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

[sailorchic34]

Originally Posted by Wrong

Great news!


Am I correct in assuming you don't use/have a dinghy, and always take your sail boat to the dock? If so, how do you get past the 4 hour limit if an errand (like fetching engine parts) takes longer? I ask because you still haven't said where I'll be able to disembark from my kayak, only where I can 'probably' tie it up.

Anchor north or south of the bridge? Do the tows slow down for the bridge going through there? I've had my moments with passing barges/ships while anchored in the I.C.W. due to an emergency on one occasion, and on the advice of a tug captain to anchor in a 'cut' on another occasion. Scary stuff

Thanks so very much for your answers!

Oh I have a dinghy,well two kayaks that I use too. Used one today to get to shore. Most of the time, if I'm running to the store then I just tie up the boat . Easier loading and unloading that way. But depends where i am.

I anchor north of 37, though you could anchor between the highway and railroad bridge too. The tugs are going slow around the bridge Loaded they always move near high tide. empty they could come anytime. But generally only 2-3 a day max. Mainly sand and gravel barges for a cement company.

Actually there is ship traffic in the main rivers of the delta. but the sacramento is wide and easy to just anchor on the w/nw side of river sometime. The san joaquin gets a little narrow in places so keeping the eye out for ships is a good idea. Invariably I meet the ships in the narrows. Don't know way. Sailing to the delta is simple. Getting back to the bay, is alot of motoring. I've sailed parts of it back, but singlehanding with short tacks wears me out after a few hours. So I turn the key and put the button. Thankfully I just rebuilt my yanmar and it's back to running like a champ.

It can get a little choppy on the way back to the bay, if the winds are up and near max ebb. Easy to get 3-4' waves on 3 second period in a few places between pittsburg and port chicago. Long fetch there. That is always a fun ride. I try to motor that in the early morning before the winds come up. The first time I did that it was exciting. Now its just ho hum. Middle Slough will be flat water even at 35-40 knots.

[Airshac]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

I cannot quote the source, I think it was Hunter S. Thompson, but I am not sure. Maybe in his book "Where the buffaloes roam."

Yep it's Thompson.

[haiqu]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

When the going gets strange, the weird turn pro!

When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping!

[Wrong]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

Oh I have a dinghy,well two kayaks that I use too. Used one today to get to shore. Most of the time, if I'm running to the store then I just tie up the boat . Easier loading and unloading that way. But depends where i am.

I anchor north of 37, though you could anchor between the highway and railroad bridge too. The tugs are going slow around the bridge Loaded they always move near high tide. empty they could come anytime. But generally only 2-3 a day max. Mainly sand and gravel barges for a cement company.

Actually there is ship traffic in the main rivers of the delta. but the sacramento is wide and easy to just anchor on the w/nw side of river sometime. The san joaquin gets a little narrow in places so keeping the eye out for ships is a good idea. Invariably I meet the ships in the narrows. Don't know way. Sailing to the delta is simple. Getting back to the bay, is alot of motoring. I've sailed parts of it back, but singlehanding with short tacks wears me out after a few hours. So I turn the key and put the button. Thankfully I just rebuilt my yanmar and it's back to running like a champ.

It can get a little choppy on the way back to the bay, if the winds are up and near max ebb. Easy to get 3-4' waves on 3 second period in a few places between pittsburg and port chicago. Long fetch there. That is always a fun ride. I try to motor that in the early morning before the winds come up. The first time I did that it was exciting. Now its just ho hum. Middle Slough will be flat water even at 35-40 knots.

Thanks again. I've placed my boat to solicit bids for shipping on U-Ship. What I'm willing to pay is probably on the mark, however, requirement to let me ride along and launch my boat in Stockton fresh water at a boat ramp will prolong my search for a transporter.

[zeehag]

in high season here in tropical mexico i live in marinas in summer, and in winter, or high season when renting slips is thru the roof i anchor out and love it more than repairs at a dock.... in winter i spend less than 500 usd per month on foods and the rest i use for repairing my barge....in summer-- rent of slip takes up a 1/3 to 1/4 of expendble income. that is at lowest rate possible, for which i shop hard..oh yes..t he rates in tropical mainland mexico for marina slips is less by a long shot than in golfo de california ( gringoland..) so is a much better place to summer despite the threat of forming storms, which are easier to tolerate than already formed ones......

[Azul]

A few of the real budget busters I found when outfitting are the dinghy, motor and gifts for kids. My kids are used to getting things like cars for their birthdays, but they are adjusting to getting more "thoughtful" gifts.

I have been almost obsessed with dinghies for the past year. Bought an 8 foot custom fiberglass job with mahogany seats for $450 (the builder said he had $600 worth of materials in it.) A Danny Green chameleon homebuilt will likewise require about $600 of materials along with a month of labor. My girlfriend hates unflatables and I have found them to be horribly overpriced by most owners when used and unaffordable new. Think $2200 for a new 4 stroke 9.9. I sold the tippy dinghy with no motor, maybe good for kids only.

Here is my latest "super dinghy," a 1969 Boston Whaler Nauset with a good trailer and fresh epoxy paint for $750. The little Evinrude 9.5 is a 1973 model and looks like new under the cowling, it is a freshwater only engine used by its owners on yearly vacations to Canada. It was $325 and that included a fresh $150 complete maintenance with new impeller, fresh gear oil, new points etc. It starts first pull every time and is vintage enough for thieves to ignore. It won't get the 16 foot Whaler up on plane (14mph required) but it will plane my 13 foot whaler, which I also spent $700 on. I think it's going to look pretty nice in gloss white or marine blue, and the very nice $450 1989 Yamaha 40 I got off a bass boat will push it over 30 mph. Hmmm, now I need to find a nearly free console and helm seats and I could get back into offshore fishing on nice days...

So, for a little over a $1000 one can put together a 13 foot dinghy with a vintage 9.5 motor that will last almost forever with good maintenance, and have a trailer to put it on if needed. Note the bench seat, a friend of mine had his pool's diving board fail, I tried to fix it for him but it ended up being an outstanding bench seat when cut to size.

All of this is to say that it is quite helpful for the liveaboard sailor to look for bargains (good to have lots of free time,) buy used, appreciate vintage older equipment and be creative about upcycling materials.

[David_Old_Jersey]

I nearly bought a (cheap and old!) dory a few years back (16 foot?) - but I could not work out how to tell if she was full of wet foam (no weighbridge locally).......any pointers? (I likely never will buy one!, but I always liked the look of them ....so yer never know).

[Azul]

With the 13's it is pretty easy, just pick up one end and see if you can lift it. Mine had sat for 10 years on a trailer under a cover so I know it is ok. Also, the bottom was fairly pristine.

If the boat is on a trailer, the best way is to jack it up and drill a test hole in the bottom near the stern.

I read an article about a 13 that someone bought for $50 that was being used to hold up a mailbox for a joke, it weighed 700 pounds instead of 300 and was still wicking out water four years later in his garage, but down to 400 pounds.

Speaking of mailboxes, I saw this one near Lake Michigan yesterday when buying something off Craigslist for the boat. The owner also owned his own island (about 500x500 feet.)

[Wrong]

Originally Posted by Azul

A few of the real budget busters I found when outfitting are the dinghy, motor and gifts for kids. My kids are used to getting things like cars for their birthdays, but they are adjusting to getting more "thoughtful" gifts.

I have been almost obsessed with dinghies for the past year. Bought an 8 foot custom fiberglass job with mahogany seats for $450 (the builder said he had $600 worth of materials in it.) A Danny Green chameleon homebuilt will likewise require about $600 of materials along with a month of labor. My girlfriend hates unflatables and I have found them to be horribly overpriced by most owners when used and unaffordable new. Think $2200 for a new 4 stroke 9.9. I sold the tippy dinghy with no motor, maybe good for kids only.

Here is my latest "super dinghy," a 1969 Boston Whaler Nauset with a good trailer and fresh epoxy paint for $750. The little Evinrude 9.5 is a 1973 model and looks like new under the cowling, it is a freshwater only engine used by its owners on yearly vacations to Canada. It was $325 and that included a fresh $150 complete maintenance with new impeller, fresh gear oil, new points etc. It starts first pull every time and is vintage enough for thieves to ignore. It won't get the 16 foot Whaler up on plane (14mph required) but it will plane my 13 foot whaler, which I also spent $700 on. I think it's going to look pretty nice in gloss white or marine blue, and the very nice $450 1989 Yamaha 40 I got off a bass boat will push it over 30 mph. Hmmm, now I need to find a nearly free console and helm seats and I could get back into offshore fishing on nice days...

So, for a little over a $1000 one can put together a 13 foot dinghy with a vintage 9.5 motor that will last almost forever with good maintenance, and have a trailer to put it on if needed. Note the bench seat, a friend of mine had his pool's diving board fail, I tried to fix it for him but it ended up being an outstanding bench seat when cut to size.

All of this is to say that it is quite helpful for the liveaboard sailor to look for bargains (good to have lots of free time,) buy used, appreciate vintage older equipment and be creative about upcycling materials.

Got any pictures of your 'dinghy' stowed on your boat?

[zeehag]

i found a 10 ft wb i can trade my 8 ft for ..plus a small chunk of change or other goods....
and my rebuilt parts--fully rebuilt injector pump with 2 new pieces of fuel line and my lift pump and my tranny heat exchanger--no bad puns please..lol......back to me for 2965 pesos. that is at 12.9 pesos even if today it is 12..5 to one dollar......figger it out...lol..less than 300 usd.

so yes i did pick the very best lace for my engine to do that which it did......now if the sailmaker would just re appear.....i have 2 for him.....

[Azul]

Wrong, as I've pointed out before, and mention in my post, I am a liveaboard in a marina not currently a cruiser. I don't need to "stow" my dinghy as it fits comfortably in my 54 foot slip along with the sailboat. Further, if I was cruising I would use the same technique when I got to a destination I was going to stay for awhile ie obtain a Whaler locally, fix it up and use it. Then sell it for a profit when I left. I can make do with a kayak, the GF likes to have more elegant short distance transportation when we aren't going offshore for the day.

While it isn't possible to "stow" a 13 foot Whaler on my 34 foot sailboat, it does tow quite easily, weighing only 300 pounds and with a bow up tendency... it is unsinkable if swamped and also self bailing when unattended.

As reported in a study today, the word "wrong" is correlated with negative emotions and an unhappy person, at least when used in a tweet. Hopefully this isn't true in your case ha. I do think the community would benefit more by offering positive contributions than sarcasm.

Not everyone on this board is circumnavigating. Many are living in marinas or stay in one place on the hook for a long time. Others are working while living aboard, in which case a totally dry roomy dinghy at a reasonable cost would be a great benefit.

Personally, I hated having my little 8 foot tippy hard dinghy up on my deck. It fit beautifully but was a royal PITA to launch and retrieve. Even with no engine.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Azul

With the 13's it is pretty easy, just pick up one end and see if you can lift it. Mine had sat for 10 years on a trailer under a cover so I know it is ok. Also, the bottom was fairly pristine.

If the boat is on a trailer, the best way is to jack it up and drill a test hole in the bottom near the stern.

I read an article about a 13 that someone bought for $50 that was being used to hold up a mailbox for a joke, it weighed 700 pounds instead of 300 and was still wicking out water four years later in his garage, but down to 400 pounds.

Cheers for that , figured there was no easy way - at least not for a 16 footer (and the Vendor!)........but never know, might get a smaller one so that a very useful suggestion.

[Group9]

Back to the original point, I've been bucks up and bucks down in my life and
one thing I have learned is that it is amazing as to how little money you can live on if necessary (and, how much you can spend if you have it).

[Bill4]

Originally Posted by Group9

Back to the original point, I've been bucks up and bucks down in my life and
one thing I have learned is that it is amazing as to how little money you can live on if necessary (and, how much you can spend if you have it).

Never a truer word spoken!

[sneuman]

Originally Posted by Group9

They have us conditioned well.

Bill Watterson's Uplifting Advice To College Grads, Illustrated In 'Calvin & Hobbes' Style