Catching Up Overdue Boat-Shed Maintenance

Knowing for a while now that I needed to replace the surge suppressor in my boat shed at the marina, as well as the extension cord for my boat's onboard battery charger, I had decided to get those jobs done last Sunday. I also wanted to put up some new lights in the shed.

I had made a trip to Northern Tools last week and picked up what I needed--make that "most of" what I needed. I'm only too well aware things often involve unplanned contingencies, and last Sunday was no exception.

There were no problems whatever in hanging the new lights. In fact, they went up exactly as I had envisioned. I felt so good about 'em I even took a break when I had finished and walked down to the store to visit with "Yankee" and Tom for a while.

After viewing the accompanying photo, you might be wondering why I didn't just let the original overhead fluorescent lights take care of my requirements, so perhaps I should explain. A couple of problems were involved with those fluorescent lights. First, the rusty fixture has a starter and/or ballast problem. I know that to be true because I replaced the bulbs a week or so ago, and they both still flicker.

Further, with that fixture directly over my boat, bugs that got zapped constantly littered the cover, which was OK until they started landing in my face as I removed the cover. You see, I have been leaving the lights on 24-7 since I learned several months ago, that that's what it takes to keep the mice away. Have not had a single problem with those pests since I started leaving the lights on all the time.

Anyway, when I returned to the shed from jawin' with "Yankee" and Tom, it was time to remove the old surge suppressor (after all, the only time you want to hear snap, crackle and pop is when you're eating Rice Krispies) and install the new heavy-duty model (see photo at right) I had bought the other day. In no time, a gremlin had reared its ugly head.

As I went to unplug the old surge suppressor from the power lead coming into the building, it wouldn't budge. I quickly broke out a pair of pliers for more leverage, but even that move failed to get the job done. The situation quickly went downhill from there.

Before continuing, I went looking for Steve, so I could show him what I was up against. The problem, as we both could see, was that the prongs on the old surge suppressor had gotten so hot they had melted--actually, welded would be a better word--to the rubber from the power lead's female end around them. I don't think I ever would have been able to separate them. There also was a black ring around the rim of the surge-suppressor's plug, where the prongs had been attached.

One look is all it took to convince Steve that the only smart thing to do was to cut off the old female end on the power lead and install a new one. I set about doing that, while Steve resumed his work on smoothing out the marina's parking lot.

Thanks to Steve's providing a new female fitting and loaning me the additional tools needed, I was able to finish my work, rehook things, and check it all. There were a couple issues I had to leave undone so I could get home for dinner, but I went back yesterday and tidied up those loose ends.

To the best of my knowledge, that will conclude the only maintenance tasks I need to do on the boat shed. Too bad it isn't that easy to keep up with things around the house. There never appears to be an end to those tasks.

Before leaving the marina yesterday, I made a trip down to the ramp area, so I could check out the new solar light (see accompanying photo) Tom told me Steve had installed to help boaters launching in those oh-dark-30 hours. It reportedly comes on as you round the bend down by the ramp and lights up the area.

I personally haven't seen the installation work, so please don't use my name as an "authoritative source." I'll have to find out like all the rest of you.

P.S. I'm still trying to get to the bottom of problems I'm having with my laptop. Thankfully, my wife still is giving up some of the time she usually spends on her desktop, so I can do things like this and try to keep up with my email. One way or the other, I assure everyone that, at some point in the next few days, you'll be seeing an "all clear" signal from me. I will get up and running at full steam again, even if it means buying a new computer.