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 …
