We're out of here...

Check out VolksCruiser's new digs.

We've moved and will no longer be adding new content here on Blogger. For the time being this will remain up but only God knows for how long and she's not saying.

 

a bit of reinvention...

Truth be told, there's not a lot of difference between most of the classic plastic designs and when you look at a CAL 34, Columbia 34, or a Whatever 34 it's easy to see that all of the designs tend to cover the same bases. Since they all use the same rig, the same accommodation plan, the same general construction, and the same level of quality, it makes it hard to tell them apart.

Of course, the main reason we find ourselves in this same old same territory is that in the late sixties/early seventies, the general consensus was that this is what worked and worked well. The simple fact that there are thousands of classic plastics still floating right side up and sailing backs that up.

Still, I wonder what Lapworth, Tripp, Irwin, and Morgan would have changed if they had a chance to change the mold they'd confined themselves to.

Being that we're now in 2023 with a world balancing on the edge of several cataclysms of our own creation, it's way past time to rethink boats in general and classic plastics in particular.

One of my favorite films is  Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s "Amélie" which I'm sure you've all seen. A classic for sure but Jean-Pierre Jeunet felt that he could have a bit of fun through reinvention...

And if you can reinvent a classic film, what's keeping you from doing the same to a classic sailboat design?

Within a reasonable budget of course.

a clean sheet of paper...

What most folks don't get with the whole idea of a VolksCruiser is that it's really all about simplicity. The general approach to getting an inexpensive sailboat and fixing it up seems to be in adding complication rather than paring things down to the essentials.

So, what would we do to a cheap CAL 34 if we had the ability to take it back to nearly the blank sheet of paper stage of design?

Hold that thought and I'll be back with more tomorrow.

Oh yeah, Happy Spring.

Some thoughts on the CAL 34...

It's come to my attention that there are several CAL 34s going cheap (as in less than $3K). This got me thinking about how I'd go about VolkCruiserizing them today knowing what I know now after living aboard and sailing "So It Goes" for ages.

For starters, there's a CAL 34 going for $1k which is floating right side up, has a mast, and an engine that does not work. I expect there are a bunch of other issues but at less than the cost of the lead in the keel $1,000 would still be a lot of boat for the money.

My first thought would be to get rid of the mast and rig since I'm sure that the rig is way past its sell-by date. The mast could be salvaged and I could sell it for $500 or so which is close to what I could build a new mast in terms of materials. Since I'm sure I'd also have to replace the dreaded I-beam, it would also be a great time to beef up the compression post to support a serious tabernacle arrangement if keeping the boat as a sloop or change the location of the step in aid of a junk or lug rig.

Then there's the non-functioning motor which I'd replace with an Atom Voyager inspired outboard installation with either a 6HP gas or electric outboard which is really all one requires to move the boat when needful. While I'm at it, I'd seriously consider moving the rudder back to the transom which would improve the balance and make incorporating a simple self-steering trim tab both cheap and easy.

As far as the interior goes, the Lapworth design works just fine and while I'm sure it would need some work and sprucing up, it wouldn't be difficult or expensive.

The rest just comes down to cosmetics.

Do the work yourself, use affordably sourced materials, avoid mission creep, and you'll have a pretty awesome boat for $7.5K or less.

I'll go into a bit more detail in the next post...

how size is an interesting thing...

My recent post on the Beachcomer 25 produced some emails of the "A 25-foot boat is too small to cruise or live on" variety and a fair bit of outrage.

I get that. A 25-foot sailboat is, after all a small boat. That said, in my own defense, I'll point out that not all 25-foot boats are created equal.

 

Take the Harlé designed Sangria for instance. It's a 25-foot boat with many transatlantic voyages and Atlantic circles to its credit. It's seaworthy, comfortable, and a reasonable solution for their needs. I'll be the first to admit it's not a boat for everyone nor should it be.

Compared to the Sangria the Beachcomer 25 has a much more comfortable interior design and compared to the Sangria's 3,968 pound displacement its 5,300 displacement translates to a kiss more comfort and better weight carrying. The other 25-foot boat mentioned in the post, the Irwin10/4, with its beam of 10'4" and displacement of 7,000 pounds makes for a very big 25-foot boat.

The bottom line is I'd happily set off across the Atlantic in the Sangria, Beachcomer, or the Irwin 10/4 as they'd all get me where I wanted to go in a manner I was comfortable with.

Which boat would I choose if I had a choice? They're all good designs but, as much as I like the Sangria, I'd choose either the Beachcomer or the 10/4 simply based on their shallower draft. For me the length does not mean as much as the rig, draft, and overall fitness to do whatever I want it to.

Be wary of affiliate links...

This morning I noticed a certain blog/website had a post on outfitting your boat for fishing with various affiliate links to illustrate the products being talked about. Like this lure...

The price on the provided Amazon link is a whopping $44.99 which happens to be the most expensive Cedar plug I've ever come across. My go to place to buy lures of this sort is from Tailchaser who sell great lures at very fair prices. Their reasonable facsimiles of the above cedar plug looks like this...

Even better, rigged and ready to go they only cost $8.75 and I'm pretty sure you can do the math without much trouble. If you want an even better price they currently have a couple of rigged cedar plugs on sale for $3.95 which I'm pretty sure beats that $44.99 plug all to hell.

The thing is, while I have done some affiliate sales links and still do a few (Russel Brown's great books, for instance), I feel that doing affiliate sales imparts a certain responsibility to connect one's readers with good fairly-priced products. The lure in question is in no way fairly priced with that sort of insane price tag.

For the record, I do not have any sort of deal with Tailchaser and I only promote them from time to time because they have excellent lures, great service, and their prices are as good as I've been able to find anywhere.

That said, a lot of fishing gear is way overpriced which is one of the reasons I've been putting together a basic fishing kit for cruisers that includes a handline, snubber, bird, flasher, and three of the most successful, sailing speed cruising lures for around $75.00. Which is a roundabout way of saying I've done my homework on what cruising fishing gear should cost just like anyone on a budget should do for any bit of boat gear that's needful.

On planned and premature obsolescence ...

Practical Sailor just put up an excellent article on windlasses that you really should read which touches on the subject of planned/premature obsolescence which happens to be a big part of why I'm promoting the whole VolksCruiser thing. 

It's not just a cost thing.

Sure the driving force for most folks is about affordability but for a lot of us, it has a lot to do with the fact that a lot of modern gear and boats are not built to last. Having worked in a used gear and consignment shop, one quickly learns that a lot of the newer gear has a much shorter lifespan than than older gear.

A good example are the fifty-year old Barient winches aboard "So It Goes" which have worked hard over the years are still working just fine while a pair of new Harken winches I bought about ten years ago which have never been mounted or used are showing signs of corrosion even though they've been stored in a dry locker all this time. But what do you expect when you mix dissimilar metals together in a  guaranteed to corrode fashion?

Another problem with a lot of newer gear is it's simply impossible to fix and that the companies making stuff are, at best, reluctant to sell you parts. Even worse in my opinion is how a lot of companies no longer support gear that they made as short as a couple of years ago. Sure, I get the fact that fifty-year old Barient winches are no longer supported and one has to sort out work-a-rounds but I was recently told getting an extra plug for a five year old chart plotter is impossible because they are no longer supporting electronics they no longer sell.

Sadly, it would seem that making good products, as opposed to making good enough products with designed in obsolescence is not great for profits.

That being the case, an older affordable boat with built to last systems starts making a lot of sense and, with the added bonus of being the more green solution, it's something of a no-brainer.

on the subject of a small boat of note...

Over at Sailing With Josh (always a good read) Josh has put up an interesting article on the Flicka design that you might want to check out.

an awesome shoal draft design...

Offhand, I really do think that real (3' or under) shoal draft makes all kinds of sense for anyone looking for a VolksCruiser. Having a boat that can anchor in places others fear to tread or navigate, that's also beachable if needed, and ocean capable is really a no-brainer.

For instance, take a look at the Beachcomer 25...

Drawing only 1' 3" with the board up this Walter Scott design is what shoal draft is all about. As it happens Scott also designed the Irwin 10/4 which is my favorite Irwin and another possible VolksCruiser candidate that is well worth checking out.

The Beachcomer has what I like to think of as a civilized interior layout as it provides everything needful in a manner that is both comfortable and practical. 

The cat ketch rig is a great rig with little to go wrong and much to recommend it. I'm still astonished that we we're still sailing Bermudan sloops when there are so many clearly superior rigs we could be using.

The downside of a 25-foot boat is mostly about stuff or, in truth, the inability to carry a lot of stuff you really don't need. That being the case, it's a great design for someone of a minimalist bent but not so much for those who don't quite understand the advantage of less.

There's quite a bit more information over at Catketch.com website for the Beachomer 25 you might want to peruse.

 

Someone who is not your friend...

Part of the problem of navigating life in a consumerist society is that, pretty much, everyone selling you something is only in it for the profit. That said, there's nothing wrong with making a profit because, by and large, profit within reason is a good thing.

Where it gets nuts is when profits exceed fair & reasonable, and start looking a whole lot like gouging or theft.

Here's an example I happened across yesterday while trying to buy some anti-fouling for my dinghy as there didn't seem to be what I wanted on island.

Pettit SR21 is a hard anti-fouling that makes sense for a hard dinghy as it has a thin film, it's easy/quick to apply, and it's hard so scrubbing is non-problematic. Normally it's a bit too expensive for my tastes as it retails for $69.99 a quart but West Marine currently has it on sale for $35.88 so I said to myself  "That's what I want".

Of course, as it turned out, WM won't ship it to me because I'm in a non-incorporated territory and it appears that the powers that be at WM don't realize we are part of the US of A. Perhaps we could have shipped it with our freight forwarder but as that adds another $20-$30 to the transaction it makes it more than what I want to spend.

And, yes, dear reader, I'm frugal/cheap.

Anyway, since I now had an overwhelming desire to put some SR21 on the bottom of my dinghy, I started looking further afield with no luck until I got to eBay...

eBay is a rather interesting place and I used to buy quite a bit of film stuff, marine gear, and musical instruments from eBay sellers but do it less these days as it seems to be mostly greed-head dealers selling stuff for more than it's worth.

But, as it happens, there was a guy selling SR21 and he'd even ship it to me. Sounds good until you do the math...

$139.88 + $19.99 = $159.87

That's for one quart of anti-fouling that is supposed to retail for $69.99 and it's as far from a fair or reasonable price as you can get without it becoming armed robbery.

Sadly, just about every time I've gone to eBay in the last couple of years this sort of thing appears to be the norm rather than the exception where boat stuff is concerned. 

It's important to remember that marine trades are seldom your friend and if you're lucky enough to have found one who is, cherish it like you would a Unicorn. Far too many people looking for boat gear consider that the prices are going to be better than some marine vendor like West Marine whose economic pressure on the industry and consumers is both controlling as well as dastardly. However, even they don't measure up to the ripoff artists who inhabit eBay. The bottom line is that eBay is not your friend and should be treated with suspicion and do your homework before going there in search of deals.

Just sayin'...

Why Mr Zip's your friend...

I've bought quite a lot of metal stock from Online Metals. Nothing big but over the years I've spent quite a lot of money with them on a variety of boat projects. 

Which is why yesterday, when I saw that I needed a couple of feet of 2" aluminum angle for a mast project. I got online, opened my account, and with credit card at the ready proceeded to buy the needful. They had what I wanted (two 12-inch pieces of said aluminum angle) that cost $23.54 which was a little bit high in my opinion. That said, the cost was not all that bad so I stuck it in the cart and prepared to close the deal.

The next thing I see is that they're charging me $163.00 to ship a pound of aluminum to me down here in America's paradise.

Seriously, WTF?

So, I called them and pointed out that in the past they'd sent small packages via USPS for a reasonable cost. I also mentioned that the two 12" pieces of aluminum would fit quite nicely in a flat rate box or envelope.

Nope they said, metal is heavy and we no longer ship anything via USPS and $165 was what I had to pay.

Which is wrong on a lot of levels but what bothers me the most is the lady on the phone assumed I was stupid enough to pay $163 to get something worth $23.50 which would be insane.

The really scary part is that I commonly see cruisers with blogs bitching that they had to pay silly money to get stuff shipped to them. The worst example was a guy complaining that he'd paid over $100 for two O-rings that would have cost a buck from a hardware store but since he bought them from a marine supplier for $21, he wound up with the most expensive O-rings the world has ever seen. So, yeah, I guess there are enough people out there willing to be fleeced that it is now SOP for companies to do this sort of fuckery.

I then spent five minutes online to find a metal company willing to send via USPS and came across Speedy Metals which sold me the same metal for $16 which was cheaper than their online price (I've made a note to call them in the future rather than buy online) and more importantly $7.50 less than Online Metals. The real savings, of course, is not having to pay that $163 UPS shipping charge.

I'll just mention that FedEx and UPS are not only stupid expensive for getting stuff down here but they are, more often than not, slower than the USPS as well.

Mr Zip rocks!

Anyway, since I'm not insane and can do basic math I won't ever use Online Metals ever again.

Need I say more?

a plastic water bottle and a boat...

The other day I found myself listening to someone going on about their stainless steel bespoke water bottle as a must have for the cruising sailor. I was not impressed.

The argument that an expensive water bottle is good for the environment is somewhat dubious in that its fabrication requires energy which is, more often not, provided by fossil fuels so not exactly as green as we'd like. Worse in fact, because do you really think someone who requires a designer water bottle is going to drink water from the tap?

Some years ago at a charter yacht show the organizers provided show attendees with "green" reusable plastic water bottles because there had been some complaints about using single serve water bottles. Of course, I found the fact that they were filling the reusable water bottles from single use disposable water bottles sorta/kinda defeated the whole purpose of the exercise.

I'll add another point regarding the bespoke designer stainless steel water bottles and say that the person hyping them had an affiliate link so was making money on any that were sold. It's just another link in the chain selling you stuff you don't need for a profit.

My choice of water bottle is reused soft drink bottles. I've mostly kicked my soft drink habit but still, from time to time, have a bottle of ginger ale. Being loathe to throw plastic away to go into landfill for like forever, I'll save it and reuse it as a water bottle. Aboard "So It Goes" we keep a dozen or so water bottle of this ilk and they're a much more green solution then that bespoke designer stainless steel water bottle.

They're also, for all practical purposes... free.

Which, sorta/kinda brings me around to an interesting but somewhat stupid sailboat design you might want to check out. It's the Sterne 25 and it's built of eco-friendly materials like bamboo, basalt, jute, linen, and plant sourced resins all of which I think is a goodly thing.

It's a cool boat for sure and as a test bed for greener materials it certainly makes sense. The downside, for me at least, is that in a world with thousands and thousands of excellent already built sailboats going for near giveaway prices,

 why are we still building new boats?

That CAL 27 or Chrysler 26 (for example) going for cheap are most certainly a greener solution than most eco-friendly designs coming down the pike with the added advantage of being a whole lot more affordable. 

One issue with greenish materials is they've recently become a hip commodity and as a result materials known for being readily available and cheap are, all of a sudden, all kinds of expensive and difficult to get. For the last few months I've been trying to find a good source for jute (AKA burlap) to use for a dinghy build I wanted to do. The idea of replacing fiberglass with burlap was very attractive until it became hip and now is selling for more than fiberglass. Made worse by the fact that I'd need to buy a bolt of cloth rather than a few meters. The sad fact is that building green has been co-opted by consumerism and folks wanting to make a profit don't give a shit about the environment.

The real bedrock way to be green in this messy world is to use less rather than more and whenever possible, reuse, repair, and recycle.

That might make a great t-shirt as well...

Something to expand your skill set...

 

A $1000 VolksCruiser...

 Here's a boat you might want to check out...

Now, for me at least, the Chrysler 26 comes pretty close to checking all of the fields on my what makes a great VolksCruiser list.

1. It's cheap and I've seen good boats going for $1K.
2. It packs in a lot of livability into a 26-foot envelope.
3. It has a draft of 2' 3" with the board up and 6' 2" when you need to get to windward.
4. It has enough displacement and ballast to get you where you want to go right side up.
   
5. Halsey Hereshoff designed it and he's a  designer I trust.
6. It was designed to use an outboard and 6HP is all you need.

The only disadvantage is that it is a small boat and not for someone who requires a lot of less-than-needful-stuff. But that's a problem with any 26-foot boat isn't it? 

A few minimal projects (the galley for instance) would make it an even a better cruiser for not a lot of money or sweat.

So, all in all, it's a great example of what you need in a small cruising boat and well worth considering.

 

about toilets or something similar...

 The other day I noticed that the going rate for a popular faux composting toilet was a kiss over a thousand dollars and my initial reaction was...

"Are we really that stupid?"

Apparently so it would seem if people are willing to spend $1000 for what amounts to a bucket, a jug, and a toilet seat packaged together. As the saying goes; "There's one born every minute.

The scary part, for me at least, is that the so-called composting toilet is about $400 more than what I consider the gold standard of MSDs the LAVAC. I'll go on record if I had to have a marine toilet aboard a boat of mine the only toilet I'd ever consider is the LAVAC. Need I say more?

That said, in my estimation, the only marine head that actually makes sense is the misnamed composting toilet. Misnamed because they really don't actually compost waste but simply hold the contents in a sort of stasis until it can be taken away or dumped overboard where legal.

Which is not to say that they don't work very well as we can attest to having pooped regularly into one for over a decade without ever having any negative issues at all. The fact that our toilet is the DIY variety and only cost about $100 says a lot about how DIY is often the best way to go and often better then the manufactured variety.

My dad once gave me some great advice a very long time ago regarding interpersonal relationships which also applies to basic toilet design...

"You never want to stir that shit up"

A pithy quote that cries out to be emblazoned on a quality t-shirt if there ever was one.

Since we're speaking of toilets on boats, I'd be remiss, not to mention that the current Latitude 38 has a marine toilet survival guide of sorts that is well worth reading.

 

Monique is no longer with us...

 A bit of sad news from France as we lose a much loved circumnavigator and arctic voyager.

A film I'm looking forward to...

A  50-year old Wharram, a wonky boom, and three women on a mission.

They had me at 50-year old Wharram.

There's more info on their website and Kickstarter page.

Maybe just use a little less...

For going on decades, I've been an advocate for electric propulsion. While I'm enthused that electric propulsion is no longer a freak show, I do have some reservations about an all-electric boat.

I grew up at a time where if you were on a boat, electricity was hard to come by and something of a luxury. I still tend to think of electrics on boats being somewhat 'iffy'.

Sure, we can now throw money at a bunch of solar, install a shitload of lithium batteries, and have an electrical system that will support a medium-sized village but, the question remains do we really want to?

Take a look at this solar array...

Having had electric propulsion on a similar sized boat (34-feet) I grok that the array is just about big enough for someone's idea of what normal power consumption should be for a modern convenience based lifestyle. The problem arises by the simple fact that a 34-foot boat is just not designed to carry a thousand watt array. Sure, it's possible but I shudder to think about sitting out a hurricane or big squall with that kind of windage over my head.

Then there's the vicious consumption spiral of adding an air fryer or whatever is the current must-have-amp-hungry-appliance on the must have list which requires even more solar. Which, as we all know, is the gateway drug to a bigger boat.

Throw in my general distrust of anything electrical on a cruising boat and you can see why I seldom think the answer to any issue on a boat is more power of the electrical sort.

Which is all a roundabout way of saying I'm currently considering adding Starlink to the boat but jumping through all sorts of hoops to justify it in our energy budget. Since I really don't have room for another 200-watts of solar it would seem the most obvious solution is to use less amps elsewhere and tighten the belt energy wise.

I expect I'll be moaning more about the process in the not too distant future.

Something that pisses me off...

So there's this guy who wants to buy a (new to him) boat to sail off into the sunset. As it happens, he also has a YouTube channel that has quite a few followers and more often than not his videos are both entertaining, as well as educational. 

Just to be fair, I'll point out that his last boat rehab/refit was sometimes painful to watch due to his rather steep learning curve and boat building skills but in the end he got the boat launched and cruising in a reasonable amount of time and it floated right side up.

He's a guy who learns from his mistakes which is one of the most important boat building skills and surprisingly rare. Thus armed, I expect his new boat will come together successfully in a reasonable amount of time and within a sustainable budget.

Apparently, there are a lot of people who don't share my opinion that his current choice of project boat makes sense as his comments sections are rife with naysayers telling him that he can't, it will all end in tears, and if he takes on the project they'll go watch some other channel more attuned to their idea of how to choose a boat.

From my experience, naysayers have seldom, if ever, built or refit a boat. There basic mindset seems to be "If I can't do something, nobody can" so they spend their time telling people how to live their lives and take exception when you go your own way.

The sad part is that the naysayers (AKA assholes) exert a relentless pressure that can be a real obstacle to getting a project completed. Back when I was building the first Loose Moose, I was getting so much negative input about the rig that I lost confidence and found myself in a depressed death spiral that turned a two-day job into a month-long stasis where almost nothing got done.

The project in question is a Wharram cat, that for me at least, seemed like a pretty good boat to fix up. Sure it looked like a dog's breakfast that would require some money and a serious application of hard work but it looked doable. Just for the record, I've built a Wharram, know how they go together, and have finished quite a lot of boat projects, so I have some idea of what I'm talking about. If his project boat was up for sale here for twice as much as he paid, I'd have bought it in a second.

Wharram cats are designed to be both affordable and easy to build. While they may not be the flavor of the month, they are good boats. Why they seem to offend so many is a mystery to me but then you just can't fix stupid.

Anyway, check out the project because I expect it will be a fairly interesting, educational, and entertaining series. I know I'll be keeping an eye on it and rooting for a successful end because I just love to see naysayers pissed off.

OK, I'll admit it...

I've got a bad case of bowsprit envy! While perusing the Craigslist I saw a fifty foot Bugeye going for $16.5K.

Now, I'll be the first to acknowledge that I can't really afford to cruise on a fifty-foot vessel no matter how much it's a work of art and sexy as hell. Adding in the fact that the sparred length is a whopping 65' and that's just going to make haul-outs, marina visits, and incidental cruising expenses a lot more than I can afford.

But, still, the prod on "So It Goes" at two feet compared the the magnificent bowsprit on the Bugeye makes me feel just that little bit embarrassed.

So it goes...

a great conversion...

 As always, Atom Voyager takes an outboard conversion to what I can only term as 'High Art'.

Seriously, this is the way to do it.

a survey worth checking out...

Jimmy Cornell has recently done an update of his 1979 cruising survey and it's quite interesting. Luckily, PBO has Jimmy Cornell's article about the survey. 

You're still here?   

A plethora of Columbia 26 Mk 2...

Perusing the Hawaii Craigslist I noticed there seemed to be an abundance (four!) of one of my favorite boats the Bill Tripp designed Columbia 26 Mk 2. Which, as it happens, is the little sister of the Columbia 50. 

Very little sister

Now, a lot of people think a 26-foot boat is far too small to live or cruise on. Then again, when I was living on a CAL 20 there were a couple of 26-footers that I both lusted for and considered palatial. One of them being the Columbia 26 and the other was the Lyle Hess designed Balboa 26 either of which I considered both seaworthy enough to head out for Hawaii or down to Baja to go on an extended surfin' safari. For the record, I also considered the CAL 20 just as seaworthy albeit it did constrain the surfboard quiver quite a bit.

Later, when I decided to build a Bolger Jessie Cooper while living in Paris I had no qualms about a couple cruising or living aboard a 25.5 foot boat sailboat but we lived and cruised it quite successfully for four years. Better yet it allowed us to live at a prestige address next to a film studio for just about $60 a month (including electricity and water). 

Fact is, the only reason we decided to build a bigger version of the Jessie Cooper was not about comfort but the need to carry enough boat-building tools, film equipment, and space for a dedicated office to run a business. If we only wanted to live aboard and cruise the 25.5-foot boat would have been just fine.

The situation with the plethora of Columbia 26 Mk 2s for sale, which all seem to be close to turn key is pretty awesome. So awesome in fact that you could pretty safely just fly to Hawaii with cash in hand knowing that you could find one at a reasonable price that would be a lot cheaper than a condo or hotel. Hell, a long vacation cruising a Columbia 26 around the Hawaiian Islands would just about pay for itself compared to doing the hotel/condo ting.

Something you might want to think about...

an affordable composting toilet installation...

Just another reason you need to be subscribed to Atom Voyager. 

Well now this is sorta interesting...

For someone with an urge to sail away to new cruising grounds this news story had me doing the happy dance. 

Japan has always been on my list of places I wanted to sail towards and maybe it's a good time get out the charts and take the idea off the back burner.

a siren call from afar...

 I've always had a love/lust attraction to Bill Tripp's Columbia 50...

What's not to like? It's salty, sexy, and has that awesome flush deck. Obviously it's too much boat for a couple on a budget but there is currently one for sale in Hawaii with an asking price of $35K that has me coming up with all sorts of compromises and justifications to make it a smart decision.

I mean, seriously, a boat as sexy as this going for $0.92 a pound is some kind of deal. Factor in the fact that the asking price is seldom, if ever, the sold price, we're talking about a such a deal situation.

The problem is I can do the math and no matter how much I try to fudge the figures, it winds up being a problematic situation with no good outcome.

Compared to a CAL 34, which in the same general condition would cost around $8K with a cost per pound of $0.83, it still seems cost competitive.

Well, until you do the real world math.

A friend we met in Los Palmas while we were waiting to cross the Atlantic who had a Gulfstar 50 told me many times that buying and cruising on their Gulfstar 50 was a big mistake. They'd had a Gulfstar 37 which he considered a nearly perfect boat but for the circumnavigation his thoughts were that bigger was better and the added room would allow family members to visit along the way.

Not only was the Gulfstar 50 bigger it cost a lot more on every front. More work to keep it up, more money for bottom jobs, marinas, and fuel with the kicker being it was also more work to sail it which sapped a lot of the enjoyment they had in sailing. Lastly, they found that family seldom visited and when they did, they preferred to stay in a hotel or resort.

I get that and over the years I've seen the same situation play out time and time again. Still the elusive siren call of the Columbia 50 still whispers in my ear...

A channel that is better than most...

 

A couple crossing the Atlantic in a 31-foot boat...

and in the "You get what you pay for" follies...

Ég hef kannski verið að tala á íslensku...

I like to think of myself as being a critical consumer. Sure, cost is always going to be a factor when I'm buying something for the boat but it's not the only factor.

The overall quality and utility of a product are the two biggest factors when I'm looking to acquire needful gear. You can be assured that anything I get for the boat is going to be a quality product. Which is a roundabout way of saying that I'm cheap but not stupid.

Now, about that tool roll...

Yes, it is only fifteen-dollars and yes, there are any number of tool rolls I could have bought for a lot more money like the Sailrite kit which cost a chunk of change and would have taken a couple of hours for me to sew up making it something like an $80 tool roll.

The big question is would the Sailrite kit be worth $60? Would it be worth four times as much as the Walmart tool roll?

For me, the whole idea behind getting the tool roll is to better organize tool stowage and improve working on various projects with better tool organization. As such, buying four of the Walmart's tool rolls would really make grabbing tools for a given project off the boat a helluva lot easier and faster than I'm currently doing.

That said, I don't know how you work or your process. What I do know is how I work and the tool rolls make a lot of sense. Because I'm fairly leery of all products these days, I bought one of the tool rolls from Walmart to judge its quality, utility, and price before I decided to buy more. Being pleasantly surprised by the quality of the product, I was able to ascertain that it would work for its intended use. The tool roll passed with flying colors.

Yeah, I know we all have that inbuilt knee jerk reaction that cost defines both quality and utility but in our current world of profit led consumerism it just no longer applies. 

Especially where boat stuff is concerned.

The whole central issue of the VolksCruiser idea is that you really have to be a critical consumer which simply translates to doing your homework and never, ever take things at face value.

Nóg sagt.

regarding two tool rolls...

So, Sailrite has a great instructional video on making a tool roll that really impressed me. It also rocked my thoughts on my ongoing effort to better get control of tool stowage aboard "So It Goes". 

You might want to check it out...

It's really a killer tool roll for sure.

Of course, being both lazy and cheap I explored affordable ready made alternatives and found that there were a couple of reasonable facsimiles available between $10 and $15 and Walmart had this one...

It's a real killer of a tool roll as well. The one I bought was well made with excellent materials. So good in fact that I may buy a few more which will go a long way to better organize my tools.

While I really like the Sailrite kit it's just a bit too expensive when compared with what the Walmart tool roll is going for.

That said, I just may use their basic construction guide to make a more specialized tool roll for my rigging kit which seems to defy any sort of organization I've attempted to wrangle the rigging gear into a civilized form.

Two exercises in simplicity that won't cost you $5K...

I've always liked this windvane self-steering gear...

Back in the day it worked very well for a lot of cruisers.  Sure it can be improved by making t more complicated but for a well balanced boat and a sailor who knows what they're doing it does the job just fine. Pretty much anything you need to know to build it can be sussed out from the photo and a couple of hours of thought.

While a kiss more complicated there's a lot to be said for the Moitessier inspired Trismus self-steering vane.

Great  if you have a transom hung rudder or adding an auxiliary rudder to the mix. Anyone interested can find some very simple plans that tell you everything you need to know here.

Either vane gear will get you across an ocean and at a DIY cost of a couple of hundred bucks it's well within even the most frugal budget.

A film well worth watching...

I've been wanting to watch "The Sailor" a film about sailor and sailboat designer Paul Johnson ever since I heard that they were filming it.

There's even a five-part making of series and now The Sailor is currently streaming for free on YouTube.

Need I say more?

All the wrong questions...

One of the things I've noticed with the advent of YouTube cruising video channels is that they seem to inspire all the wrong questions about getting a boat and sailing off into the sunset. Which is hardly surprising as most of the YouTube videos seem to fall into the cinema faux zone. Which is not to say there isn't some information to be gleaned from some but they are mostly covering a non-existent sanitized reality.

Now, books on the other hand...

Books can be just as bad or worse than a YouTube video but most of the books that have become staples are just about the best investment one can make if you need information you can count on. So here are some books that I have on the book shelf aboard "So It Goes".

•  World Cruising Routes by Jimmy Cornell
•  World Cruising Handbook by Jimmy Cornell
• Tropical Cruising Handbook by Mark Smaalders and Kim des Rochers  
•  Self Sufficient Sailor by Lin and Larry Pardey
• Cost Conscious Cruiser by Lin and Larry Pardey
• The Voyager's Handbook by Beth Leonard
• Spurr's Boatbook Upgrading the Cruising Sailboat by Daniel Spurr
• Cruising as a Way of Life by Thomas Colvin
• Practical Yacht Joinery by Fred Bingham
• Blue Water Countdown by Geoff Pack
• The Sailors Sketchbook by Bruce Bingham
• Cruising World's Workbench by Bruce Bingham
• The Complete Riggers Apprentice by Brion Toss
• The Sailmakers Apprentice by Emiliano Marino
  
• Practical Junk Rig by Hasler & McLeod
• The Chinese Sailing Rig by Derek van Loan
• Seaworthiness by C.A. Marchaj
• The New Cold-Molded Boatbuilding by Reuel Parker
• Buehlers Backyard Boatbuilding by George Buehler
• The Windvane Self-Steering Handbook by Bill Morris
• Self-Steering for Sailing Craft by John Letcher Jr 
• Voyaging on a Small Income by Annie Hill
• The Captain Nemo Cookbook Papers: Everyone's Guide To Zen & The Art of Boating in Hard Times by Hal Painter
  

I actually, as our waterline attests, have a lot more books of the boatbuilding/design/cruising ilk but the list are the ones I pick up on a regular basis for problem solving or inspiration and they've earned their place on my bookshelf.

Even more important is the fact that they have all saved me a lot of money over the years and even made me money from time to time which is why they're still on the boat and continue to be.

For starters, I'd make an effort to get a used copy of "Spurr's Boatbook" and Pardey's "Self Sufficient Sailor" as the books that will answer most all of the needful questions you might have. I'd then follow up with Annie Hill's great "Voyaging on a Small Income" as it's the most reality based book you'll be able to find. I'd also make a point of getting a copies of "The Riggers Apprentice", "Sailmakers Apprentice", and "Practical Yacht Joinery" as they cover just about anything you'll need to sort out during a refit or when you need to fix something.

I'd also recommend a copy of Hal Painter's "The Captain Nemo Cookbook Papers: Everyone's Guide to Zen & The Art of Boating in Hard Times" because life is just too short to take things too seriously.

As for the others on the list, they are all worth reading but more of a "get them when you need them" but still highly recommended.

I'm sure everyone else will recommend something from Nigel Calder who has written good books and I'm sure I have a copy of his "Boatowners Mechanical and Electrical Handbook" somewhere on the boat or it may have been purloined by someone I loaned it to (and folks wonder why I no longer lend books or tools) but to tell the truth I've never actually found it all that helpful and I'd much rather have a copy of John Muir's "How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive" as a problem solving aid if I was having mechanical issues.

Lastly, another book some speak highly of is "Sensible Cruising- the Thoreau Approach" by Casey & Hackler which was sorta OK but not a book I'd recommend.

back to basics...

Back when I was building a catamaran in France just about everyone I knew (and many I did not) shared their opinions that catamarans were a death trap. Yachting Monthly, PBO, Sail, and Cruising World were all running articles and editorials telling me that cats were just not the sort of boat any sane person would want to take cruising.

Today, most of the advice I get is that monohulls are history and that I Need (yes with a capital "N") to cruise on a cat because all the cool kids are on catamarans now.

Different times and fashions...

Which brings me around to the thing I like about boats and cruising is the freedom to do your own thing in spite of the prevailing fashion and its related pressure to conform. In short, it's the freedom to do your research, homework, and fulfill inner desires to come up with what works for you within the realm of what's possible.

Now, while I'm more focused on long term sustainability and affordable boats, I have no issue with folks who cruise on a $750,000.00 catamaran and the lifestyle it entails. That being the case, I'll point out that there's not a whole lot that I find interesting or useful that I can take away from someone cruising within that envelope.

On the other hand, I can learn a lot from a couple cruising full time on a Westerly Centaur with a limited budget. Which is not to say I'm advising you to cruise on a Centaur but simply that you get to choose what sort of boat best fits you rather than what the current fashion or fad decrees is the right or best way to go.

Which, considering the whole peer pressure and keeping up with the Joneses aspect of things, is not always an easy road to follow these days. Still it's not impossible to sort out a course through the noise with a bit of study and critical thinking based on what makes sense for you and your situation.

Next up, a reading list and a homework assignment.

Putting together a VolksCruiser on a budget...

I'm sure if you're considering getting a boat and going cruising on a budget you'll be getting a shit load of push-back from just about everybody that it just can't be done. Kind of a bummer that.

The truth is, there's a plethora of good inexpensive sailboats just waiting for someone to find them and get them back in cruising trim. Of course, they'll tell you that a cheap boat is just a hole in the water that you throw money in while you get too old to go cruising.

Sound familiar?

I'll point out that there is, sadly, plenty of fodder for those opinions. I've seen boat projects take twenty years to get to a point where they're abandoned. Way too many projects that lost control of their spending and become an economic ball and chain that insures the project will never come to fruition and let's not forget the boat projects that led to the breakup of relationships. So, yeah, there's a lot of evidence that building or refitting a boat can become a clusterfuck of epic proportions.

But, does it really have to be that way?

The thing is, while I've seen lots of failed projects swirl down the ceramic bowl of disaster, I've seen lots that didn't. Have you ever wondered why so many people fixate on things negative rather than the positive where boats and boat projects are concerned?

Most folk I've known with projects that went south made fairly obvious mistakes that, with a bit of forethought, could have been easily avoided. As they say, hindsight is 20/20.

For the next few posts we'll be delving into various positive and negative situations and how not to fall into the various traps and pitfalls that lie in wait for an intrepid soul embarking on a boat project.

 

a non-diy dinghy option...

I just saw that WEST marine is clearing out their Sportyaks and I expect that at $349.88 it's just about the cheapest dinghy you're going to find. Granted, a Bolger Tortoise would be both cheaper and better to build but if you're averse to cobbling your own dinghy together the Sportyak is not a bad choice

another design in the same vein...

Yann Quenet's Skrowl 900 is something of a TARDIS when it comes to the most livability and comfort in a minimal envelope (just under 30-feet) shoal draft world cruiser.

Pretty much everything I want in my next boat.
 

an interesting boat...

Certainly not the same old same.

There's more info on the boat on the Oddity blog and Yachting Monthly that's worth checking out.

Well worth reading...

The new Latitude 38 is out and it's a pretty good issue.

There's great article on anchoring physics that just may have changed how I anchor in the future and it even explained the origin of the word "nylon".  Seriously, it doesn't get better than that and Cruising World really could take a lesson.

a time installment plan...

The whole idea of doing the VolksCruiser thing has everything To do with affordability and sustainable living. Apparently, not everyone seems to understand that.

It's long been my opinion that the best place to find a good deal on a boat is being on the water and seeing a boat for sale that looks interesting. The problem, it would seem is that you need to have a boat.

Back when I built the first Loose Moose the plan was to use it to explore France and UK anchorages to come come across that mythical "perfect" boat waiting for us to come across its faded For Sale sign. As it happens, we found that that the plan got short circuited when we discovered that Loose Moose was just about the perfect boat but a kiss too small for the long run.

Still, moving on to Loose Moose forced us to do a big need/want process and downsize in a big way. So if we had found that perfect boat we'd already be up to speed on what we needed.

So, maybe instead of looking for that perfect boat today you'd be better off looking for a smaller, less expensive, and turnkey interim boat.

I've long had a SHTF hurricane plan where during "H" season I keep an eye out for likely small boats in the 25 to 30-foot that are a direct flight away from the Caribbean that we could go to in the event of losing "So It Goes" during a storm. Sadly, living in the Caribbean, we have far too much experience with storms, boats being lost, and the aftermath of disasters to want to hang around after a total loss scenario.

The idea of buying a turnkey CAL 25 or reasonable facsimile, then using it as a temporary abode while looking for a more long term situation. Having a small boat would also make doing any work on a new bigger boat easier as trying to live on boat you're working on can be problematic.

Something to think about...

a must read...

Some very needful reading over at Wooden Boat.

You're still here?

Madness...

Pricing on boats is just nuts these days and fining what's a good price or reasonable price can be all kinds of problematic.

You can buy a used Optimist dinghy for $200 or $3500 and I'm sure there's a difference between the two but that kind of differential is just nuts. Especially when there's a really choice well equipped CAL 25 selling for $2K.

The other day there was a a ten-foot Trinka selling for $400 which I briefly considered and the next day I saw another for $2K without oars or mast.

Two Catalina 30s for sale in the same marina were selling for $1900 and $30K and from their looks they seemed to be in moderate condition.

The best thing I can say about the overall state of the boat market is that it is simply insane.

That said, an insane market in boats can be advantageous for some but more about that soon.

Red Dot on the Ocean...

Matt Rutherford circumnavigated around the Americas in a 27-foot Albin Vega which would be an accomplishment in itself. Considering he did the 27,000 mile voyage nonstop as well is that big step further if you know what I mean.

I'm mentioning the feat because I noticed that the documentary "Red Dot on the Ocean" is currently running on Freevee for free albeit with commercials. Still it's a great film for anyone who wants to see that you don't need a big expensive boat to go cruising.

It's what I'll be watching tonight.

A couple of odd ducks...

Here's an interesting design I've long admired...

The Clipper Marine 32 is a Bill Crealock design that I've always liked in spite of the fact that I most detest center cockpit designs. The shoal draft version only draws 3 foot six inches and it has an transom hung rudder that could easily be adapted to trim tab self-steering.

The good news is that as it's a bit of an odd duck if you come across a Clipper 32 chances are the price will reflect that. The last one I saw for sale was going for $4K in good shape.

Another similar design is the O'Day 32 which is quite a nice boat though, in my personal opinion, a bit more cluttered design but still worth taking a look at if you see one for sale in your neck of the woods.

The real big difference between the two is that the Clipper 32 only has a beam of eight-feet while the O'Day is 10.5-feet and has over twice the displacement as the Clipper..
 

speaking of tools...

One of my goals this week is to get out all my tools, organize them, and sort out a better stowage plan. Which doesn't sound like much but it really is a Herculean task.

That said, I do have a cunning plan of sorts.

More about that later.

a couple of new tools for the tool locker...

I recently bought a pair of Toughbuilt sawhorses from Lowes as they had a two for $50 price and free shipping to the USVI.

Such a deal.

Looking at them now that they finally got here (it took a month) I'm quite impressed and thinking since the two for $50 is still active buying another pair would be no bad thing.

The really nice thing about the sawhorses is that they fold up and can fit in otherwise unused space in the cockpit lockers. The downside is that they are heavy suckers.

Which puts me into the need/want conundrum... do I really need another pair?

It's a foregone conclusion that I'll be building another mast for "So It Goes" in the near future and not having four bombproof sawhorses makes for a great spar bench. Plus I'll be needing to haul out sooner rather than later so it would seem that a second pair of these sawhorses would pay for themselves within the year. Even better is that they'll save me time in the future not having to deal with the hassle of buying materials and making temporary saw horses and tables.

So, having passed the need/want test I guess it's time to get another pair.

A sweet ride...

I saw a Kirie Elite for sale in Edmonds Washington  state going for a silly price ($1.2K).

I have something of a sweet spot for this particular design as I saw it at a Paris boat show and it just felt like it would be a great boat. It was quite roomy for its size, had a huge aft double, and it was no slouch in terms of speed.

It was everything I liked in the Harlé Tonic design but expanded out to a 30-foot envelope. Sadly, it was also more expensive than I could afford at the time.

Now at a reasonable price with a diesel engine that works "OK" it just might be one of the better VolksCruiser deals going.

about those papers you need...

Here's a question. Is a five-year USCG documentation for $375 better than a $130 five-year documentation?

So, in yesterday's mail there was an envelope containing a notice that my USCG documentation will expire soonish and that I should renew it. As it happens the notice was not from the USCG.

The actual sender of the notice was someone calling themselves the National Documentation Portal and went to a lot of trouble to make their notice look like it was from the USCG. So much so in fact, that you really have to look closely to see it's not from the Coasties.

The idea is that you'll assume that they are the USCG and you'll renew your documentation with them. The problem is that when you go to their site (which sorta/kinda looks a lot like it's the USCG) you find that there's a big difference in cost.

The cost for you to renew your documentation with the actual USCG is $26 a year which adds up to $130 for a five year renewal.

With me so far?

Now if you were to go the the National Documentation Portal and renew with them, the cost is $375 and that's some serious fuckery.

So, what exactly do you get for that extra $245? 

All they do is file your information which they had you fill out and pay the fee with your money and pocket the rest. The labor/hassle on your part is the same whether you use the USCG site or theirs. 

Sadly, be warned that there are a lot of folks running this sort of grift and, while it's legal, the USCG should really do something about it.

In the meantime, the cost per year for USCG Documentation renewals is $26 a year and if you're paying more you're being scammed.

and don't forget the bolt cutters...

I find it kind of funny that people who I don't even know, write to the blog and are hesitant to state a budget when asking advice on various boats.

"Do you think a fixer upper Cascade 36 would be a good boat to get?"

I then ask what it costs, how much the boat is selling for, and what sort of budget they have to work with. In this case, I get a response that tells me the boat is selling for $5K and the engine does not work. As far as their budget is concerned, I get...

"Money's not an issue."

At this point I lose interest because money is always an issue and, if you're reading a blog dedicated to helping penurious folk go cruising, I expect you know very well that money is a rather important issue.

Refitting a classic plastic and cruising it is a deadly serious exercise in creative frugality. You really have to be honest with yourself (and me if you're asking for advice) about what sort of tools you have in your tool box. And yes, dear reader, money or lack thereof is most certainly an important tool in the grand scheme of things.

For instance, in the buying and selling of boats one does themselves a huge disservice if you feel you have to pretend you have more money than you do. Just think about that for a moment. Now, what sort of deal am I going to give you on a beat up CAL 34 if you spend half your time telling me how much money you're going to spend on it? A guy tells me he'll replace all the instruments and take it to the yard to get an Imron paint job done. This tells me two things: 1) the guy has a lot of money to spend or he's just dumb as a bag of hammers; or 2) the best of all worlds for a seller of boats, which is the potential buyer is both well heeled and stupid.

Face it, the last person you want to impress with your excellent stock portfolio or Rolex is the guy selling you a boat.

The same goes for cruising. Everyone cruising has a pain threshold where spending is concerned.

EVERYONE.

Working in the marine trades in the Caribbean, you quickly learn that a lot of folks with all the best stuff and the appearance of a comfortable monetary situation are much more likely to have their credit cards declined or do a runner before paying their bills.  Like I said, everyone tends to spend more than they can afford and that's something you really need to know.

Going out to dinner with a bunch of cruisers can burn up an entire months' volkscruiserish budget if you all wind up in some touristy eatery where the burgers are twenty bucks and a beer is going for $5 a bottle. Even worse is when the guy and his wife who had the lobster and the umbrella drinks decides that the group should just split the check instead of each paying their own part of it. Been there done that but could not afford the t-shirt after subsidizing some lobster and Mai Tais.

Which is all a long winded way of pointing out that the most important thing is knowing what you can and can't afford and having the fortitude to tell folks that this is what you can afford when needful.

As it happens, I saw something the other day on Werner Hertzog who has been a great influence on me in a surprising number of ways. His 24 bits of advice really resonates where the whole VolksCruiser thing is concerned.

Especially the bit about bolt cutters.

income streams and chicken shit in the cockpit...

I just saw that there was a boat currently selling eggs in St Thomas and thought it was kind of cool if only as a source of non refrigerated eggs. Combine that with the high cost of eggs from the local super market and it starts making real sense. Though, to be honest, I'm not sure having a half dozen or so chickens is doable on a 34-foot boat. 

Just another income stream to add to the list of possibilities.

One of the big issues with VolksCruising budgets is that the expenses of cruising are a lot like a death from a thousand cuts. A dollar here, twenty there, and and some pocket change adds up to a real budget killer by the end of the month.

Most of us think in terms of a single income source and too often that source is whatever you have in the bank. For most of us,that amounts to a rather too-finite number and it's amazing how quickly all those little expenses nibble away at it. We're all pretty good at budgeting the big numbers but in my experience it's the incidentals  that give me those WTF moments at the end of the month.

So yeah, selling eggs, busking, refrigeration work, rigging, or selling sailboat fishing kits all make sense as small income low profile side hustles. Which together might just be enough to keep you cruising.

I'm pretty sure I'll get someone writing me to mansplain that everybody knows sailboats and cruising is an expensive endeavor that small side hustles can't fund the operating costs of a a proper cruiser and its crew so if you don't have deep enough pockets you should just stay home. Sure, I'll grant that it's good advice for cruising and sailboats in the consumerist modus operandi but it's a tried and true method where VolksCruisers are concerned.

Worse than fingernails on a chalkboard...

I've been following the build of a Bolger design of late and it's akin to fingernails being dragged across a chalkboard to me.

Admittedly, it's a very common mistake that's being made but I find that the misuse of epoxy just drives me batshit crazy.

Epoxy is great stuff but it is expensive and it would be great for users to do a little reading on the subject on how to use it. "The Gougeon Brothers on Boat Construction" is a veritable tome on how to use epoxy in boat building that's actually free that should be on everyone's bookshelf or computer. If tomes are not your thing System Three has an excellent booklet entitled "The Epoxy Book" (also free) which tells you just about everything you need to know to use epoxy correctly.

While not free Russel Brown has written an awesome book "Epoxy Basics: Working with Epoxy Cleanly & Efficiently" that taught me a lot and I've been working with epoxy and glass for going on fifty years now. 

So, do me a favor read a bit and and up your game and upgrade your technique as it will speed up the work, save you a chunk of change, and keep me from muttering obscenities when I see troweled on epoxy that needs hours of sanding to fair up.

Just sayin'

 

an almost cunning plan...

There's a J-29 up in the frozen north that I've been thinking about quite a bit. For those unacquainted with the design it looks something like this...

It, like most of it's J-Boat brethren, is a boat designed and built to be competitive so you may be wondering why the hell am I looking at it?

Well, you might say, I have a sorta/kinda cunning plan for a boat of this ilk.

For starters there's not much of an interior so it would be very easy to do a new performance cruising interior and as long as we're installing a neat little galley we might take the opportunity to do a new mast step while we're at it.

A new VolksCruiserish rig spelled junk or lug would make for a neat testbed and as there are quite a few J-29s about it owned by folks who'd enjoy sailing against a J-29 with a different (some might call it freakish) rig it would be an awesome educational endeavor and I'd enjoy it.

As the boat in question is selling for not very much I'd expect to be able to the needful mods and suchlike to keep the finished boat a kiss less than $10.5K.

The only issue that keeps me from jumping on a plane cash in hand to get is the fact that the J-29 has almost six feet of draft and that's not going to work for my cruising plans.

So it does go.

That said if draft is not a deal breaker for you the J-29 is a pretty great candidate for a performance VolksCruiser and you might want to keep an eye out for a good deal on one.

 

on the most important propulsion system available to us...

This bit of news got me thinking about electric propulsion, various mindsets on sailing and what passes for the norm where sailing is concerned. 

Now, as someone who spent over a decade obsessed with getting affordable electric propulsion to work as a sustainable system aboard "So It Goes", it's safe to say that I've spent a lot of time thinking on how best to get a boat from one place to another. All those years of study resulted in a strong belief that the answer is not electric propulsion. Just to be fair I'll add that it is not an internal combustion engine either.

Some years ago we were in the BVI and having a drink next to a couple who'd just sailed down with the  Caribbean 1500 rally who were quite proud of the fact that they'd only motored for 48-hours. Yesterday I saw that Mads of Sail Life fame spent something like that under power on his way to the Canaries. I suspect that both are an example of the current mindset that the only way to get someplace is to point yourself where you're going full speed ahead. A mindset that's a bit off where wind power is concerned.

One of the things I love about sailing is harnessing the wind to your purpose is both fun and requires some lateral thinking to get you where you want to be. In my experience pointing at where you want to go is seldom the best way to get you there.

Sure, some form of auxiliary propulsion allows you to point your boat dead to windward and current but it is seldom, in my experience at least, a comfortable way to go. As far as being needful to always making forward motion towards your destination the fact that you might sit becalmed for a day or so is not a major tragedy in my thinking as it's just part of a voyage or should be.

Wind power is the most evolved form of propulsion available to us and has the added advantage of being simple as well as inexpensive. Granted, there is a learning curve but nothing too difficult but with the added bonus of being fun.

Sadly, too many these days miss the whole fun element and every time the wind is not blowing you directly to where you want to go the answer is to turn on the engine/motor and thrash to windward instead of enjoying the chance to build your skill set and gain a couple of extra points in your course. For far too many the fact that they have an engine/motor that can be turned on at will is the biggest obstacle in learning how to get the most of of your interface with the wind.

For someone on a budget being able to use the wind to your advantage whichever way it happens to be blowing is a vital tool in your tool kit. Plus it will save you a lot of money in the process...

Need I say more?

and in the "hardly surprising" department...

I'll be honest and admit that I really hate being surprised, especially where boats are concerned. Maybe it's that I grew up on horror films where surprises were always sort of horrific. On the other hand, it just might be most of my surprises have been of the negative sort so color me somewhat gun shy where surprises are concerned.

The funny thing is that, reading other boat folks blogs and suchlike i see that they also talk about surprises on boats and it's never ever a happy occurrence. More often than not it's a problem and unbidden problems are going to be expensive.

It's just the nature of boats and cruising.

For instance if I sail off to some place new and don't check about the rules, costs, and politics of visiting there I'll find that there is going to be a surprise of some sort just waiting to happen. Or, if I jump into a project without some due diligence beforehand there will be some consternation in the mix to bite me on the ass.

Lucky for us we have the internet which makes it pretty easy to do some homework to find out what to expect whether you're cruising or taking on a boat build or refit.

Nothing keeps surprises at bay as well as a bit of homework and due diligence.

Need to know what food costs in St Thomas, Hawaii, or Guam?  Go to Costuless online and see what your grocery bill should cost. Pretty much anywhere you go in the world will have chain stores with online shopping so you can get an idea of what you'd have to pay for groceries. More importantly, it gives you a base line so that you'll know when some stores are on the high side.

Same goes for projects. I always check to make sure that what I'll need is actually available to finish a project as having a half completed project can ruin your day/week/month/year. Nearly as important is knowing what things you need for the project should cost. I've noticed that a lot of boat blogs and YouTube channels tend to share affiliate links for gear and materials that are on the high end of what they should cost so before you start buying epoxy and suchlike from Amazon it might be a good idea to do some cost comparisons before you buy stuff.

Seriously when that $300 dinghy project winds up taking two years and costing you $1200 you really can't blame it on a surprise.  The same goes when arriving on some island with wall to wall Megayachts expecting to find stateside bargains as high prices tend to go with the neighborhood.   

Sadly, these days, common sense is often in short supply but it's a learnable tool that will go a long way to extend your budget as well as improving your quality of life.