I tend to confine my perusal of sailboats of the VolksCruiser ilk to Craigslist and Le Bon Coin. Both venues have what I’ll call a mostly reality-based interface as long as you know what you’re looking for and have done your homework. That said, whenever buying something used like a boat it’s best to be …
As much as I love the CAL 34, I’d much rather have a Columbia 34 MK2 SD or Columbia 34 MK2 CB. What can I say but that extra bit of shoal draft makes all the difference. Another reason I like Bill Tripp’s design is its great foredeck that’s big enough for a dinghy without …
Perusing the Hawaii Craigslist I noticed there seemed to be an abundance (four!) of one of my favorite boats the Bill Tripp designed Columbia 26 Mk 2. Which, as it happens, is the little sister of the Columbia 50. Very little sister Now, a lot of people think a 26-foot boat is far too small …
I’m sure if you’re considering getting a boat and going cruising on a budget you’ll be getting a shit load of push-back from just about everybody that it just can’t be done. Kind of a bummer that. The truth is, there’s a plethora of good inexpensive sailboats just waiting for someone to find them and …
The whole idea of doing the VolksCruiser thing has everything To do with affordability and sustainable living. Apparently, not everyone seems to understand that. It’s long been my opinion that the best place to find a good deal on a boat is being on the water and seeing a boat for sale that looks interesting. …
Pricing on boats is just nuts these days and fining what’s a good price or reasonable price can be all kinds of problematic. You can buy a used Optimist dinghy for $200 or $3500 and I’m sure there’s a difference between the two but that kind of differential is just nuts. Especially when there’s a …
I find it kind of funny that people who I don’t even know, write to the blog and are hesitant to state a budget when asking advice on various boats. “Do you think a fixer upper Cascade 36 would be a good boat to get?” I then ask what it costs, how much the boat …
So it’s 2023 and a new year. For some of us, it comes with some musing over the state of things. As far as sailing and cruising goes, my musings seemed to be along the lines of that Dickens quote and I spent a couple of hours thinking about the good/bad reality after the ball …
One of my favorite CAL Lapworth designs is the CAL T2-27 one of the CAL 27 variations. I’ve written about the design before. Anyway, I mention this because there’s a T2 for sale that I’ve been keeping my eye on and the price just went from 1.5K to $1000. Well worth a look if you …
As someone who’s managed to survive three category 5 storms at anchor with minimal damage, I’ll be the first person to say that the only safe/sane way to deal with a major storm is to be somewhere else when it’s happening. Which has a lot to do with always having at least a sketchy plan …
