Tag: Matty
Off Season Maintainance 2012
It’s the rainy season in Nosara and we all know what that means….boat maintenance time! The captains and crew have the grounds of Nosara Paradise Rentals all to themselves and are dead-set on reloading the fleet for another record setting season. Let’s take a lot around the grounds:
The Explorer looks good as usual, and it’s required repairs are relatively minor and cosmetic.
The Adventurer is so new that it only requires some screw tightening. That only leaves…
The mighty Wanderer! After 3 years and nearly 600 trips our flagship is quite ready for a complete repaint and refit. This craft has taken everything that the Costa Rican environment could throw at her and is still hanging tough, but if you want a boat the last for 30 years you can’t skimp on the upkeep.
Our typical offseason painting on the boats consists of spot fixes and lots of masking tape. It is our goal to bring this paint job back up to the original level that we shipped to Nosara, so we are disassembling as much as possible. No tape lines on this boat!
Back in 2009 we were satisfied with the condition of the cabin, but now it is time for the chambers to get some TLC. The wood is still good in the cabin, but the paint is beginning to fade. Also we are deleting the hardwood shelves that ran along the sides of the cabin in order to save weight and reduce clutter.
The fuel tanks were another issue of concern. Three years ago we installed the tanks in what we thought was a watertight compartment. We were so confident that we did not paint the tanks so they are vulnerable to even the smallest drop of moisture that could sneak through.
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Looks like we dodged a bullet there! This tank is almost exactly as we shipped her and we will not make the same mistake twice. A protective paint job and fresh foam will help us sleep a little easier at night.
Craig, Craig Jr., and Matty showed up on September 5 (one day after the big earthquake) and brought the requisite sanders, sandpaper and paint supplies. Removing the bottom paint is the hardest job we have ever asked of the boat crews, and despite the pain and itchiness they have made excellent progress stripping off 20+ years of old paint.
Despite the backbreaking discomfort of paint grinding, the crew jammed it out and kept their usual high spirits through the difficult times. One small step for man, huh David and Alex?
The prep work continues inside where the boys have dutifully taped off the cabin wood and started double-action sanding the floor, walls and ceilings.
First Mate Alex is an ace carpenter, so he is in charge of sanding and refinishing all of the cabin interior wood, the cabinetry, and the dis-assembly and cleaning of the fighting chair. Take a look at the shine on this wood:
With the fighting chair we have sanded all off the old gelcoat and have decided to let the beautiful wood grains shine thorough. Alex got his hands on a thick chunk of pichote wood and formed this exact replica.
Once everything is stained and put back together this should be a beautiful piece of functional fish-fighting art.
After a few days of sanding the bottom paint off, we realized that the boat’s trailer was obstructing our ability to reach all of the area. Furthermore the impeded access would create too many null spots where we would have to come back and paint later.
The solution is pure Tico engineering…using two bottle jacks and big sturdy tree limbs as lifts, these fellas propped up this 3000+ lbs boat and slid the trailer out from underneath.
Sure enough this change enabled Craig jr. and the crew to finish sanding the bottom of the Wanderer. In hindsight this is the first step we would have taken, and in the future we will do all boat work down here in a saddle similar to this one.
We also employed a little local knowledge in dealing with another persistent adversary: the rain! During the rainy season in Costa Rica you can count on at least one gutter washer per day, usually in the late afternoon.
Our crew rigged up a tarp roof out of four smaller tarps and it is suited to repel most of the direct rainfall. Still with the humidity hovering around 99% we have to deal with condensation forming on surfaces we are trying to prep.
Matty and Carlos spent the better part of two days getting all of this paper and tape to adhere to the hull. Most of the effort was in pre-wiping the surface with acetone and quickly applying the tape before the water could re-establish it’s hold.
Also we ran a little short of paper so we resorted to the local tabloids…not only does this boat now repel paint but is also helps keep us up to date on soccer scores and silver screen starlets.
There was prep work still underway in the cabin and cockpit when Craig Jr laid down the first coat of gelcoat on the bottom. In their fervor to scrap the old bottom paint off, the crew accidentally went too deep in spots and exposed the top layer of fiberglass.
Here is the final prepped surface before painting; notice that the rough spots have all be filled with fiberglass resin and sanded down flush. Hopefully these patches will blend seamlessly once sprayed.
We thinned the gelcoat by almost 50% in order to spray it (most painters apply gelcoat via brush) and Craig drew the unenviable task of applying this nasty stuff. The mix of acetone thinner and resin catalyzer was a potent brew that required full facemask respirators to work around.
Due to rain it took a whole day to apply the bottom coat and another long night of spraying to finish the transom and all of the deck pieces.
We were blown away by the great results from this chemistry experiment. Check out the smooth coverage of our two gallons of sprayed gelcoat:
It was around this time that disaster struck: our Dupont Imron paint had been seized by the Costa Rican port authorities. Apparently our shipping agent forgot to declare the paint products and our precious supplies disappeared into the underworld.
We first learned of this issue on September 6 and after two weeks of fruitless phone calls, the boat was nearly prepped and the whole project would come to a screeching halt without paint.
The boat crews stayed on task like true soldiers and finished up the surrounding work while the gringos set about figuring out how to paint this boat.
FishingNosara is famous for taking a bad situation and turning it into a legendary result, and the repaint of the Wanderer had become a bad situation. Finally the solution hit Craig Sutton like a bolt of lightning to the forehead: “Let’s gelcoat the whole dadgum thing.”
After all, every Tico panga boat you see gets an annual coat of gelcoat slathered on via brush and you can buy the stuff at any hardware store. The DuPont paint is world-class, and as such it is hard to find in such a remote location.
If we could combine the Tico’s time-proven approach of gelcoating with the gringo spray technique and attention to detail, then we might have a real one-of-kind result that will look great and last a long time.
Craig called on the experts: he asked Charlie Keen of the Discoverer Project and our good buddy Chappy if gelcoat would adhere well to fiberglass. Their replies were identical: “Well that is what it’s made for, Craig.”
Convinced, we dispatched Cumi to the Sur paint store in Nicoya and he retuned with 8 gallons of white gelcoat, 2 gallons of black bottom paint, 16 cans of acetone thinner, 10 more rolls of masking tape, and a few ounces of blue pigment.
On September 16, Craig Jr. and Matty set about turning this nightmare into a dreamboat. They hustled through the last few repairs on the boat, most significantly patching the old rubrail bolts and touching up last September’s front pulpit repair.
By 5pm all the fiberglass had cured and Carlos finished the final acetone wipedown. Normally the rains blow through at this time of night but it was an eerily clear evening; also Matty and Craig Sr. were scheduled to fly back to Florida to next morning.
The die was cast: all-night paint session!
Craig Jr. started with the hardest part which was the front cabin. This entire area was masked off tighter than the lid on a Pringles can, and literally every second of spray exposed Craig’s skin to low-grade chemical burns. Oxygen was scarce and only a small household fan was available to provide circulation.
This is what hell on Earth looks like:
After that horrible experience, the remainder of the interior was a breeze.
The floor was a little tricky, but the momentum was building and there was no stopping us now. Craig Sr. came through with dinner around midnight and the boys continued hammering away with only a few Flor de Cana breaks.
By 4am Craig Jr. was working down the sides…the home stretch!
They finished the job at 5:30am just in time for Matty to load up and head off to the airport. With his last gasp of energy, Craig Jr. issued the following orders to the crew: Don’t touch the paint, and take the sanding operation to the other side of the property.
After 12 well-deserved hours of sleep (and cure time for the white top), Craig Jr. kept the ball rolling by spraying the bottom paint:
Then came back on Saturday to apply the final coat of blue-tinted gelcoat.
After two weeks of worrying and stressing (not to mention almost working the crew to death), the Wanderer shines like a new dime.
Captain William is pumped with the finish, and Craig Jr. looks relieved to be on the way back home. The boys will finish up with the cleaning and will begin pre-assembling the components over the next four weeks.
Craig Sr. and Captain Jack will be back in late-October for the final tightening and water testing. After this process the FishingNosara flagship will be lighter, cleaner and shinier than ever.
June 15, 2012 – Day 38
Enjoy the inaugural episode of The Discoverer Project. We will be presenting these video vignettes of our progress as often as possible as the Discoverer takes shape. No phony actors or multiple takes here folks, just real guys taking real risks to make a real dream come true.
2012 Ship of Fools Tournament
FishingNosara participated in the 2012 Ship of Fools Tournament held over the weekend of April Fools Day. A record turnout of twelve teams entered this year, each vying for cash prizes and of course bragging rights for the year.
The tournament is held in our home port of Garza, Costa Rica and this small contest among the local Captains always gets attention from some of the highest-dollar fishing teams in the Pacific.
Big boats like Safari and Kingfisher II have been known to monitor the radio and catch locations from the Ship of Fools Tournament as part of their preparation for the IGFA Billfish Cup and Presidential Challenge.
Sure enough this year we spotted the Flamingo near the 14 mile ledge scouting for the upcoming big-money tournaments.
The attention on Garza is not only focused on the water; a major portion of the proceeds from the tournament and raffle go directly to Garza to help improve the conditions of the beach community.
Everyone owes Captain Joe Chatham a big ‘thank you’ for making this tournament happen and for keeping the focus on Garza.
Last year FishingNosara chose the newly-launched Explorer as our weapon of choice and although the team performed well (read last year’s recap) it was clear that we needed to bring bigger guns to this fight.
For the 2012 event we had all hands on deck: The flagship Wanderer with clients Chris and Carolyn Dicola and the bar-room brawler Explorer with Craig, Matty and Captain Jack.
The roster from the spirited Captain’s meeting at Marlin Bill’s reads like a who’s-who of great Costa Rican Fishing: High Roller, Tek et isi, Reel Deal, Kingfisher, Endless Summer, Aimee Marie, Cowboy, Siempre Algo, and the Sportsman.
“I think we can do alright,” Matty offered after seeing the list.
“I think we’re gonna kick some ass.” Jack countered.
There was reason for the confidence; Chris DiCola had caught multiple Sailfish on two separate trips during the week on the Wanderer, and Captain David had a massive Blue Marlin within 4 feet of the boat that very day.
Day 1 – March 30, 2012
The Explorer blasted out of Garza at 6:30am sharp pumping the traditional tournament fishing anthem (‘Hells Bells’ AC/DC) at maximum volume. The Wanderer caught up around the 10 mile mark, and both slowed to a troll around 15 miles out.
As the boats settled in the radio reported a nice morning bite: The Sportsman released a Sailfish and lost two Marlins, the Reel Deal reported two Sailfish releases, plus every boat was getting bites.
Except the Wanderer and the Explorer.
The Explorer chased some free jumping Sailfish but couldn’t convince them to eat, then has a mysterious billfish whacking the teaser, but no hookup.
Over on the Wanderer it seemed that Chris DiCola’s fishing karma tapped out after the great pre-fishing because they did not get a single nibble for the first half of the day.
Tension grew. Baits were changed, the spread was adjusted. Anxiously the crews watched and waited.
ZING! At 12:30 a line popped off on the Explorer like it was hooked to an anchor. Craig belted up to fight the massive beast but shortly realized that this was no billfish…it was diving deeper instead of shooting to the surface.
After a quick fight this 47lbs. Dorado surfaced alongside the boat and Captain David was strong on the gaff shot. This monster’s head was the entire width of the fishbox and the tail was too long to close the lid.
This fish was a triple-whammy for the Explorer: It broke the ice for the team, scored 25 crucial (and potentially tie-breaking) points, and was certainly in the running for the biggest Dorado Calcutta.
At 2:30 another strike was reported on the Explorer as Craig Sutton efficiently fought this nice Sailfish.
Mate Pipio showed no fear in the billshot, even though a moment of extra time was required for the photo (with the tournament marker in the picture) this fish swam away unstressed and unharmed.
The call came on the radio for lines out of the water at 4:30 and the Explorer and Wanderer fell into formation for the 15 mile journey home. On the strength of Craig’s released Sailfish and Dorado the Explorer had 125 points; the Wanderer was one of six boats with 0 points.
Jack and Matt were thoroughly bummed, and Craig already had his mind on switching over to the Wanderer for the final day of the tourney. Chris DiCola was miserable although he had done nothing wrong; not a single fish touched a bait all day on the Wanderer.
The poor showing hung like a cloud on everyone, except for the indomitable spirits of the FishingNosara crew.
Mate Pipio was joking and jiving on the radio, and Captain David managed to convince Matty to carry the Dorado to shore rather than use the Explorer’s cooler. This created a comic scene on the beach with hombre grande slinging the beast over his back, dragging its head through the sand all the way to the scale.
Things were obviously loose on the Wanderer as Captain William buzzed the Explorer at close range while First Mate Alex faux-paddled the 31’ beast towards Garza.
We took the big Dorado back to the campus where Cumi showed that it’s not just the boat crews who know how to filet a fish. We shared the filets with the guys who were all smiles.
Craig, Matty, and Captain Jack took the cue from the crew and came back the next day in a lighthearted mood and a dedication to enjoy the day no matter the scoreboard.
With the pressure off, it was time to just go fishing.
Day 2 – March 31, 2012
Matty and Captain Jack were the first team out of Garza on the Explorer, but it was Craig Sutton over on the Wanderer who made the first big splash. The big blue beauty reported her first Sailfish release of the day (and the tournament) at 8:15am.
Craig was just getting started as another Sailfish came in hot at 9:30am. This behemoth was also no match for the Wanderer and was cleanly released after a 15 minute fight.
The bite cooled off around noon and the radio chatter told many sobering tales: lots of Sailfish spitting out the hooks and Marlins breaking the lines, also mechanical troubles befell both Reel Deal and Cowboy.
On the Explorer Matty pulled the hook from a bucking Sailfish while it’s hunting buddy was also hooked up. Both hunters escaped and this error cost the barroom brawler two 100 point fish.
Craig donned the lucky sunhat hoping to stimulate a big bite, and sure enough the fish of the tournament came calling at 12:45 over on the Explorer.
A 350lbs. Blue Marlin came tearing through the spread laterally from underneath the boat. It grabbed the short line bait and after a mighty 15 foot leap it pulled off almost 200 yards of line in a flash.
Captain David slammed the throttles down and backtracked this Marlin like a bloodhound, moving the Explorer so quickly that water began bubbling over the transom. Jack dug into the gunwales and began winning line back from the monster.
Captain Jack showed his years of angling experience as he fought this world-class creature on a TLD 30 with only 100lbs. test line. How these fish can tell which bait is on the smaller reels I will never understand.
On two occasions Mate Carlos had his hand on the leader knot and twice the mighty glowing fish pull away.
On the third attempt and with the 100lbs. monofilament leader tight as a guitar string, both Captain David and Mate Carlos seized upon the bill of the mighty beast and held on for the ride.
Mate Pipio was fearless in the handling of this leviathan and got him back in the water safely.
This is Captain Jack’s first ever Marlin (he caught his first ever sailfish in the 2011 Ship of Fools Tournament) and the 300 points that came with it propelled the Explorer back into contention.
The Wanderer was nearby and just a few minutes after Jack’s Marlin release Craig hooked up his third Sailfish of the day at 1:40pm.
Almost immediately after the release another mighty Sailfish challenged the Wanderer and was also subdued by Craig and First Mate Alex. It was released after a quick fight at 2:11pm.
Craig had put 400 points up for the Wanderer. The Explorer sat in 5th place with 425 points on the strength of Craig’s Sailfish and Dorado from day one and Jack’s Marlin release. Siempre Algo and Sportsman were in the lead with 550 points.
The Wanderer and Explorer stayed together for the final two hours of the tournament, crisscrossing a stretch of ocean in a figure-8 pattern hoping to land the fish that would put FishingNosara in the money.
Destiny came calling at 4:05 with less than a half hour to go in the tournament’s final day.
The long shotgun line on the Wanderer screamed off as a mystery billfish got hooked up. Despite the crew’s best effort this fish was too big to catch and escaped without rearing its head.
Craig and Alex agree that was certainly a Marlin and would have been the tourney-winning fish.
Simultaneously the Explorer was mugged by a high-flying Sailfish and it was up to Matty to redeem himself by not letting this one escape.
With the money on the line Matty found his footing and slowly but methodically brought her alongside for the release.
This photo is time-stamped at 4:22 pm, eight minutes before the deadline. With 525 points, the indefatigable Explorer was in the money. Also, Matty won’t have to spend the next 11 months having nightmares about losing the two Sailfish earlier in the day.
The Wanderer and Explorer returned to Garza with triumphant full-speed approaches and were the final boats to return to the bay.
The party raged on shore and everyone gathered to welcome the crews home. Garza was brimming with excitement, as evidenced by the raging fiesta the next night.
Captain David accepted the Third Place prize and Craig accepted the Top Angler award for his quintet of Sailfish releases.
In whole it was a great weekend for the whole team. We were humbled by uncharacteristically bad performances on the first day, found our stride on the second day, and ended up catching the most important fish with just minutes to spare after most of the boats had called it a day.
The team’s performance in the 2012 Ship of Fools Tournament lays a foundation for future tournament success; these guys are the hardest fishing guys in Garza and their collective experience level is fast approaching that of some of the legendary Captains in the region.
That experience combined with a ‘Never Surrender’ attitude and a true appreciation for the craft of sportfishing means there is clearly a bright future for the FishingNosara team.
Jacksonville Fishing Update
To prepare for his upcoming trip to Nosara, US Representative for FishingNosara Craig Sutton took his 31′ Fishtastic offshore in Jacksonville, FL for a full-on Dorado harvest. Along for the ride were First Mate Carl Schmidt, Mates Andrew Herbanick and Matty Jorn, and of course the lovely Georgia peach Ms. Paula.
First off the boat ramp at 5:15am, lines in the water at 7:00am, and fish in the boat by 8:30am…things were off to a fast start.
This picture was taken at 10:45am with the Dorado count around 25. By days end the Fishtastic had 51 fish in the box! Commented Andrew, “This is why I love Florida!”
We will post the pictures from the marathon filet session later…for now just know that we Florida boys (and Georgia gals) know how to fish!
March 23, 2011
What better way to prepare for the Ship of Fools Tournament than a little intersquad scrimmage between the Wanderer and the Explorer.
On the Super Panga was Captain David, Craig, Matty, and Jack who had their sights set on Sailfish. Sure enough after the daily mopping of stray tunas on the ride out Captain David set the TLDs out in a classic Bait-and-switch high speed spread.
Around 10 am the first bill started shopping the baits, first the short line, then the long outrigger, and finally settling on a bonefish rigged on the shotgun line. The line screamed off and Jack locked in for the fight. In shockingly efficent fight, Jack brought the Sailfish home in 8 minutes. Great work by boat, angler, and Captain.
Meanwhile, the Wanderer was not about to let the litte brother eat all the food. They came roaring up behind the Explorer and immediately put a nice Sailfish on the hook. A short fight and a quick release later and the score was nearly tied with the Explorer holding a slim lead in the form of a Bluefin tuna and a White tuna.
When Alex returned the teasers to the water he noticed that a curious Marlin had popped up about 50 yards behind the boat. He immediately pitched a rigged ballyhoo to the blue monster and set the hook with expert ease.
So the Wanderer won the scrimmage, but the ability to share spots and tactics will no doubt help FishingNosara find its way to the top of the leaderboard this weekend.
March 20, 2011
March 20 was Matty and Jack’s turn on the Wanderer, and a special day for Captain Jack. He was the main man on the Wanderer Construction yet this day marked his first time back on the boat he built.
Satisfied with the boat’s health after a year in the water, we stayed inshore in the morning to load up on more Yellowfin than we knew what to do with.
At noon they were joined by Craig and William Kidd of North Carolina for some offshore trolling. Mr. Kidd reeled in this magnificant Dorado estimated to weigh 50 lbs. The strike came just before 5 pm…Long day, but well worth the wait.
March 18, 2011
Jack and Matty along with clients Jim and Bryan were out on the Explorer getting geared up for the Ship of Fools Tournament this weekend. With a scoring system that rewards big billfish and multiple inshore species in a weighted fashion, this local tourneo is THE bragging rights event of the season.
To prepare, we are tightening up our Cuberra Snapper tactics in a way that also permits for solid Yellowfin action. This way we can fill up the scorecard in multiple ways. Matty nailed this one late in the day on a 2.5 hour evening trip.
March 17, 2011
Captain Jack and Matty, the FishingNosara Building Dream Team, took some time off from dialing-in the new Safari Carts long enough to join Captain David for a quick 2 hr. evening trip. In this short time Jack ripped in a nice 40lbs. Cuberra Snapper.
With dinner in the box, Matty ordered the appetizer in the form of a football-sized Yellowfin tuna. They are heading out again tomorrow with more meals in mind. Nice trip to the fish market!
March 8, 2011
The same team of expert superstars from The Explorer Story and The Wanderer Story took a break from boat building to fabricate a trailer rack for FishingNosara’s 13′ Ocean Kayaks. Granted, as car guys this is right in Jack, Craig, and Matty’s comfort zone.
Take a look at the progress from a stock 8 foot trailer to a spiny, menacing, Road Warrior-esque battle wagon. This beast should be in Nosara sometime next week and be in full time service shortly thereafter.
Craig got in on the action and brought his old-school approach to bear on the cross-members. Even though we have power saws, he cut them all with a hacksaw and achieved perfectly equal lengths and nice flat corners. Can’t teach Experience kids!
Of course Jack has been welding for many years and this project was no challenge to his mammoth skills with the metal whip. From race cars to boat trailers, Jack has many successful welds under his belt.
By adding crossmember support to the stock trailer we estimate that the carrying capacity is double the stock load. Also the superstructure can be removed in a few minutes to allow for more utility from the trailer.
Despite the modifications and extreme attention to detail, this whole project took only one day of fabrication with a second day allocated for painting. Great work from the Dream Building Team!