Tips and tricks for minimalist cruising

[Oeanda]

Originally Posted by blu3534

... what happened with the lot more budget cruising members? Did they all get married?

Maybe they just don’t post on this forum so much. Cutting corners = dangerous, irresponsible, etc. You know how that goes. I know a lot of them in real life though.


With our boat we scavenge a lot of materials, do all our own repairs, a lot of hunting and gathering for meals since local food is abundant, and generally make do just fine. Living simple is fun if that’s your thing. Also time consuming. This has the bonus effect of minimizing time for a life spent on serious wage earning, so we don’t need to stress about being big consumers even if we wanted to. Which we don’t at all. Win win...

Of course some people in the past had to live less simply than us lowly bottom feeders, or we probably wouldn’t have a nice old boat and abundant materials to recycle. But it is what it is. I think we’d improvise regardless.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by blu3534

Sure

- 500 (unburdened happy times): https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...nth-40051.html
- continued by https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...-ii-79067.html

- 5000 (screw low down): https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...eply&p=3516879

- either merits: https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...st-121428.html

Warning, this probably more material as electric cornell and cop combined!!
PS: what happened with the lot more budget cruising members? Did they all get married?

Some have died, others have left or been given the boot for being naughty and others have moved to SA etc..

[TrentePieds]

In this age of what Thorstein Veblen dubbed "conspicuous consumption" there is really no need whatever to pay the retail "sticker price" for anything. I made it my personal policy half a century ago to pay no more than 10% of "sticker price" for anything I want or need. So doing has become easier over the years, of course, as I no longer have unsatisfied needs, nor indeed very many unmet wants.

The waste left behind by those who have drunk too freely of Madison Avenue's Kool-Aid is indeed astonishing! As I sit here, just in from a job or work, I am wearing a paid of work shoes bought at a "goodwill store", brand new, still in the box, for seven dollars - Canadian ones at that :-)! Part of the said work was done on a cabinet saw gotten for free - free, gratis - from someone who had to leave a house in a very expensive postal code in favour of something less characterized by pecuniary emulation. Hard deadlines work wonders :-0)!

So since you've all got me riding my Veblenian hobby horse, which has come down to me by way of Kenneth Galbraith, advisor to St. Franklin, Harry "Buck Stops Here", JFK and LBJ tho' he was but a benighted farm boy from Darkest Ontario, I am mulling over whether a Vindõ 42 - or was it 43 - would be included in what cranky old economists, like the ones I used to hang out with, would classify as a "Veblen Good".

Ah well, let he who is without sin.... After all TrentePieds has no economic justification whatsoever. She's just an old man's indulgence.

So to lighten the mood: Kenny G, when he was teenager, was sitting together with a neighbour girl on a fence enclosing a paddock where his father's bull was doing what bulls are paid their feed for doing. He nudges the lassie and sez: "Uhm.. eeh... I... uhm,,,, think that'd be fun!"

"Go ahead", sez she, "it's yer father's cow!"

Cheers

TrentePieds

[Pelagic]

For me, a major goal is to reduce all disposable plastic wrappers/containers to ZERO.

I was initially looking to buy a Vacumn Sealer for foods then decided that would only make for more plastic garbage.

We now use LocknLock containers for storage.
Bulk cook and Freeze Sauces, Stews, Soups in modular containers for backup meals.

Even Fresh Market meats and seafood, we take our own seperate containers to bring home for processing.

Any other ideas to keep all plastics off the boat?

[Pelagic]

One "Anti-minimalistic" note regarding disposable income.

You can't take it with you ...so enjoy while you can, share what you can and don't pollute for others to clean up

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Some have died, others have left or been given the boot for being naughty and others have moved to SA etc..

I feel like Horshack in Welcome Back Kotter. I'm still here, and still living the frugal life. I think you are as well Boatie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju-lptJweTc

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Na Mara

Wingsail I’d definitely say that you and yours have embraced a fairly hard core version of the minimalist lifestyle. More hardcore than I’m willing to embrace...

We don't feel like we are hardcore. In fact we feel a little apologetic that we have it so good.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Na Mara

I think there is some confusion about what minimalism is or involves. Minimalism done well is not cheap. Examples of minimalist yacht brands include the likes of Wally and spirit yachts etc. You pay big more to get a yacht which has clean and uncluttered lines and interior. A key component of minimalism is having fewer things but having these few things in high quality. This is both so that they last, but also because this maximizes the joy of owning them. Fewer pots and pans but high quality ones, fewer tools but high quality ones, an uncluttered boat with fewer and simpler systems but of the highest quality.

My Regina is of the highest quality but she is relatively simple in systems and fit out and I work hard to keep her that way. Hence she fits the minimalist ethos, but maybe not as well as a Wally.

I'm finding it really hard to equate Wally Yachts with any form of minimalism. Uncluttered, handsome, great performance, elegant... sure enough. But that does not equate to any form of minimalism IMO, only to high quality and good taste. The idea of a carbon hulled hundred footer being minimal in execution, impact or expense is IMO ridiculous. To label one as such smacks of self justification from the highly privileged or their emulators.

Jim

[chrisr]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

I'm finding it really hard to equate Wally Yachts with any form of minimalism. Uncluttered, handsome, great performance, elegant... sure enough. But that does not equate to any form of minimalism IMO, only to high quality and good taste. The idea of a carbon hulled hundred footer being minimal in execution, impact or expense is IMO ridiculous. To label one as such smacks of self justification from the highly privileged or their emulators.

Jim

jim, as i think someone said earlier : the problem is that everyone's idea of what constitutes 'minimalistic' is different

here is a pic of the interior of my ex-partner's yacht Adastra

images.jpg Views: 99 Size: 8.3 KB ID: 248009" style="margin: 2px" />

when compared with other us$15 mill superyachts, she is quite minimalistic. this is also the scandinavian style (interior by Inge Strompf-Jepsen)

cheers,

[Chotu]

I agree with Chrisr.

We started talking about both minimalism and environmentalism in one thread. And they can get pretty confusing to stick together. Especially considering a form of life minimalism is one of the most effective ways to be environmental as my other posts were talking about.

But minimalism is a lot more than that. It’s a concept. It just means less of everything. For example, you can be very minimalist while also destroying the environment by building a brand new boat in a minimalist style. Here is an example of a minimalist bathroom in a house.



Note, they have spared no expense. They have not considered the environment whatsoever. Yet it is still minimalist. Just means there isn’t a lot of stuff. And also in a design sense, it is pleasing to the eye due to lack of any clutter whatsoever. No extra items.

Then there is the concept of minimalist lifestyles. I’d say that every last one of us on this forum practice it to some extent. At least the ones that are cruising and living aboard. We had to. There’s just not enough space on a boat to practice a different lifestyle. Take a quick glance at this link. Sound familiar? We talk about stuff like this every day. Especially with new people on the forum.

https://mint.intuit.com/blog/minimal...ifestyle-tips/

So, all cruisers have a little bit of minimalist in them. OK, I’ve seen a few pack rat boats, but most people keep it to a minimalist type of lifestyle.

Finally, minimalism can be applied to anything and everything. Take a listen to this. This is minimalist music. It’s most popular in Europe. As is a lot of minimalist design in general.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ejm6M-YN6h8

I have been into minimalism across all these applications for a very, very long time. I like it. My interest in it dates back to before I even got my first real boat.

But the OP was talking about saving some money with minimalism. I think if they are going from land to a boat, they’re already doing that. And we are having debates about it because like usual on the forum, we don’t have a definition of it. I hope my a few examples above help define the concept of minimalism so everyone can have a conversation more easily about it. My tangent earlier was basically about how minimalism can have an enormous impact on environmentalism. Which was Wolfies topic within the thread.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Chotu

I agree with Chrisr.

We started talking about both minimalism and environmentalism in one thread. And they can get pretty confusing to stick together. Especially considering a form of life minimalism is one of the most effective ways to be environmental as my other posts were talking about.

But minimalism is a lot more than that. It’s a concept. It just means less of everything. For example, you can be very minimalist while also destroying the environment by building a brand new boat in a minimalist style. Here is an example of a minimalist bathroom in a house.



Note, they have spared no expense. They have not considered the environment whatsoever. Yet it is still minimalist. Just means there isn’t a lot of stuff. And also in a design sense, it is pleasing to the eye due to lack of any clutter whatsoever. No extra items.

Then there is the concept of minimalist lifestyles. I’d say that every last one of us on this forum practice it to some extent. At least the ones that are cruising and living aboard. We had to. There’s just not enough space on a boat to practice a different lifestyle. Take a quick glance at this link. Sound familiar? We talk about stuff like this every day. Especially with new people on the forum.

https://mint.intuit.com/blog/minimal...ifestyle-tips/

So, all cruisers have a little bit of minimalist in them. OK, I’ve seen a few pack rat boats, but most people keep it to a minimalist type of lifestyle.

Finally, minimalism can be applied to anything and everything. Take a listen to this. This is minimalist music. It’s most popular in Europe. As is a lot of minimalist design in general.

I have been into minimalism across all these applications for a very, very long time. I like it. My interest in it dates back to before I even got my first real boat.

But the OP was talking about saving some money with minimalism. I think if they are going from land to a boat, they’re already doing that. And we are having debates about it because like usual on the forum, we don’t have a definition of it. I hope my a few examples above help define the concept of minimalism so everyone can have a conversation more easily about it. My tangent earlier was basically about how minimalism can have an enormous impact on environmentalism. Which was Wolfies topic within the thread.

A many facetted subject.. you diamond you..

[Na Mara]

Thank you Chotu. That was an extremely helpful post. As you make clear in your post minimalism is the philosophy of less is more. Of having less cluttering your life as a way of increasing your pleasure in what you do have. If done right it can have positive environmental and economic spin-offs for the practitioner, but it can also be done in a way that has neither. Living aboard a big Wally yacht with a genset running everything is an example of a minimalist lifestyle that is neither economically nor environmentally beneficial. My variant is somewhere between living on an old racing boat with little to no modern comforts and sailing aids and living on a Wally.

[Na Mara]

Another tip for minimalist cruising is doing deck showers instead of showering below most of the time. There is nothing nicer on a hot day than diving into the sea to get wet, lathering up on the bathing platform, diving in again to wash off the soap, and then quickly rinsing off the salt to finish up. If bathing isn’t practical then buckets of sea water work as well. Very refreshing and saves a ton of fresh water and humidity below decks. There is just something so liberating about showering/bathing in the fresh air and as a sailor I get to do it whenever I like.

[tamicatana]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

For me, a major goal is to reduce all disposable plastic wrappers/containers to ZERO.

I was initially looking to buy a Vacumn Sealer for foods then decided that would only make for more plastic garbage.

We now use LocknLock containers for storage.
Bulk cook and Freeze Sauces, Stews, Soups in modular containers for backup meals.

Even Fresh Market meats and seafood, we take our own seperate containers to bring home for processing.

Any other ideas to keep all plastics off the boat?

While it can be difficult to make purchases from supermarkets which aren't enclosed in some flavor of plastic, it isn't too difficult to reuse the bags. Snack bags, bread bags, et cetera, end up with a bit of a wash and reused as freezer bags, which means I haven't purchased Ziplocs in years. Well, that and the nice reusable zipper freezer bags made of silicone or the like. Other good reusable solutions: waxen cloth substitute for plastic wrap; silicone bowl/can lids

[rmlarson1098]

Originally Posted by Na Mara

My wife and I are getting into the whole minimalism thing and as on land, so at sea. Thus we are actively looking for ways to do with less aboard and I thought maybe others here have some good ideas for us.

To get the ball rolling we have a few things we do.

1 merino wool clothing: we discovered this wonderful material a while ago. I’m a big guy who sweats when hot or exerting myself. On a warm day sailing I used to go through at least 3 T-shirts, 1-2 pairs of underwear, 1 pair of socks a day. That created a mountain of laundry that forced us into port every week or so to use a launderette. It was so bad I even tried to figure out where I could put a washing machine on board.

Then we discovered merino wool and it changed our lives. Merino wool does not smell of BO after you sweat into it. This means that a single T-shirt can be worn hard for a week or two without committing any olfactory sins against fellow crew. Underwear last for a couple of days. This drastically reduces the amount of laundry onboard to the extent that it can easily be done by hand. Only when bedding needs cleaning do we need to visit a launderette these days.

2 Stanley thermos mugs. One of these will keep a large mug of coffee, tea or juice hot for hours, and cold drinks cold for an hour or so. After bringing one of these onboard for each crew person we went from boiling a kettle 4-5 times a day to boiling it twice. This drastically reduced our gas usage aboard (by something like a third). We also reduced the amount of water we were chilling in the fridge and so a little electricity consumption there. The mugs are also excellent as you can carry them in your pocket without them leaking: a great feature when sailing.

3 chrome book and or pad instead of laptop: they use about half the power.

Good stuff. We mostly do laundry onboard, with a bucket and a toilet plunger.
Minimal electronics, as mentioned. Our only radio is a VHF, although we do carry an EPIRB. Forget the refridgeration - a well-made cooler keeps our basics cold for nearly a week, depending in climate. Ice is nice, but not necessary.
When you've finally had enough of battling with the head, lose the traditional marine head, (and holding tank) and add a composting toilet. We have a sturdy little bucket for 'light duty' in the cockpit, to save wear and tear on the Airhead.
Consider manually (foot) pumped water. And a solar water heating bag for showers. We prefer natural fiber clothing, but have mostly moved to fast drying synthetic stuff. Like the wool, but my wife cannot tolerate it.
As has been mentioned, no clothing at all saves on laundry. Plus it's fun and adds to a certain sense of 'freedom'!