Dennis Is Becoming a Master Boat Mechanic

It's got to be here somewhere!

There is always work to be done on something on a boat. Either I am fighting with the electronics and Internet or Dennis is working on something mechanical or structural. Our generator is not working properly even though Lincoln has worked on it several times back at Nanny Cay. It keeps cutting off on us. Now we have Orin working on it here in Sint Marteen.

In the meantime, Dennis is watching in his usually observatory way and it picking up all kinds of information. He actually got it to work! But Orin is back again as the problem needs a permanent fix and not just a band-aid.

The walk to ACE Hardware shows how they live.

We made several trips to Budget Marine to find pieces to make it work. We even walked to a Super ACE Hardware. The guy at Budget Marine said it was just a 10 minute walk. HA! It was more like 20 minutes up hill with no sidewalk so you had to jump over the drain ditch to get off the road when vehicles came by you. Actually it was shorter coming back since we were coming down the hill! If you are in need of anything hardware in Sint Maarten, just ask for directions to ACE. It was the biggest ACE store I have ever seen. And it had what we needed! Amazing!

When "hungry", it takes a lot to fill Trillium 

When you think about a boat, you have to consider that it is a “town” within itself. It has to have its own power and water supply, as well as plumbing, refrigeration, lighting, heating and cooling, navigation, communication, etc. There are so many systems and so much to learn. I am no longer worried about Dennis not having some hobby or interest to keep his mind active if – and when – he actually decides to retire. He has a lifetime of learning to do with all of these systems!

I try to handle the electronics and communication areas with my limited knowledge. These include the computers, Internet, single side band radio, VHF radio, hand-held devices for back up, navigation equipment, etc. I, too, have a lot to learn and it is constantly changing. Since I have never had a HELP Desk to call when my equipment is on the blink, I have learned to apply my root cause analysis skills to figure out what needs to be done to fix the issue.

Sometimes your sailing plans have to be put on hold until you can solve whatever the day’s issue is! It is somewhat like building a new boat one part at a time! That is why we have so many spare parts on board.

Hooray! Orin has identified the problem and it is fixed! Now we have a generator in good working order! It was a relatively simple thing, but it was located on the backside of the generator where there is no room to work or get a good look at things!