Shoestring Sailors (Cruising on $500 per month - part II)

[Azul]

Originally Posted by atoll

no way your $500 a month is going to last looking after her,unless she is your sister......in which case can i have her phone number

ps nice job on the refit

Actually she looks after me and even provided the boat slip as my budget is only $300 a month. But I have to do a lot of cooking and massages ha.

[sailorchic34]

Got to love that $12 a quart paint. It holds up pretty good too... When your in the sub $600 a month range $12 paint is the good paint.... Nice looking boat.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Azul

Just to show it really is possible to get a nice 34 foot boat for the price of a family vacation, here are before and after pictures of my 1968 Cal 34. At $4300 it came with a 250 hour Yanmar diesel, new wiring, radar and chartplotter, roller furler, good sails, 16K BTU AC, numerous nice modifications like Edson wheel steering and short boom conversion but was cosmetically a disaster.

After a year of work with advice gained from reading CF, and on the shoestringiest of budgets without any unusual expenses and only a few surprises- just loads of epoxy, paint and sandpaper- I have a boat I would be willing to take anywhere and which routinely goes offshore. Under power it burns 0.5 gal of diesel to go 8 miles. Also it went from being one of the ugliest boats in a 90 slip marina to one of the nicest.

I think my $400 inside and out paint job (RustOleum Marine Gloss) looks pretty decent especially since I painted the hull from a kayak. And since it isn't awlgrip I can repair any dings myself essentially for free. After six coats, it now only takes 4 oz of $12 per quart paint and 4 oz of mineral spirits to roll and tip another coat on.

Total investment: maybe $6000 including a 290 W solar system and new batteries.

What a fantastic job you have done.

[Group9]

[Azul]

Thanks for all the nice comments but I believe this type of project is within the means and abilities of anyone who has a passion for living on the water and who is willing to learn to work with their hands. Here are a few more "ugly duckling" pictures... almost every marina has a few of these neglected boats. Many are not worth saving, but the 1960's classic plastics with good bones, all the bits and pieces intact and a good engine can usually be restored if you have more time than money. The old fiberglass hulls are incredibly strong. Consider soft deck areas an extra 60 hours of work and a few hundred dollars of supplies but not a deal breaker as many people state, even a five year old production boat can have this problem if every deck penetration is not sealed in the fashion Compass Marine outlines.

Next project: a 1963 Boston Whaler 13.5 Classic hull ($700 in great usable condition with a nice trailer) mated to a 1989 Yamaha 40 ELN engine from a bass boat ($450 and looks brand new under the cowling.) I have enough room in my slip to leave it in the water to use as a "dinghy." How many $1200 dinghies can go 40 mph with 4 people and be used to water ski and fish inshore? And yes the gf is funding the project (I was satisfied with my free sit on top kayak) after I had her take a ride in Warren's new 10' $3400 unflatable across the channel and into Taylor's Creek. She didn't like sitting on the wet floor with spray in her face at 8 mph. Thanks Warren!

[captain58sailin]

You are the example of the "Can do" spirit that will be an inspiration to a lot of people here. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

You are the example of the "Can do" spirit that will be an inspiration to a lot of people here. Thanks for sharing your experience.

+1

and that yer not necessarily condemned to single handing..........

[o_q]

Originally Posted by Group9

A man with all your stuff?

I like girls and I like boats. Girls are way, way, way the more expensive to operate and maintain of the two.

On a subconscious level, you are valuing your money more than yourself. The decisions you make reflect your beliefs.

The women who want to stay with you are staying because of who you are. Your beliefs about how expensive women are, as well as any other belief will leak out, not as words, but as a vibe. And the women who stay with you will perpetuate your belief of women because they are the only women you experience.

[Wrong]

Originally Posted by o_q

On a subconscious level, you are valuing your money more than yourself. The decisions you make reflect your beliefs.

The women who want to stay with you are staying because of who you are. Your beliefs about how expensive women are, as well as any other belief will leak out, not as words, but as a vibe. And the women who stay with you will perpetuate your belief of women because they are the only women you experience.

[o_q]

Originally Posted by Wrong

Your emotions are too complicated for me

[Blue Crab]

Originally Posted by o_q

On a subconscious level, you are valuing your money more than yourself. The decisions you make reflect your beliefs.

The women who want to stay with you are staying because of who you are. Your beliefs about how expensive women are, as well as any other belief will leak out, not as words, but as a vibe. And the women who stay with you will perpetuate your belief of women because they are the only women you experience.

Cap, no one to read this crap. Seriously.

You are officially my ignore list.

[o_q]

Originally Posted by Blue Crab

Cap, no one to read this crap. Seriously.

You are officially my ignore list.

lol
I had no idea you'd get this offended, or offended at all.
Perhaps me explaining makes it all sound a bit dodgy. Let me rephrase: How many guys think of women is a self fulfilling prophecy.

[Travelnik]

Originally Posted by o_q

lol
I had no idea you'd get this offended, or offended at all.
Perhaps me explaining makes it all sound a bit dodgy. Let me rephrase: How many guys think of women is a self fulfilling prophecy.

I think a self-fulfilling prostitute is a bit of an oxymoron!

I mean, it's not like she's going to be paying herself for fulfilling her desires.
She's out for money!

There's no way that it can be self-fulfilling then!




Oh, you said prophecy....



Never mind.

[Group9]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

You are the example of the "Can do" spirit that will be an inspiration to a lot of people here. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Yes! No telling how many people will read his posts and be inspired. It inspired me, and I already have a sailboat.

[sneuman]

My philosophy has always been - if it's broken, don't be afraid to take it apart. What's the worst that can happen?! It's already broken. 60 percent of the time, I can fix it and put it back together; 30 percent of the time, I can't fix it (or realize it's not worth fixing) and throw it away; 10 percent of the time, I can't fix it and can't get it back together -- so go to a pro with the pieces for him/her to fix.

100 percent of the time, I've learned something, even if it's that I can't fix a particular marine dohicky by myself.

Also: a few things I'm sure have been mentioned many times before.

A) Don't be afraid to go shopping at Dumpster Marine. Everything is free and a lot of it is surprisingly functional, though some of it smells like rotten fish.

B) Never buy fenders. Fenders are native to marinas. They will approach your yacht timidly, where they can be easily snared with a boat hook. Don't be tempted to throw the small ones back. They take patience to catch, but they are plentiful. Rinse, repeat. Keep the best ones, give the others away.

C) Hoard all line and cordage. People will laugh as you cut out the bad parts of bits and pieces of line, burning and whipping the ends. But those same people will come knocking for a spare line when preparing for the next hurricane or nor'easter.