Navegantes, SC, Brazil
After the sting-like stuff has been put between the planks, a thick, hot liquid called asphaltum is poured into the space between the planks by the ever-smiling grandfather in the picture. The asphaltum is prepared by melting it in old paint cans over a wood fire.

Navegantes, SC, Brazil
To stop water going between the planks on the deck of my neighbor’s wooden fishing boat, string-like stuff which expands when wet is pounded between the planks.

Parati, RJ, Brazil
Just to break up the boat maintenance pictures, here is a church (igreja) in Paraty.

Navegantes, SC, Brazil
The windows in the pilothouse were old and getting hard to see thru (polycarbonate fogs up after a few years of exposure to sun), so they were replaced with thicker ones, and reinforcing bars were added to the middle of the window to make them stronger.

Navegantes, SC, Brazil
To cool the exhaust, seawater is pumped into the exhaust system. It is done at a piece called a seawater injection elbow (since it is usually bent)–the odd-looking stainless steel piece in the picture of the back of the engine. When I got the boat, there was a tiny leak in the seawater injection elbow, which really wasn’t a problem…just put a small amount of water in the boat, but eventually it would rust out enough to put a lot of water and fumes in the boat, so I wanted to replace it at some point. It is hard to import parts into Brazil, and people are used to making more than ordering, so they made this one for me (and also a spare one, because the hot exhaust gases will eventually corrode this one also).

Navegantes, SC, Brazil
Now that I’ve been in this boatyard over a week, I can tell that I got lucky with the choice of boatyards. The boatyard I am in, Soldex Estaleiro, is great at getting stuff done correctly and on time. Communication is interesting, as I can barely speak Portuguese, but my neighbor kindly helps out with translations of many things. In the picture, a new cleat (built from the stainless steel pole the old wind generator was mounted on) is being added.

Angra Dos Reis, RJ, Brazil
Besides being a transportation hub for the area around Ilha Grande, Angra dos Reis is also an active fishing port. Each fishing boat seems to own its own truck.

Parati, RJ, Brazil
I mentioned that the streets in Paraty flood at high water at spring tides. Here they are dry.

Parati, RJ, Brazil
High spring tides “cleaning the streets”.

Parati, RJ, Brazil
From left to right, Rapa Nui–a Brazilian schooner well-known for its Antarctic voyages, a nicely varnished tourist schooner, and Issuma.