Ben Zartman BoatUS Magazine Article

[pressuredrop]

any of you here boat us members catch the article in the newest magazine by Ben Zartman about building out his cape george cutter 31 and cruising with his wife and 3 kids on under $500/month, thats right i said it, may not be what you lot consider cruising, but dont say it cant be done, i encourage everyone to check out the article...

[slomotion]

I haven't read the article. However, depending on where you cruise, what/where/when you eat and drink, fuel requirements, and what breaks on your boat, a couple can live on $500/mo. fairly easily - yeah, it may not be your idea of cruising. But, a family of 5 with 3 of them children - dunno. For many people boat and health insurance alone would be way over that budget. Maybe the author is Canadian?

[mike d.]

i believe the article was about their earlier adventures on a rebuilt production boat and in the 70s not what they are doing now! at least that is how i interpreted the article

[GordMay]

From Cruising World’s February 2010 issue:
➥
First Night Aboard - Cruising World

The Backyard Warrior (Ben Zartman) still has a few construction tales to tell, but for the record, 'Ganymede' was launched in the fall (2009) and is headed to the palm trees.

[Benz]

Hi all; I bumped into this thread while browsing for something else. Not sure if a person being discussed ought to chip in on his discussion, but here goes. I wrote the BUS article in question, and at the time of writing, we were cruising our home-finished Cape George cutter on a small budget. In all honesty, I have to say (now that we've been cruising for over a year) that while the $500/month number is intermittently possible, it does not seem sustainable for longer periods. We manage to come in on or under budget roughtly one third of the time, but the rising cost of checking in/out of different countries, (average $200) and the soaring price of gas (though we have a very inexpensive 8-hp 4-stoke outboard for the big boat and a rowing dinghy for a tender) causes gross overruns at times. So when trying to cover a lot of ground and see many countries all in a row, the price naturally rises a good deal. Incidentally, no health insurance. But with careful selection of places visited, and judicious spending habits, cruising can still be managed on a surprisingly low budget. It may not always be so, so get out there while you can!
Best,
Ben

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Ben.

Thanks for the update to your BUS article.

[pressuredrop]

Ben Z, thanks for poking your head in here, hope to hear more valuable insights from you on other related topics.

thanks for the inspiration,
Ben G

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by Benz

Hi all; I bumped into this thread while browsing for something else. Not sure if a person being discussed ought to chip in on his discussion, but here goes. I wrote the BUS article in question, and at the time of writing, we were cruising our home-finished Cape George cutter on a small budget. In all honesty, I have to say (now that we've been cruising for over a year) that while the $500/month number is intermittently possible, it does not seem sustainable for longer periods. We manage to come in on or under budget roughtly one third of the time, but the rising cost of checking in/out of different countries, (average $200) and the soaring price of gas (though we have a very inexpensive 8-hp 4-stoke outboard for the big boat and a rowing dinghy for a tender) causes gross overruns at times. So when trying to cover a lot of ground and see many countries all in a row, the price naturally rises a good deal. Incidentally, no health insurance. But with careful selection of places visited, and judicious spending habits, cruising can still be managed on a surprisingly low budget. It may not always be so, so get out there while you can!
Best,
Ben

Ben--

We have enjoyed reading the articles you penned up and following your progress--and especially seeing the snaps of you and your family. The only thing I winced at was your choice of rig although I cannot deny that a gaff does seem appropriate for the ship. Now that you've had her for awhile what is your impresion of the rig and, if you had to, could, do it over, would you?

Cheers,

s/v HyLyte

[pressuredrop]

Ben - keeping around $500/month for a family of 5 if mighty impressive, even if you do go over some months. At least it is a testament that is it is more then feasible for a single hander or frugal couple to cruise on said sum.

one more question i have... i appreciate the compromise you made in going with an outboard. i intend to do the same until i am comfortable enough going engineless. where did you mount the fuel tank for the outboard, above or below decks? i dont like the idea of putting it below decks, but cant really think of a good place topsides for it, wondering what your solution was?...

[Benz]

Hello HyLite,

There is no need to wince about the gaff rig; having been to sea and covered 4500 miles with it, I'm wondering how people sail with any other. It is simple, easy to hoist and set (I have no halyard winches, either), and with outhaul and topping lifts, the shape is very adjustable, even the shape when reefed. This silly Bermudian rig fad will pass eventually and boats will return to a sensible low-aspect profile above and a good long heavy keel below.
And Pressuredrop: I built a lazarette to house the fuel and propane tanks (aluminum, so no chance of sparks) that vents overboard, so is hermetically sealed from the rest of the boat. I carry about 15 gal of fuel, which gets me about 24 hrs of motoring with my Yamaha 8hp, high thrust, long shaft four stroke, which I highly recommend--though they now make a 9.9 of the same. But the 8-hp will push the 19,000lb Ganymede at 5kts through a calm, so I'm not really tempted to upgrade.
Ben

[DO335]

Hi Ben, just read your latest article in Cruising World and it reminded me of a similar outboard motor mount issue I tackled a long time ago and thought maybe you'd like to do something similar. I built a 31 ft Searunner Trimarran back in the seventies and I used a Honda 9.9 long shaft for my power. I found a similar from that you have, when the water is rough, the propeller jumps out of the water. To solve the problem I inserted an 14" extension on the motor to lower the propeller an additional 14". The housing for the extension was a simple welded structure I made and had a welder put together for me, I cut the drive shaft and shifting rod and extended them along with the water hose. The whole assembly worked great. I'm guessing you could do the same with your outboard. Another issue I worked out was connecting the outboard to the rudder so that I could tilt up the motor but never had to remove the linkage.

If any of this sounds interesting, I can send you some sketches of how I did it and you might be able to use my designs for your boat. If yes, send me an email to sj.haas@yahoo.com

Steve