May 23, 2024
When you meet a seasoned boater who has taken their boat on a long journey the first thing they usually ask us is , “So what broke.?” Last year the answer was serious. We lost a depth sounder and our bow thruster. We got the thruster working last time we were here in Ketchikan and this winter we purchased all new Ray Marine electronics and navigational equipment, which has proved to be a game changer for us. We also have a redundant independent in hull depth sounder (just in case). So, today we sit in again in Thomas Moran Harbor in the rain doing boat projects. We are here for three days so we are spreading out our projects. Today’s “what broke project” is a a grey water bilge pump for the shower. It stopped working soon after we left Anacortes so we had to empty the bilge by activating the grey water pump. Fortunately there is a great marine store, The Bay Company within 5 minutes walking distance from the harbor. They had the float switch we needed. And that was the easy part.
The hard part, the yucky part, was getting into the bowels of the bilge and replacing the switch which involved tight corner maneuvering to carefully cut the wires, remove the old switch and thread the lines through for the new switch. Additionally it took several attempts of crimping with heat shrinking connectors. It has been awhile since I last did this and I had to re-learn it all over.
The project was successful and we now have a working shower switch. Yea. We also braved the rain and went out grocery shopping and checked out a couple of shops. When I saw this wall hanging I had to laugh.
Early on in our boating adventures we learned that yelling simply doesn’t work. Our boat guru, Jeff Gleckler introduced us to the solution. He says they are called, “Marriage Savers.”
If you don’t own a pair of these Eartec headsets, run, don’t walk to Amazon, and get a pair. They are a must have. With these headsets you don’t have to yell when you are in stressful docking situations. You simply talk, and direct. (Marlene does most of the directing and I simply drive the boat according to her instructions).
Final note is that if you find yourself in Ketchikan (and we hope you will) there is a great restaurant called “The New York Cafe” just above the marina. Great vibe and great food. I had the halibut burger and loved it. The image in the picture is a Ray Troll mural, a famous resident Alaska artist who we met in Seattle many years ago. Our friend Kent Lovelace, a master lithographer did his lithography work, and we had several dinners with him. All good memories.
That is it for tonight. We are hoping for some blue skies tomorrow !!!