June 15, 2025

We have been lucky with the weather. Of course, the weather owes nothing to us. It goes about its merry way with no concern for our comfort or safety. A professional boat captain reminded me the other day that there is no reason to be caught unawares because of the quality and quantity of weather information available.

The harbor is quiet. A large Nordic Tug came in. There was a time when any Nordic Tug sighting was an excuse for a party but that was on the Great Lakes. Eastern folk are a bit more restrained in their approach to spontaneous joy. A large sailboat from England is off to our port and a meticulous Wesmac 46 cruiser/lobster boat from Boston was tied to the dock.

 

These boats are what dreams are made of until the storage, maintenance and fuel bills come due. That said, they are also boats with a specific purpose in mind. To that end Carrie Rose has suited us well. Like our bungalow she is a little cluttered and cramped but then cramping aside, a bigger boat would also be cluttered. It is the nature of the beast.

 

Yesterday it was discovered that the “boiler” in the harbor’s bath and shower building is broke and will not be fixed until the end of the month. This was concerning news for us as we had already gone three days without a good scrub. No problem, I ran the generator to heat water to take showers on CR. 

 

That is when Charlotte discovered that the shower sump’s pump was not working. I found an unconnected wire and thought for sure this is the problem. Simple, I’ll fix it in the morning: day four. I connected it: nothing happened. I tested the switch with my multimeter: functional. I called Matt the electrician who saved us when we had years of unsolved electrical problems. He gave me some hints but politely sounded like he wasn’t interested.

 

I was loath to start cutting wires but I did. The pump worked when connected to a different power source. There was power to the wires when I connected the switch wires and no power then I disconnected them. I began to scratch my head. The only thing of note was the hot wire’s voltage was not steady and rarely got to 12 volts.

 

The engine room was opened as was the switch panel to no avail. Of the multitude of wires, no brown and taupe one could be found. And since the sump’s wires disappear behind an impenetrable caulk seal and the only way to get to them is to destroy the drain pan, I did the next best thing and jury rigged the pump.

 

I am sure what I did violates most of American boat building electrical codes, but the thought of ten more days without a shower took preeminence. If Matt shows up, well that would be a plus. Otherwise, the yard can fix it over the winter. Life is a compromise after all. 

Northeast Harbor, ME