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.

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.




.

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...

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.

An exercise in common sense and frugality...

I just realized that we've been using our DIY composting toilet without any issues or problems since 2009. which, if you do the math, adds up to twelve years. As it only cost around $100 that's a pretty good return on investment.

I mention this because the whole idea of VolksCruier is not about doing stuff on the cheap but more about coming up with better ways to do things while avoiding spending stupid money in the process.

Composting (and yeah, I know that composting toilets on boats don't really compost) toilets are a good example since they work better than MSDs, don't require holes in the boat, have near-zero maintenance, and can be built for next to nothing. Plus, I guess I should add that they don't smell as much as most MSDs.

For comparison, the only MSD I'd actually install on a boat I live on is the LAVAC which, in my opinion, is the best of the bunch. Of course, the LAVAC is a bit pricey at between $659-$780 plus the various needful bits not included (hose, holding tank, etc) add up to an installation that will run over a $1000 or so  and then there will be the ongoing cost of maintenance that in my experience works out to about $125 or so per year (seat seals and pump rebuild kits).

So, if I had installed a Lavac in "So It Goes" back in 2009 I'd expect to have spent at least $2500 to install and maintain it. Which, when compared to the total outlay for our composting head and the cost of peat moss/sawdust (maybe $100 over twelve years?) it would seem that we've saved $2300 or so by choosing the composting head with the added perq of never having to rebuild a fouled Henderson MK5 pump and replace gross nasty sewage hoses.

Which is a roundabout way of saying we chose the composting head because we thought it did a better job with the least potential problems or issues. The fact that it has saved us a couple of thousand dollars was really just a bonus.

Almost time to get to doing...

A quick update on the self-steering project. I now have all the various bits on island with the excepting of the needful wood which is just a dinghy row away.

So, hopefully, in the next few days I'll be getting the wood for the project along with a few sheets of plywood for a new dinghy build and be able to sort out the actual cost.

More about the actual self-steering design tomorrow...

The upside of DIY...

The other day a reader dropped me a line where the subject of DIY came up and he pointed out that, unlike me, he could afford to hire folks to do work for him and if you had to DIY you might want to consider something other than yachting as a lifestyle decision...

Not the first time I've heard that opinion and, I expect, most folks of the VolkCruiserish ilk will hear it as well.

What the reader in question doesn't quite get is that the advantages of doing work on your boat and its systems yourself has a great number of advantages which improve the sailing and cruising experience and the fact that it also allows you to save money in the process is just an added perk which is no bad thing.

Sadly, too many of the marine trades are not just over-priced but also woefully short on the needed skills that they charge you for. I've seen too many projects and repairs done by various contractors that not only did not fix the needful repairs but wound up creating more damage and problems that would be left for someone else to fix.  

An advantages of doing your own work is that you actually know how things are put together on your boat and that gives you the skill set to fix it when or if it needs to be sorted out. Sure there's a learning curve but it's a fairly easy one as almost all boat related work is just minimum wage level stuff mixed with common sense.

No rocket science involved.

Being able to handle maintenance and repairs is both empowering and adds greatly to the overall safety of the boat and its crew. Which, from where I sit, are the two most important reasons to get your DIY groove on.

Lastly, doing work that fixes things is mostly enjoyable and satisfying. Of course, not everyone enjoys all boat work and I'll be the first to admit I really do not like working on internal combustion engines as it's a UGH job as far as I'm concerned, Still, in spite of the UGH nature of working on engines, I find it especially satisfying when I'm able to fix one.

I'll also add that saving money is a game I really enjoy and the perks of doing my own work adds up to a considerable chunk of change in the process which makes DIY that much more enjoyable. Then again, some folks don't mind paying $4.99 for a  twenty-five cent machine screw and take pride in throwing around how much they paid for stuff as a badge of honor. Not sure where you stand on such things but the whole Boat Buck mentality seems somewhat questionable at best.

Oh yeah, on the whole yacht thing... I don't own a yacht, don't want to own a yacht, and cringe whenever I hear a boat described as a yacht or a person sailing it a yachtsman. So I'm not exactly the sort of person who would ever consider yachting as a lifestyle.

a couple of good $400ish deals...

So, here's a couple of interesting project boats someone might be interested in...

For starters there's a Crealock designed Ericson 26 selling for $400 bucks up in the no man's land between Port Townsend and Anacortes. The Crealock design is, in my opinion, a better boat than the Pacific Seacraft Dana. The beauty of a fixer-upper 26-foot boat is that even if the boat is in dire straights a full refit is not going to cost much more than $3K with a reasonable amount of sweat equity.

  

I've also noticed that there seem to be a few Bill Tripp Columbia 26's that need fixing up in the $400-500 dollar range that seem to pop up on a regular basis. So you might want to add "Columbia 26" to your Search Tempest list.

 

Either design is well worth checking out and more than able to take you most anywhere you'd care to go.

On the subject of sustainability...

SUSTAINABILITY

noun

1. The ability to be sustained, supported, upheld, or confirmed. 
2. Environmental Science: The quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological balance: The committee is developing sustainability standards for products that use energy.

 

The other day I found myself trying to explain the idea of sustainable cruising to someone and found the process a lot more complicated than expected. It is really a very simple concept and not complicated at all. Basically, sustainable cruising is simply just living within our means.

Simple right?

In hindsight, I've come around to the idea that maybe it's not all that simple. As it happens, the majority of folks I know actually don't live within their means or, to be more precise, are so close to the edge that any unforeseen dip in their income puts them into unsustainable territory.

Worse, it's not just a large percentage of individuals living in an unsustainable manner but the cities, states, and countries that they live in are also not working in a sustainable fashion. Even the world we live in is being run in a way that, considering it has finite resources but an ever-increasing population and demand on those resources, works on the premise that we can somehow continue population and economic growth forever without adverse effect.

So, considering that most everyone on the planet is not living within their means, it sorta/kinda makes the whole concept of sustainability something of a foreign concept to a lot of folks and yes, Dear Reader, a lot of those folks are interested in boats and cruising.

Which, I guess, also has a lot to do with not everyone quite getting the whole VolksCruiser concept which is really just about getting a boat and cruising off into the sunset in a sustainable fashion.

Some more on the subject soon come...

Speaking of sustainability...

on the subject of free boats...

Every once in awhile I'll get on Search Tempest and type in the words "Free sailboat" just to see what happens...

For instance, in Florida, there's a San Juan 24 without a working motor, another guy with a bunch of Catalina 22's, and a Seidelmann 30 footer in need of some work all going for free.

Up in Maine there's  a wood 30-foot Casey Cutter that would make an interesting project and in Erie PA there's a Pearson 28.

 

Of course, I'm pretty sure that if I used a different search terms like "fixer upper sailboat" or "Project sailboat" I might find a few more but the main thing is that there always seems to be some OK boats going for free among the thousands of sailboats for sale on Craig's List. 

The real trick in finding a good boat for free or super cheap is to look around for boats that have issues for the current owner. Most of the best boats I've seen going for free are not actually in bad condition but are boats that are costing the owner money to sit in a yard or at a dock which are not getting used or boats that have a single issue (say a motor that doesn't work) where fixing it would cost the owner more than the boat would sell for and the boat is still costing the owner for it's storage or marina slip.

For the most part a boat without a working engine or a mast is pretty much unsellable and while you'll find a lot of boats for sale without rigs or motors you will find that almost all of them will still be for sale next year, the year after that and, well you get the idea.

The thing is, it really helps you to put yourself in the owners shoes and do the math to sort out whether the boat in question is a liability  to the point that giving it away actually makes financial sense or not. Of course, the other reason you need to do the math is to figure out whether the boat would become a financial liability for you or not.

A few more thought on the subject tomorrow...

More on affordable multihulls...

Multihulls are HIP and as a result multihulls demand a higher price and this includes used boats. Which, I suppose, is good news if you happen to be selling a catamaran but bad news if you want to buy one. In my opinion, multihull prices are mostly inflated and don't quite reflect their actual value.

Here's an example;

I've been following an Iroquois 30 catamaran built in 1969 that has been for sale for ages at $45K but recently came down to $35K. Maybe it's just me but I think that either price is way too high for a fifty-two year old boat. As the Iroquois has a displacement of 6560 pounds that's right around $6.86 a pound at $45K and $5.34 at $35K.

As it happens, "So It Goes" is a 1969 CAL 34 and I also tend to track what the model sells for and, by my addition, a 1969 Cal 34 costs between $5K in OK condition to $20K where the boat is pretty much pristine. So, by my figuring, the average price of a good to very good CAL 34 hovers around $14K. That said, with a displacement of 9500 pounds the CAL 34 is a lot more boat than the Iroquois but sells less at $1.48 per pound. 

The big question for me is whether or not the hipness factor of a 52 year old geriatric catamaran is worth the extra cost. The fact is if you were to base the value of the Iroquois on its displacement which, by rights it should be you'd be able to buy the Iroquois for around $2 a pound which would be along the lines of $13K which is very close to several other Iroquois cats I've seen over the last few years.

Most builders I know tend to budget a sailboat based on how much it weighs and not so much on what you can sell the boat for. Working out what a boat is worth in terms of weight/displacement is a great way to sort out what you should be willing to pay for a given multihull.

So, what's a person going to do if he/she want a multihull on a VolkCruiser budget?

Well for starters, I'd take a look at smaller designs like the Heavenly Twins, Iroquois, and Prout Sirocco because they're good boats and long enough in the tooth and in a less-than-hip size to have a few out there at reasonable prices.

If those boats are a bit small for your tastes you might check what you can find in the 30-35 foot niche but be warned that deals are very few and far between.

While I've not mentioned multhulls of the DIY sort I'll go on record and say that finding an inexpensive multihull in the under 40-foot niche is, more than likely going to be a DIY boat. The downside is that a lot of folks consider home-built boats inferior and, to be honest, there's a valid reason as the old adage of...

"You build your first boat for your worst enemy, the second for a friend, and the third for yourself."

... which has more than a passing resemblance to reality and, as a result, there are some truly heinous examples of boat butchery laying in wait with a "For Sale" sign laying in wait for the unwary.

More on the subject of home-built designs, what they should cost and building yourself in the near future...

A couple of quick thoughts before we look deeper into that Ranger 26...

I'm pretty sure most everyone reading this realizes we live in a consumerist society. Fewer of those reading think that consumerism is out of control and a big problem for folks on a finite planet's ecosystem.

Everyone still seems to want that new-better-than-the-last-one iPhone. The other day I found myself being served in a Kmart by a minimum wage checker who had that very same brand new iPhone worn like so much bling on her belt and I could not help but wonder how someone working at a minimum wage job could afford one.

The answer, of course, is she couldn't.

The fact is that the pressure to consume is ever present on myriad levels and intense whether it's a phone, car, or boat. Way back when, I remember the phrase "You are what you eat" but today the more apt phrase should be "You are what you buy/spend".

Looking at various boating/cruising blogs and video channels you'd be blind not to notice a certain formula where folks decide to downsize and simplify their lives by buying a boat to go cruising.

So far, so good.

What usually follows this downsized/simplified state of affairs is an intense bout of consumerist mayhem because, when all is said and done, we are what we buy/spend...

A film you really might want to check out.


Face it, to cruise on a boat affordably in a sustainable manner you're going to have to shed the out-of-control consumerist monkey on your back.

More on the subject when we look at how we might turn that Ranger 26 into a workable VolksCruiser,

in the "relative cost of burgers" department...

The other day someone pointed me to a couple of Craig's List self-steering gears to illustrate the argument that it was impossible to sort out a cruising boat on a frugal budget.

One of the gears was a Hydrovane for $4K and the other was a Monitor for  $3.8K... Which, I suppose, means that if you find two expensive wind vanes that proves all vanes are expensive?

So, I got on Craig's List and spent ten minutes searching and found an Aires for $450, a Navik for $895, and an ATOMS for a kiss under $600. All of the gears appeared to be in very good to excellent condition. Such good condition in the case of the apparently pristine ATOMS that I was very tempted to call the owner and ask how much he would charge to ship it down the Caribbean because the ATOMS is a truly great windvane and, in my opinion, much better design than either the Hydrovane or Monitor.

Still, as it only costs me about $300 all up to build a vane it would not exactly be the frugal thing to do...

Think of it all like a hamburger. You could go to some super hip bespoke cafe and spend a hundred bucks on a burger, then again you could to someplace that makes great burgers for $12, and, lest we forget, you  can always buy the fixings for a super burger to grill at home for a whole lot less.

The fact is you can almost always make do with something up to the required task on a given budget if you just bother to do your homework and apply the need/want/utility test.

What everyone seems to do...

Have you noticed how many YouTube channels there are about people downsizing, buying a boat, fixing it up, and sailing off into the paradise of Patreon fueled bliss?

If not, you really should check them out because they are very educational for the most part.

One of the things you'll notice is there seem to be certain rites of passage that everyone goes through and rules of sorts that, like it or not, apply to the whole "Buying a boat, fixing it up, and sailing off into the sunset" gig...

Rule #1

Whatever boat you buy or how much you spend will require lots of work and money to fix up.

Rule #2

Everyone underestimates the amount of work and money needed.

Rule #3

Nothing involved in the process is rocket science and can be accomplished by just about anyone.

Rule #4

Everyone makes mistakes (though some make more than others).

Rule #5

Most people on boat projects don't do enough research/homework of the right sort.

 

Sure, I know, rules are never concrete things in this life but they do exist even if it's just to give us a hint of what may lie in store for us. Forewarned is forearmed so to speak. 

That said, rules often send the wrong message as the big picture does not always reflect a specific projects specific details. Especially if you're embarking on a VolksCruiserish project.

Yeah, VolksCruiserish rules are going to be a little bit different.

More about that on Sunday.