Simple living,....i think that i must have a doctorate in that by now.
Bought my
boat for 10k, haven't spent 5k on it to get it into pristine tip top condition. So for about 15k not including my
electronics i have new
sails, new
motor, new
paint new everything actually, stainless fittings everywhere, all lines to
cockpit, big
solar installation, gas inside and out, nice targa,
teak and silky oak trim everywhere, etc etc even new winches
But to do that, i have scrounged like a thirsty bloodhound, even managed to suck
water out of some dried and shriveled stones and taught myself how to do everything myself.
Just about everything i use is recycled in some way, all the timber trim, floors, whatever used to be beds, window frames, cupboards etc, i just scrounged the tip and then buy em
cheap and mill them into the shapes that i need.
My milling table is an old table that cost 5 buck with a $9 circular saw screwed underneath. haha a $14 table saw that acts a router bench too.
All my ground tackle i got for nothing by asking and being in the right place at the right time, which aint bad as i now have 4 anchors and 2 sets of chain for a total cost of $20
Same for the two furlers that will install at some point in time, there worth nothing second hand, and when someone is changing them its usually cause the bearings dead or the extrusions a bit bent.
But on a
small boat, you end up with more than enough extrusion to see you good, and you buy a new bearing and install it yourself add a grease nipple to the bearing as you do it too.
Mind you you usually have to take it down for the old owner so that the rigger doesn't just snap it up for scrap.
Paint can be bought cheaply, and even if its
epoxy two pack, you just have to figure out who is moving the most of it in your area and then haggle the best deal.
Stainless, haha, what a joke, with the cost of getting someone to do my stainless
work it was cheaper to buy a good welder 2nd hand, grad a heap of scrap from the scrap merchants and teach myself, i now have handrails, bollards, targa,
cleats, brackets here and there, swim ladders etc etc.
man i could go on and on, even my dunny is a second hand item, some nitwit couldn't figure out why it wasn't working and threw it away, i just fixed it and have a near new
toilet. sounds gross, haha but im happy.
same for the
motor for one of my fridges on the boat, had a small circuity issue, needed some love, i got it for nothing, spend 60 cents to get a part and now i have a great fridge.
i grow my own plants and veggies, brew my own
beer, to live cheaply i do my own
washing and enjoy it, whenever i feel like something special to cook i learn a new recipe.
Im some ways by living as i do i have an idyillc life as i dont seem to have all the crap hanging over me that most people seem to have gathered.
Plus the biggest bonus is that as i dont spend much
money and know how to live frugally i always seem to have coin in my pocket, what a bonus.
end of my rant,....
cheap
boating it can be done, you just have to want to do it
Matthew
Very well said!
And a twin-engined 
Linear Mode
Recent Discussions