Here’s a simple boat. It’s a scow and it makes quite a bit of sense… Designed by Reuel Parker it’s a lot of bang for the buck and a very comfortable floating home… What’s not to like? Everything is simple, it’s easily put together, and as boats go, is not going to break the bank …
Here’s a design worth taking a long serious look at… It’s Tad Robert’s 28-foot Future Cruiser. It also has everything someone actually needs to go wherever they want to in safety and comfort… Of course, not everyone wants to build their own boat but the layout and interior accommodation could be adapted to a great …
The other day someone asked me about what sort of boat he should be looking for in the VolksCruiser mold for a single guy to cruise on for his retirement and then added that he thought he’d need at least a 50-footer. Yeah, that kind of threw me as well… Which brings up the question …
The other day I was looking at a very nice CAL 28 for sale… Sure, it needed a bit of work but nothing $1000 and a few weeks of part-time work wouldn’t take care of. For the record, it was selling for $1500. I mention this because there are lots of similar boats just waiting …
I’ve noticed that, where boats are concerned, folks can be somewhat, shall we say, coy about their chosen budget… It’s problematic. I understand that in a world where it’s often more about what the boat costs rather than the boat, someone on a tight budget might feel disinclined to publicly admit he/she cannot afford what …
For those who don’t think a boat can be built quickly, you might want to check out the small cruising scow currently being built by Yann Quenet and his ongoing photo coverage of the process… Of course, for our purposes Yann’s SKROWL is too small for our VolksCruiser purpose but it would certainly scale up …
How to tell if a boat is a VolkCruiser… It’s affordable by someone on a blue-collar budget. It’s 40-feet or less. It has VERY simple systems. It has a minimal carbon footprint. It’s owner repairable. More on this tomorrow.
The whole VolksCruiser concept is, you might say, the polar opposite to what’s going on over at Attainable Adventure Cruising with their ongoing design riff of the Adventure 40… The Adventure 40 is an interesting concept but it is most certainly not the sort of thing we’re talking about with the VolkCruiser and, I expect, …
Since we’re speaking of sharpies I really have to mention Phil Bolgers Breakdown Schooner… It’s always been one of my favorite love/hate designs and, as such, deserves a bit of discussion. Of course, it has a lot working for it… Shoal draft, reasonable accommodation, a low sorta/kinda tabernacled rig that stows within the length of …
“Once the departure is made from the true sharpie hull configuration and concept, one is beginning to gild the lily. Costs soar and the result is seldom an improvement.” – Tom Colvin In my mind, the only possible exception for a boat that just might pull off the VolkCruiser concept/budget that you can build yourself …
