Everything works

Right now everything on the boat works. Every system, every pump, every light, every amenity. All of it. Works. I have no illusions about how long this will last, but for just this minute – perfection.

This perfection didn’t happen accidentally. It is the result of planning, skill, good fortune, and Amazon. We got that anchor light sorted with parts we collected from Simon and Hannah when we saw them last week in DC. The light we installed when we were at Staten Island was functional but took a different bulb from the dusk-dawn one we wanted. The new light and bulb work perfectly. And we have a spare bulb as well as a whole spare fixture.

This is where the magic happens. On at dusk, off at dawn. Automatically.

I like this light a little better than the one it replaces because the pole on this one is stainless steel not aluminum. (Bonus: can you spot the Washington Monument in the blurry background?)

On the way downriver this morning I tackled the last issue (just for now, I know). One of the front burners on the stove wasn’t staying lit. I have a pair of spare thermocouples in my bag of tricks, so I took the stove apart to replace the dodgy one. Works just right now.

Rather than pick and choose among my wrenches, I brought all the little guys up from the toolbox for the party.

If that tiny little nut is so important, why doesn’t the new thermocouple come with one?

The road to stove-perfection was a little winding. When I put the old thermocouple down on the counter, the nut on it bounced into the sink and down the drain. That led to me removing the drain plug from the sink trap. The water, yuck, and wayward nut in the trap came out into the bucket I put under the trap. No problem. No big deal. But when I put it back together, the trap leaked. Turns out the o-ring for the trap plug was brittle and torn. So I cut a new one from an old bicycle inner tube I have on board. Fixed.