The nice thing about most classic plastic boats is the fact that they were mostly built like tanks. Fiberglass and polyester resin were cheap and did not require much in the way of expensive labor to slap together so, for the most part, a lot of very strong boats got made in the late 60s …
This morning I noticed a certain blog/website had a post on outfitting your boat for fishing with various affiliate links to illustrate the products being talked about. Like this lure… The price on the provided Amazon link is a whopping $44.99 which happens to be the most expensive Cedar plug I’ve ever come across. My …
What with the push for induction stoves for boats, the current news that gas stoves may be less than healthy, and the fact that I’d love to lessen the amount of fossil fuels aboard. So, hardly surprising I’ve found myself thinking about the various alternatives to propane lately. The main issue with going electric is …
The other day someone pointed me to a couple of Craig’s List self-steering gears to illustrate the argument that it was impossible to sort out a cruising boat on a frugal budget. One of the gears was a Hydrovane for $4K and the other was a Monitor for $3.8K… Which, I suppose, means that if …
The important/funny thing about windvane self-steering gears is folks either get it or they don’t… Sort of a love/hate thing. Which, as things go, happens to be a good thing where outfitting a cruising boat on a frugal budget is concerned. First off, the cost of most manufactured self-steering gears are silly expensive with a …
about self-steering and how to save $4000 or more in one fell swoop… Read More »
The other day, a reader who often drops me mail to let me know I’m an idiot, directed me to a thread on a forum regarding a woman’s decision to buy a cheap RV stove for a couple of hundred dollars instead of a “proper” marine one for a couple of thousand… Silly man. First …
Everyone wants good stuff… I know that. I want good stuff for my boat and you want good stuff for your boat because good stuff is better than bad stuff and hey, we’re not stupid. The problem is that for those in the grip of serial consumerism, it’s not about good stuff but all about …
Did you know that Dung beetles can navigate using the stars? You might want to remember that when someone tells you celestial navigation is an esoteric art too difficult to learn. So, with that little factoid bouncing around your brain pan, maybe we should look at needful navigation stuff for the VolksCruising set… Obviously, being …
Not all that long ago, having a VHF radio aboard was considered something of unneeded luxury. Fact of the matter is, I recall quite vividly a certain British yachting magazine doing a frothing-at-the-mouth editorial about how the introduction of affordable VHF would rot the sinews of seamanship… How times do change. Today I can still …
