I really want to talk about heat (in Portland, Maine)

I want to write pages and pages about our Newport Dickinson heater.

Dickinson Newport Diesel Heater - Heating a Sailboat in Maine Winter

We just installed a fuel-tank pickup and pump, so we can now run this beauty 24/7 without worrying about trying to refill a too-small tank (awkwardly mounted on the wall in the bathroom, cuz we never had a great home for it).

Portland Harbor, Maine

You can’t imagine how nice it is to be TOO WARM without being plugged into shore power. We are literally self-sufficient (until the diesel runs out, I guess 😉 ) which is exactly the feeling that we’re going for in this whole “let’s be Maine liveaboards” thing 🙂

Sailing in Casco Bay

But I’m not convinced that anyone is as interested in the temperature of our little home as I am, so I’ll stick to some pretty pics from the last few weeks instead…

We got super lucky with another beautiful day

We got super lucky with another beautiful day of sailing

Side note: I think living on a boat makes you HYPER attuned to weather. And maybe more likely to complain about it when it’s not exactly perfect. But also SO grateful when it magically is perfect – 10 knots of breeze, blue skies, and not so cold that we need toques just yet 🙂

Coffee + Fruit Crumble = Heaven

Coffee, fruit buckle and sailing on a gorgeous sunny day!

Portland's skyline - this is an awesome place to daysail :)

Portland’s skyline – this is an awesome place to daysail 🙂

I like sailing

I like sailing

We did have one day of gale-force winds. Brio does not usually tip over this much in her slip!

We did have one day of gale-force winds. Brio does not usually tip over this much in her slip!

Did I say that "ten-foot-itis" is a real thing? This is proof. But this was also a very good reminder for us of why we LOVE our current boat and need to continue appreciating what we've got rather than giving in to the consumeristic "bigger MUST be better" mentality

Did I say that “ten-foot-itis” is a real thing? This is proof. But boat-shopping is also a very good reminder for us of why we LOVE our current boat and need to continue appreciating what we’ve got rather than giving in to the consumeristic “bigger MUST be better” mentality. This is an easier-said-than-done, continuous-struggle that we are currently winning against but I imagine at some point may give in to 🙂 In the meantime…. #withbrio

Maine beaches are quite pretty all year round

Maine beaches are quite pretty all year round

We did a pretty decent pumpkin job this year, if I do say so myself

We did a pretty decent pumpkin job this year, if I do say so myself

Don’t worry, I’m sure the next post will be all about how it’s snowing and #winterishere and why-oh-why did we ever leave the tropics…. but for now, life is good 🙂

– LMK


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