Cruising on $500 per Month . . .

[MacG]

Crossing the bay of Algeciras, I saw a huge black shadow approaching us. Just before we had asked Port Control Gib if everything was free.
It was a black night, no moon, and foggy. We were almost overrun by - believe it or not - an unlighted vessel of about 20.000 ton. A tiny nav light, not even good enough for a pocketcruiser. No further lights.

So an active radar warning system is no luxury.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by MacG

Crossing the bay of Algeciras, I saw a huge black shadow approaching us. Just before we had asked Port Control Gib if everything was free.
It was a black night, no moon, and foggy. We were almost overrun by - believe it or not - an unlighted vessel of about 20.000 ton. A tiny nav light, not even good enough for a pocketcruiser. No further lights.

So an active radar warning system is no luxury.

chances are he didnt want to be seen crossing for morrocco!!!lol

[w1651]

Originally Posted by atoll

prolly due to her having a higher intelect and using big words .

Ya that's it. Or it could be she just couldn't be quiet because it's in her DNA to constantly run her mouth.
I should introduce you two. You would get along fine just fine!!!

[callmecrazy]

Re: AIS

I'm thinking about getting one of these ACR Nauticast units. Connects to the laptop, and should work with my current laptop navigation stuff (which I probably won't use very often, but I could use it heavy traffic or coastal cruising situations. When offshore I'll be only occasionally checking with it, and could pop it open if the CARD goes off and I can't see the ship)

For under $150 it appears to be the cheapest AIS solution around. And it can be connected to a plotter or other NMEA capable device, if I were to upgrade in the future...

The problem I'm seeing is that I won't have the electricity to run things on any full-time or regular basis, like a plotter, or laptop, or radar... So these little things, and the CARD make a lot of sense at the price I paid...I don't think I would have gotten it if it wasn't for the cheap price though.

[conachair]

Originally Posted by callmecrazy

Re: AIS

I have one of these - Clipper NASA AIS Radar CL-AISR | eBay and love it dearly. Seems quite pricey your side of the pond though. But worth it if you can find the money. Draws next to nothing, works down to 11v and has a loud alarm. Laptop option would be better than nothing but not a great option if power is limited.

[callmecrazy]

Originally Posted by conachair

I have one of these - Clipper NASA AIS Radar CL-AISR | eBay and love it dearly. Seems quite pricey your side of the pond though. But worth it if you can find the money. Draws next to nothing, works down to 11v and has a loud alarm. Laptop option would be better than nothing but not a great option if power is limited.

Yeah, those are like $400USD around here.

The laptop I have (for navigation) is actually a netbook that gets upwards of 7 hours battery life with full usage. I can close the lid and pop it open for a few minutes whenever I want, without ever turning it off and needing to startup to check something (like the AIS), and it will run like that for several days up to about week without running the battery down. Doesn't take much to charge it back up...

I really don't like the whole laptop navigation setup though. I was planning on selling it and trading in for a decent Handheld GPS, but, this might be the only way I can get AIS at a reasonable price, so i'll probably keep it...

[Wavewacker]

Whooo! 107 pages, finanlly got here, 21 pages worth of budgetary tactics and 86 pages of stuff....LOL.

Any river rats here? Cruising the Loop, taking off on the Tenn., Missouri, White River, Mississippi, Ohio, etc. Gettig to the Eastern ICW, the Gulf of Mexico? Are we restricted to far away places on $500 a month...what about inland cruising by the river rats?

[zeta]

Originally Posted by Wavewacker

Whooo! 107 pages, finanlly got here, 21 pages worth of budgetary tactics and 86 pages of stuff....LOL.

Any river rats here? Cruising the Loop, taking off on the Tenn., Missouri, White River, Mississippi, Ohio, etc. Gettig to the Eastern ICW, the Gulf of Mexico? Are we restricted to far away places on $500 a month...what about inland cruising by the river rats?

I am looking at doing the loop on a Potter 19. I will have more than $500/month available, but I do not see why it could not be done. Only obstacle that would be budget busting is fuel costs and that largely depends on miles/day one want to travel. One would have to keep moving to avoid seasons unless you are able to trailer and do portions at a time. The St. Johns River in Fl could be done easily on $500/month--especially if you like to eat fish and with a high powered pellet gun you could also have lots of squirrel. Rice and taters are cheap.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Wavewacker

Whooo! 107 pages, finanlly got here, 21 pages worth of budgetary tactics and 86 pages of stuff....LOL.

Any river rats here? Cruising the Loop, taking off on the Tenn., Missouri, White River, Mississippi, Ohio, etc. Gettig to the Eastern ICW, the Gulf of Mexico? Are we restricted to far away places on $500 a month...what about inland cruising by the river rats?

I don't see why it would be restricted.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by w1651

Ya that's it. Or it could be she just couldn't be quiet because it's in her DNA to constantly run her mouth.
I should introduce you two. You would get along fine just fine!!!

if she got to keep the house and your other yacht!!!!

plus,having many women(and children) in my life i've perfected the art of being able post online whilst saying "yes dear" at the appropriate moments

[w1651]

Yes Dear !

I'll have to learn to use that.

[goprisko]

Originally Posted by callmecrazy

Re: AIS

I'm thinking about getting one of these ACR Nauticast units. Connects to the laptop, and should work with my current laptop navigation stuff (which I probably won't use very often, but I could use it heavy traffic or coastal cruising situations. When offshore I'll be only occasionally checking with it, and could pop it open if the CARD goes off and I can't see the ship)

For under $150 it appears to be the cheapest AIS solution around. And it can be connected to a plotter or other NMEA capable device, if I were to upgrade in the future...

The problem I'm seeing is that I won't have the electricity to run things on any full-time or regular basis, like a plotter, or laptop, or radar... So these little things, and the CARD make a lot of sense at the price I paid...I don't think I would have gotten it if it wasn't for the cheap price though.

The micro budget cruiser must learn to wait for the moon before making dangerous crossings, whether due to heavy traffic or oil rigs.

Remember, you have lots of time and no money!

INDY

[atoll]

Originally Posted by goprisko

The micro budget cruiser must learn to wait for the moon before making dangerous crossings, whether due to heavy traffic or oil rigs.

Remember, you have lots of time and no money!

INDY

actually i have to disagree as during a full moon period you will get rougher weather,due to larger tidal movement

,and too much moonlight actually makes other ships lights harder to see

[osirissail]

Getting an AIS unit for US$133.39 plus shipping, handling, etc. or about US$150 is great - but - AIS is probably a very, very low priority item for a "Cruising on $500 per month" person.

- - And what is the big deal about AIS anyway? AIS signals are sent from "large" vessels that are required to have AIS - that's a very small percentage of the vessels out there that can collide and sink you. All the little - and not so little - fishing trawlers, pangas, inter-island freighters, ferries and (biggest of all) other sailing and power boats/yachts are not required to have AIS and don't have AIS (at least on this side of the Atlantic).

- - It's like saying "well, I am protected against tractor-trailer trucks/lorries" but a small Volkswagen or SUV can take you out just as quick and there are a whole lot more of them than giant trucks/lorries.

- - What with gasoline costing US$3.50 and diesel US$4.00 per US gallon, getting fuel for your boat's outboard or tiny diesel is a lot more important, IMHO, than an AIS. And the fuel will allow you to get out of the way of the "big guys" when entering and exiting major harbors or getting out of shipping lanes when the wind dies.

- - So the information about ACR Nauticast AIS is great information especially for those "cruising on $1500 per month" but "thread-drift" from this "super-tight budget" cruising thread.

- - What is in my opinion very relevant is the fact that to cruise on this low a budget will require serious restrictions on when and where and how you will need to plan and operate when in busy or big vessel ocean areas. Just like the mosquito has to learn not to take off and cruise about when a flock of purple martins is passing by - micro-budget cruisers should plan to sail or cross busy shipping areas in the best "visual" conditions and wait if necessary until proper conditions exist.

[callmecrazy]

I agree, it's definitely not very high on my priority list, but I'd certainly rate it higher than a refrigerator

But, as the price decreases, the cost-to-benefit ratio increases.

The benefit of AIS is marginal by itself... So is the benefit of a C.A.R.D. unit. But, combine them both and you get twice the likelyhood of an early detection when compared to either one by itself. Especially considering that Radar and AIS are becoming the defacto standard for 'typical' cruisers and a requirement for commercial vessels. It's those damn fisherman you really gotta watch out for..

Either one can give a possible early detection of a possible collision. Either of them only has to accomplish this ONCE to make the expense worth every penny.

What I've attempted to explain in this thread before is that people do not have to go without every luxury, or electronic gadgetry, or anything else they might prefer, just because they have a tiny budget. It just means they need to weigh their options and make a solid decision about what is going to be beneficial on the boat vs. what is necessary vs. what you can do without vs. what you want. AND make those things fit into your budget, by way of finding cheaper prices, alternative formats, DIY, etc...

If you can manage even a meager income and still fit your preferred luxuries into the budget, then why not?

Going without money is one thing, but going with a small income is entirely different. If you're working and outfitting the boat, then you have an INCOME, which means you can take an extra week to get that luxury item, if you are so inclined.

We don't have to be bullied into this beans and rice, bucket toilet, sextant only, mythology of old-timers and rich people.

You can have a comfortable boat, certain luxuries, and even a few electrical gadgets on the smallest of budgets. What's important is keeping the boat simple. I won't have radar because it'll cost me $1000's in reconfiguring my power/charging system, mounting options etc... this would drastically impact my budget, but I can definitely swing $150 to drop-in a reliable, low-draw, gadget that agrees with my sensibilities.