Building on an Island in Maine

Back in October 2019 my husband, and I decided to purchase land on an island in one of our favorite places in the world, Maine! After a couple of years of visiting our island, relaxing in hammocks, cooking hotdogs over a fire, and taking in the most beautiful sunsets from our dock, we finally decided we might want to set up camp on this little piece of heaven. We looked into building on the island, and are still hoping to do so in the future, however, due to current building restrictions, we’ve come across a couple of hurdles. The local law dictates that one must build a specific distance from the water line and if the grade of land is 20% or greater (which ours is – it’s actually been dubbed Billy Goats Gruff by locals!), they must build even further. When we purchase the land, it did come with a dock and a well with potable drinking water (we had it tested). During the summer of 2020, when we all had to stay in place for at least two weeks, we worked tirelessly on the island building the framing for a shed while staying at my parents camp (cabins are called camps in Maine) just a short boat ride away.
We have been dreaming of what vacationing might look like for us on the island since then, tossing around all sorts of ideas from a traditional A-frame camp, to having a shipping container dropped into the side of the hill, from erecting a yurt, to life on a houseboat (the water views would be amazing but I’m not sure I would ever recover from having sea legs!). I have watched countless shows on ‘off-the-grid living’ and am open to any recommendations if you have seen something good!

We already live life as environmentally friendly as possible – we compost, we have 2 rain barrells, and we drive an electric vehicle in New Jersey. We truly appreciate the beautiful nature of Maine and believe in living harmoniously with our surroundings – trying to limit our impact on the world around us. So, we researched different types of power from solar, to wind, to tradition fuel (propane or gasoline). We decided that since we have so many trees (i.e. shade) that solar might not be the ideal way to go. We usually get a bit of wind on the dock so we went with a wind turbine that generates power to a marine battery that we can then bring up the hill and plug in wherever we might need it.
In May of 2024 we went up with our neighbor, Pat, and our youngest son, Tommy, and were able to work hard for 3 dyas to prep the site for camping for the summer of 2024. We had lumber delivered by barge by our local lumber yard and marina. Hauling the lumber up the rocky terrain from the docks to the build site took 3 of us almost an hour. Then we got to work finishing the shed. We were able to frame the shed, add siding and a roof, and finally in July added a door as well as shelving and a rod for hanging clothes that my brother and his girlfriend widdled for us. Once the shed was complete we got to work prepping the build of the 16′ x 16′ platform for our tents. It took about 3 hours just for us to find the perfect setting. We needed footings and had to find the right location of rocks that were already in the land and sturdy trees which we used to attach our platform. The platform was mostly completed in May and we were able to finish it in July this summer.
Over the winter we had researched and purchased a few must have items for life off the gird: we got a bladder for water storage and my husband built a sink out of an old faucet we had taken out from a kitchen renovation, and cut plywood to fit the faucet and an enamel bucket I had picked up for $.25 at a garage sale many years ago.

Our cooking station consisted of a propane stove my father-in-law brought back from Vietnam when he was stationed there during the war in 1969. We purchased an on-demand water heater shower that uses electricity from a marine battery and sucks the water out of 5 gallon buckets. Perfect for a warm 10 minute shower in nature! We did hookup a wind turbine however the weather was so nice that we had very little wind the week we were there and did not really get enough power. Luckily, we had a back up gas powered generator that filled in the gaps. My husband created a charging station that converts power from the wind turbine to Dewalt batteries so when we do have the proper amount of wind changing out batteries will be easy breezy (get it? lol!) We also purchased an RV refrigerator to keep food cold (I must have my coffee first thing in the morning and it must have half and half). We setup our tent with 2 cots, 2 air pads, and 2 sleeping bags and I also purchased a doggie tent. I wasn’t sold on the fact that our dogs Bogie and Beso would like the tent and stay quiet in it, but low and behold – they loved snuggling together and slept through the night each night we were there!

It was amazing sleeping under the stars and falling asleep listening to an owl hooting in the trees. Waking up to the lapping of the water on the lake and the fisherman chatting in their boats was a dream come true! Brewing coffee in the Chem-X and the french press was a breeze and there is nothing quite like an early morning dip in the lake before taking a hot shower and easing into the day sipping freshly brewed coffee from an adirondak chair on the dock. All of our preparation and hard work was well worth it and I can’t wait to go back!