Frugal Cruising Idea Exchange

[Mike OReilly]

+1 on the vacuum bagger. I have the Foodsaver version that runs on both AC and DC (12 volt). Very handy on board.

In reality we tend towards vegetarianism the longer we are off the dock. Our pattern is to load up with perhaps a week’s worth of fresh meat, and then after that is gone we move more into a veggie diet.

I like dead veggies/fruits. I also like dead animals. Usually, but not always, the frugal approach is to go vegetarian. But sometimes the dead animal is the better choice. I’m a non-discriminatory eater .

We usually carry a stock of canned meats. And I like the have the cured/dried sausage-type meats that can be stored warm. Finally, I carry a store of dried meat, mostly in the form of cooked hamburger or beef jerky, although I’ve also dried fish and pork. Dried and then vacuum bagged, it will last for years.

[Singularity]

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

Karmic retribution might be in your future (didn't your grandparents warn you about increased risk of prostate cancer etc should you be unwise enough to eat mammal flesh?).

Lentils, chickpeas, soy beans ... all them offer more frugal access to high quality protein. Without that refrigeration thingie.

My grandparents weren't big into epigenetics, but if they were, they probably wouldn't recommend consuming sizable portions of food that upregulates expression of FGFR2 or that changes lady parts forever (at least not without a disclaimer).

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

I'll bet that Ann means most any mammal flesh. In Aus, that often means (shock, horror) bovine flesh. Ovine and porcine muscle meats are also used.

It's not the meat that is important. It's the particular plastic, I think invented and trademarked by a Germany company, that's used in the vacuum packing.

See: About Cryovac Packaging

Of course, why anyone would want to create economic demand for the killing of sentient beings is beyond me.

Karmic retribution might be in your future (didn't your grandparents warn you about increased risk of prostate cancer etc should you be unwise enough to eat mammal flesh?).

Lentils, chickpeas, soy beans ... all them offer more frugal access to high quality protein. Without that refrigeration thingie.

When mammels like tigers, lions and chimps go vegan I will worry about Karma.. another invention like GW et al..
Until then I will keep tucking into my Pork Vindaloo Chicken Madras and Sikh Kebabs thank you..

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

this thread is sure a lot meaner that the old $500/mo thread

Exactly. Far better to share idea and let the reader decide whether it meets their personal cost benefit or environmental benefit calculation. For some it is almost a game, to see how lightly they can tread on their wallet and the earth. It can be a fun game.

I've written lots of product reviews, and I like to separate the the quality discussion from the price; the buyer can decide for himself what is the best value for himself personally.

[GTom]

Interesting topic - even if it has been beaten to death before!

Originally Posted by stevegerber

2. Choose a cruising region of the world with a lower cost of living. Highly developed 'first world' countries are often much more expensive than less developed countries, especially when it comes to marina fees. Some coastlines are more suitable for anchoring out than others which is much less expensive than mooring in a marina.

Very much depends on your lifestyle! If you are still bound to the "first world" and have to travel between "home" (work, family, etc) and your boat, don't forget to add flight tickets. If you need some special parts, don't forget about local import+shipping.
As for food prices: prices in a Tesco in UK might very well be lower than in many 3rd world countries.

4. Mostly cook from scratch on board. Eating out can be very expensive although in some less developed countries eating out is much more reasonable.

Correct, might be ~20$/person difference if not more. However, check where the locals eat out, and that 20$ might diminish to ~0.

6. Make friends with both expat semi-permanent residents and locals when you anchor in a new region. They can often provide highly valuable information about where to find the best deals on repairs, materials and food which may be located off the beaten track.

+use the internet Amazing tips here and on various travel forums.

What might cruisers be able to offer to locals in a win-win barter situation? Transportation between islands? Medical care if you are skilled? Other ideas? What might cruisers be able to get in return in a barter? Fresh locally grown food? Repair work?

Careful with that, unlicensed work might mean time behind bars, separated from your boat...

Lower cost cooking - Gas might not be a huge expense but perhaps some cost and the inconvience of getting refills could be avoided by using other methods. Have people found solar cookers to be worthwhile? As the cost of solar panels continues to fall perhaps electric cooking is becoming more practical. My crock pot only draws 250watts on high. With 400watts of solar panels it should be possible to run the crock pot for 4 hours in the middle of a bright sunny day without running down your battery bank.

Then you'll torture your battery bank more (instead of recharging them you use the energy for cooking). Solar coockers/owens might be an option on very sunny places - however, you probably have to track the sun's position as the boat swings. And probably forget the whole thing underway...

Would a hybrid diesel/solar electric prop drive be more frugal than just diesel?

You can just omit using the engine. Solar electric propulsion needs its additional panels, I can't imagine where to put these if the domestic consumption already populates every less-shadowed spot of the boat.

Marina fees ...

Depends where you are. In the UK you can just get yourself a swinging mooring for £1-200/year and your 3+k£/year worries are gone.

Here's a crazy alternative to having an electric refrigerator. How about just having a very well insulated ice box which you supply with ice from a small portable ice machine that you power from your solar panels?

This way you introduce losses in the system, since the ice and the machine are not/poorly isolated. "Cooling potential" won't just marvelously appear in the necessary bucket of ice, you need to extract every Joule plus compensate the increased losses.

Speaking of propane: found an interesting video what to do, if there is no way to get your tanks filled:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQN6EGLwTxQ

[stevegerber]

People, could we please try to stay focused on sharing creative ideas for frugal cruising and refrain from insulting and shaming people because they choose to do something you personally wouldn't? You're not going to convince anyone to change their lifestyle by insulting them on an internet forum.

The goal of this specific thread is to collaborate. I love hearing extreme or outside the box ideas. Instead of just immediately firing off a post that shoots down someone's wild idea, take a moment and think about how it might actually be a feasible option. If an idea seems too extreme to you, just don't use that idea in your life. Let's all try harder to be supportive of each other's ideas and more tactful when we see potential problems with a suggested cost cutting measure.

[GTom]

, sorry, didn't mean to offend.

Frugal has different meaning to everyone, for some 10$ is a significant saving and worth an hour of hassle/work, for others the threshold lies much higher, but they still mind their costs.

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by GTom

, sorry, didn't mean to offend.

Frugal has different meaning to everyone, for some 10$ is a significant saving and worth an hour of hassle/work, for others the threshold lies much higher, but they still mind their costs.

I think this is forgotten. One poster believes using Lpg isn't frugal where others believe cooking on the boat using Lpg is frugal because your not eating out.

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by daletournier

I think this is forgotten. One poster believes using Lpg isn't frugal where others believe cooking on the boat using Lpg is frugal because your not eating out.

I think the frugal thing to do is use whatever system your boat came with. If your boat is already set up with a propane stove sticking with that is the frugal thing to do.

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by Steve Bean

Lots of frugal ideas can be found in Kenneth Neumeyer's 1981 book, "Sailing the Farm." I have a print copy as well as pdf in my downloads file. I will post a link to the pdf if I can figure out how. Can anyone coach me?

I'd love a PDF copy of that book, a very thought provoking read. A must read for any frugal sailor as is "Voyaging on a small income" by Annie Hill.

Let me know if you find a way to share "Sailing the farm".

A good website with some tips for very frugal living is here http://triloboats.blogspot.com

[seandepagnier]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

I think the frugal thing to do is use whatever system your boat came with. If your boat is already set up with a propane stove sticking with that is the frugal thing to do.

Keeping it as a backup could make sense. The propane can keep for years without ever using it.

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

I'd love a PDF copy of that book, a very thought provoking read. A must read for any frugal sailor as is "Voyaging on a small income" by Annie Hill.

When I met annie hill we had much to agree as well as disagree.

Let me know if you find a way to share "Sailing the farm".

Anyone managed to grow spirilina? I want to grow chlorella.

[stevegerber]

'Sailing the Farm' was new to me so I googled it and one of the links that came up was the following direct link to the PDF version of the book:

https://we.riseup.net/assets/268677/sailfarm.pdf

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by stevegerber

'Sailing the Farm' was new to me so I googled it and one of the links that came up was the following direct link to the PDF version of the book:

https://we.riseup.net/assets/268677/sailfarm.pdf

Thanks, a good find.

[zboss]

The most frugal way of cruising cheaply is spending the necessary time and money to maintain your vessel properly. Outside of marinas, which we won't be using again for quite a while, maintenance on our boat is the most expensive thing to not do regularly and correctly. The whole penny-wise and pound-foolish thing.

[puffcard]

We cook with denatured alcohol, on an Origo and love it.. One gal last about 6weeks and only cost $12. We can carry a whole cruising season 7 months of cooking fuel with us, actually could carry a year's supply no problem. It's safe and there is no other cooking fuel you could carry a year's supply. It saves big time the cost and hassle of filling up propane tanks. We're also a fan of pressure cookers, cuts cooking time by 2/3.

We also only use rechargeable batteries and lots of solar LED lights