Refrigeration Care and Feeding

Don May ("Fresco") is familiar to any boater who has spent any time in the Puerto Vallarta area.  He specializes in servicing and repairing refrigeration and air conditioning systems.  In this session he will discuss refrigeration, how it works, how to keep it working, and how to troubleshoot and repair refrigeration systems that are not working.

Don's career in his previous life was as a mechanical engineer. Prior to his retirement in 1993, he took a three semester practical course in refrigeration and air conditioning. Don and his wife, Pat, arrived at Nuevo Vallarta Marina in January, 1994 and lived on their boat FRESCO there for nine years. He began working on boat refrigerators and air conditioners in 1995. The only popular units he does not service are absorption propane/electric units (more popular on RVs than boats). In 2002 he and Pat built a house in Jarretaderas, Nayarit, just southeast of Nuevo Vallarta, where his shop is located. He works on boats in all of the marinas and at anchor in Banderas Bay. He can be reached at Josefa Ortiz #35, Jarretaderas, on channel 22, at landline 322-297-1684, cell 322-170-3276, or USA (internet) 303-952-4059.

Watermaker Care and Feeding

Kim McDonald (Azimuth Marine Services) is certified by Spectra Watermakers to service their units, but is also experienced in servicing most other brands of watermakers.  He will share his knowledge of how to keep this critical piece of equipment happy and supplying you with high quality drinking water from the sea.

Capt. Kim McDONALD has been active in the marine industry for over 35 years in yacht ownership, operations, management, and surveying with Ten’s of thousands of miles' offshore experience as designated captain on sailing and power vessels. He is a 1991 graduate of the Marine Surveying Course at CHAPMANS School of Seamanship in Florida, USA. He is holder of a valid Canadian STCW 350 TON Commercial Home trade Master Certification. He is a former Canadian Marine Law Enforcement Officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and has many years' experience in vessel maintenance operations. He is a factory trained and qualified Reverse Osmosis (RO) Water maker Technician, as well as Yacht systems technician, including vast experience in power plant, electrical, water and waste systems repair and service. Kim is a proud VYC member and resides and operates Azimuth Marine Services Inc., a vessel Maintenance, Marine Survey, and Vessel Delivery Business out of Paradise Village Marina in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico.