is nearly completed.   it is  to hold only 250 liters fuel, but that is  better than 176, or 44 gallons. it is   stainless so it is heavy, much needed in my  tries to be a tad rolly with  no fuel in  tank boat…i will not be able to  remove it myself as i was able to do with the nasty plastic one.

hopefully the pix of it under construction  will  post here..hahahahaha  my tech literacy is  minimal, at best.

has been a while since i posted last–has been a  bout of  infections inside and outside my   aging  body.  is tiresome and tiring at best.   so far i am still winning, but, damn.

bird is coming along–after tank we  begin the relocation and or   confinement of the electrics–panel has bus  bars affixed to mizzenmast.  hard to step the thing with all the     grounds on there—oops…  so we   do that, then i   repair little things and eat rice n beans    so i can step  the mast(s)–whether singly or  both at same time– i am leaning towards  singly with the other done after some much needed interior repairs,  at  time of restepping mizzen, which  will turn into an aluminum tree mast.

i will save as much of  my  thai cedar   mizzenmast wood, as that particular   tree is unavailable here  in mexico.

much of my woodwork will be done in  huanacaxtle/perota/ipe, here–is inexpensive and resistent to  bugs rot and  beautiful. is a rival to teak, and the trees grow rapidly. the use is   restricted and license must be had to work with it….doesnt seem to  bother the carpinteros.  the tree is  the  canopy tree of mexico, so it must be harvested properly so as not to   destroy the   ecosystems involved.

i am sooo looking forward to the day birdee will fly again.

managed to find 2  mor esails –one  headsail and one mainsail from cabo rico 38.  i figger the  headsail is a good  inner headsail for bird, and the  main is 14 ft at the    foot–excellent for the mizzen sail.   thankyou,   rhiannon V paul.

i also was presented with a  red white and blue spinnaker.  thankyou bruce!!!  for this i  will  create a sock–prolly at the hands of guadalupe, the  ullman  sails  rep in  puerto vallarta– yes, there is an alternative to mikey!!!  p v sails(mike) has proven his  fail in repairs  of   my genoa, as he created an essential   zipper  in a location not needing  repair.. oops.  first time it caught some wind, about  6 kts, it blew out at the stitching he   had placed along the   green sacrificial.  now i   had taken to understanding that sacrificial does not mean sacrifice the sail– but the green sunbrella protector  they   made sure was well  affixed to the sail itself.  ok. nothing like a lot of overstitching to rip out  a sail.  i am not impressed.

i have received many other requests for  alternative   rebuilding and creation of new sails in banderas bay, and thankfully , we have a good   alternative.

bubba is doing well..is a little bit old which makes me nervous–i  am not ready to lose him, so he best be a long gened  cat.   he is only 12, but….  age is age.(dont i know that one!!!).  he is such a goood   boy and awesome guard and friend.  he  speaks to me   when i call momma on fone–he  doesnot understand that i am speaking to someone unseen.   poor cat.  he is also good at showing me what needs   attention on this boat, and  watches over momms and   guards from intruders.   have not met another quite like him, my perfect kitty.  he has found  excitement in watching a “younger  lady” –a 2 yr old female  kitty across dock. she is a sweetie and looks for bubba when she is out…  seems bubba looks for her–but they never meet, as  both are restricted to boats.  safer that way.

this  winter has been a lil foggy–  socked in this am when i awoke, until  11 am.  we are finally getting some sun on my fog panels and life rocks!

oh yeah i   acquired some lighter weight  panels  for temp installation atop my  screens  i use to shade cockpit  in winter— and   yes!!!   we on this charging thing!!!

just need to either acquire new   wind gens or  repair the ones i have–  the chinese knockoff was killed by a combo of    bad  installation and  hurricane patricia– the   gasket  meant to keep out water was  mangled when the   clown installed it  (burn em up chuk)  so that is  gone… at least it was fairly inexpensive  for experimental work.  now for the   real deals.  i think  2   air X  would  suit me  perfectly.   i will NOT be installing one on my masthead. nope.  btdt–is why i need a new  mizzen mast. very poor choice of   installation locations on a ketch with  wood masts…

vd day coming up— hahahahaha have fun and red hearts to all.

PS!!!  cat is not bubba, it is neighbor callie cat of windsong….  she meouws with brit accent.