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

[Blue Crab]

Originally Posted by frank_f

Did that on the Mac and it didn't work out as well as I thought it would. Great non-skid but I seem to have to repaint these areas each year as the sand colour bleeds through.

I think a negative impression might work better. Maybe put down a coat of paint and then sprinkle epsom salt on the wet paint. The liquids in the paint should dry fast enough not to melt the salt. Let the paint dry and then pour lots of water over it. That should dissolve the salt and leave a negative impression in the paint itself. Nice and grippy but easier to maintain.

I haven't tried it yet, but repainting every year sucks.

Opps. If this isn't a no-no, it ought to be.

The marine paint mfgrs make a fake sand that worked very well on my decks. Somewhat easier on the knees and butts, IMO, than beach sand if you get my drift.

[frank_f]

Originally Posted by Blue Crab

Opps. If this isn't a no-no, it ought to be.

The marine paint mfgrs make a fake sand that worked very well on my decks. Somewhat easier on the knees and butts, IMO, than beach sand if you get my drift.

Yeah, I want to try the epsom salt thing this spring for the Columbia since it needs new non-skid as well. So hang on folks and I'll get back to you on how it works (or doesn't).

I know what you mean about the 'grip' of ordinary sand. Since I've done mine, I've had diesel spilled on the deck plus french fries and other food groups. There didn't seem to be any loss of traction. Really does a job on the deck brush that I use to clean the decks though.

[ElGatoGordo]

I've used sand with mixed results. The best result was when mixed into the passing and carefully kept mixed.

My different boat I used canvas in a slightly retro return to days of old. The canvas drop cloths work very well for me. But then I started with bare wood

[stephenronning]

hi. we cruised 'in luxury' on a shoestring. for $8.00 a day in the san juans for 3 month's the last two summers.
we basically 'camp' aboard our boat's. two summer's ago we used our 34 cal. w/ a 4 stroke 6hp outboard aux. towing a skiff. we went from Everett, wa north to bellingham. san juans. gulf islands. down through the channell. oak harbour. langley, edmonds, kingston, thru the locks into lk wa all over. and our boat was basically bare. nothing. it was a shell. i just used gallon jugs for water. a coleman stove to boil water. two nice deepcycles. an $89.00 800 watt generator to charge the battery's. etc etc...i did hang curtains in the salon and each of my young sons 9 and 11 at the time had their own berth with curtains. i had a cheap inverter from harbor freight for power and they always had their little handheld games. i had my tv/vcr and we had a cooler for our food....and i had a $5.00 radio from goodwill to listen to and a nice cruising chartbook i've had 20yrs and an anchor..we only stayed overnight 6 times in marinas!! SAVED A TON!!! WE'D hit the dock. then ride our bikes to town and explore and we'd SPLURGE at every port and have a nice meal...i'd keep i under $10.00! since we had our bikes we could go inland and just see where the wind takes us...if it was 'ICE CREAM' then it was that..it it was a cool PIZZA place with a $10.00 pickup pizza special it was that...once, in some weird place like....aaaahhhaaggggg what is it???? i think it was like CORONET BAY or something we rode our bikes all around and found a THAI PLACE and we love chinese and japanse food...so we all shared a lunch special...LOT'S OF FOOD FOR $8.00!!!HOWEVER, IT WAS AWFUL!!! we enjoyed the town anyways'.
so that being said....it don't take much...PLUS, I'LL ADMIT. IM 45. I GOT A FEW VICES..so before we left the dock i alway's made sure i had a BAG OF TOBACCO and rolling paper's and i did bring several cases of what i like to drink along IN OUR PROVISIONING...but once we left...we were gone!! we would hit the store's here and there along the way..I FOUND MTN HOUSE BRAND FREEZE DRIED FOOD IS THE BEST!!! CHECK IT OUT!
We did the same trip last year with our 25' pocket cruiser!~!! worked great!
this year i bought us a FRIKIN SAILING 'RUNABOUT' a macgregor 26M....!!!!
something i am very excited about. SHE'S HERE! NEXT TO MY HOUSE! i've owned boats since i was 8. in NORWEGIAN and have sailed all over the world. this is a boat i never thought id buy. however, after my sea trial. I WAS SOLD!!!
this is a great boat for our sailing. inland protected waters. and i keep her at home!
in 10 year's she's paid for herself. i went totally stock because i got a whole house full of my own stuff to keep us comfortable. i got her BRAND NEW OUT THE DOOR!! $22.7k! ANYWAY'S a lot of cruiser's will think im nutz...i probably am...
take care.
Stephen seeya out there!
S/V LYKKE macgregor 26 seattle wa. i sail 8 month's a year...i'll update you next year on how my NEW boat did.......
a note: the reason i bought this boat NEW is for the price. and my age. it's all i will need. IVE BEEN THERE AND DONE THAT....RUSSIA, NORWAY, BERING SEA, INSIDE PASSAGE MORE TIMES THAN I CAN COUNT. PACIFIC, ATLANTIC, ST JOHNS RIVER, HECK THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT IN LK MEAD AND PYRAMID LK NEVADA.......i got two boys here (there mom left us and is in heaven now) so it's my job to take care of them and they are doing great in school....with this boat i could buy her CASH....I SAVED FOR 3 YEARS STRAIGHT...PENNY PINCHING, even while maintaining my 'SAILING ON A PENNY TRIP.' and could buy her...i'll keep you posted...
pss AFTER MY SEA TRIAL....one thing i gotta say....AND I ADHEAR TO IT....MOST SAY THEY DO....BUT THEY DON'T........
'DONT KNOCK, TILL YOU TRY IT!.'

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by stephenronning

hi. we cruised 'in luxury' on a shoestring. for $8.00 a day in the san juans for 3 month's the last two summers....

Great story, thanks for sharing it.

And keep on keeping on!

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Doodles

Great story, thanks for sharing it.

And keep on keeping on!

+1

Creating own path in life often works better than following the crowd or convential "wisdom" .

[ElGatoGordo]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

+1

Creating own path in life often works better than following the crowd or convential "wisdom" .

Ahh very "WISE"

Thanks for sharing Stephen! Good stuff. If you made it more readable with paragraphs and such more people will read it. Not being mean, just want more people to hear what you're saying

[tropicalescape]

That is cool...

[martymcfly]

Stephenronning thanks for sharing your story, wish you and your family all the best... :-)

[Ballenxj]

Very COOL to hear about your cruising adventures Stephen.

Originally Posted by stephenronning

hi. we cruised 'in luxury' on a shoestring.
<---- SNIP ------>
this year i bought us a FRIKIN SAILING 'RUNABOUT' a macgregor 26M....!!!!
something i am very excited about. SHE'S HERE! NEXT TO MY HOUSE! i've owned boats since i was 8. in NORWEGIAN and have sailed all over the world. this is a boat i never thought id buy. however, after my sea trial. I WAS SOLD!!!
<-------SNIP again -------->
S/V LYKKE macgregor 26 seattle wa. i sail 8 month's a year...i'll update you next year on how my NEW boat did.......

Looking forward to hearing more about your adventures in the MacGregor.
I first learned to sail on a 25' MacGreggor that was quite a bit older than yours. Come to think of it, I don't think they were even using the water ballast back then. I think it had a 4 or 6 horsepower outboard, but that was 15 or 20 years ago.
-Bruce

[w1651]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Tape off your areas have your sand and a fine sieve handy... roller on the paint then sieve some sand over the wet paint.. not to much more an even dusting... let it dry then roller on a second coat thinned 10%... don't dust of any loose sand..

Have done half of what you said Boatman.
I put down a coat of silver grey paint last Sunday after taping areas and sanded through moms borrowed sifter. (Nobody tell her, mums the word literally) and let it dry. I used fine blasting sand and there was very little left in the sifter after each use.
But then in a day or two it started to rain during the week so most loose sand washed off.
It is though a great nonskid and turned out better then expected. I still have to put down a top coat a lot lighter in color then what's there now. It looks like battleship grey to me right now but lighter grey color will both break the white while reflecting the sun and allow me to see when it wears through to the darker grey.
Thanks Boatman

[Oldfurr]

I don't know of any 12v flourescents but there are a lot of these LED "fluorescent" fixtures around at a low cost. Link goes to to two fixtures for $15-- including shipping ad.

2pcs/lot t5 led tube light 12V 6w explosion proof energy saving led fluorescent lamp 30cm t5 3014smd free shipping-in LED Bulbs & Tubes from Lights & Lighting on Aliexpress.com

[ElGatoGordo]

Originally Posted by Oldfurr

I don't know of any 12v flourescents but there are a lot of these LED "fluorescent" fixtures around at a low cost. Link goes to to two fixtures for $15-- including shipping ad.

2pcs/lot t5 led tube light 12V 6w explosion proof energy saving led fluorescent lamp 30cm t5 3014smd free shipping-in LED Bulbs & Tubes from Lights & Lighting on Aliexpress.com

There are 12v fluorescents but I think they have been sidelined by LED s. They were better than incandescents but not near add nice as leds

[mauimichele]

sweet! see, it doesn't hurt to ask. manifesting a boat isn't that hard!

[madgunny]

okay all, am new here, and was/am looking for advice about shoestring liveaboards and boat buying in general.
since finding THIS thread I am now certain I am in the right place. I have very little sailing experience and none as a liveaboard cruiser, but what I do have is a ton of experience as a full time RVer. cruising the highways for roughly ten years, almost always on a tight budget, so heres the crossover for my two cents..When I went RVing fulltime, I bought a fixer upper motorhome that ran, and made improvements as I had time/resources
I never bought new anything, swapmeet and sales ad finds only
I never paid for parking.. no KOA for me, stateparks or similar free camping only
I would hunt/fish/trap, and hit farmers markets or barter for most all food I used
Only once did I pay a repairman and that was to use his shop and tools when changing a motor.but I could have used a cheap comealong and a tall tree!
my income was from gunsmithing and general auto/repair
I had two young kids and a wife
we did it all on way less than 500 a month
now the kids are grown, the wife is gone and I'm thinking/dreaming of the sailing life. seems to me that just about all of the land cruiser tricks and moneymakers skills should convert to a water based lifestyle. what say you all?