Balabac Island, Palawan is the last outpost on our way to Malaysia. Despite the developing tourism on the island, Balabac still exudes a certain exotic touch. We are anchored in a quiet sheltered bay next to the main port of the island. The bay has a very narrow entrance with reef formation on both sides. It’s a tricky entry. The bay has 4 nipa houses on the shore, each family is related to the other. One man we met and his name is Rahem. The afternoon we arrived and tied to a mooring in the bay, he came in zooming in aboard his dinghy and approached our boat. We thought we would encounter another ‘you-cant-tie-on-my-mooring ‘ confrontation but instead, we were greeted by a happy ‘hello’ from him. He told us that he is a Malaysian, where he lives pointing to one of the nipa houses on the shore and pointed to his Malaysian boat anchored near the shore. He would be our contact person for the next week of our stay in Balabac.

We went to shore the next day and met Rahem’s family, his wife, and his 2 children. He showed us the well where to get fresh water back in the woods, a minute walk through a dirt trail under coconut trees and weeds. Todd (a.k.a Skip) and H scooped water out of it using a made dipper with a long rope, careful not to drop the rope and lose the whole dipper, and filled up each container, after which they have to carry each back to the shore. I brought our laundry pile for the last 5 days but before I can even start, one lady approached me and made it clear that I must not wash my clothes near the well as the whole village get their drinking water from it. I made sure I was ways away from the well when I washed the laundry.

The next days were dedicated to repairing and preparing the boat. Repairs in the field are pretty common for us. We are always on the move and most of the time in some very remote areas. This is a time when battery-operated tools rule and being prepared is a must.

Battery-operated tools rule

A few days ago we noticed our prop of our dinghy had spun when our engine would speed up but the dink wouldn’t accelerate. Since we are full-time cruisers, not having a dinghy engine is a major problem.

Here is the brief: the propeller housing w/blades is attached to a splined barrel by flexible rubber that is not replaceable on smaller props. The entire unit then slides over the splined propeller shaft. The rubber will absorb shocks from grounding or hitting something but as it ages, it will deteriorate to the point of separating the barrel from the outer propeller housing.

H and Skip were able to pull the prop off as the rubber was all deteriorated. The prop hadn’t been pulled off in years and we are in salt water. Skip pushed the barrel back in the propeller, drilled 3 holes around the base of the prop casing, and pinned the casing and rubber to the barrel with machine screws. It’s a short-term fix until we find a new prop. At least we can get to shore. H got another good lesson in field repair. He is turning out to become quite a sailor.

Himalaya engineering a solution

Next, we changed our engine oil after her first 500 hrs. We secured all solar panels, went through the wirings, and made some repairs.

We went ashore and did some fiberglass repair on our in-the-field -made, plywood-fiber-dinghy.

H and Skip repairing the dinghy at Balabac Island

Our Homemade-Plywood-Fiber- Dinghy

We also re-attached the upper stay between the main and the mizzen. We re-arranged gears inside the boat and cleaned the boat keeping ourselves busy, always preparing and repairing for the long miles ahead.