J decided this was the day the rudder would be coming off Mahalo Nui. The rudder was slightly bent during the rescue from the beach and was unusable in its current condition. We researched how the rudder should come off but were having trouble with access and one of the thru bolts just wouldn't come out. After working on it the previous day we knew we had to approach it differently. Finally, brute force won out and the bolt was free but because of the bent, the rudder still did not want to come out. J and I did our best to free it while Jerr offered direction from the cockpit. Again, a bit of brute force smoothed the way to getting it out. With the engine operational and the rudder being sent to a local shop to be straightened, Mahalo Nui was looking good to proceed toward Cancun under her own power.
The heat during the day is quite brutal although it isn't the temperature. The direct sun is the bad part. In the shade and with a breeze its generally quite pleasant so some of the afternoon was spent in the boat, in the air conditioning, watching DVD's. After we finished the rudder, we all cleaned up and after checking out several restaurants around the compound, we wound up at Gringo's Cantina for the special of the day.
After our late lunch, Beth and I worked on the forward locker and located its "leak" and I fixed the spotlight on the front of the boat. The leak was simply the hatch not sealing when closed and while a gentle rain wouldn't let water in, burying the bow in waves would. We rinsed off and cleaned the gear in the locker and once dry, repacked it. We will be looking for some new weather stripping when we head into town next week.
For dinner we tried a sushi restaurant and returned to the boat.
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