Wednesdays in Red Hook: Mike McGuinn

Welcome to ‘Wednesdays in Red Hook’, a close-up look into the day-to-day life of people in our community, including the hard work, unexpected encounters, and delightfully mundane moments that make up an average Wednesday in Red Hook.

Mike McGuinn is a local commercial marine repair technician who lives and works in Red Hook. But beyond boats, he’s many people’s go-to guy when they have anything that needs to be fixed–from sewing machines to binoculars. Mike is definitely the right guy to know in case of the apocalypse–though he says he’ll be gone in a boat long before anything too crazy goes down.

9:00 a.m. Mike stayed up until 3:00 a.m. last night researching how to fix the mechanical timing of a boat’s engine for the maritime program at Kingsboro Community College. A late night means a later start than Mike would like. He bikes over to Van Brunt Market at the corner of Van Brunt and Pioneer Streets for a coffee and to “meet with the manager” … also known as Ramon, the grey and feisty bodega cat. Mike always skips breakfast and when asked about his lack of a bike lock, he says, “It’s Red Hook!”

9:30 a.m. He heads to his shop on Pier 11 near the ferry stop in the Atlantic Basin. (According to Mike, his shop is the site of the proposed food court for the future Brooklyn Marine Terminal.)

First things first: Mike cheekily reports that he checks on the boats to “make sure they’re still floating and attached to the dock, etc.”

10:00 a.m. Mike’s morning project is to repair a generator engine for a vessel. He’s retrofitting a replacement voltage regulator since the parts are obsolete. To get the job done he needs a toggle he doesn’t have, so he bikes over to Emelio’s auto shop on Sullivan Street to see if Emelio has an extra toggle–it turns out he has enough toggles to last Mike the next 10 years.

11:30 a.m. Mike bikes back with his new toggle to install a switch on the generator panel. Since a running engine creates power, Mike connects an incandescent bulb to the engine to see if the light will turn on.

“If the light flickers that would be a clear sign that the engine isn’t running smoothly,” Mike shares. Eventually the light turns on and stays on … the engine is working! Success!

12:30 p.m. Next on the to-do list, Mike starts quoting out a repair job for a tugboat which involves looking at a service manual to ensure he has everything he needs to get the job done. The manual calls out a few specialized tools required to rebuild the tugboat’s engine and Mike confirms he has all the tools he needs.

2:30 p.m. Mike helps the Louis C., a converted tanker vessel, dock at Pier 11. The Louis C. operates as a mobile shop to fix boats and piers, and even includes a crane on board. Mike helps load tools onto the Louis C. to prepare for its upcoming project–fixing a pier in Manhattan.

5:00 p.m. It’s time for Mike’s first meal of the day. He heads to Brooklyn Ice House where he orders the special (a gyro with fries) and the usual (a Corona with lime). He sits in the back with his friend Kaleb, a local woodworker.

7:00 p.m. Mike heads over to Red Hook Pinball Museum for a birthday celebration for Captain Amy, a “big dog” at the International Longshoremen’s Association, according to Mike.

9:00 p.m. As Mike is leaving the party, he gets roped into helping clean up at the Record Shop next door since “people can’t put vinyl back in the sleeves for their life, apparently,” he explains.

11:30 p.m. For the last stop of the evening, Mike returns to Van Brunt Market to pick up his daily gallon of water. “If I’m stepping foot on a boat, I need to have my own water,” Mike explains. He also says good night to “Ramon the manager” and is promptly clawed.

On his walk home, he sees a group of “punk” skaters that gives him some hope for future generations. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen kids wandering around biking or skating at night,” Mike says.

At home, Mike tries to fall asleep … but like most nights, he ends up ruminating on the proposed Brooklyn Marine Terminal project, which will displace his marine shop at the Atlantic Basin.

Eventually he drifts off …