The price of cabbage in paradise...

The other day while I was shopping for groceries, a much talked about and often recommended book came to mind...

The reason for such an event was my standing in front of the cabbages looking at the $1.19 a pound price. Seriously, $1.19 a pound for cabbage is frelling nuts!

Hence my thoughts of "Sailing the Farm" by Ken Neumeyer...

The problem with "Sailing the Farm" is that the whole idea of growing your own vegetables at a sustainable level onboard a boat is appealing, the reality sadly is it's simply impossible in practice.

Which is not to say I don't think Neumeyer's book does not have some value as his chapters on sprouts, edible seaweed and suchlike are spot on but his stuff on growing food and making water through solar distilling just doesn't work. I suspect the book was more theory than actual practice.

If wishes were fishes...

Which brings me back to those way-too-fucking-expensive-cabbage-prices. Since I can't grow enough vegetables to sustain our needs on the boat, we need to be able to store more when cheap to get us past times when things are expensive.

Which brings us, in a roundabout way, to something that should be part of the need list when you decide to buy or build your boat... Enough pantry space to store food and the tools you need to process it.

At the moment I'm redoing our galley and jumping through all sorts of hoops to try and find some sensible space for a real pressure cooker of the canning sort and a boat-friendly dehydrator that makes sense.

Anyway, something to to keep in mind.

Something to ponder...

Here's a couple of designs worth thinking about...

When we were living in France, I seriously considered building a Maurice Griffiths Waterwitch but balked at the idea because, at 30 feet, it seemed too big.

Obviously, a mistake on my part...

But not a bad design for those looking for a VolksCruiserish shoal draft boat.

a cheap rig...

So, let's say the guy selling the skipjack were to lower the price by 33% which would make it a whole lot more attractive...

Obviously a cheap boat has issues and needs stuff fixed, replaced, and upgraded and that costs money and that can get seriously nuts. For instance, it's a given that the sails need replacing as well as the running and standing rigging which will run more than what the boat cost new. All of a sudden that cheap fixer-upper is starting to look real expensive.

A sensible approach to such a dilemma is to put a simpler rig on the boat and dispense with all the stuff you don't actually need because the less you need the less it costs.

Now, I've made no secret that my favorite rig is the balanced lug rig because it is the most bang for the buck. In case you're hazy about what it looks like, here a picture of Tad Robert's Harry 2...

Right away we can see there's NO STANDING RIGGING. That's a huge cost savings as there's no wire/turnbuckles/staloks/tangs/chainplates or other expensive rigging bits... Better yet, there is a lot less to fail so it's safer. There's also a lot less running rigging as a halyard and a sheet is all you really need.

This rig also does not need a lot in the way of expensive deck hardware either. No big winches or vangs (the rig is self-vanging) so you're saving money there as well.

The downsides are you'll have to build your own masts which is actually pretty easy but a great number of folks have a fear/phobia of spar building. It's a bit of a head trip for some folks and, as it is a different rig, there is a bit of a learning curve when it comes to actually sailing it.

Just about all of the above can be said for the junk rig which is really the same rig just one that's evolved a little differently and has a lot more running rigging in the mix.

Me, I'm all for the whole less-is-more thing so the western balanced lug makes the most sense to me.

The two books I find indispensable for converting a classic plastic boat to lug rig are "The Chinese Sailing Rig - Design and Build Your Own Junk Rig" by Eric Van Loan and "Practical Junk Rig" by H. G. Hasler and J. K. McLeod. Another couple of needful books that will earn their keep are Thomas Colvin's "Sailmaking: Making Chinese and other sails : Sailing Chinese Junks and Junk-rigged vessels" and "The Sailmaker's Apprentice" by Emiliano Marino.

So here's a wrong boat that could take you far...

There's a beat up fixer-upper for sale down here that I've had my eye on for a while... a Kenner Skipjack to be precise. As boats go, it is something of an odd duck...

Of course, half the reason for my interest is the word "skipjack" which is a hull form that makes all kinds of sense if you happen to be an aficionado of shoal draft design. But, like I said, the Kenner is still something of an oddball...

... with a poorly thought out rig, a confused use of interior space, an LOA of 49 feet, and the sort of pseudo-salty styling that is just a hair's breadth from screaming "theme park", it's at best sorta/kinda problematic. Still, it does have a hull that whispers something to me...

Yeah, I could see myself in some out of the way thin water location building a surfboard on its bridgedeck with a smile on my face... Though, I should add, it would more than likely be sporting a different rig, less bowsprit, and a completely different interior.

Obviously the wrong boat but...

the wrong boat...

The other day I heard that a boat I knew who anchored not far from us in St Martin was in the South Pacific...

I mention this because the boat in question was a Belgian canal barge drawing a couple of feet converted into a sailboat/art studio/gallery so hardly what comes to mind when folks are thinking blue water sailboat.

Color me impressed but not really surprised...

It does raise the question if we put too much store in the whole "perfect" or "right" boat and whether or not we'd be a whole lot better off putting our energies into simply sailing capable boats.

about that motor...

In Rodger Martin's recent IBEX talk about sharpies he said something that resonated for me...

"In the last couple of years while cruising in the Bahamas I’ve seen that the great majority of sloops motorsail upwind or close-reaching with only the
mainsail and downwind with only a jib set. In a month in the Bahamas a couple of years ago out of hundreds of boats I saw only two other boats sailing with both sails up and no engine running..."

Which is not to say I think that engines are a bad thing but for a lot of people they do become a crutch that seriously gets in the way of developing into better sailors.

Just something to keep in mind...

Understanding the need/want paradigm...

If you're reading VolksCruiser it is more than likely you're sailing on a budget or you're thinking about it.

On the other hand, just possibly, you are actually looking for a hip, fashionable, and trendy sailing site and you're just hopelessly lost...

Of course, no one likes to be reminded they are on a budget but, the truth is, that we all are and you're not alone. The only real difference is how many digits in the operative number.

Which brings us back to the whole how to spend less thang and how your best tool is being aware of what you want, what you need, and the common sense to understand the difference between the two.

It's really that simple.

That said, it's important not to jump to the conclusion about what need entails (or want for that matter) because some things you need are more esoteric and don't quite fit into everybody's list of basic requirements. What you do need to keep in mind is that happiness and what makes us happy are very needful things indeed.

The trick, I guess, is knowing where true happiness lies and what is simply the illusion of it.

What's a boat worth?

Over at a forum, which seems to be inhabited by those who know the cost of everything and the value of nothing, there seems to be much discussion about the asking price of Lin and Larry Pardey's Taleisin. It got me thinking...

First off, I just do not understand where the whole "wood boats are awful" vibe comes from or the ill-conceived logic that any older wood boat is an "old junker".

Secondly, I can't help but get the feeling that those who begrudge Lin and Larry getting fair market value (whatever that turns out to be) for their boat would feel the same when it comes time for them to sell their own boat (or armchair)...

Of course, lots of people like to trash talk others behind people's backs and tell you how to live your life. This is why keeping a low profile makes sense these days for everyone and, even more so, if you're not in lockstep with what most people think is the one true path.

Whatever works for you...

Just a quick reminder...

Sometimes I need to remind myself that, by and large, folks simply do not care what sort of boat you have. As for the ones who do, you might not care to know them anyway.

Some simple addition...

So, you've been looking at the Michalak scow Boxtop and saying to yourself  "I could knock one of those together in a hurry for not a lot of money..."

So what would it cost to build?

Well for starters, you're looking at around 50-sheets of 1/2" plywood which, if you go marine, is a chunk of change. Marine ply would set you back between $4500-5000 but you could go the best quality exterior route for about half that.

Then you'll need lumber for the framing and spars. My quick guesstimate for that is about $1000.

Of course, you'll need something to glue and seal the thing together so expect to spend around $350 for epoxy (double or triple that if you want to glass it as well).

It goes on but we're at the point where we have to ask ourselves why are we spending this kind of money when we could buy a 28-foot sailboat already fitted out in fair to good condition for less?

Which is not to say we should not build this or another boat but since we're not going to save any money doing it there would have to be some other compelling reasons why we should.

For me, this particular boat's virtues are its rig and its extreme shoal draft. Face it, if you want a boat that draws a foot or sports a balanced lug rig, you're going to have to build it yourself. Offhand I'd say that is more than enough reason to build if  I actually needed those features in a boat.

One thing to keep in mind is that the need/want test for any boat building exercise is crucial...

A simple scow design...

Jim Michalak is a designer who took Phil Bolger's "Instant Boats" to heart and for years has been churning out various designs in the genre. Lots have been built and those using them have been happy.

He's also written a book "Boatbuilding for Beginners" on building boats of the mainly "Instant" variety which would be right at home with your copies of Payson's "Instant Boats",  "Build the New Instant Boats", and "Instant Boatbuilding with Dynamite Payson".

As it happens, he's also designed a scow called Boxtop that sorta/kinda falls into the VolksCruiser range...

Designed as a comfortable liveaboard for one, it has certain similarities to the Bolger designed Jessie Cooper (our first Loose Moose) which we built and lived on for four years quite comfortably and liked so much we commissioned Phil Bolger to stretch it out to 38-feet to become our Loose Moose 2...

At 30-feet with an 8-foot beam and only drawing a foot, it makes VolksCruiserish sense and its balanced lug main with leg-of-mutton mizzen is as about as cheap a rig as can be found for the power it provides. In short, the design makes some sense.

From the information I have the design is being offered at a discount until one has been built and tested. For more information you can write to Jim at

Jim Michalak
118 East Randle Street
Lebanon, IL,  62254
USA

Is this the year of the Trilo?

I went shopping the other day and with just about everything I popped in my basket I felt a certain "I'm-sure-the-price-on-this-has-gone-up" twinge. It's getting a lot more expensive these days and if canned tuna goes up you have to know that so are boats and boat related products.

Seriously, have you looked at what good quality clear VG Douglas Fir is going for these days?

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro"  Hunter S Thompson

That quote really says it all... Dr Thompson could easily have been talking about building a boat in 2014 where the same old same no longer makes any sort of economic sense and if you're going to do it you'll have to think a bit outside the box.

Then again, maybe the box is the answer...

Dave Z, of TriloBoat fame is currently doing the pretzel logic two-step thing while designing his next boat and reading his thought process on the subject is quite enlightening.

Personally, I'm pretty sure Dave is on the right track and, while I don't exactly agree with everything he says, he is most certainly on to something and, I expect, with just a small bit of evolution (and some French scow influence) he'll nail it.

Now, with that out of the way, the most important boatbuilding word for 2014 is F-O-R-M-P-L-Y...

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/h/hunter_s_thompson.html#wCIsDAblZlHbtFel.99When the going gets weird

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/h/hunter_s_thompson.html#wCIsDAblZlHbtFel.99