It's gotta be love...

Back when we were sailing around on our Phil Bolger designed Loose Moose 2, it was not always easy...

Having an unusual boat can be somewhat problematic on a bunch of levels. You tend to spend a lot of time answering (mostly idiotic) questions, you become an unwanted center of attention, and people say hurtful things to you on a regular basis.

"That's the ugliest boat I've ever seen..."

Which, when you think about it, is a lot like meeting someone and telling them that their much loved daughter is a grotesque monster that belongs in a sideshow. On one hand, it's not going to make you a friend and, on the other, it is not going to make dad and mom love their daughter any less.

Just for the record, I've always thought that Loose Moose 2 was a ruggedly handsome boat...

Truth is, I've never had a boat I did not love and I really can't conceive of having a boat that I did not at least like a lot. That said, I've recently come to the conclusion that a lot of folks really hate their boats and it's taken me awhile to get my head around it.

Really, you have to love your boat. More so if you're going to hang out in the wild and wooly VolksCruiser world because, for better or worse, you're married to the craft and if you don't respect and love it, you're in for a world of hurt...

If it ain't broke...

I keep reading about folks who buy boats in pretty good condition and then spend thousands and thousands of dollars fixing and "improving" them.

Which brings me to an important rule for folks of the VolksCruiser persuasion...

If it ain't broke don't fix it!

The thing is, any given boat has a market value and you do yourself a disservice and economic mischief when you pour more money into a boat than it's going to be worth.

Really.

a simple, effective, and versatile rig...

An excellent article about what just might be the closest thing to a perfect VolksCruiser rig...

if it was simple everybody would be doing it...

Here's a simple boat. It's a scow and it makes quite a bit of sense...

Designed by Reuel Parker it's a lot of bang for the buck and a very comfortable floating home... What's not to like?

Everything is simple, it's easily put together, and as boats go, is not going to break the bank doing it. Parker has spec'd out mostly cheap lumberyard materials (form-ply and construction grade lumber), a simple affordable rig, and auxiliary power is provided by a simple outboard motor.

Someone with enough budget to buy the materials in one lump and two or three months to build full time would have a very nice boat when the dust settled..

Simple.

For more info on how you'd actually build such a beast Reuel Parker's "The New Cold-Molded Boatbuilding" will tell you everything you need to know...