I’ve not forgotten the DIY self-steering post that sits unfinished on my desktop. Truth is, I’d much prefer finishing it rather than the internal combustion clusterfuck I’m sorta/kinda dealing with. The problem is mostly that I just don’t like working on engines for starters as engines are, more often than not, oily messy contraptions that …
Today, I’m mostly finishing the electrics aboard the Islander. Or, to be more truthful, I’ll have 12-volts but will be chasing circuits for the foreseeable future because I have a spaghetti factory of wires that I haven’t a clue where they go or what they do. Ah, the pleasures of a new old boat… Of …
I keep running into some people’s mindset that a VolksCruiser is some beat-to-shit derelict boat that requires a full rebuild and a shit-ton amount of money to get it to float with the mast pointing up. To tell you the truth, it’s really getting up my nose. The fact is most of the boats of …
Once I get finished with the electrics, a bit of engine messabout, and sorting out new navigation lights, then it’s on to making the Islander something more approaching home. First on the list is ripping out the old toilet and building in a “composting head” (and yes, I know that composting heads on boats don’t …
For starters here’s a must read article on marine fuel that both scares me shitless as well as pisses me off… I’m not a huge fan of internal combustion engines and, given a choice, I’d much rather be engine-less or use just a small outboard as we did with So It Goes. The fact that …
I’ll be honest and get out front and tell you that I really hate shopping. Which, according to the marine press, is something of a rarity as it appears in reading them that the main point of sailing or cruising is buying stuff and spending money. That said, having bought an elderly but new-to-me boat …
A good portion of yesterday’s toil aboard the Islander had to do with the AC electric side of things which left me hot, sweaty, tired and perplexed. Perplexed because I’ve always been a minimalist where AC on boats is concerned so making sense of a non-traditional AC system of the previous owner’s design left me …
While it would seem that a lot of folks no longer read and prefer their boat building education to be administered via YouTube, I’ll point out a few books that cover just about everything you need when taking on a VolksCruiserish project. Dan Spurr’s Boatbook is the first book I brought on to the Islander …
So, I now own a new to me fifty year old boat which is causing me to do something I’m near phobic about and get organized. Hopefully, in a couple of days I’ll have reorganized my life in a sorta/kinda way that makes sense and I’ll return to something approaching normal. On the other hand, …
I keep trying to sort out a cunning plan for that 30-footer but have been somewhat distracted by the fact that I’ve been distracted by another for sale boat. So distracted in fact that I decided to buy it. Which leave me being that guy with two boats, an endless supply of needful projects, and …
