Books About Provisioning

[lifeofreilly57]

Greetings
I'm looking for a good book for my wife about provisioning for extended cruising. Tips on what kind of provisions, storage, preservation and planning.
A no nonsense book on how to prepare and estimate stores for a long haul.
Any suggestions?

[Mike OReilly]

There are lots of cruising books with chapters on this subject, but the most useful tool I’ve found online is this spreadsheet put together by The Boat Galley folks:

https://theboatgalley.com/downloadab...g-spreadsheet/

We’ve significantly customized it over time, but I’ve found it to be a good starting point.

[Flint]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

We’ve significantly customized it over time, but I’ve found it to be a good starting point.

I'm wondering Mike, how long do you go for on a cruise? I'll get away on Lake Ontario for 5 or 6 nights before coming ashore. Weather being the greatest limiting factor.

cheers
David

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Flint

I'm wondering Mike, how long do you go for on a cruise? I'll get away on Lake Ontario for 5 or 6 nights before coming ashore. Weather being the greatest limiting factor.

Hi David, we’re full-time, 1/2-timers (we’re still in Canada, so live on board about 1/2 the year). We tend to go out for months at a time, rarely going to a dock. If we see huge weather coming in we look for a “hurricane hole” anchorage.

[robert sailor]

Provisioning with large freezer and large fridge is not quite the same as making it happen without those luxuries. ...which camp are you in?? R

[JPA Cate]

See if you can find a copy of "The Care and Feeding of the Offshore Sailor". Sorry, don't remember the author. Beth Leonard (Evans Starzinger's wife) has written about provisioning, she has a whole book about cruising. Janet Stevenson wrote a book about cruising, too, in the days before refrigeration on cruising sail boats. Might find a copy somewhere.

Ann

[StuM]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

See if you can find a copy of "The Care and Feeding of the Offshore Sailor". Sorry, don't remember the author. Beth Leonard (Evans Starzinger's wife) has written about provisioning, she has a whole book about cruising. Janet Stevenson wrote a book about cruising, too, in the days before refrigeration on cruising sail boats. Might find a copy somewhere.

Ann

The Care and Feeding of the Offshore Crew? The Pardeys.

https://www.amazon.com/Care-Feeding-.../dp/0393032493

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

See if you can find a copy of "The Care and Feeding of the Offshore Sailor". Sorry, don't remember the author. Beth Leonard (Evans Starzinger's wife) has written about provisioning, she has a whole book about cruising. Janet Stevenson wrote a book about cruising, too, in the days before refrigeration on cruising sail boats. Might find a copy somewhere.

Ann

care and feeding of offshore crew by Larry and lin pardey.
On my bookshelf

[lifeofreilly57]

Thanks for the suggestions.
We're looking to leave for 3-5 years, beginning next fall after the hurricane season passes on the east coast, we'll spend a season in the carribean to shake the boat down, then head out toward the Pacific. We'll see how far we get. I would never try to project much further at this point, it would be way to cheeky of me.
For the most part the longest transits will be about three weeks, but most are a week to two weeks, but time spent in some parts of the pacific will be extended, we don't want to go through the effort it takes to get there just to fly by the nicer stops along the way.
Our boat has refrigeration, but I'm looking to divide the fridge compartment into two sections, one as freezer, the other as refrigeration. I'm not going crazy on the size of the freezer compartment but it's nice to have.
The boat is currently in my back yard undergoing a total refit, I'm elbow deep in it at this point and working to get it in the water in the spring to shake it down for the summer season before heading off in the fall.
So any large projects that need to take place are happening now.
My wife is thinking on the subject of provisioning now because I'm in the middle of the interior work and any mods for storage will be done in the very near future, the boat has a ton of storage space, but it's not well organized, I'm looking to section off some segments of the storage in a more organized fashion, this will depend on what is needed and when it's needed. Form follows function.
Thanks for the suggestions so far, any other suggestions will be gladly accepted.
Now I have to get motivated to put on the woollies and get out to work on the boat, they're forecasting 0-10 F all week. Guess I'll get the last two chainplates out, fiberglass cuts faster when it cold.
Cheers.

[robert sailor]

If your on a really tight budget and traveling longer distances you'll provision differently. The real budget types will be preparing,legumes,rice,pasta. Bake their own bread. Add fish caught to their diet. They limit or don't use fridges at all. You have to remember that it wasn't that long ago that no one had fridges and freezers and they all ate well and lived normal lives. There are all sorts of tricks to store food without fridges. If your budget is tight forgoing a fridge has huge cost benefits because the fridge is the biggest amp eater on the boat. You don't need all the solar,wind,genders and high output alternator. You don't have the maintenance associated with it which really makes a big difference in your ongoing costs. Cruisers like the Pardeys didn't even have an engine and basically no electrical systems. It's no wonder they were able to travel around the world throwing nickels around like manhole covers. So many cruisers these days want to sail on tight budgets but don't want to change their lifestyle to ensure it can happen.
The rest of us have all the luxuries that we drug along from our land life and the costs associated with it. It's obviously easier in some ways to provision and it is also more expensive but life is about choices and the more money you have the wider the choices you have in this lifestyle or any other. R

[lifeofreilly57]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

If your on a really tight budget and traveling longer distances you'll provision differently. The real budget types will be preparing,legumes,rice,pasta. Bake their own bread. Add fish caught to their diet. They limit or don't use fridges at all. You have to remember that it wasn't that long ago that no one had fridges and freezers and they all ate well and lived normal lives. There are all sorts of tricks to store food without fridges. If your budget is tight forgoing a fridge has huge cost benefits because the fridge is the biggest amp eater on the boat. You don't need all the solar,wind,genders and high output alternator. You don't have the maintenance associated with it which really makes a big difference in your ongoing costs. Cruisers like the Pardeys didn't even have an engine and basically no electrical systems. It's no wonder they were able to travel around the world throwing nickels around like manhole covers. So many cruisers these days want to sail on tight budgets but don't want to change their lifestyle to ensure it can happen.
The rest of us have all the luxuries that we drug along from our land life and the costs associated with it. It's obviously easier in some ways to provision and it is also more expensive but life is about choices and the more money you have the wider the choices you have in this lifestyle or any other. R

True, but the Pardeys didn't have children.
I now the cost and maintenance that comes with those extra systems, I have to maintain them. I've owned boats that had bare bones systems as well.
IN this case we're certainly not rich, but we're frugal in many ways, the associated cost of maintaining the systems on our boat will offset the benefits. If I had to pay someone to maintain them it would be a different story, fortunately I have the ability to maintain all the systems on my boat, short of a catastrophic parts failure.
Once our cruising days with the kids are over I'm definitely going to a simpler boat so I have more time sailing than maintaining.
For now, that's a different story.
OK, I have to get motivated to go out in the cold and get some work done, on the refrigeration.......

[robert sailor]

The beauty with our lives is we all make our own decisions and each of us are happy with this. Personally i find wives much harder than kids to deal with when it comes down to frugal living. Im dating myself now but i read every book that the Pardeys wrote and thats what started my dream. We decided to take a years sabbatical from work and see if what they professed could actually work for us. We decided to sail from Vancouver down to Mexico, do a season there and then home again via Hawaii.
I gave my wife 12 envelopes with the same amount of cash and the budgeting was up to her. The truth is we had the time of our lives, my Son came with us and my daughter joined us along the way. We had 35 gallons of water and 20 gallons of fuel.we could make the water last for close to a month. Those were the days of no watermaker and no GPS ...We had the engine water pump fail and in those days we had to wait for the next cruising boat to come down south that would deliver it, only took 3 months and while it certainly had it's inconveniences we simply sailed every where and got by just fine. At the end of our little adventure my wife had the equivalent of almost 2 months of her cruising cash left.
We were hooked and cruising has been a big part of my life ever since. The good part in those days was that most cruisers were frugal, boats were closer to 30 ft on average and it was a younger persons game. These days it's mostly older retired folks that can't get by without the touches that make life easier..I understand, I'm in that club now but i also know no matter your age you can cruise for a very economical budget if you really want to.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

The beauty with our lives is we all make our own decisions and each of us are happy with this. Personally i find wives much harder than kids to deal with when it comes down to frugal living. Im dating myself now but i read every book that the Pardeys wrote and thats what started my dream. We decided to take a years sabbatical from work and see if what they professed could actually work for us. We decided to sail from Vancouver down to Mexico, do a season there and then home again via Hawaii.
I gave my wife 12 envelopes with the same amount of cash and the budgeting was up to her. The truth is we had the time of our lives, my Son came with us and my daughter joined us along the way. We had 35 gallons of water and 20 gallons of fuel.we could make the water last for close to a month. Those were the days of no watermaker and no GPS ...We had the engine water pump fail and in those days we had to wait for the next cruising boat to come down south that would deliver it, only took 3 months and while it certainly had it's inconveniences we simply sailed every where and got by just fine. At the end of our little adventure my wife had the equivalent of almost 2 months of her cruising cash left.
We were hooked and cruising has been a big part of my life ever since. The good part in those days was that most cruisers were frugal, boats were closer to 30 ft on average and it was a younger persons game. These days it's mostly older retired folks that can't get by without the touches that make life easier..I understand, I'm in that club now but i also know no matter your age you can cruise for a very economical budget if you really want to.

Nice to hear your story Robert. We’re early on in our cruising life. My partner and I have chosen a more frugal approach which has allowed us to get away sooner than most. I still think of our boat as quite luxurious, but we don’t have as many of the necessities that others seem to require. And no kids! We are wary of spending much time tied to a dock, or anywhere near “touristy” areas — this is how the money goes!

Our 40-year-old cruising boat was well designed for long-distance self-sufficiency. We carry 200 gallons of water, 55 gallons of diesel and have tons of storage space for food and drink. We do have a fridge, but after about three weeks we’ve eaten through most of our fresh stuff, so it becomes more of a storage area. It’s also nice to have chilled wine for afternoon spritzers . We bake our own bread, and tend to eat a lot of beans, rice, pasta and dried foods, along with some canned. Fishing is a skill that largely eludes me, but I plan to get better.

There are those who need the $3k/month budget to cruise comfortably. And that’s just fine. We seem to live quite well on about 1/2 that, but our choices reflect our more limited financial capabilities. We’re enjoying the cruising life, and at a relatively young age.

[robert sailor]

Hi Mike,
All the best in the New Year. Well that's the beauty of cruising there are many different ways to do it. My experience has shown that the more utilitarian your boat is set up with dead simple systems the less maintenance and break downs you have which leads in to less costs and more sailing. People with smaller boats have tons of fun. Your point about staying out of marinas is critical ( as I'm writing this we are in a marina lol) that first year we spent 2 days in a marina getting ready to sail to Hawaii. It's not the cost of the marina which is bad enough but it's the lifestyle that goes with it that really adds up.!)) Even back in the day there were those with deeper pockets that had more complex boats and of course spent more time fixing than sailing but by and large the majority were all around my age back then and were sailing smaller boats that were very simple. We had a 36 foot boat back then and it was considered large and a 40 ft boat was huge. Our electronic package consisted of 1 vhf radio and 1 portable hi freq radio with BFO that allowed us to get SSB freq's. We had a depth sounder and Speedo. No electronic charts, no chart plotters no EPIRB because they didn't exist for small boats.There were a couple of small radars but very few had them. There were satnavs that were the same price of a new car and you could get a daily fix but no one I knew had one so it was it was all celestial navigation. There were far far less cruisers back then because of navigation but once GPS came out cruising grew exponentially. I admire your cruising style because it sends a good positive message out to younger people that they really don't need half the stuff everyone tells them they gotta have. They can get out there, cross oceans and live a fun life while exploring the world all the while doing it on a very manageable budget.

[lifeofreilly57]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

Hi Mike,
All the best in the New Year. Well that's the beauty of cruising there are many different ways to do it. My experience has shown that the more utilitarian your boat is set up with dead simple systems the less maintenance and break downs you have which leads in to less costs and more sailing. People with smaller boats have tons of fun. Your point about staying out of marinas is critical ( as I'm writing this we are in a marina lol) that first year we spent 2 days in a marina getting ready to sail to Hawaii. It's not the cost of the marina which is bad enough but it's the lifestyle that goes with it that really adds up.!)) Even back in the day there were those with deeper pockets that had more complex boats and of course spent more time fixing than sailing but by and large the majority were all around my age back then and were sailing smaller boats that were very simple. We had a 36 foot boat back then and it was considered large and a 40 ft boat was huge. Our electronic package consisted of 1 vhf radio and 1 portable hi freq radio with BFO that allowed us to get SSB freq's. We had a depth sounder and Speedo. No electronic charts, no chart plotters no EPIRB because they didn't exist for small boats.There were a couple of small radars but very few had them. There were satnavs that were the same price of a new car and you could get a daily fix but no one I knew had one so it was it was all celestial navigation. There were far far less cruisers back then because of navigation but once GPS came out cruising grew exponentially. I admire your cruising style because it sends a good positive message out to younger people that they really don't need half the stuff everyone tells them they gotta have. They can get out there, cross oceans and live a fun life while exploring the world all the while doing it on a very manageable budget.

I started out traveling by motorcycles when I was 19, did a cross country trip on a 1969 Triumph 650 with a tent, sleeping bag and hiking stove, it was a ball, and a cheap way to travel too. Hated that bike for long distance though.
I did that 4 more major, extended trips like that, all of the lower 48, all the provinces of Canada and a small part of the baja Peninsula, on better and better motorcycles, but still with a tent and sleeping bag, it was cheap. Money not spent on campgrounds and hotels got me further down the road, big scenery, small bucks.
When I got my first 30' boat I thought I was living in the lap of luxury, basic, radio direction finder, depth sounder, knot meter,, and lots of dead reckoning navigation. Cheap, easy to sail, easy to maintain. I sailed the **** out of that boat, many times in conditions I probably shouldn't have, but I learned a lot and am still doing it and learning.
We plan to anchor out, live frugally and stretch our money to get more distance and see more. My wife is cut from the same cloth as me so it might just work. Having more systems is crazy if you can't service them yourself, but I can, so it helps keep the cost down. Our ultimate goal is to be as self sufficient as possible so we don't rely on marinas and shoreside support.
I've had boats and equipment that span the spectrum, but we've settled on the systems we feel are important and left the other ones out. We'll see how it goes. We do like our beer cold though, it's a doable luxury.
Happy New Year, let's see what it brings.
Cheers