u/ComprehensiveFeed621

Since y'all have been so helpful already, I decided to ask one more question ...

I'm writing a murder mystery that takes place in a coastal fishing town in New Brunswick, Canada in 1986. One of my characters owns a marina and I'd like to incorporate it more into my story, but I there's a lot I don't know. 

A lot of my research points to smuggling and illegal activity around the border and it would be a fun subplot. What sorts of shenanigans might have been happening at a small town marina in the late 80s? Any anecdotes about shady characters or clever economic strategies?

I'm writing a murder mystery that takes place in a coastal fishing town a lot like St. Andrews. One of my characters owns a marina and I'd like to incorporate it more into my story. A lot of my research points to smuggling and illegal activity around the border in the 80s and I wonder if anyone can give me more insights. If you lived in coastal NB in the 80s, what types of shenanigans were going on? Any anecdotes about shady characters or clever economic strategies?

Thanks in advance!

I'm writing a mystery that takes place in a small fishing town in Eastern Canada. I'd like to have a scene involving a fire on a boat and I want to be as realistic as possible. Can you help me invent some likely scenarios?

I don't care which boat catches fire or how, but I want the fire to be big enough to draw a crowd and freak people out, without any casualties. I want the fire to begin while the boat is docked, though, and for the fire to threaten other boats.

Questions:
- What are common ways for fires to start on boats?
- What would the first person to notice the fire do first?
- What would emergency services do (assume very small town, volunteer fire dept)?
- How long would it take to put out (or would the boat burn/sink)?

I'm writing a murder mystery that takes place in a coastal fishing town. One of my characters owns a marina and I'd like to incorporate it more into my story, but I don't know much about docks and piers. I'd love to get feedback on my current plan and whether anything is unrealistic:

• The water is part salt (off the Bay of Fundy) and part fresh from a fictional river. This means it's a bit warmer than the Bay (which is freezing) and tides are big, but somewhat moderated.
• The waterway is pretty deep (esp at high tide) but not far across, so there's limited space.
• The dock was first built in the 1950s or 60s and had fallen into very poor condition by 1980s when my character began to fix it up. He was knowledgable, but poor, so he did things piecemeal and used a lot of reclaimed supplies.
• Over time (into 2026), he has been continually expanding and improving and developed a professional, profitable marina. Most of his customers are fishermen or lobsterers, with some tourist sailing vessels too.
• Ideally, some of the 1980s portion(s) of the dock remain -- this can be very limited, like one large piece of lumber, or maybe the floor under a small storage shed on the dock? I'm imagining that maybe he created a new main dock but used a part of the old one as a finger pier or something? Or maybe he replaced the main beams but the one that was most protected never needed to be changed?

Thanks in advance!

I'm writing a murder mystery that takes place in a coastal fishing town. One of my characters owns a marina and I'd like to incorporate it more into my story, but I don't know much about docks and piers. I'd love to get feedback on my current plan and whether anything is unrealistic:

• The water is part salt (off the Bay of Fundy) and part fresh from a fictional river. This means it's a bit warmer than the Bay (which is freezing) and tides are big, but somewhat moderated.
• The waterway is pretty deep (esp at high tide) but not far across, so there's limited space.
• The dock was first built in the 1950s or 60s and had fallen into very poor condition by 1980s when my character began to fix it up. He was knowledgable, but poor, so he did things piecemeal and used a lot of reclaimed supplies.
• Over time (into 2026), he has been continually expanding and improving and developed a professional, profitable marina. Most of his customers are fishermen or lobsterers, with some tourist sailing vessels too.
• Ideally, some of the 1980s portion(s) of the dock remain -- this can be very limited, like one large piece of lumber, or maybe the floor under a small storage shed on the dock? I'm imagining that maybe he created a new main dock but used a part of the old one as a finger pier or something? Or maybe he replaced the main beams but the one that was most protected never needed to be changed?

Thanks in advance!

I am writing a book that takes place in Maine/New Brunswick in 1986. Two of my characters are closeted gay men (~ 17 and ~ 30) and I'm hoping to understand their experience better so that I can represent them well in the book. I'm eager for anyone who was gay in that area in the 80s to answer some questions, or just comment about their experience in general.

1. Where/how did you first become aware of gay culture and gay spaces?
2. What music/books/movies/media were impactful for you?
3. For a closeted young man in a very rural place, were there places to travel to that would have felt freeing? For example, would he have gone into Bangor for parties or clubs? What was that scene like?
4. If you remember when Charlie Howard was murdered, how did you learn about that crime? Did it impact the scene in Bangor? Beyond Bangor?

I have read the rules and believe this is ok, but please delete if questions from straight people are not welcome.

I am writing a book that takes place in Maine/New Brunswick in 1986. Two of my characters are closeted gay men (~ 17 and ~ 30) and I'm hoping to understand their experience better so that I can represent them well in the book. I'm eager for anyone who was gay in that area in the 80s to answer some questions, or just comment about their experience in general.

1. Where/how did you first become aware of gay culture and gay spaces?
2. What music/books/movies/media were impactful for you?
3. For a closeted young man in a very rural place, were there places to travel to that would have felt freeing? For example, would he have gone into Bangor for parties or clubs? What was that scene like?
4. If you remember when Charlie Howard was murdered, how did you learn about that crime? Did it impact the scene in Bangor? Beyond Bangor?

I have read the rules and believe this is ok, but please delete if questions from straight people are not welcome.

I am writing a book that takes place in Maine/New Brunswick in 1986. Two of my characters are closeted gay men (~ 17 and ~ 30) and I'm hoping to understand their experience better so that I can represent them well in the book. I'm eager for anyone who was gay in that area in the 80s to answer some questions, or just comment about their experience in general.

1. Where/how did you first become aware of gay culture and gay spaces?
2. What music/books/movies/media were impactful for you?
3. For a closeted young man in a very rural place, were there places to travel to that would have felt freeing? For example, would he have gone into Bangor for parties or clubs? What was that scene like?
4. If you remember when Charlie Howard was murdered, how did you learn about that crime? Did it impact the scene in Bangor? Beyond Bangor?