Rio Dulce Guatemala suggestions

[Liber]

Dear All,

I am planning in being in the Rio Dulce in December 2017 and I need to get some work done on the boat and would very much welcome recommendations on good technicians and boatyards.

The work to be done is the following:
1) Rebuild a Parkins 4108 diesel with 4000hr on the clock.
2) Change the rudder teflon/ertalon bearing on an aluminium boat

Can you recommend a good perkins mechanic and a good machine shop and installation team for the rudder bearing?

I will be also repainting the topsides (aluminium boat) myself, can you get good two part paint such as International/Interlux paint in the Rio? Where?

I have been told to go to RAM marina to do the work, what is your suggestion?

Thanks for your help, it is very welcome as it is my first time in the Rio...

Cheers,

Cyril

[model 10]

RAM is the best bet. It's very orderly. Bring all the engine parts down with you. There are no really pro engine shops but you can get your engine rebuilt if you have the parts. Valve jobs are a joke as the just lap them. Fuel pumps and injectors can be serviced in another town. Plenty of Awlgrip paint etc at crazy prices. Think about shipping down a crate full of stuff you will need.

[Triumphant]

If using sea freight, ship through Transcargo/Bon Bini/Rita for reduced costs, it takes about 4 weeks from leaving Miami. Depending on what you are shipping it should cost between 5 - 10% of the value of shipment, See Rio Dulce Chisme riodulcechisme.com - Transcargo offers door-to-door service

My view is that there are much better machine shops in Spanish Lookout in Belize for engine rebuilds and there are lots of perkins tractors in the country, (I have just had my Perkins 4236 injection pump serviced and rebuilt and injectors redone here)

Re the rudder bearing, Dennis in San Philpe should be able to sort you out

Good 2 pack paints and anti fouling are available in Rio Dulce BUT expensive, think about shipping them in

RAM are good and Nana Juana is another option and you can use your own team to do the job there so maybe cheaper, see who is doing the best metal boat painting at the time when you get there as craftsmen move around and not everyone understand metal boats

[Liber]

Thanks for the very helpful advice!
Just a quick question about Dennis, will he also be able to give me a hand in installing the new bearing?
Thanks,
Cyril

[Triumphant]

Originally Posted by Liber

Thanks for the very helpful advice!
Just a quick question about Dennis, will he also be able to give me a hand in installing the new bearing?
Thanks,
Cyril

Dennis has a machine shop so he should be able to make it, re the removal and fitting you would have to ask him, I do not have his number to hand but if he cannot do it, I am sure there are other people who can

Another thought, 4,000 hours is not a lot for a 4108, where are you now and what is the problem?

[belizesailor]

Agree w Triumphant re shipping and rebuild.

Just be aware that it is cheaper and easier to ship into Guatemala than Belize. You could ship parts into Guatemala and then head up to Belize for the rebuild.

In that case you would pull the engine on the coast somewhere (Belize City or Placencia) and then send it up to Spanish Lookout to have it rebuilt.

[model 10]

For a do it yourself yard Nana Wana is probably better. If you needed help on some sanding etc. you could easily find it there. There are several crews working in that yard. One, Arnulfo Juares arnulfojuares@hotmail.com, speaks good english, has a crew and he "communicates" He could hook you up with everybody around for the other stuff too.

[Liber]

Triumphant you are right 4000hrs on the 4108 are not a lot and the engine works great except for the usual oil loss... But the damper plate must be on its way out as I hear a clinking noise from it at idle indicating that at least one spring is broken. The tranny works great and selecting forward/reverse also works fine at this time but I am assuming that sooner or later the damper plate needs to be rebuilt/changed and to do that the motor needs to be moved as there is not enough space to pull the tranny in the current location. So my thinking is if I have to pull the engine might as well do a full rebuilt and forget it for the next few years. There are complete rebuilt kits for the 4108 on the net and I am planning on getting one. Any thoughts?
Thanks again for the help,
Cyril

[Sailmonkey]

You only need to move the engine a few inches to do the damper plate. I would be loathe to pull an engine to rebuild "just because"

[Liber]

Sailmonkey, on after thoughts maybe i will wait. I am on my way to the chesapeake bay so maybe i will do the full refit there. As far as replacing the damper plate do you think i can get one in guatemala (repaired or new)? I have a hurth (1985) transmission but i have been told that until the tranny is pulled you do not know the exact model you need. I am currently in europe and the boat is in panama so if i can get one before getting back it would be great.
Cheers
Cyril

[belizesailor]

Something to consider is that the Rio is a very good place to do a refit. Radically cheaper than in the USA. Importing parts is relatively easy and reasonable...though not fast if you use surface transport.

There is a thread here discussing the relative merits of refitting on the Rio vs other venues.