A Day Stranded on Segwun

We had a small crisis on Saturday. Squirt got a puncture. Yes, our dear little Squirt now has a patch on the front port tube.

We were both sitting in the cockpit reading and relaxing before dinner on Friday when we saw our neighbor having a problem getting his dinghy motor started. Our neighbors here are two young guys living aboard s/v Buena Onda. They are working here for the season and that's about all we know about them. When we saw him stranded, Jens jumped into Squirt and went to help him out. The motor wouldn't start so Jens gave him a tow to the Fisherman's dock. One of the boats had their motor lifted and whilst Jens was keeping his eye on it, he ended up banging into and caused a puncture.
I was still aboard Segwun, and saw him rushing back before too much air escaped. What a sad sight to see our little dinghy damaged and deflating. We quickly lifted the motor off and then took Squirt up onto the fore deck. Luckily we had a repair kit which is to be used for 'minor' repairs. A minor repair is a hole which is less than a half inch. Ours was about 1 inch and was right up against the side edge. We were doubtful the patching kit would work, but we went ahead diligently following the instructions. Once the patch was on, we had to let it cure for 24 hours. That was the most difficult part for Jens. After beating himself up for a couple of hours for being so stupid to have this accident he then couldn't stand the wait to see if the repair was going to be successful.

Saturday, we had a lazy day on the boat. I made some banana bread and a big pot of spaghetti sauce. And Jens counted down the hours to when we could inflate Squirt again. At 5 pm on the dot, Jens started inflating. It was a lovely sight to see the patch holding and to have Squirt back in the water. Yippee! We may have to have a professional repair job done, but it looks like it will get us to Panama at least. We celebrated with a nice spicy spaghetti dinner, fresh baked rolls and a bottle of red wine.
I am now doing a bit of research to see if I can make fabric chaps for Squirt. It will not necessarily protect her from punctures, but it will give some protection from sun and abrasions. Good to have a project to look forward to.