$10K and a couple of plane tickets...

I'd like to visit Alaska by boat...

I've been to Alaska a few times to do climbs but my only experience with boats in Alaska involved ferries and a too brief day in a big skiff trying to pull the lips off salmon.

I mention this because yesterday I came across a rather nice sounding CAL 27 for sale in my old stomping grounds of Washington State that whispered to me with...

"Would it not be cool to take me up to Alaska and hang out for a season?"

The CAL 27-2 is a great boat and right at the top of the VolksCruisers I would not mind spending time on in interesting places.

So many boats/places so little time...

Bad habits...

Not too long ago someone mentioned to me that they could never live on a VolksCruiser or VolksCruising  budget because of, you know...  

Comfort.

The subject of watermakers were used as an example...



I can't help but get the feeling that a lot of what folks these days equate with the word comfort has more to do with wasteful consumption, bad habits, and general laziness than anything to do with actual comfort.

Or so it would seem...

Just a whole lot of DIY wonderfulness...

Sailrite is a great resource for anyone sailing and cruising but, for those of us on a budget, an indispensable tool in our VolksCruiser Fǔ arsenal.

Someone's trying to sell you something...

Well, actually, everyone's trying to sell you something these days. It's relentless.

Every day when I open my mail there are about a hundred or more scam emails trying to sell me something and of the remaining "real" email fully 95% of that is someone trying to sell me something or other.

You get used to it don't you...

In case you have not noticed, VolksCruiser is all about selling you something as well and, while it's not something you pay for or a bauble you can play with, it is about selling you the idea that you can do something even if you don't have a lot of money.

That said, it's not really about money at all. It's also not about budgets, cunning plans to get around paying for stuff, and advanced techniques of dumpster diving.

What we're selling here at the grand old VolksCruiser Emporium is simply the fact that you can do it.

You can do it.

Lots of people have done it in the past, people are currently doing it now, and long after you and I have left this mortal coil I'd like to think folks will still be doing it while pissing off those who like to tell them they can't in the process.

So yeah, I am trying to sell you something and "relentless" really should be my middle name.

Horsepower and sail area...

That somewhat sad and neglected Gemini catamaran is a great example of the more is better silliness where engines and horsepower come into play...

Really, eighty horsepower?

The Gemini is a light boat (some might even say TOO light) and it does not take a lot of power to make it get up and go. Its rig HP is something close to 6.3 HP @ 10 knots of wind, 8.5 HP @ 14 knots of wind, and 17 HP @ 20 knots of wind. Which pretty much says to me that anywhere between a single 8 HP and a 25 HP outboard would be OK and my engine of choice would more than likely be a 9.9HP because the Gemini has a fair amount of windage otherwise I'd have gone with the 8HP.

Then again, eighty-fucking-horsepower...

Offhand, I just can't see why anyone would want an engine that exceeds their rig's horsepower unless what they really wanted was a power boat. If so, why even bother to carry around an expensive rig?

For those keen on checking their rig's HP, the formula is HP at 10 knots of wind = .015 X square feet (use .020 for 14 knots and .040 for 20 knots). Not perfect but it is accurate enough to tell you what you need to know.

So, just what's wrong with this picture?