Tool Guyd had a post on a very interesting tool chest the other day… Now, I’ll admit to admiring the art involved in the design and building of an over $1500-dollar tool box but appalled at just how impractical it really is as a tool box. Some obviously has got their form follows function manta …
What about freedom from bespoke Yacht wood butchery… Read More »
Some time ago I wrote a post over on BB regarding internal ballast and as I have a lot of questions/remarks on the subject in my email today which induced a strong case of Déjà vu so I thought I’d re-post it here.. ****** Looking at my mailbag this morning I notice that not everyone …
I spend a lot of tie trying to come up with cunning plans where one can build a boat that works for less money which, I’ll admit if something of a frustrating addiction. Made worse as budget building stalwarts like plywood, lumber, and industrial epoxies keep going up in price. This last week I’ve been …
For me the whole budget thing is colored by something the great motion picture camera designer, Raoul Coutard, who designed the pivotal Eclair NPR said when someone asked him how to design a hand holdable self-blimped camera… “First, you start with a quiet camera.” Over the years I’ve found this bit of logic adaptable to …
Most late 60s and early 70s classic plastic sailboats of the 34-foot variety are actually pretty good boats but exceptionally challenged in the cruising stowage department. It’s not that they are too small but that the long-term cruising stowage was just not part of the design brief. So if you’re looking at buying a …
I know I’ve talked about the Bill Lapworth designed CAL 34 more than a time or two but it is the boat I happen to be sitting on while writing this. Back in 1969, when “So it Goes” was new, the boat sold for $15,950. or thereabouts. Today, a turnkey CAL 34 in good shape …
Back when I was living in France one of the designs that I seriously considered was the ETAP 23 for use as a minimal envelope blue water cruiser. For starters, it’s a nice little sailboat. All of the ETAP sailboats had a very nice look partly because of their excellent use of graphics and just …
Damn. Just possibly the father of the VolksCruiser concept and a revolutionary who completely changed the face of sailing is no longer with us.
I’m currently reading about a transatlantic voyage in the 60’s on a Gunter rigged Westerly 22. Color me impressed.
I saw a Freedom 25 for sale in Hawaii recently… It’s one of my favorite Gary Hoyt designs and, with an asking price of $5.8K it would make a very nice VolksCruiser. I expect, one might be able to get it for a bit less. The smaller Freedoms by their very nature are really great …
