting to take shape. Here is the pedestal for the bathroom sink:
The kitchen counterspace has been completely formed and cured.
Now is our chance to see the black tile that will serve as the countertop and backsplash.
The white walls, grey tile, and black accents look great together. Trust me that there was a lot of consternation over this decision, but so far we are pleased with the result.
It’s amazing what this crew has accomplished in five short months. Casa Bianca is a testament to the power of hard work and cooperation.
Off-site, three of the four exterior doors have been completed. Each of these handcarved masterworks with be a perfect ‘Welcome Home’ for our guests.
We’ve been dodging hurricane-level rainstorms for about a week, but the sun finally shined through to give us a great view of the progress on Casa Bianca.
This coat of primer is not exactly the color of the final paint job (which will be pure white), but the primer gives us a nice sneak-peek at the finished product.
The sunshine highlights the immaculate wood work in the ceiling.
The crew is hard at work finishing the tiny details where the wood meets the concrete. Details make the difference.
We are also progressing on the kitchen counters and bathroom sinks. Here is the first glimpse of one of the bathroom sinks:
Here are the kitchen counter areas.
Coming soon in the fixtures, commodes, and tile work. Stay tuned!
