Dale, here's a welding story. My last S.America adventure was nearly half a century ago. An indigenous smuggler (RIP) bought the rotting hulk of a steel fishing boat near Buenaventura, Co. He hired local welders to re-plate the 80' hull, and then replaced all the bulkheads, web frames, deck, pilothouse... until it was a whole new boat. Stone-age marine engineering at its best! They mounted the Lister diesel welder in the engine room for a generator, and put in a Caterpillar diesel for propulsion. They welded enough tank capacity to steam 24/7 for 45 days at 12 knots. I guess the welders did a good job, because I weathered a November Nor'easter in it a few hundred miles off Cape Hatteras, while beach houses were getting washed away on shore, and freighters were foundering in the N.Atlantic. Our only damage from the storm was all the portholes got smashed on the port side, and the steel side of the pilothouse was stove in about 4" (15' above water). We had some injuries, but we survived to tell the tale. Bless those welders, the hull didn't spring nary a leak. I must have had a screw loose to sign up for that trip though.