Haul out in Costa Rica

Scream is back in the water after having been hauled and painted in Puntarenas over the weekend.

Scream weighs about 25 tonnes, which limits the number of places where she can be hauled. Since we left Banderas Bay/Puerto Vallarta the haulout facilities have been:

1. Huatulco: Has a good looking yard, but only has a small crane. Scream is too heavy for them.
2. Island Marine/Jaltepeque, El Salvador: Has a 30 tonne lift but they weren't interested in our business and we eventually became uninterested in theirs.
3. Barillas, El Salvador: Gave us a quote via email that was more than we were willing to pay
4. San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua: A 20 tonne crane, still too small.
5. Costa Rica Yacht Club: 20 tonne travel lift.

Luckily there are at least a dozen marine railways in Puntarenas. The yacht club recommended Astilleros Cocal, SA, whom everyone calls Sammy's (tallersmanley@ice.co.cr). Hauling the boat on the railway took about an hour. It was a smooth and comfortable process. At the interesting part the boat is lifted about a 1cm once a minute as a half dozen men confirm that everything is properly supported. Returning to the water takes less than a minute, you just ride smoothly back down until you float off and away. Sammy charges nothing for hauling or launching, but US$200 per day that you are out of the water. After this one experience we've decided that we prefer railways to travel lifts.

The yacht club's boatyard did the painting. We switched from soft/ablative anti-fouling paint to hard paint. This required the old paint to be removed and the hull sanded. All this and applying two coats of paint and helping us with the zincs cost US$1,500. We were quite happy with their work.

We applied four gallons of Petit Trinidad, the kind that is too toxic to buy in Canada. This, and assorted other materials, cost an even US$1,200. Not cheap, but acceptable.

We also hired a guard, who proved to be the only one who tried to screw us over. We thought that CR$15,000 a day was a bit steep, but when his bill read CR$90,000, for three days at CR$15,000 and three nights at the same rate, we were upset. But we paid the jerk anyway.

Finally, we got a room at the hotel for C$120 for three nights with the boatyard deal.

Scream looks good and we're glad to be back aboard.