Cruising on $500 per Month . . .

[Nemo55]

Thanks Bluefuss,
My old Dad was an International Chef, and My old Mum was in Catering all her life, so i come by it honestly.
And i am a holy terror when i am in a Restaurant, if i pay good money i expect good quality.
If i want fast food, i chose to travel to a fast food outlet,but i wont accept substandard from what is supposed to be a good eatery.
Actually i get a kick out of watching "Diners Drive ins and Dives,,i shoulda been a food critic.

I am always willing to share recipes, just ask away!!

[Bluefuss]

Well Nemo i'll be in Mission next week to visit my daughters so how bout u let me buy u a pint or two and u can recommend a couple new recipies?

[callmecrazy]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

The fundamental compromise with restaurant food (even the high end ones) is that the menu / plate must be designed to be capable of being made and served in fairly high volumes, and much of it within limited a timescale.....and to the tastes of many people.

Of course that means absolutely fantastic meals can be created (but not always / usually?) - but also it means that restaurant food is by design self-limiting.

The big advantage that a home cook working on a small scale has over any restaurant Chef (no matter how many Michelin Stars ) is being restricted only by own imagination & talents - with having no timescale dictated by others............of course results may vary , so not always Michelin starred quality - but can easily be better .

Very true.

I don't usually eat at Michelin rated restaurants, but I get the picture that even Lagasse's place in NOLA, at over $100 a meal, wouldn't compare to the real deal home cooking in the cajun lowlands I had a thanksgiving meal there once, when I first moved to Louisiana, that completely changed the way I'll cook for the rest of my life Cajuns are masters of making use of simple ingredients (as well most poor indigenous peoples are, but these are french indigenous people!)

Of course, I don't always cook cajun flavors, I like asian foods for much of the same reasons. And simple italian meals, and the ghetto fashion mexican cooking I learned from a long-lost girlfriend But they all share the same theme of simplicity, fresh ingredients, and robust flavoring (except the italian meals which use much simpler flavors, but magical combinations of two or three ingredients).

The reason most restaurants suck, is they are just copying from someone else and the quality of ingredients is rarely truly fresh (except maybe the 4 star restaurants, but again, who actually eats there?). Couple that with the fact that they are forced to overcharge just makes it rarely worth it.

I'm still an american and I enjoy the foods I grew up with, but hot-dogs and macaroni just don't fit the health budget these days I eat at the marina restaurant once in a while when they have a good special ,like half priced burgers every monday!. They have the third best burger in town, but even then, I walk away wishing I would have just got a pound of beef at the market, and a six pack of beers, and done it myself.

Restaurants (and bars) serve only two purposes. One is to feed the lazy. And the other is provide superficial camaraderie for the loney.

[Nemo55]

Well,,gimmee an idea of what your favorite things to eat are, and i'll try and accommodate with some tried and true goodies.
I make my own Marinades as well,,,my own garlic butter,,need the info,,,throw me a Bone why dont ya,,,

Originally Posted by Bluefuss

Well Nemo i'll be in Mission next week to visit my daughters so how bout u let me buy u a pint or two and u can recommend a couple new recipies?

[zeehag]

places i eat are minus 5 stars but have exceptionally good food. they are not on the beaten path and involve home cooked foods out of usa. the 5 star restaurants are pricey and overrated.
i have learned to make all kinds of items not found in stores, and i am working on more --- is interesting and fun to have a broad base for cooking boaty foods that are quick, flavorful and easy to make.

[Bluefuss]

Originally Posted by Nemo55

Well,,gimmee an idea of what your favorite things to eat are, and i'll try and accommodate with some tried and true goodies.
I make my own Marinades as well,,,my own garlic butter,,need the info,,,throw me a Bone why dont ya,,,

As long as its healthy my favorite thing to eat is food I've gotta run but will send u a PM and hopefully we can share a pint and some conversation next week.

[avb3]

Originally Posted by Bluefuss

If Nemo and avb3 were to get together and write a cooking/lifestyle book, I would pay money for a copy. In the meantime maybe just a new thread to teach me how to feed myself without boring myself to death, on a budget.

Like Nemo, I had a bit of a health scare 8 years ago. Among other things, doc says get down to 221 (I laughed said ain't gonna happen, now I am only 7 lbs away) and referred me to a dietitian.

She came up with what was great advise. She had me write down all the things I love to eat, no matter if they were good bad or indifferent.

Then we sat down, kicked out the bad stuff, and she suggested I come up with ways to make the good stuff taste good. It helps I love cooking.

Now, it also helps that I never did like french fries, or any thing really that was fried (stir fries don't count). Got rid of the processed foods (ham being the exception), and viola, healthy diet.

And I cut back on some portions too.

As others have mentioned, there are a lot of commercial products that are easy and cheap to replicate, and so much healthier if you control the ingredients.

Now, if I could only cure myself of my addiction to peanuts, I would get to that doc recommended weight.

Naaaaaaa.... peanuts stay. A guy needs something to indulge in something, even if they have a bit too much fat.

[Bluefuss]

Well avb3, i too love to cook, and am not interested much unless its healthy. However I have been cooking for one for a long time now and it is really become a boring routine. I love it when my kids come to visit so I can actually enjoy the cooking experience. I'm heading down to the south coast to look at a boat and see my kids next week, maybe nemo55, urself and I can swap recipies and BS then.

[RonaldJ]

Originally Posted by goprisko

Hi,

As a circum-navigator, I offer this thread to everyone interested in cruising on a budget.

In this case the budget is $500 US Dollars per month...

This is a tight budget, and one we barely fit into, but the sort of budget necessary for
younger folks to cut ties and set off...

I offer the following break down of expenses for such a budget based upon a crew of two:

Food $ 150
Port Entry and Clearance $ 50
Entertainment $ 50
Sail maintenance $ 50
Fuel $ 50
Haulouts $ 50
Repairs $ 100
TOTAL $ 500

I am assuming a haulout every 3 years costing $ 1800 including paint and yard fees.

I am assuming Sail repairs will be done by the crew and $ 600 / year is set aside for
replacements

I am assuming the engine is used as little as possible, LPG is used for cooking and costs $12 / month the balance being fuel for the main engine, with the dink rowed or sailed.

I am allowing $1200 / year for repairs and up grades to the boat itself.

My entertainment allowance is based upon potlucks.. inviting guests aboard for tea..
limiting drinks severely.

The food budget assumes meat is a luxury, bread is baked aboard, legumes and vegetables are the bulk of the diet, and dining out is a rarity.

Now... what sort of boat makes sense for this kind of cruising???

If we look at those who went on such budgets... the Pardeys for example... we find
the following characteristics...

Tiller steering
Heavy Displacement and 24 - 32 ft OAL
Masthead cutter rig
aft cockpit
hard dink which is rowed or sailed
very small engine ~ 4 HP or none
Ice Box
Oil Lamps
Paraffin stove
Virtually NO ELECTRONICS
Paper Charts

Wanderer III, Taleisn, Seraffyn, the Southern Cross 31 fit this category..

Your comments and suggestions are welcome..... and PLEASE examine the below
photo to reinforce why you might do this...

INDY

I thought you were being pretty damn stingy...'till I got to the pictures at the end.......perhaps we could shave a few bucks off the sail repair????

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by callmecrazy

It's really not that difficult, and personally I don't find it uncomfortable at all. The only thing uncomfortable is the boat repair stuff, but eventually that will end and the cruising will begin.

Oh yeah. Boat repairs not necessary once the docklines are tossed....

Just messin' with ya. Glad you are budgeting to make it happen. It is frustrating though that communicating (cell bill) is 8-10% of you $500-650 budget.

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by RonaldJ

I thought you were being pretty damn stingy...'till I got to the pictures at the end.......perhaps we could shave a few bucks off the sail repair????

Don't get too excited, a couple of the pictures look pretty old too me. I'm guessing 20 years ago.

[Blue Crab]

Now that was some fun reading! Seriously.

I don't cook which is not to say I eat out but that I eat poorly. Bring on the SIMPLE recipies. And I'm guessing you guys don't have refrigeration. Best to start a new thread.

Women have cost me a fortune. Not so the dog. Sex is about the same: no dehumidifier needed.

I have the same Walmart ( I swear I hate them too) cellphone deal as CMCrazy, tho I have some limits at $33/mo with net access. A great deal.

CMC: "In the next week or two I'll be buying a $350 anchor."

As everyone on CF knows, Rocna is BY FAR the best anchor. It's 50 times better than a Bruce. Maybe 150 times.

I now bump the thread that will not die.

[Wavewacker]

Well, I have not read all 2927 posts, sorry

My problem would be staying entertained.

I'm beginning to see what accounts there are, a dollar amount to maintenance and expenditures that are out there.......great thread!

I see I need to dump stuff, my taxes, insurance, cigs and beer are more than this budget....I need to stop smoking anyway. caugh, caugh..

I'd like to see the reciepts too!

Fuel costs don't seem to be much for most of you, how is that going to change this summer at probably $6.00+ a gal at a marina? Poor trawler guys, but hey, anyone with a newer Nordhaven or Egg can probably afford it anyway!

I have read that the best way to go is without gadgets, no A/C, no freezer, no hot water heaters and pressurized plumbing....that keeping it simple keeps costs way down.

That's where I get scared sorta.....so I'm looking for simple systems, maybe having a gen set for emergencies when temps get to 99 degrees. I do understand moving for better weather, but there are limits as New Yorkers were cooking last summer!!

Is buying ice all the time really better than running a gen set a couple hours a day and keeping the door closed on the fridge?

I can do solar showers, any other ways to save money on board in the head?

Laundramats are expensive, I used one for a few months at the lake and was floored at a buck and a half for a washer and dollar for about 20 minutes of drying. Then I put in a washer and dryer....

I'd really like to see what you guys eat without a fridge, an ice chest is like camping all the time, buy meat every couple days kinda thing, and that means cutting down on cruising time, heading back in for the grocery stores.....right? Got any tricks there?

I'm sure glad to see a bunch of you really have a great life on such a budget, if I can do that I'd be able to save more!

BTW, my liveaboard experience on a barge houseboat had a residential stove and fridge, a cooler under the bar and a hot water heater, so it just wasn't the same thing....

BTW2, why can't you make an achor at a steel fab shop from scrap?

It could die now, I'm a thread killer!

[downunder]

Originally Posted by tgzzzz

Now that was some fun reading! Seriously.



As everyone on CF knows, Rocna is BY FAR the best anchor. It's 50 times better than a Bruce. Maybe 150 times.

I now bump the thread that will not die.

Wrong. I think all but some ROCNA owners believe ROCNA have slipped with their metal standards since moving production to China relative to the other new generation anchors (Spade, Sarca, Manson) and especially now that Manson and Sarca have introduced new aledgely improved anchors.

Your coment should give new continued if distracted life to this thread.

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by downunder

Wrong. I think all but some ROCNA owners believe ROCNA have slipped with their metal standards since moving production to China relative to the other new generation anchors (Spade, Sarca, Manson) and especially now that Manson and Sarca have introduced new aledgely improved anchors.

Your coment should give new continued if distracted life to this thread.

Oh yea, let's turn this into an anchor thread! How about we add guns too? All within the $500 budget of course.