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Author Topic:   Whalers In Yelapa

jimh posted 03-14-2011 10:36 PM ET (US)
I was cruising through Yelapa, a fine little harbor East and South from Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, this afternoon and saw a recent-model Boston Whaler riding on a mooring. We went by rather fast, and by the time I spun around to look closer I couldn't see a name, but I am reasonably certain the boat had USA type registration numbers with the state identifier beginning with "S". That seems like SC or SD might be logical, and SC or South Carolina perhaps more logical.
The boat was about a 20-foot OUTRAGE with a black Mercury--I did not get a good look at it.
By any chance is the owner of that boat reading this article?
Tom W Clark posted 03-14-2011 11:19 PM ET (US)
When we were in Yelapa at Christmas, I saw no Whalers at all. The only Whalers I saw were new models in Puerto Vallarta.
Travel to and from Yelapa is mostly via Panga. A ride in a Whaler would have been nice especially when boating to the Marietas Islands offshore.
Jim -- Are you staying in Yelapa or were you just day-tripping?
lakeman posted 03-15-2011 07:28 AM ET (US)
We did a complete South American cruise in January from LA, to Rio and saw only one Whaler and that was in Cabo. I thought I saw one in Ushuaia, Argentina but after getting the camera, and walking to it, it was a just a similar looking one.
jimh posted 03-15-2011 08:40 AM ET (US)
We were just in Yelapa for the day, and only part of the day at that. We took the water taxi over from Boca de Tomatlan (where we had arrived by bus), had lunch, hiked to see the cascade (water fall) and hung around waiting for the return water taxi.
The ride back was supposed to be non-stop direct to Playa Los Muertos in Puerto Vallarta, but we had to make a couple of unscheduled stops. The first one was enjoyable. We stopped to watch a humpback whale and calf whacking their huge flippers on the surface of the sea. The next stop was a bit less fun.
The big panga was powered by a 200-HP two-cycle Yamaha. About four miles from Boca the propeller hub spun. After that, we could only limp along at about 5-MPH. The crew called for help on their cellular telephones--the boat had no radio. They had no spare propeller onboard. They hailed two passing water taxis to ask if they had a spare propeller. Finally, a third panga approached with a mechanic and a spare propeller. A mechanic on the other boat changed propellers while we bounced around in the ocean swell.
After he removed the cotter pin, I was curious what sort of wrench he'd have for the propeller nut. He had no wrench at all, but used a pair of slip-joint pliers to remove the propeller nut. It must not have been tightened very hard.
The new propeller went on, and the propeller nut was tightened--again by slip-joint pliers. Then came the hardest part: taking the kinks out of the old cotter pin so it could be used again.
I though to myself that I would not trust that propeller if I had to go hard in reverse. The propeller nut could not have been very tight, and after we'd run ten miles at full throttle that 200-HP of thrust would probably seat the propeller and result in the nut being even less tight. The cotter pin would be all that would stop the nut from spilling off.
The captain let me drive the big panga for the last few miles into Puerto Vallarta.
MarthaB posted 03-15-2011 07:23 PM ET (US)
Can't find a web cam so that I can keep an eye on ya.
Enjoy your vacation. I hope the trouble makers on CW behave themselves. But it looks like you have internet.

jimh posted 03-16-2011 11:19 AM ET (US)
Hi Martha--I haven't seen any web cams.
We were out on Bahia de Banderas yesterday for a very nice five-hour whale watching tour, but, like almost all the local boats, we were in a Panga. This one was a 32-footer, and its design was derived from a 27-foot hull that was developed up the coast in Mazatlan. It was powered by twin 115-HP two-cycle Yamaha ENDURO engines. I think they use pre-mix fuel, and the engines have cords and T-handles for pull-starting. I get the impression that the working boats like to keep things simple down here.
Other than the Panga-design boats, there were a few Grady-White boats in the marina. I did not see any Boston Whalers. The marina is located in a restricted area. You have to pass a security check point to get in, and then pay a $10-MEX entrance fee. The security people would not let us browse around the docks, so we did not get much of a survey of boat population, just the ones we could see as we came out the main channel in our tour boat.

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Author	Topic: Whalers In Yelapa
jimh	posted 03-14-2011 10:36 PM ET (US) I was cruising through Yelapa, a fine little harbor East and South from Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, this afternoon and saw a recent-model Boston Whaler riding on a mooring. We went by rather fast, and by the time I spun around to look closer I couldn't see a name, but I am reasonably certain the boat had USA type registration numbers with the state identifier beginning with "S". That seems like SC or SD might be logical, and SC or South Carolina perhaps more logical. The boat was about a 20-foot OUTRAGE with a black Mercury--I did not get a good look at it. By any chance is the owner of that boat reading this article?
Tom W Clark	posted 03-14-2011 11:19 PM ET (US) When we were in Yelapa at Christmas, I saw no Whalers at all. The only Whalers I saw were new models in Puerto Vallarta. Travel to and from Yelapa is mostly via Panga. A ride in a Whaler would have been nice especially when boating to the Marietas Islands offshore. Jim -- Are you staying in Yelapa or were you just day-tripping?
lakeman	posted 03-15-2011 07:28 AM ET (US) We did a complete South American cruise in January from LA, to Rio and saw only one Whaler and that was in Cabo. I thought I saw one in Ushuaia, Argentina but after getting the camera, and walking to it, it was a just a similar looking one.
jimh	posted 03-15-2011 08:40 AM ET (US) We were just in Yelapa for the day, and only part of the day at that. We took the water taxi over from Boca de Tomatlan (where we had arrived by bus), had lunch, hiked to see the cascade (water fall) and hung around waiting for the return water taxi. The ride back was supposed to be non-stop direct to Playa Los Muertos in Puerto Vallarta, but we had to make a couple of unscheduled stops. The first one was enjoyable. We stopped to watch a humpback whale and calf whacking their huge flippers on the surface of the sea. The next stop was a bit less fun. The big panga was powered by a 200-HP two-cycle Yamaha. About four miles from Boca the propeller hub spun. After that, we could only limp along at about 5-MPH. The crew called for help on their cellular telephones--the boat had no radio. They had no spare propeller onboard. They hailed two passing water taxis to ask if they had a spare propeller. Finally, a third panga approached with a mechanic and a spare propeller. A mechanic on the other boat changed propellers while we bounced around in the ocean swell. After he removed the cotter pin, I was curious what sort of wrench he'd have for the propeller nut. He had no wrench at all, but used a pair of slip-joint pliers to remove the propeller nut. It must not have been tightened very hard. The new propeller went on, and the propeller nut was tightened--again by slip-joint pliers. Then came the hardest part: taking the kinks out of the old cotter pin so it could be used again. I though to myself that I would not trust that propeller if I had to go hard in reverse. The propeller nut could not have been very tight, and after we'd run ten miles at full throttle that 200-HP of thrust would probably seat the propeller and result in the nut being even less tight. The cotter pin would be all that would stop the nut from spilling off. The captain let me drive the big panga for the last few miles into Puerto Vallarta.
MarthaB	posted 03-15-2011 07:23 PM ET (US) Can't find a web cam so that I can keep an eye on ya. Enjoy your vacation. I hope the trouble makers on CW behave themselves. But it looks like you have internet.
jimh	posted 03-16-2011 11:19 AM ET (US) Hi Martha--I haven't seen any web cams. We were out on Bahia de Banderas yesterday for a very nice five-hour whale watching tour, but, like almost all the local boats, we were in a Panga. This one was a 32-footer, and its design was derived from a 27-foot hull that was developed up the coast in Mazatlan. It was powered by twin 115-HP two-cycle Yamaha ENDURO engines. I think they use pre-mix fuel, and the engines have cords and T-handles for pull-starting. I get the impression that the working boats like to keep things simple down here. Other than the Panga-design boats, there were a few Grady-White boats in the marina. I did not see any Boston Whalers. The marina is located in a restricted area. You have to pass a security check point to get in, and then pay a $10-MEX entrance fee. The security people would not let us browse around the docks, so we did not get much of a survey of boat population, just the ones we could see as we came out the main channel in our tour boat.