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.

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.

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.                                                                                                                                                                                                  

 

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.




.

the economics of can and can't...

Everyone, whether they admit it or not, is going to be on a budget. It's just part of how things work.

Some years back we had a client contact our charter brokerage asking us for the best charter yacht in the Caribbean when we queried how he defined "Best" it turned out that what he really wanted was the most expensive yacht in the Caribbean because, you know, the more expensive the better.

Having some experience where Mega-yachts were concerned we actually knew that the current most expensive yacht had a base price of around $400K plus all expenses which were, at the time, mostly covered by an advanced provisioning allowance (APA) of 30% or more. If you do the math you're in a serious chunk of change zone.

Instead of offering that yacht to the client we offered him an excellent yacht that went out for nearly $100K and the client nearly had a heart attack. Obviously the $400K and $100K were out of his budget.

Like I said, everyone's on a budget.

The problem is that not everyone knows what sort of budget they're on.The old adage attributed to J.P. Morgan where yachts are concerned is "If you have to ask, you can’t afford it".

So, here's a question...

How much can you afford to spend on a cruising sailboat?

another...

How much money do you need to live in reasonable comfort?

and lastly.

Do you have a way to sustain a boat and your reasonable comfort level long term?

I don't want to know those numbers but if you want to sail off into the sunset you really should do a bit of research and figure them out.

Sadly, most folks on boats don't have a clue about budgets until they're confronted with the cold hard economic reality of the words can and can't. A situation that almost always ends badly.

Oh yeah, about that guy who wanted the most expensive charter boat in the Caribbean? He wound up chartering a very nice crewed power boat for around $18K.

Just sayin'.

A quick note

It was just pointed out that I'm rather stupid because I think it's possible to buy a boat for not a lot of money, sort out any needful issues, and go cruising.

It's not the first time...

Apparently, the ex-reader in question is of the opinion that it's impossible to buy a suitable boat for less than $30K and that the $30K boat would cost as much again to make it into a proper cruising boat. So we're talking about a minimum of $60K. 

As it happens, I've been beavering away on a book with a working title of Eighteen VolksCruiserish Boats which documents various affordable production boats suited to long term voyaging on a blue collar budget. None of which will cost you more than $10K to purchase with minimal refit expenditure.

I'm not all that big on giving advice. I'd much rather point out options, workarounds, and common sense approaches that work rather than offer a one true path to cruising Nirvana. 

Fact is, I don't take issue with a guy who feels he has to spend a minimum of $60K to sail down to the Caribbean or other milk run destinations where high prices, keeping up with the Joneses, and conspicuous consumption are the norm. As long as he's happy doing it, I have no issues.

That said, it really gets up my nose when someone feels the need to tell me that his way is the only way.

As I've said before, VolkCruisers and cruising is not for everyone and you really have to understand basic economics and sweat equity to make it work.

No rocket science involved.

I really shouldn't have to say more.

That first year...

One problem most all cruisers at any budget level find is that their first year of cruising costs a lot more than they expect to spend. Sadly, I speak from experience and in our first year of full time cruising; we spent money like the proverbial drunken sailors on steroids.

It doesn't make it any better that everyone goes through it.

So where did all the money go?

For starters, marinas took a serious toll. Now, as someone who really dislikes marinas, why was I staying in them? I blame my inability to trust my initial thought process when the decision to anchor or go into a marina conflicted with the cruising guides. Cruising guides are geared for folks who mostly do marinas and anchor when there’s no other option.

Leaving a marina in the morning after paying our bill when a dozen anchored sailboats fifty yards from the marina would put me in a seriously bad mood.

Where spending money was concerned that it seemed every new place had something to buy. I’ll admit that confronted with a good deal in a chandlery, I throw the budget to the wind.

Plus, not having done proper due diligence, we were clueless on what things would or should cost in the places I was visiting. Most of the currency seemed like Monopoly money. Translating Pesetas to Francs to dollars skewed the reality of what stuff really cost. We spent too much on some things while we missed great bargains.

Another source of bleeding money is eating out, drinking, and hanging out with other cruisers. None of which is a bad thing in moderation, but keeping up with the Joneses can be a big problem when you’re on a very different budget.

The main thing to keep in mind is that cruising long term is not a vacation. You can’t spend away, knowing with the option that you can pay off the incurred debt when you get back to the real world. It’s a long haul equation.

Still, I expect, you'll overspend your first year out as it seems to be an ingrained right of passage but don't say you have not been warned.

Everyone is on a budget...

 I'll say that again...

Everyone is on a budget.

That guy in the beat up old Morgan Out Island, that attractive couple on the million-dollar condomaran, and the owner of the 180-foot megayacht coming through the Simpson Bay bridge, all share a common link that they're all on a budget.

Want to know something interesting? I'd bet serious money that each of those examples is not just on a budget but they are all over-extended and spending more than is sustainable with their current financial situation. 

It's just the nature of the beast in that we all want that little bit more than we can afford.

Don't think so?

Let's take a look at that guy on the Morgan 41 Out Island. He's a single guy on a finite income with some savings, a moderate retirement income and social security. He chose the 41-footer because he felt he needed the space but sometimes regrets that he did not buy a 33-footer for a lot less as the repairs and fitting out cost him a considerable chunk of his savings. He knows he should really do a haulout and antifoul but the cost of most boatyards are now beyond what he can afford. As an aside, most of the extra space that was so important has never actually been used.

The attractive couple on the condomaran made the decision that they really deserved the best of everything. Their choice of boat was akin to branding and would show everyone that they were well off and a leader of trends. Admittedly they were surprised at the costs involved turning their already expensive cat into a work of art and fashion statement. Luckily, they found that they could do mundane tasks on their boat and film them, setting up an income stream that both helped pay their bills and scratched their desire to be the center of attention. The problem came when they found that no one was really interested in watching them cruise but their main appeal was that people enjoyed watching them spend money on expensive gear/improvements. While it still brings in money, they are now dependent on companies giving them gear to install and begging for funds from followers. Their current plans are to buy an even bigger boat to refit, along with another boob job to better illustrate the best way to outfit a condomaran.

As far as the owner of the megayacht goes, he needs to charter his yacht more than he uses it just to cover the upkeep. A situation he feels is beneath him. Now that his bank accounts have been frozen and he's had to sell a Picasso drawing to fill up on fuel so he can get his boat to a country without extradition treaties, his boat is slipping into stealth mode to avoid being locked to a dock.

Meanwhile, there are those folks just about everywhere with affordable boats living within their means quite successfully because they were honest about what they could afford and worked up a budget that reflected it.

A simple budget...

Budgets are just a tool for organizing and taking control of your spending. A very simple budget that works is the 50/30/20 budget. So simplistic that, you might be inclined to go with something more complicated. That said, give it a try and you'll find it does the job just fine. It works like this. 

• 50% is for your basic expenses.
• 30% is for everything else.
  
• 20% goes into a project and emergency fund.

If we round off the monthly budget to the nearest round number that gives us a base of $1,500 a month. So 50% = $750, 30% = $450, and 20% = $300. Super simple and almost idiot proof.

The trick of course is just learning to live within your numbers. 

Just about everyone I know has fallen into the trap of throwing money at stuff while preparing to cruise and then continuing the process in their first year of cruising. 

Been there, done that, but couldn't afford the t-shirt because the money was all gone. Really, I should have been following a budget.

One way to make following a budget easier is that since you're on a boat you can adapt your cruising plans to areas where prices or services are more affordable. 

For instance, I really do need to haul out and put some new anti-fouling on the boat so I'm researching boatyards and haul out costs along the proposed route out of here. I've already got the paint (bought on sale at a very deep discount) and all the needful bits for the rest of the work that I might as well do once the boat is on the hard. That alone will, more than likely save me a month's budget.

While you'll have to do some research and chat up the coconut telegraph to sort out which places are affordable or not you might want to consider looking at less popular areas as a first step. The cost of things is directly related to the number of well heeled tourists, bareboat charterers, and upwardly mobile anchored condomarans. Not that some of those places are not great places to visit but you wouldn't want to provision or buy much while you're there.

Getting back to the budget thing I'll just add that cash is a wonderful thing. Sticking $500 in an envelope provides instant feedback every time you take out a couple of twenties. Nothing concentrates the mind on keeping to the budget as dwindling cash in an envelope. The envelope is also a great place to keep your receipts so at the end of the month accounting you'll have a concrete record of what you've spent.

The $1500 budget is just a number and has zip to do with your particular state of prosperity. It's at best just a way of sorting out what you can or cannot afford. Or, as Charles Dickens pointed out...

“Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six , result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery”

 

 

The first important question...

So, here’s the big question…

What can you afford?

It doesn’t really matter what you think it costs, what other people are spending, or the relative price of tea in China. It’s all about what you can afford in the long run.

Let’s take a number out of a hat…

$18,310.

$18,310. is the current poverty line for a couple in the USA. Divide that number by twelve and you get $1,525.84. per month. A lot of folks I know would consider that a fairly comfortable full time cruising budget.

The question remains: can you live and cruise on $1,525.84 per month?

How would you budget that out? Would it affect your current lifestyle negatively? What would it have you giving up?

So many questions, so little time and dollars.

If $1,525.84. per month is too little for your needs. What amount would make a difference or what would you have to give up to make it work?

Pull some other numbers out of a hat and ask yourself the same questions. Do it until you think you have a number that makes sense for you. I know it’s hard, but try to keep the rose-colored glasses in their case and be relentlessly honest about it.

Trust me, it will pay off big time.

Next up, we’ll do an actual budget based on the $1,525.84. per month budget and whatever you might care to suggest in the comments.

 

Cruising budgets...

Now, a lot of folks will tell you it costs whatever you have, while others will say that it depends. The fact is that both answers really piss me off and it really bothers me to have to admit that they are correct in a kind of way.

A lot of folks spend all they have to cruise. Even worse, many people spend more than they have and wind up seriously in debt. We’ll come back to these folks later, but no one taught these folks how to budget or live within their means.

As for the “it all depends” folks, they’re right as well to a certain degree, but it reads a lot more like a defense of monetary ineptitude rather than actual unforeseen costs and issues screwing with their budget.

For instance, I hear a lot of excuses about budgets and cruising. Most of which revolve around things breaking, needful purchases, and maintenance issues. Sure, I get it. Everyone sails off to the sunset, not knowing that things might break, you might have to buy something, and that from time to time you’ll have to do a bit of maintenance.

Really?

Let’s look at the ‘things break’ mantra. Most things that break or quit working on boats don’t actually break or quit all by themselves, but are mistreated to the point of failure. Get the right gear and treat it like it deserves and you’ll find that things won’t break. Not all that long ago, my mast fell down and went boom. The mast, mainsail, jib, and furler are somewhere on the bottom of the Caribbean in between St Thomas and St Martin. The reason for the fall down and go boom episode was that I really should have reefed and that I should’ve replaced the chainplate that failed. My fault entirely. As a result, I had to build a new mast, build a new rig, and buy new sails. Not a mistake I’ll ever make again.

On the buying stuff subject, didn’t your Mom tell you that stuff costs money? Seriously, how is this a surprise? Didn’t you budget for buying needful stuff and the cost of rice in Antigua is an issue?

Then there’s the whole we had to haul out and put some bottom paint on the boat, change a few zincs, and fix that ding from the time you hit a buoy coming into a dark anchorage in the middle of the night escapade. Hardly sounds like a budget killer, but apparently a lot of folks do.

OK yeah, I’ll admit that the cost of things is depressing these days, but it’s not like you don’t have a brain with the ability to adapt and prepare a budget that will see you through.

When we lost our mast, I costed a new mast, and the quotes were just silly. Luckily, building a wood composite spar was within my skill-set, rigging was dead simple, and we have a sewing machine and access to affordable sail makers. The bottom line was that by doing all the work and fabrication, the rig was a fraction of buying a new mast or having the labor done.

Since I see a trip to Europe and back in the not-too-distant future, I’ve been monitoring the various costs involved. I know what groceries or fuel cost in Europe. I’m aware of various Schengen issues and costs associated with them. By the way, did you know Albania requires our boat to use a clearance broker to clear in and it costs 55 euros?

Simply doing your homework goes a long way to making a useful budget that will both save you money and keep your cruising surprise free.

More on budgets and numbers in the next post...

Just spend less...

The real trick, where refitting an old boat is concerned, is simply to not spend a lot of money on it. Or just spend less.

While spending less is a very workable tactic, it butts up against the consumerist mainstream and viewed by a substantial proportion of people as being akin to heresy. I’ll point out that being heretical does not always make you Joe Popularity.

I’ve posted from time to time that pressure treated pine (AKA Miami Teak) is an excellent wood to use in various boat building projects. What’s not to like? It works easily, pairs well with epoxy, is more rot resistant than many boat lumber species, and it’s affordable.

Well, if any wood can be called affordable these days...

Most of the plywood in our 53-year-old CAL 34 is just plain painted exterior ply. Which might surprise some, as almost all of it is in good shape. The only issue being the bits that had teak veneer which peeled off because Jensen Marine used Weldwood back in the day. Which is actually pretty impressive when you consider Weldwood glue held up just fine for forty years.

Choosing more affordable wood or materials that do the same job as more expensive ones results in a more affordable boat. For instance, for the coach roof hand rails. Instead of using teak, I used pressure treated pine and the needful lumber cost all of twenty dollars. If I had used teak in the same scantling (I like beefy hand rails) the cost would have been close to $120 per handrail.

That’s a substantial difference and savings. Since I’m averse to varnished wood, no one actually knows what species the handrails are as they’re painted white.

It’s not just wood. All refits require you to make decisions and, at least in my experience, there’s always a less expensive option available that works. The only downside is you have to do some research to sort it all out.

Still, there’s the pressure to buy “Marine Quality” a misnomer if ever I’ve heard one. The truth about marine quality is all about high mark-ups and has little to do with the actual product. I know a chain of marine stores who stocks their shelves with stainless fasteners that are seconds or closeouts. Their selection of screws and bolts is so bad that you have to examine each one, as so many are defective. Whenever I shop there, I see people buying these fasteners at inflated prices in bulk when they could easily buy better for pennies on the dollar.

The same goes for goops and suchlike. I don’t use marine paint except for anti-fouling. For topside paint, I use single component paint that costs a fraction of what marine paint costs and works just as well. Since I use a lot of epoxy and glass, I buy bulk from folks like RAKA who have excellent products that work as well or better than the “name brands”. My experience with caulking compounds has led me to prefer cheap hardware store polyurethanes. It’s become almost impossible to find fresh 5200 or Sikaflex resulting in goop cured in the tube and expensive waste.

You can reduce pretty much everything you need to buy for a boat using the same formula by simply choosing what works well but costs less.

Let’s just call it educated frugality.

Why $5K or less?

Yesterday’s post generated quite a few questions, with the largest number being why was I limiting my search to boats selling for $5000 dollars or fewer. 

Well, for starters, I find boats in that price bracket a lot more interesting than more expensive ones. You’re more likely to find a deal at that price point since folks, selling boats at that price, have a good reason to be selling, which motivates them.

Talking to sellers, you’ll find good reasons for selling that have nothing to do with the boat being a dog. There are many reasons where the owner needs to move. They’ve bought another boat, or can’t justify spending money on marina fees for a boat that they seldom, if ever, use.

Since I expect any used boat will require some work and expense, so I’ll always add the cost of the boat to arrive at the overall budget. A $5k boat will have another $5k budgeted for any needful work and so on. Which doing the math equals a potential $10K boat.

When I look at a fixer upper, I budget what I think it will cost, then double the number just in case. Which, more often than not, is just around the purchase price. The goal is not to spend the entire budget but to have a refit fund to deal with expenses that the project generates.

Just to be clear; I’d never buy a $5K boat if I felt I was actually going to spend another $5K to sort out problems. It’s simply good practice to budget a safety factor. Keep in mind many project boats are being sold because the seller ran out of money and the project stalled.

More on the subject and an exception soonish...

Problem solving...

So, here’s the ongoing question most of us are trying to deal with: what is the most needed attribute for successful, low-budget cruising or building/refitting a boat?

Is it your sailing ability?

The ability to make a perfect dovetail?

Having the right gear?

Enough money?

Maybe the correct answer is none of the above, and the simple answer is the ability to solve problems. Take building or refitting a boat as an example. Every boat building or refit project I’ve undertaken has been a collection of problems that need to be solved.

It’s all about problem solving. Some are simple, others are difficult, and then there’s the odd dilemma which is right up there with solving the world peace equation while juggling chainsaws.

The same goes for cruising on a budget. It’s not just a money thing, as money is just a math issue. It’s more of “How do we cruise in a way where money is less of an issue?” kind of thing. Thrown together with the “Quality of Life” issue, suddenly we’re looking at how to achieve world peace and someone just threw a brace of chainsaws for you to catch.

So, here’s where you get to put on your thinking cap and work through a couple of problems…

Problem # 1

You notice a 1972 CAL 29 listed for $1500 that does not have a working engine, needs to have the under-mast I-beam replaced, as well as the corresponding bulkhead. The boat otherwise is clean and everything works. The sails are in good shape, but the rigging is as old as the boat.

There is another CAL 29 selling for $10K with a working Atomic Four engine that appears to be in good shape, albeit with no information on the rig or I-Beam. At the moment, you have $5K in cash for a boat. What are you going to do?

Obviously, this scenario is really a cascading collection of various issues. You need to work through the problems before you get to the “should I buy or not” problem. Let’s see how you get there.

Problem #2

You want to sail to Europe as part of a two-year Atlantic circle in your CAL 29 but folks you’ve heard from say Europe and the Med are too expensive to cruise on a $1000 a month budget, the Schengen treaty won’t let you, and that you’d be better off in the Bahamas or Caribbean instead. Is the two-year Atlantic circle doable or not?

Again, here’s another plethora of potential issues that you have to research.

The good news it that all you need is available online and really shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours.

Leave your answers in the comments, but remember the moderated comments take a while before your answers show up.

Here’s a quick hint. Don’t bother with forums as that way lies madness.

on budgets and boat bucks...

Good Old Boat has an article on the subject of Boat Bucks and it got me thinking...

I suspect that if you read VolksCruiser you’re on a tight budget or looking for ways to make cruising more affordable or maybe you’re just slumming.

It occurred to me that the biggest problem of the VolksCruiser gig is that most folks can’t even say what sort of budget they’re on. Admitting that stuff is too expensive because someone might think less of you is a real problem.

It’s not always easy to embrace one’s place in a social order where what’s in your wallet has more value than the sort of person you are. It sucks.

Having a couple of boat blogs, I get an amazing amount of unsolicited advice. About 99% of said advice is people telling me the answer to my problems is to throw money at them. For instance, I have watermaker that works very well. It’s made thousands of trouble-free gallons of water, but I still get emails telling me I’d be better off with a more expensive system.

When I lost our mast, I received many emails. They said either go out and buy a new mast or just get a new boat. I did not have $20K to buy a new mast, rig and sails. If I could not afford a new rig, where was I going to come up with the $750K that a new catamaran would have cost? People were telling me that the only new boat to get was a frelling condomaran. Talk about peer pressure.

I also get emails from people cowed by peer pressure. Since they cannot afford to buy a new cat, they tell me how they’ll put off their dream of cruising until they can afford to do it right. 

What the fuck is that all about?

Doing it right for some might mean doing it at a certain budget and if they can’t do it that way, it’s not worth doing. That’s nuts. Doing it right means getting it done at an acceptable level of comfort, safety, and within an affordable budget.

To steal a line from Dickens, we’re living in the worst and best of times for cruising. Technology is a wonderful thing and if you can escape the consumerism trap there are many advantages you can take advantage of. Being stuck in a consumerist world where anything old has no value, you can pay pennies on the dollar for the gear you lusted after just a year ago.

Today, with a little homework, a bit of sweat equity, and some scrounging, you can outfit a boat for a fraction of the money that the boat bucks crowd can. Even better yet, refitting a classic plastic design with the added tool of affordable tech makes for a boat better than it was new.

The problem is not that you can’t afford to cruise, it’s about trying to cruise on an unrealistic budgetary framework. Admit your budget is what it is. Use your brain power to find a sustainable solution to making it work in a manner you can afford and be proud of.

a book that's still well worth having...

For some reason or other I found myself reading "Voyaging on a Small Income" by Annie Hill and realized that it's still the best book out there on the subject. Sure it's a kiss dated here and there but the bulk of the information contained within it's covers is just as valid as it was as the day it was first printed.

Fact is that most of the questions people ask me regarding the whole VolksCruising gig can be answered by just reading Annie Hill's book.

Are not books wonderful?

What's affordable?

Budget is a funny thing. Then again, when you think about it money being an artificial construct is also somewhat strange.

My issue has a lot to do with the words we use when discussing budgets and money. Words like affordable. We all understand what the word means, but we also know it has a unique value to different people.

When someone tells me the price of a lithium battery is affordable, I have to wonder what that actually means and can I afford it. I recently wrote about a boat that sells for $175K and I’m pretty sure some of my readers might consider it both a bargain and affordable. I also wrote about some boats that cost less than $3K. I’m pretty sure some of my readers would still consider that to be a serious strain on their budget or unaffordable.

Something of a conundrum that.

Obviously, we’re not all on the same page where spendable income is part of the equation. Which is made even worse by the sheer magnitude of disparity in income and wealth.

So, what’s affordable for a VolksCruiser?

When I started this blog, I had two groups in mind. The first was those working minimum wage jobs. While the second was that hazy middle ground of skilled folks making more than minimum wage, but not quite in the professional zone. Throw in the people who don’t quite fall into easy categories like ski instructors, musicians, freelancers, and artists and you have a hazy idea of what sort of incomes are involved.

The current poverty cutoff point in the US of A for a couple is $17,420 a year, or just about $1452 a month. Keep that number in mind…

Another number that crops up regularly when discussing cruising budgets is the $500 a month cruising budget, which has been a thing since I was in college. I’ll point out that in those days, a Snickers cost a nickel. Think about that for a moment or two.

Now, here’s the funny thing; a lot of cruising budgets I’ve read by cruisers who are on more expensive boats than lowly VolksCruisers still use the $1000 and $1500 as their target budgets. Too often, the thing that keeps them from achieving those budget goals is the added costs generated by a larger, more expensive boat with complicated systems. They still seem to get by on near-poverty level expenses, showing how affordable living and cruising on a boat can be.

Even more telling is that even with inflation and all that, some folks are still getting by on close to the $500 a month zone. Certainly not for everyone, but I’d love to learn just how they manage it.

Which is all a roundabout way to trying to define what sort of financial budget makes sense for a couple cruising on a sustainable finite budget. As well as what sort of boat needed to make it happen.

We’ll look at a couple of examples next…

What it costs and empowerment from a surprising source....

In my RSS inbox today there was another “is the cruising life for you” themed podcast. Which apparently answers all your needful questions like “What’s it all going to cost?”.

The thing is, I don’t feel the need to check out the podcast in question because it will just be a regurgitation of the same old same.

On the “what’s it going to cost” front, I recently concluded that the oft-given answer of “whatever you have” is the worst answer ever. We should center the question not on what it costs, but more on what you are willing to spend.

The universal thinking on cruising and boat costs treats the average cruiser or boatbuilder as being clueless, stupid, and unable to live on any kind of budget of their own making. While a lot of boat folk and cruisers I’ve come across match that description, it is not the majority.

Now folks of scant means (spelled lower income) have a significant advantage, as they know it’s a hard world, people have to make do, and living on a budget is a fact of life.The choice between buying a $1,200 CAL 34 that needs a bit of work or a $69,000 Pacific Seacraft that also needs some work, our scant resource guy/gal understands what they can afford and fits their budget.

A lot of the email I get asks me about what I think of certain sailboats and whether they should get one type of boat or another. Whenever I get this sort of question, the first thing I ask is what their disposable income is and what sort of boat/cruising budget they envision for themselves. Sadly, some find the basic idea of being on a budget something of an insult, as only poor people have to live on budgets.

The simple fact is that everyone’s on a budget, whether they know it or not.

Off-hand, I find the idea of living within a budget both needful and empowering. I know what I can afford, and it keeps me away from adverse monetary surprises.

Take that $1200 CAL 34 for instance, It needs a little work, but if I were going to buy it, I’d make sure I have enough set aside for the boat, a full-on refit, and all the other expenses involved in turning it into a cruising boat.

I’ve lost track of the number of well-off folks who have bought a boat and then complained about the surprises they come across in the rehab that added thousands of dollars and weeks/months/years to their project. Turning it into just another hole in the water you throw money into.

Since the less well-off have the advantage of both knowing what their budget is and how to get by. They know surprises are part of the game and have budgeted or sorted out workarounds. They get on with the job at hand.

Of course, for budgets to work, you have to be honest with yourself and realize the difference between what you can afford and what you can’t. A lot of folks I know have a genuine issue on this front. As a result, they find themselves far too often with a project or lifestyle beyond their means.

Armed with a bit of homework and choosing a project within your budget and skills makes all the difference. A budget done right empowers you and makes achieving your goals a lot easier. Knowing what you can and cannot afford in the long term is a great asset rather than something that cramps your style or inhibits your freedom. It is the key factor that defines the difference between success and failure where cruising and boat projects are concerned.