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

[atoll]

Originally Posted by chall

Only twice as much???
We use the rule of 3's.
3 times longer, 3 times the cost........and while doing one project you always find another 3 things in need of urgent repair

i have a very good piece of string,that i use for all measuring

and a very big hammer,for even the hardest jobs

[Blue Crab]

Per DOJ's comment above, we all know that striving for a Bristol, yachtlike finish will slow down, can even stop a project as the task can overwhelm. I stopped worrying about it. A neat clean workboat finish is adequate for me. I don't care a fig about other boats. I love the look of a lot of varnish...on your boat.

[sailorchic34]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

That, and some idjut , who decided that the finish on the saloon bulkhead just wasn't good enough (used to be foam backed vinyl - now paint, a lot of prep work went into that )....I could have left as is, but just couldn't , especially as would be looking at 24/7.....and done now, before panels go back, means job is a lot easier than doing later......another couple of days?!

OH never OCD, but Shipwrights disease that malaise that afflicts many a sailor.

I've been known to start the day just checking the water in the batteries and ended up sanding and varnishing the sole and just for fun the cap rails too. The trick is to do it at anchor or so I hear.... Then its called cruising

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

I've been known to start the day just checking the water in the batteries and ended up sanding and varnishing the sole and just for fun the cap rails too. The trick is to do it at anchor or so I hear.... Then its called cruising

Lol - I must remember that .

[zeehag]

doing things on mooring or at anchor is easier than doing stuff on a dock, as there are fewer interruptions by well meaning neighbors.....changed out engine on a mooring, did some great repairs while at anchor.....

[Surveyor]

Originally Posted by chall

and while doing one project you always find another 3 things in need of urgent repair

THIS is why I can not seem to make any real progress! One step forward and three steps back! The boat restorer's waltz

[zeehag]

many things are restorable while under way--is what i am doing....

[barnakiel]

But off course things can be maintained and restored at anchor or underway.

I have recently completely restored a wooden classic while sailing her from Bombay to Sydney! We had some issues painting the waterline on the lee side but with my skills and a crew of all blacks we did the best job in the southern hemisphere! Believe me or not: the owner was so happy about our job that she treated us to a crate of Veuve Clicquot!

b.

[Chattcatdaddy]

My dinghy solution is the 8ft Porta-bote. Granted its not cheap at $1450 new, but I had the funds at the time and jumped on the deal and its cheaper than an inflatable which I hate. I havent got a chance to use it yet, but I will real soon.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Chattcatdaddy

My dinghy solution is the 8ft Porta-bote. Granted its not cheap at $1450 new, but I had the funds at the time and jumped on the deal and its cheaper than an inflatable which I hate. I havent got a chance to use it yet, but I will real soon.

The 8' portabote has been our solution these past few years. It's a nice compromise between a RIB/hard dingy and an inflatable. It rows well, stows nicely on deck, and is light and strong. It has been a great solution for our summer cruising, and we fully expect to carry on using it as we move on board full-time.

BTW, I bought the sailing rig as well (boat show special). It's fun, but I haven't found an easy way of carrying the mast/boom and sails yet.

[Blue Crab]

"I have recently completely restored a wooden classic while sailing her from Bombay to Sydney! We had some issues painting the waterline on the lee side but with my skills and a crew of all blacks we did the best job in the southern hemisphere! Believe me or not: the owner was so happy about our job that she treated us to a crate of Veuve Clicquot!

b. "

Got a whale of a tale to tell ya boys
A whale of a tale or two
...

Whale Of A Tale - Kirk Douglas (and Seal) Walt Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea - YouTube

[barnakiel]

Yep.

The dinghy is a hard choice.

We started with an inflatable and I hated it,

Now I have been using our friends nested dinghy, and I hate it.

But it is hard to avoid a hard dinghy if much coral/rock/rough walls is expected.

b.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

How about we create a (basic) list of things a shoestring sailor needs / would be nice to have onboard? and maybe also the skills that would be required or simply be useful?..............

..........If we can come up with something half coherent (hope springs eternal!) then I will cut and paste (and tidy up?) onto a webpage somewhere as future easy(?) reference point - or simply something to argue over

Notwithstanding that the above did not develop as a group effort quite as I had hoped , I nonetheless did put a list onto a webpage (to save the info being simply cast into the CF archive abyss ):-

500 Dollars a Month Cruising - Equipment List


Not wishing to derail or duplicate Newts most useful thread http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ist-79858.html I thought I would summarise my thoughts / findings here - lucky old youze .

One of the surprises was that the total figure (to equip a boat to cruise for an extended period) ranged from $9k up to over $50k!.....(excluding any refurbishment costs!).........the higher figure being if the boat had bugger all on her! (and the engine was Kaput ).........the lower figure has plenty of stuff onboard (to avoid the hairshirt sailor experiance ) - I feel that could fairly easily be reduced (to $5k? or less??!) by boat buying well, buying s/h gear and some DIY - plus not wanting / needing "everything" on the list.

I divided the list into 3 Categories:-

Essentials (the bare basics - that could get boat from A to B, if Skipper knew what he was doing / was happy to live that basic).
Nice to Have #1 (things which do make life more pleasant - not saying need all of them).
Nice to Have #2 (more towards the wishlist end of things, albeit not exclusively).

The list is in an Excel Format and I put some comments against each item and also a ballpark price for each (some very ballpark!).

FWIW, I suspect that few would want (or enjoy!) life with only the bare Essentials onboard (and being able to do so will require more knowledge and experiance than if you also had a few items from the "Nice to Have" list - and IMO nothing wrong with that).

I intentionally did not made any suggestions as to what items would be prudent (or simply nice!) to have from the list as that is the decision of each Skipper to make, according to needs, wants and budget! - and nor am I saying that you need everything!....IMO there is no single answer on what equipment should be onboard that meets the requirements of every Boat / Skipper / Circumstance - but this is as ballpark as I can make it!

Any suggestions for additions (nothing is coming off the list!) welcome - focus being on the low budget end of the spectrum, so won't be any Jacuzzis .

[kiwitrucker]

Saw a comment about budgets for operating a yacht. Where can I find them?

[Hud3]

There's a custom Google search engine in the "Search" menu up top. Just type in keywords of your choice, and a long list of threads will appear.

Or click the link in my sig line...