Log March 11th 2008 Getting ready to Leave Mango Creek Lodge

Julie & I have been working very hard at getting ready to leave Mango Creek since the first week of January. The target date of April 1st has driven us to get as much done on our our project catamaran "Spirit of Free Radical".

With a staff of about 20 people and the start of the busy season at the lodge, it has not left us any room to continue with this log. However saying that we are committed to returning to our life of cruising the Caribbean.

So what the hell have we been doing......

We started here August of 2006 and sometime in October that year, while visiting La Cebia ship yard (on the mainland of Honduras) we spotted a 47' Catamaran selling cheap cheap. The exterior looked tough with both hulls leaking rain water out the bottom. The fronts of both hulls had been bashed and the rudders were off for repair. The inside was even worse with water damage so bad the flooring was rotted out. Plants were growing out of the salon floor.

Well, we first debated buying it and fixing it up for the next chapter in the adventure. It would certainly be a better vessel to charter than Free Radical. It had 5 staterooms and 4 heads!!! But it was also a total wreck. Julie and I finally decided to go after the boat as long as it was the right price and we could fix it up at the Lodge. We got the thumbs up from the owners of the lodge so it was back to the ship yard to negotiate.

We finally struck a deal which the owner agreed that the cat would be in the water with both engines running, the mast up and not sinking..... Well it took another 10 months before all that happened. She finally arrived at Mango Creek Lodge Roatan on August 2007.

We picked the cat up in the another bay on Roatan called Dixon Cove, and headed to sea for the 20 mile run to Mango Creek in Port Royal. We no sooner left the dock when it became apparent that one engine was not really turning it's prop. Luckily we had brought Roger the mechanic  with us to help if we had problems. Well, both engines had problems on the trip and Roger looked like a gofer climbing in and out of the engine compartments.

We arrived hours later at Mango Creek and tied her up to a mooring ball.  Whew, made it!

The outside of the "Cat" was very tired but really that wasn't a big concern. The big concerns were the engines and the interior. Obviously the hulls had filled up with water form rain leaking through the hatches. The engines showed signs of being under as well.

The motors showed rust damage from being under water....

Notice the water damage on the bottom of the salon seat

The Fridge had no lid and the counter was gone....

Teak slats in the seating area are dilapidated and can not be fixed.

Rotted floor was pulled up and all the bilges were cleaned and painted.

Daunting though it was to proceed we felt we knew enough about sailboats to put it all back together. We estimated about $100k plus a lot of hard work.

The first order of business was to remove all the flooring and use the old pieces as templates to make new ones. Unfortunately not only was the floor rotted a few of the bulkheads under the floor were too. It wasn't long until I was covered from head to toe with fiberglass dust from cutting out damaged bulkheads.

During the weeks that followed most of the floor was replaced. The area under the mast showed signs of stress so the whole area was reinforced with fiberglass matt and roving. During this process I was helped by some of the local boat repair people. Both Julie and I were used to using west epoxy for laying up our fiberglass. We had little experience with poly ester resins.

Luven who was to become invaluable to us laughed quietly as I managed to cook about 4 batches of resin before I got the right quantity of hardener figured out. Within a week I was able to work easily with  all the resin and filler combinations.

Julie worked like a trooper tearing out the inside of the boat and moving it to the workshop to be refurbished. She also set up our small cottage as a sail loft. A large Seiko sewing machine was imported and she was in business. She sewed up new upholstery for the mattresses, made new salon cushions (13), new cockpit cushions etc etc.

Below are pics of her making new trampolines. All her materials were imported from the US. Internet buying saved our butts.

Each engine had the head removed and valve jobs done. The engine compartments were cleaned and degreased and painted.

New plastic wood material was used to replace old teak slats. This is the same material as cutting boards - UV resistant and maintenance free.

Cockpit wood was sanded and treated to 4 coats of Cetol L. (This was a big job), and the entry doors were also refinished with Cetol.

Julie stacked cushions to the ceiling

Julie's sail loft Haven.....We set up a wholesale account and had rolls and rolls of fabrics and foam sent in from the States. Some materials we could get locally in La Ceiba, but the specialty canvas supplies needed to come from the States.

New trampolines were made up to replace old ones. The old trampolines were made of webbing, very springy and hard to walk on. Also they are so old we did not trust the stitching or the webbing.

All the hatches and windows leaked, which had led to extensive internal damage. We ordered sheets of acrylic to replace them all. At the same time we purchased 33 sheets of expanded PVC to cover the internal walls replacing the old carpeting etc. As of this Log the material is here but not installed.

We also got a new, used (1000hrs) Westerbeke 8K generator which we hoisted on a halyard into the forward port Ama. Luven and his helper Walter ran fuel lines and water to get her going. She runs fine but the electrical hookups still need to be run.

Westerbeke Generator installed in it's new home

New drawers were made to replace missing ones. Teak veneer walls were painted white and solid wood trim was varnished.

Hatch frames were made from old slats taken from the cockpit seats.

Luven also painted the entire boat in the water. We used about 10 gallons of paint ....wow... The job took months to sand, prime and final spray. He even put the new name on "Spirit of Free Radical".

All painted up with new name

This is a big cat!

SoFR has one stern anchor out, and tied to two sand screws. An additional line is attached to the mangroves. So no stress was placed on the dock.

Much of the work was done assembly line fashion. There were some 34 frames for windows and port holes. Over 30 ceiling panels, 54 cupboard doors, lots and lots of shelves etc. We set up large areas for varnishing and painting. I rebuilt woodwork and fiber glassed and Julie took care of the finish work.

54 cupboard doors were repainted and varnished.

New lid for the refrigerator was made. 4 inches of foam was poured later to complete the insulation

The galley was redesigned to accept a new shipmate stove and a 3 burner stovetop. The sink will be replaced with a stainless steel double, new faucets, plumbing hoses and a microwave will be put in.

Well, this is just a start we have a lot more pics coming. Julie & I will leave Mango Creek Lodge April 1st and our jobs as managers. This will allow us to concentrate 100% on the Cat and will also give us more time to keep the web site updated.

We are targeting to complete this project by October of this year. When that is done we will be resuming charters on Spirit of Free Radical.... So if you're interested please let us know....

Ed & Julie.... still crazy after all these years....                                                Email Us