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 …
I recently had a conversation with someone wanting to get into cruising and it seemed that his main goal had a lot to do with achieving a certain level of independence. Sound familiar? For me, the best way to achieve a reasonable amount of independence is to simplify and live within one’s means. Which, I’ll …
I’m trying to get my head around the idea that if building a single smartphone produces 87 kilos of waste and 110 kilos of CO2 emissions what the holy fuck does it take to build a Bendytoy 32? Seriously, there has to be a better more sustainable way to do things. If that makes any …
The biggest issue confronting frugal cruisers is that, for the most part, no one really wants to have anything to do with us. We don’t quite fit the official model of what a modern cruiser is supposed to be and therein lies a big part of the problem in that we are just that little …
Back when I was building a catamaran in France just about everyone I knew (and many I did not) shared their opinions that catamarans were a death trap. Yachting Monthly, PBO, Sail, and Cruising World were all running articles and editorials telling me that cats were just not the sort of boat any sane person …
I’ll be honest and admit that I really hate being surprised, especially where boats are concerned. Maybe it’s that I grew up on horror films where surprises were always sort of horrific. On the other hand, it just might be most of my surprises have been of the negative sort so color me somewhat gun …
Yesterday, something came into focus on what made a good deal or a great deal on a sailboat. All the great deals I’ve seen lately are for sale because the boats had become unsustainable for their owners to continue owning. You might want to think on that for a bit… Facebook Twitter Share this post
Sure, I know that there’s a helluva lot of peer pressure to adhere to consumerist dogma but, just for a moment think about what you can afford rather than what you think others will opine on what you need to spend to be accepted. I see a lot of folks selling the idea that “price …
One problem most all cruisers at any budget level find is that their first year of cruising costs a lot more than they expect to spend. Sadly, I speak from experience and in our first year of full time cruising; we spent money like the proverbial drunken sailors on steroids. It doesn’t make it any …
Good Old Boat has an article on the subject of Boat Bucks and it got me thinking… I suspect that if you read VolksCruiser you’re on a tight budget or looking for ways to make cruising more affordable or maybe you’re just slumming. It occurred to me that the biggest problem of the VolksCruiser gig …
