What I'm thinking about...

One problem with sailboats used for cruising is they're all pretty much designed for weekend and vacation use rather than serious cruising. Which, when you think of it, makes all kinds of sense because that's how 95% of people who buy boats will use them.

Of course, for the 5% that are going to use sailboats for extended cruising and suchlike we sorta/kinda have some problems...

One of the reasons so many people cruise in bigger than needful boats is the simple fact that what passes for a normal sailboat design ignores good stowage and weight distribution in favor of more berths and and wasted space. That said, moving up to a bigger and more expensive boat to get more stowage is still somewhat problematic as bigger comes with a lot of wasted space. as a big part of the mix.

Which, I suppose, brings us right back around to the whole need/want thing.

One design, by Tad Roberts, I've seriously been considering building is his Laura Cove 28 because it covers most of the stuff on my need list...

It's already pretty close to what I want...

But more about that later...

A quick thought about a couple of extra knots...

Tad Roberts has a new design in the works which, I expect, I'll be telling you a lot more about in the next week or so, but for the moment, I'd just like to point out something important about it and boats in general...

Speed: 6.5 knots with 15HP outboard, 9 knots with 40HP

A little extra speed's expensive, isn't it?

Not only is the cost of a 40HP outboard a lot more expensive than a 15HP outboard, it's going to use a whole lot more fuel in the process and its upkeep will be costlier as well.

Of course, everyone wants to go just that little bit faster... Don't they?

Offhand, it seems to me when the gain seems meager compared to the cost of attaining it, you might want to take a long hard look at your priorities.

Just saying...

and because simple really is simple...

Over at TriloBoat Talk, Dave Z has a must read post that anyone contemplating building or rehabbing a cruising boat should read...

I'll wait.

I'll go against the prevailing wisdom and point out that it's really pretty easy to build or rehab a boat and well within the abilities of anyone who can chew gum and walk at the same time. Really it's all simple DIY kind of stuff. Just a whole lot of it.

The problems most people run into are self-induced of the making-a-simple-thing-complicated sort.

Take this boat for example...

Tad Robert's Laura Cove 28

Or, this one...

Yann Quenet's SKROWL 900

And then there's this one...

Dave Z's TriloBoat

They are all pretty cool boats and should not cost you any more than $15K to build or take any longer than six months of fairly simple but industrious work. All you have to do is follow the plans and simple directions.

The only reason it would cost you more or take longer would be self-inflicted and has nothing to do with the designs, boatbuilding, or the relative weight of air in your chosen location.

A simple boat, simple skill set, and the ability to complete simple tasks in a timely manner is all you need.

The only thing holding you back is, well, you...

a great VolksCruiserish design of the coastal variety...

The fact of the matter is not everyone needs to cross oceans in which case this sort of VolksCruiserish design makes all kinds of sense...

Seriously, a boat like this could take you from Nova Scotia all the way down to the Caribbean (or if you're of the West coast tribe, Alaska to Central America)... What's not to like?

Tad Roberts has this to say...

She is about the most basic possible liveaboard coastwise cruiser for two people. The great loop, inter-coastal waterway, and the great lakes are her haunts. Some plywood, an outboard, one mast and a sail, and away you go. The cabin is full width and 13’3” long; there are large storage areas forward and aft. The mast folds in a tabernacle and is unstayed. She could carry a dipping lug sail or the Chinese balanced lug. She will sail to windward but will not point high, reaching and running will her best points.

The raised deck sides are intended to be full length plexiglass. Down below is a large galley on port, with private head and heating stove opposite. There is room for a composting toilet. Forward is a raised (windows at eye level) U-shaped settee berth. My though is that the table folds in half athwartships, so that an athwartships double can be left made up forward and leave two seats aft at the table. If you’re having guests for dinner, unfold the table and pull the filler cushion, and dinning for 8. More storage plus a huge water tank is under the settee.

Speed under power will be in the 6-7 knot range, depending on final weight.

This boat actually makes a whole lot of sense. More info from Tad can be found here.

Of course, I'm sure if you wanted something along these lines in a bigger version that Tad would be more than happy to oblige...

So, what about that Tad Robert's scow cat schooner?

Here's a glimpse of the interior accommodation...

What Tad has to say about it...

From the transom, four feet of cockpit with outboard well in the sole. Storage lockers port and starboard under the seats, each one is 24 cubic feet. A large locker under the forward cockpit sole, for gas cans, spare outboard, crab trap, other messy crap.

Through the hatch, down three steps, first section is 4' fore and aft. Head to starboard, navigation table/office over huge ice box to port. Next section is 3.33', galley counter port and starboard, storage under. Heater set into/under the counter on starboard side. Next section 6.67', seat/berth port and starboard, table between, shelves behind. Next forward, 5' fore and aft, full width of the boat, double berth. Watertight bulkhead with 120 cubic feet of storage in the bow.

Daggerboards will be vertical outboard of the settees. Centerboards can be a larger one forward of the mainmast under the table and a small trim board in the cockpit sole. Or a larger board aft the mainmast (in the way) with a small one forward under the berth.

Hopefully more on this boat sooner rather than later.

some more quick thoughts on designing a VolksCruiser that makes sense...

Now that you've had some time to think about the lug schooner rig (though we'll be coming back to it in a post or two) let's look at the other big chunk of a budget for a cruising boat...

The engine.

Of course, it's been proven that a couple can cruise pretty well on a small boat without an engine. Lin and Larry Pardey being the obvious example but over the years we've come across a lot of cruisers who have successfully cruised boats without engines. I won't get into it but Jay FitzGerald makes a great case for the engineless sailboat in his book Sea-Steading and it's well worth the read.

Tad's lug schooner has an outboard in a well. Tad did not mention what size motor to me but I suspect it's either a 6, 8, or 10HP (at the moment we're more than happy with a 6HP on our CAL 34). It's a simple and afforadble solution to the auxilliary power problem and has a lot of advantages over an inboard diesel engine. It's lighter than an inboard, less expensive than an inboard, less prone to problems than an inboard, and in the event that you do have a major problem a lot cheaper to fix/replace than an inboard.

What's not to love?

Well, outboards do have some issues...

For one, deploying an outboard on a sailboat is always a pain in the butt hassle. Whether it's in a well or on the transom it is going to be problematic to get the prop in the water and start the engine. Most folks with outboards simply don't bother and just become better sailors simply to avoid having to deploy the outboard in anything less than needful situations.

Secondly, outboards are not as efficient as an inboard diesel which becomes severely problematic if you want a motor boat with sails and are one of those folk who tends to turn on the motor when the wind lessens a touch or simply can't be bothered to take your sail covers off. For sure outboards don't make sense if you want to make long passages under power. I might also add that if you really want to make long passages under power that sailboats don't really make that much sense either.

Lastly, outboards use gas and most of us don't like carrying a lot of it around and stowing the stuff safely can be a hassle but, I expect that Tad will have some super cunning storage plan for stowage of a couple of outboard tanks (and maybe a jerry can as well). Of course, being a sailboat you won't be needing silly amounts of fuel because you're going to be making passages under, dare we say it... sail.

So far we have an inexpensive but powerful rig and a capable affordable auxiliary propulsion system... Find out what else is on offer next time.

Some quick thoughts on designing a VolkCruiser that makes sense...

I was recently involved in a discussion about what features a boat should have to be a successful VolksCruiser... It was a problematic enterprise.

The hard part in discussing an enterprise of frugality in a consumerist world is that there is almost always a certain disconnect of logic. Face it, anyone with a consumerist mindset answers to all problems is to spend money...

For instance, I was advised that to save money on water (we spend 10 cents a gallon) I should spend around $5000 for a good watermaker (plus an unspecified amount for maintenance and replacement parts) and that would save me loads and loads of money. Then again, if you were to factor in the amount we actually spend for water a year (less than $200) the idea of a watermaker actually saving us money becomes a rather ludicrous endeavour.

Sadly, far too much of the "you need this/that to go cruising on a budget" advice tends to fall into the ludicrous category.

So let's look at a boat that actually seems to get it right...

Today we'll look at the rig and see how not spending money helps it be a better cruising boat.Tad Roberts chose the balanced lug for this design and it makes a whole lot of sense

For starters it's a free standing rig which done right is, as things go, inexpensive simply because you're deleting a lot of expensive standing rigging from the picture. There's no wire, stayloks, or $90 an hour riggers to contend with. Even better, no standing rigging means no standing rigging maintenance or failure while you're cruising. On the performance side no standing rigging means less wind drag (or noise) with the downside being a couple of points less performance to windward.

The schooner rig with lug sails is small enough in area that you also don't need any deck jewelery of the winch sort... Another huge savings of money. With a few blocks, any healthy person should be able to raise the sails and trim them without any added mechanical advantage, That said, a couple of small (say size 10) winches for the halyards picked up at a swap meet for cheap would be no bad thing but the bottom line is they simply are not needed just a nice touch.

Lug sails (whether junk or western lug) are fairly easy to home-build, easy to repair, and don't require any expensive sail-handling gear purchases. In terms of horsepower to dollars ratio, the western lug rig is nearly at the top of the list (FYI for those of a Bermudan rig bent the Bermudan rig can be found way down near the bottom).

Last, but not least, the masts, booms, and yards are all DIY friendly so you're not going to to have to pay high marine pricing for the rig.

So, in essence, Tad's put together a very seaworthy, powerful, and affordable rig by getting rid of stuff you don't really need.

This rig makes a lot of sense.

Next we'll be looking at some more choices made on this design...

Did simplicity just become Hip?

Yesterday, over at Boat Bits, I mentioned a French boat I like that I thought was overpriced... Then again, some astute observers might point out that I think almost all boats are seriously overpriced. I'm just that kind of guy...

As it happens, the Mojito 888 is a great boat for folks of the VolksCruiserish persuasion to study because its simplicity of interior construction and design should make for a very inexpensive solution to fitting out a homebuilt boat or rehab project.

For instance, just check out the galley...

It's real simple... There's plenty of room for the pots/pans, utensils and tools you actually need/use and with a little tweak or two could be a whole lot better. The important part is that it's simple, does not use a lot of expensive material, and can be built in a long weekend. Fact is, there's not a single chunk of the interior of this boat that can't be built in a weekend or so.

Of course, this sort of simplicity flies in the face of the prevailing mindset where where folks are trying to make boats into houses, luxury condos, or shrines but, as far as I'm concerned, if I wanted a house I wouldn't be on a boat.

As far as the Mojito goes, they got the simplcity right but somehow forgot to apply it to the price... Bummer that. On the other hand, the fact that it is a bit pricey as well as being the Voile Magazine "Boat of the year", will give simple seaworthy interiors a certain "Hipness"factor...

Now if you were to apply a nice simple interior to Tad Robert's new 28-foot scow schooner you'd be way ahead of the game...

I'll be talking a lot about Tad's new schooner in the next few posts...

Two scows to keep an eye on...

For those who don't think a boat can be built quickly, you might want to check out the small cruising scow currently being built by Yann Quenet and his ongoing photo coverage of the process...

Of course, for our purposes Yann's SKROWL is too small for our VolksCruiser purpose but it would certainly scale up nicely and an 8 meter version would not take very much longer to build all things considered.

Speaking of scaled up scows we're all waiting on some new glimpses of Tad Roberts upscaled Harry or H38...

Cool stuff...

Well, will you look at this...

Tad Roberts kicking some serious ass...

You can read more about it here!

Some short list musing...

Remember I talked to Tad Roberts recently and how he's working on a new series of frugal Future Cruisers in 28 - 54 foot...

The 28-foot Future Cruiser is everything a couple needs but, I expect, most folks would be more interested in the 34 or 38 foot versions. Personally I expect the 38 footer would be on my short list (all those guitars have to go somewhere) but I'll admit that the concept of a really simple 54-foot design along these lines has me some kind of interested... That said, in the 38-foot Future Cruiser I'd more than likely make some changes (which is half the advantage of building your own boat as nothing is set in stone as long as you're willing to accept the possibility of getting it wrong)!

What changes would I make? Well for one, I'd look seriously at bringing out the coachroof to the hull sides as I've always wanted a flush deck boat (White Squall, the one-off CAL 40 is, and has always been, in my top five favorite boats) and the added strength would be no bad thing. I like the rig as drawn but I can't help thinking that a high aspect balanced lug schooner with jib would seriously rock the house and surprise a whole lot of folks on a performance level... That said, just as it is, it is some seriously awesome boat! But, nothing goes on the short list till I've seen what Mr Roberts has in mind for the 54-foot Future Cruiser! For those who want a glimpse at the wonderfulness that is White Squall...