Back when I was a kid, cruising was not about buying stuff, keeping up with the Joneses, or being cool. It was mostly about being there and doing it. Most everyone out cruising was on a budget, no one had fan clubs or followers, and companies were not handing out gear to Influencers. To tell …
Back during the aftermath of Hurricane Maria with nothing better to do, I painted “So It Goes” while at anchor in the mangroves. The paint I chose was Rust-Oleum aluminum paint. My thinking at the time was that it was something Phil Bolger mused would make a good boat paint, it was dirt cheap ($13 …
Minimal boat, minimal systems. Just about as seaworthy as you can get.
As someone who spent several years being an on and off resident of Camp 4 in Yosemite, I have a very different view of what the word “Dirtbag” actually means… dirtbag /dûrt′băg″/ noun Which has a lot to do with my approach to the whole VolksCruiser thing and why I admire folks cruising with less, …
OK, I’ll start with a phrase I really hate… “It costs what it costs” Sure, this inane assembly of words is correct but it implies that you have near zero control of what you have to shell out money for and that really pisses me off. The reality is that we all have a great …
This whole get an inexpensive boat and sailing off into the sunset gig generally gets a bad rap. A rap that’s mostly generated by folks who seem somewhat lacking in logic and critical thinking. Possibly it’s just me, but from where I sit, most of the bad rap is conditional on the fact that most …
I’m sitting here looking at a couple of hundred feet or so of Dyneema that should/could be the new rig for the Islander and it’s just a little frustrating as I’m not going to use it and will consign it to the “when the rig needs replacing” locker. Now, as someone who is well aware …
I’ve been mulling over various solutions to mount our chart-plotter in such a way that it could live in the boat but allow for it to hinge into the companionway to allow it to be seen from the cockpit. Hardly rocket science but it does exercise the mind into coming up with a workable solution. …
Some clever frugal DIY of the cheeky tang sort.
I’m at the point with the Islander that I’m overly aware of the current outgoing expenses and, while they’re minor compared to most boat projects, I’m rather miffed that the numbers are what they are. For instance, my better half today is on an expedition to go and buy some 2AWG 3/8″ cable lugs which …
