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.                                                                                                                                                                                                  

 

$0.29 a day...

What with the push for induction stoves for boats, the current news that gas stoves may be less than healthy, and the fact that I'd love to lessen the amount of fossil fuels aboard. So, hardly surprising I've found myself thinking about the various alternatives to propane lately.

The main issue with going electric is that , for someone who cooks a lot, the energy budget for induction is pretty hefty requiring a bigger battery bank and more solar panels than I have room for aboard "So It Goes". Sure I could add a genset but then I'd still be burning fossil fuels. By my calculations I'd really need to move up to a bigger boat if going with more solar. Something of a conundrum is it not?

Propane biggest selling point is that it's cheap. Our current cost per day for propane is $0.29 a day and we cook a lot. That's a whole lot less than alcohol, kerosene, or any sort of electric system that's available when all things are considered.

Granted propane gets a bad reputation regarding hassle factor and availability but sense we get between 75 to 90 days from a 20 pound tank (and we have two) so we can go close to six months with out having to refill. Off hand I can say that we've never been more that three months away from a place where we can top off our propane bottles.

I'm still open-minded but I'll have to see some serious improvements in electric before I jettison the propane in favor of some other source of cooking.

Charles Morgan is no longer with us...

Yesterday I heard that Charlie Morgan was no longer with us and it got me thinking about some of his designs. 

While there's something about the look of his Out Island series that sorta/kinda rubbed me the wrong way there's no denying that they are prime candidates for VolksCruising. Just take a look at the Out Island 33...

Way overbuilt with moderate shoal draft as befits a boat designed to go into charter it's a lot of boat in a smallish envelope. As they made a lot of them they can be found for a reasonable price and since they were built like a tank they're mostly in pretty good shape.

Two other Out Islands with great VolksCruiser potential are the Out Island 28 and Out Island 30 that are both well worth taking a look at.

Charles Morgan designed a lot of sailboats boats as well and his body of work is as impressive as you can get so well worth a study.
 

Some low-budget DIY wonderfullness...

A boat-worthy project worth checking out.

more on the budget front...

So, what’s your bottom line? A long, long time ago I think it was Lin Pardey who coined the $500-a-month-budget as a passing reference of the “Some people do it for as little as…" example.    Back in the late 60’s, $500 was a doable, if tight, budget for cruising but today, according to a handy inflation calculator, to have the purchasing power of $500 in 1969 dollars would be equivalent to $4,055 today.    

I’ll let that sink in for a moment…

I’m pretty sure if you’re reading VolksCruiser that it’s safe to assume that a $4,055 monthly budget is not what you signed up for. Which gives me a chance to show you one of my favorite movie clips.

Now, while I can think of any number of marinas I’d love to take a shotgun or M79 to, I’’ll admit that while it might be cathartic, it's a bit more anti-social and somewhat problematic to the cruising lifestyle. Hell, with my luck, I’d wind up with a roommate who’s a MAGA droid named Bubba.
 

What’s a poor boy or girl going to do?

Lucky for us there are any number of ways to get by with less money if you’re so inclined to cruise outside the consumerist bubble. For instance, simply quit getting stuff you don’t really need and and get off the recreational shopping bandwagon. Sure it requires a bit of mindset adjustment and the learning curve is a bit steep but it’s nothing you can’t do if you want to get going to some nice anchorage.

Speaking of anchorages have you heard the news about Bonaire?

Bonaire’s a great place. It has some of the best diving in the world, the powers that be are Eco-conscious and doing their bit to keep it nice, and it is a kiss off the beaten track so it’s more Caribbean like than you can find in the Caribbean proper. So, what’s not to like?

Since the locals care about their waters, it’s a moorings-only situation and as most all of Bonaire is a park you have to pay to be there. This year moorings have shot up in price to $35 a day (it used to be $10) and the park fee is $40 per person (good for a year). Which in real terms means if I want to stay there for ten days it’s going to cost a minimum of $430 for the two of us. Which is not bad when you consider it but it starts adding up really quickly and it’s not a place you’re going to hang out longer than needful. That said, it’s still a lot cheaper than staying in a marina anywhere that has a developed yachting scene which is frelling anywhere in the Caribbean these days.

So here’s the good news/bad news if you want to cruise on a budget these days. The good news being that it’s doable and the bad news is that, for the most part, you’ll want to minimize all the normal milk run destinations.

Lucky for us is that it’s a big frelling world and there are still a lot of great places to cruise where folks on boats are not looked at as floating ATMs.  You might want to add “Hors Piste” to your manta jar.

More needful stuff for getting control of your cruising budget on Friday…

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

the truth about VolksCruising budgets...

Whether it's building a boat, refitting a fixer-upper, or actually cruising, the bottom line is always going to be what you can or can't afford. As much as we might prefer otherwise, the bottom line is always going to be with us.

Living in a consumerist society is problematic where budgets are concerned. After all, consumers are supposed to consume in some sort of consumerism prime directive so the answer to just about any question is to throw money at it and, boy howdy, anything to do with boats is an awesome opportunity to spend money.

Personally, I’ve never felt that money was a very good answer where most important things are concerned. Sure, it’s a pretty good social lubricant to get along in a society that values money and possessions over the individual. How is it that a good person is considered not as good as a bad person because of his bank balance?

So yeah, we’re talking about boats right?

There’s a Reuel Parker design I’d love to build and it’s one of my top designs in my "small boat to retire on" file. It looks like this…
 

 

Parker designed this scow sloop as a budget best-bang-for-the-buck design. The materials involved can all be bought at your local lumber yard and local purveyor of epoxy and glass with no exotic materials involved. All labor is doable by the builder with no need to resort to marine professionals. It’s a simple boat and the cost of building it reflects that.

As it happens, I came across a mention of said design on a forum where someone asked what the boat would cost to build. One response really opened my eyes…

“Conversationally, having a boat like that built is probably $300K-$400K, depending upon level of finish and type of fit out. So, again, from the hip, figure $150K or so to build it DIY. I grant that this is unscientific, but I believe that the above numbers represent a fair test of your wallet and resolve.”

Now, since it’s a boat I might actually build and I've have done a lot of homework amd know that the aforementioned budget of a $150K bears no relationship to the actual cost of building this boat. It is a great illustration of how not doing your homework and math, results in a situation where spending silly money becomes part of the matrix and ignores what should be reality.

It’s a boat so it has to be expensive!

Right?

The fact that just about everything related to sailboats and cruising is inflated to a point where it’s downright criminal is a given, but with a little thought and study you can avoid most of it.

Doing your homework is a major part of successfully getting a boat project in the water and sailing. Researching possible cruising routes and areas is the difference between being on a negative or sustainable budget. All you have to do is use your brain rather than your wallet or credit cards.

The funny thing is a lot of those folks cruising on expensive boats and throwing money around like drunken sailors are actually worse off than those cruising on slim budgets. Same goes for those building and refitting on sustainable budgets within their means as opposed to those with big expensive projects and need to get on Patreon so others can subsidize their projects.

Knowing what you can afford and managing your life in a way that makes sense where budgets are concerned is maybe the most important factor in successful boat projects and cruising. It’s not about what you spend but rather about spending smart.

More on the subject come Monday.




.

Just a quiick note...

I'll still be doing VolksCruiser for the foreseeable future and just taking a few days off to sort out a bit of reorganization.

More soon come.

the best of times, the worst of times...

So it's 2023 and a new year. For some of us, it comes with some musing over the state of things.

As far as sailing and cruising goes, my musings seemed to be along the lines of that Dickens quote and I spent a couple of hours thinking about the good/bad reality after the ball dropped at midnight.

On the positive side...

• The cost of a good condition, under 36-foot, blue water capable boats have come down and are now very affordable.
• The cost of needful gear has become more affordable.
• Systems that were once considered too complicated or unaffordable for many are now within most cruiser's means.
• Needful information is readily available and no one has to reinvent the wheel. That said, finding good information should include a buyer beware warning.
  
• The current state of computer-based communication systems means you can almost always be connected to the world.

On the negative side...

• One of the main reasons boat prices have fallen is that we have a "Too many boats and not enough places to put them" situation so moorage and marinas have become unaffordable. A related issue is that this is causing a lot of anti-cruiser attitude on municipal and state levels.
  
• While needful gear may be cheaper, the marine industry exerts incredible pressure to get the newest, most expensive thing/flavor of the month.
• Sadly, the "You get what you pay for" mindset is counter productive to affordable cruising and really does not make any sense but considered gospel by far too many.
  
• YouTube influencers, while helpful from time to time, are mostly pimping on one level or another. Any information from most of these sources should be considered suspect and taken with a grain of salt.
• The current state of computer-based communication systems means you can almost always be connected to the world.

Actually, those lists could be a lot longer but I suspect you get the general drift. So, how do we deal with the best/worst conundrum?

For starters, VolksCruising only works if you're actually cruising. Your mantra should be "Keep on Trucking" as any nomadic society knows that being welcomed always comes with a time stamp and it's best to leave Dodge before the welcome expires. Which is a roundabout way of saying if you're going to cruise you best be on your way.

Since there are so many inexpensive sailboats in good shape, the desire to buy a fixer-upper should be suppressed. Why spend a year or three fixing a boat when you can just buy one and get gone? Sure, I know you want to tweak the boat to your needs but a major refit is seldom a good financial investment and, if you think it's required, you should be looking for another boat.

Same goes for the need some have of wanting to turn a sow's ear into a silk purse. For a special few it might work but in 99% of the cases I've seen, you just wind up with a very, very expensive sow's ear.

As far as stuff goes for cruising, less is more as the old adage says. I could go into deep detail but do I really have to? 

Overall the best/worst scenario comes out as pretty positive for someone wanting to cruise on a VolksCruiserish budget. Of course, you'll need to do some critical thinking, jump through a bunch of hoops, and make some of those negatives work for you rather than against but the overall math says it's going to be a good year to get going.

Here's hoping we all have a happy new year.