Cruising on $500 per Month . . .

[callmecrazy]

Originally Posted by tgzzzz

No argument about your current strategy or the bucket.

The idea is to live inexpensively but not without a certain elan.

Compared to a bucket, even a sea water pump is luxury.

Solar Shower? Not after you switch to a garden sprayer.

There was a poster last week I recall that said he'd/she'd never shower from a garden sprayer. Un huh, I'd like to get a bet on that.

On my boat, dink,etc, all systems are more or less improving all the time.

This isn't just about DOING IT!, cuz man, it's been done.

Bucket and chuckit?

It starts with a toilet seat on the bucket. Soon you're looking at composting or whatever. I'm looking at that. Can't be hard to make a toilet that doesn't flush.

I'm all for improving the boat. When I get money, it goes into the boat...

Unfortunately a $100 foot pump is very far down on the list. I have a pressurized fresh water system that I'd like to convert to foot pump before I worry about adding a second pump and thruhull to take the place of dipping a bucket in the ocean

It's really not that difficult to toss a bucket in the water and haul it back up once or twice a day. Not that I'd want to do that forever, but this is actually about 'DOING IT' and not about fixing up the boat to make things nice (not for me anyway). I know it's all been done before, but not by me...

[zeehag]

look for foot pumps used at marine swap meets lol is where all 5 of mine were 5 dollars per each. whale gusher and all...... never pay retail...LOL

[callmecrazy]

Originally Posted by zeehag

look for foot pumps used at marine swap meets lol is where all 5 of mine were 5 dollars per each. whale gusher and all...... never pay retail...LOL

oh definitely I'm an expert at not paying retail

I usually only get stuff when I come across it, or when I find the right deal on ebay...

[sailronin]

I don't know if it's been mentioned (didn't read all 1698 posts) but go to roryandcookie.com to see the ultimate in micro-budget cruising.
Rory CIRCUMNAVIGATED in (or on) a 21 foot Wharram Tiki catamaran which he built for 5000 Sterling (about $8000). He spent 3000 Sterling ($5000) for the five year RTW in which he visited 27 countries.

By my math that works out to about $83.33 per month!

Dave

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Doodles

How so atoll? Not enough suction on the engine side when both are open or drawing? I'm curious because this is the way mine is set up and so far no problems, but I haven't had the boat that long. The boat was previously Hal Roth's and its his setup. He was a big believer in the smallest number of thru hulls possible for obvious reasons. Nice picture of the set up in his book "How to Sail Around the World". He also had a Y-value on the engine intake that allowed him to draw from the bilge effectively make the engine another emergency bilge pump.

would depend on the intake size of the seacock,and also how far under water it is.
we tried it on a 33 ft thru a 1/2",result was hand pump losing its prime and as soon as vessell was rolling the tee created an air lock causing loss of cooling water whilst underway.

would probably have worked with a larger diam intake,further below the waterline and a non return valve on the hand pump side,but why take the risk of overheating the engine?

[Blue Crab]

Originally Posted by sailronin

I don't know if it's been mentioned (didn't read all 1698 posts) but go to roryandcookie.com to see the ultimate in micro-budget cruising.
Rory CIRCUMNAVIGATED in (or on) a 21 foot Wharram Tiki catamaran which he built for 5000 Sterling (about $8000). He spent 3000 Sterling ($5000) for the five year RTW in which he visited 27 countries.

By my math that works out to about $83.33 per month!

Dave

Thanks for the link Dave, but you have little standing here if you haven't fought, suffered, cried, whined, pontificated, been lectured to REPEATEDLY, asked to get off the thread, and start your own ... ad nauseum thru all 1700 wonderful posts. Get with the program.

[Mark Johnson]

My 1/2" ID throughhull for the watermaker intake has a strainer right after the seacock, and a "T" right after that. From here it serves either the watermaker OR the salt water washing "hip" pump. Each leg of the "T" has a ball valve in the hose, although both can be open at once. This works fine for us.

Unless one had a large throughull/seacock going to a manifold, I would be a little hesitant to "T" into the engine's raw water intake.

M.

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by tgzzzz

Thanks for the link Dave, but you have little standing here if you haven't fought, suffered, cried, whined, pontificated, been lectured to REPEATEDLY, asked to get off the thread, and start your own ... ad nauseum thru all 1700 wonderful posts. Get with the program.

And Dave don't forget to read pp. 28-36 ... those are very important and we need to review them often or so we are told.

[osirissail]

The first thing I spent money on in my first island harbor was a rain catchment canvas system. It is a major necessity unless you have unlimited diesel and power to run watermakers - which more times than not cannot be run inside harbors and anchorages due to water pollution.
- - The rain water catchment system can be incorporated into an awning but having a separate system for underway is the best. It is usual to see cruising boats with "jerry-cans" lined up on deck for fuel and for extra water storage. Caught rain water is stored in the jerry-cans and then filtered and put into the main tanks as needed and/or filtered and used for drinking/cooking.
- - Generally speaking, over time, water stored in tanks in the boat build up strange critters and organisms unless you keep using chlorine or H2O2 - which is a pain. So storing your drinking/cooking water separately is more convenient.

[callmecrazy]

Other than simply attaching a weight to a string, is there a 'proper' way to make your own lead line?

[zeehag]

the good ones had a space in bottom to sample the stuff under keel so ye know what yer anchoring in-- were made of lead with a lil loop on top for the string. was significant5ly sized string but still light enough to not hamper the downward fall of the bit of lead. i think the lead weighed one pound

[Mark Johnson]

Originally Posted by osirissail

The first thing I spent money on in my first island harbor was a rain catchment canvas system. It is a major necessity unless you have unlimited diesel and power to run watermakers - which more times than not cannot be run inside harbors and anchorages due to water pollution.
- - The rain water catchment system can be incorporated into an awning but having a separate system for underway is the best. It is usual to see cruising boats with "jerry-cans" lined up on deck for fuel and for extra water storage. Caught rain water is stored in the jerry-cans and then filtered and put into the main tanks as needed and/or filtered and used for drinking/cooking.
- - Generally speaking, over time, water stored in tanks in the boat build up strange critters and organisms unless you keep using chlorine or H2O2 - which is a pain. So storing your drinking/cooking water separately is more convenient.

You make some good points there, and I agree with some, however: Expense tradeoffs... Our water maker was already paid for 22 years ago, and I got it off of our previous boat, so cost "0". For others, a small one like the Power Survivor, can be gotten pretty cheep second hand. Ours has worked fine on the original membrane since '89. They are VERY reliable, and replacing all seals takes just 2 hours. (Twice in 20+ years).

BY using only 3 gallons per day... (drinking & washing for two) we have minimal water usage. By having a 2 cu ft "fridge only", insulated to = 7" thick, and ALL "small" energy efficient versions of the typical boat toys, we need less than 40 Ah per day.

This energy/water efficiency makes it where our solar panels power the boat 100%, topping the batteries daily, (giving them a 10 year lifespan)... We are solar powered for 90+ % of the year. (Only when underway for days, do we sometimes need to "occasionally" crank the 18 hp engine.)

It saves us a ton on the diesel "we didn't have to burn", and since we are sailing over 95% of the time, we save on diesel there too.

It is true that in some harbors you can't run the watermaker due to pollution. (We have a silt prefilter/booster pump, so that alone is not a problem) This has been less than 10% of them for us, and without fail, the polluted harbors fell in areas where "fresh" tap water was available onshore, (free or VERY cheap). In these polluted areas... This fresh tap water is often not safe, but it is fresh. This is when I use my Katadyne/ceramic Bacteriocideal filter, to remove bacteria, BEFORE it goes into the tanks. (This ceramic filter just gets brushed off, and last over 20 years).

Rain catchment off of the awning or bimini is a great supplement in rainy areas like Panama, but where we've cruised, rain is WAY too inconsistent to rely on for survival. FAR LESS RELIABLE THAN A WATERMAKER... We do save rain catchment for washing of ourselves/dishes and our clothes. It IS best strained into and kept in jugs, and if stored for a week or more, chlorinated.

With the watermaker... We top off our 30 gallons of tankage daily, early in the morning, (3 gallons worth) and if the machine ever does crap out, we have enough water stored for long enough to find a shoreside water supply.

We keep our rain catchment water, or shoreside acquired "questionable" or "slightly brackish" water in jugs. (we have 6 @ 2.5 gal) These are perfect to refill our 2.5 gallon black plastic (solar heated) garden sprayer. It has a dish washing nozzel and is perfect for two cockpit showers per day, OR for washing dishes in the cockpit footwell, out of a dish pan. Our cockpit footwell is counter height, just outside the companionway, adjacent to the galley.

As I have said, Your way obviously works for you AND the majority who do it that way. I'm not trying to sway anyone to my way of doing it, just point out that it also works. You will not see many folks using "my approach" successfully, without more hassle and expense. This is very true. It is not, however, because it is a failed concept, it's because they're not doing it the small, simple, energy efficient, solar self sufficient, (low to medium tech) way that I do it. If done correctly, by someone with the skills, it is reliable, inexpensive... figured over 20 years, and much more comfortable.

Mark

[capttman]

Originally Posted by callmecrazy

Other than simply attaching a weight to a string, is there a 'proper' way to make your own lead line?

My 1/2 inch bolt tied to a string knotted every two feet looks professional and works, did I mention it works..

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by callmecrazy

Other than simply attaching a weight to a string, is there a 'proper' way to make your own lead line?

Depends on how you want to use it. For use in reasonably shallow water and at rest or going very slowly just about anything will do... the aforementioned 1/2 inch bolt, etc on a marked string.

But if you want it to really replace a sounder, ie use it in deeper water or while under way, then something a lot heavier is required. To use it under way you must throw it far enough ahead so that the vessel does not move past where the weight is when it has reached the bottom. Thus enough weight to carry some distance and to sink rapidly was necessary. A considerable degree of skill was involved in being a leadsman...

And Zee is right -- the traditional lead had a recess in its bottom that was usually filled with sticky tallow. This would bring up a sample of the bottom for inspection... sometimes useful in determining one's position in the old days.

Me, I like an echo sounder!

Cheers,

Jim

[Kapena]

Size of a mono hull is important, 26 feet being too small to cruise, and way too slow. The 34 Cal is appropriate boat length, about minimum size, and a number are cruised. (JMO)

You can single hand ANY boat (reasonable), depending on how it is rigged, not on its size. Some boats are easy sailers and others are dogs that require a lot of crew. If it sails easy than you are more likely to move the boat, the others become marina queens. Most boats fit into a category, that in which is what they are designed for. Ocean, offshore, coastal. As the biggest market is for coastal that is where the largest number of boats will fit. It doesn't mean you can't go offshore with a coastal boat, it's just that it isn't designed for that. Cheaper hardware (the bulk of the cost of a boat), critical systems missing (tankage, watermaker, etc.), strength, ability to survive a knock down, a big list of things.