3D PRINTING 🖨️ & UNDERWATER LIGHTS 🚨Hurricane Season Projects Keeping us Busy!

Secured alongside the concrete docks of Marina Riviera Nayarit in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, the crew of M/V Noeta settled into their summer layover along the sheltered shores of Banderas Bay, Mexico. For full-time liveaboard mariners Pat and Alexa, accompanied by boat cat Gilligan, Pacific Mexico’s active hurricane season demands a balance between storm vigilance and proactive maintenance. Rather than treating months in a hurricane hole as idle downtime, the crew aboard the 57-foot Nordhavn expedition trawler utilizes dockside stability to tackle complex vessel refits that are impractical while underway offshore.

Operating a heavy passage maker in tropical waters brings persistent challenges, from bio-fouling in raw-water cooling loops to solar degradation of exterior deck fittings. To maintain self-reliance without waiting weeks for costly imported spares to clear customs, the mariners aboard motor vessel Noeta integrated additive digital manufacturing into their shipboard maintenance routine. Leveraging an onboard 3D printer alongside marine polyurethane adhesives and modular relays, the crew engineered custom seawater strainer baskets, heavy-duty flybridge safety mounts, and a transom underwater LED lighting system designed to withstand tropical marine conditions.

Pacific Hurricane Season Readiness in Banderas Bay

Aboard M/V Noeta, moored at Marina Riviera Nayarit within the protected northern arm of Banderas Bay in Pacific Mexico, daily operations revolve around tropical weather tracking and surge mitigation for motor vessel Noeta. Shielded by the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains, Banderas Bay acts as a natural hurricane refuge by disrupting revolving storm systems tracking northwest along the Mexican coast. Even within this haven, peripheral storm bands generate intense sea hazards; as Hurricane Polo and Hurricane Rachel swept past the bay entrance, outer surge created breaking surf across the marina channel, prompting harbor authorities to hoist red warning flags and close the channel.

The severe risks of the open bay became evident when an unfortunate vessel attempted to exit into Banderas Bay and foundered in breaking seas. Inside the marina basin, localized barometric shifts produced squalls with recorded wind gusts of 37 knots, torrential rain, and lightning. To protect the 57-foot trawler from pontoon surge and shock loads, Pat and Alexa doubled nylon storm lines, deployed oversized pneumatic fenders along the topsides, and positioned sacrificial chafing gear over deck cleats. With Hurricane Simon forecast to approach western Mexico, the crew maintained strict evacuation readiness while channeling their dock time into systematic shipboard upgrades.

Marine 3D Printing: Filament Selection for Tropical Vessels

Operating an enclosed Bambu Lab P1S 3D printer aboard M/V Noeta in Marina Riviera Nayarit on Banderas Bay, Pacific Mexico, requires an understanding of polymer chemistry and marine environmental stresses. High ambient tropical heat, airborne salinity, and intense solar radiation rapidly degrade substandard plastics. Aboard motor vessel Noeta, selecting the correct filament dictates whether a custom 3D-printed component withstands offshore cruising or suffers premature mechanical failure.

Standard polylactic acid (PLA) serves strictly as a temporary prototyping medium aboard the trawler. While PLA offers high dimensional accuracy and minimal warping for verifying fastener holes and flange diameters during preliminary dry fits, its low glass transition temperature of 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) and susceptibility to hydrolytic breakdown make it unsuitable for permanent marine service. Submerged in warm seawater or exposed to direct tropical sun, PLA rapidly warps and becomes brittle.

For functional components in contact with seawater or mechanical fluids, the crew utilizes polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG). PETG provides excellent impact ductility, chemical inertness against saltwater, and reliable hydrostatic stability, making it the premier choice for raw-water strainer baskets and interior bezels. For exterior deck hardware exposed to direct sunlight, the crew relies exclusively on Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate (ASA). ASA incorporates an acrylic ester elastomer that delivers exceptional ultraviolet stability and heat resistance up to 95 degrees Celsius, preventing the photo-oxidation and chalking typical of standard ABS polymers.

Custom Additive Upgrades: AC Strainer Basket and Flybridge Rail Mounts

The practical engineering value of shipboard 3D printing was proven aboard M/V Noeta at Marina Riviera Nayarit in Banderas Bay, Pacific Mexico, during an overhaul of the air conditioning cooling system on motor vessel Noeta. Having previously replumbed the air conditioner off the shared sea chest onto a dedicated Groco ARG-1000 series raw-water strainer, the crew faced the ongoing need for clean filter baskets. In warm coastal Mexican marinas, seawater strainers clog quickly with marine slime and silt, threatening cooling flow to onboard compressors.

Collaborating with fellow Nordhavn owner Jim, who generated an exact CAD model matching Groco 1000 specifications, Alexa first produced a draft print in yellow and green PLA to verify outer dimensions and seated depth within the bronze housing. Once dimensional tolerances were confirmed, the operational basket was printed in durable black PETG at a material cost of just $1.60. The design included an interlocking handle with alignment tabs secured with adhesive. After closing the intake seacocks and installing the PETG basket, weekly inspections revealed unhindered coolant flow and zero deformation under raw-water suction.

Topside safety improvements presented another fabrication challenge on motor vessel Noeta. A safety survey highlighted the need for an additional throwable life ring stationed on the upper command flybridge. However, a newly acquired life ring arrived with mounting brackets sized strictly for 1-inch rails, failing to clamp over Noeta’s heavy 1-1/4-inch welded stainless steel railings. Rather than using makeshift adaptors, Alexa modeled a custom split-clamp bracket in CAD. Printed in UV-resistant ASA filament and secured with 316 stainless steel through-bolts, the mount locked the life ring and throw line securely to the flybridge railing, expanding emergency man-overboard gear to three deployment stations.

Transom Underwater Lighting Overhaul and Helm Switching

Below-the-waterline engineering reached completion aboard M/V Noeta in Marina Riviera Nayarit on Banderas Bay, Pacific Mexico, with the commissioning of four Lumitec Quattro dual-color underwater LED lights mounted across the transom of motor vessel Noeta. Having drilled transom penetrations and bedded the bronze-and-composite fixtures during a prior haulout, achieving watertight reliability under hydrostatic pressure required strict sealing protocols. The crew sealed each through-hull cable penetration with 3M Fast Cure 4200 polyurethane marine adhesive, creating an elastic, watertight gasket that resists continuous immersion while allowing future fixture servicing without tearing gelcoat.

To achieve clean caulk beads around the exterior light housings without smearing polyurethane, Pat used a shipwright trick: lightly misting fingertips and wiping tools with WD-40 to cleanly profile the 3M 4200 sealant before it skinned. Inside the confined, high-temperature aft lazarette, Pat eliminated bulky multi-circuit fuse blocks by installing a centralized solid-state power distribution relay module equipped with internal circuit breakers. Working under a magnetic Wurkkos HD02 Mini work light, each underwater light was terminated with weatherproof Deutsch DT-series pin connectors, sealing copper conductors against humid bilge air.

At the cockpit helm station, controlling the transom lighting required installing an illuminated Blue Sea Systems 4180 rocker switch. Alexa utilized OpenSCAD to generate procedural code for a custom circular bezel with countersunk screw recesses. Sliced in Bambu Studio and printed in PETG in 17 minutes for $0.12, the bezel received protective enamel paint for added solar resistance. The lighting relay drew power from a dedicated 25-amp circuit breaker on the main 12V house DC distribution panel. Initial troubleshooting resolved a control issue where the wake-up wire had been inserted into pin 1; consulting the wiring schematic confirmed pin 4 as the correct trigger, immediately waking the controller.

As night fell over Marina Riviera Nayarit, Pat and Alexa completed sea trials of the transom lights aboard motor vessel Noeta. Toggling the Blue Sea helm rocker switch illuminated the harbor waters in solid white and vivid blue, with an optional cycling fade mode providing striking underwater visibility. Realizing a long-held cruising goal, the successful refit demonstrated how modern liveaboard mariners can combine additive manufacturing, sound electrical standards, and practical seamanship to achieve complete maintenance self-sufficiency.

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