Speaking of the dark side...

I've been getting a lot of mail on the subject of VolksCruisers and, it would appear a lot of folks don't quite get the fact that the volkcruiser concept is not simply about cheap boats...

You might say it is more a sustainable and affordable thing rather than just cost which is not at all about cheapness.

There are lots and lots of cheap boats available these days and the want ads are full of them. With the economy what it is there are any number of sub $10,000 boats just waiting to be scooped up.

For around that same $10,000 price tag you can buy the materials to build a boat as well and folks like Dix, Benford, Bolger, Parker, Buehler, Roberts, and Smaalders (and that's just to name a few) have some excellent designs that can be made for little money that can be sailed anywhere you want to go in a sustainable fashion.

That said, it's not always easy to rehab an older boat or build one new and keep the project sustainable or affordable... The marine industry, peer pressure, and the ever present need to conform makes the whole sustainable/affordable boat project one fraught with many a wrong turn and landmines just waiting to take you to the dark side...

More on the dark side soon come...