Boats in the VolksCruiser budget zone are going to have problems or issues you’ll have to deal with. Just accept it as part of the territory, which is not always problematic. A sailboat with the right issues could very well be to your advantage. There’s a Catalina 27 with a broken mast that would make …
Yesterday I did a Craigslist search on some of my favorite VolksCruiser candidates one of which is the Bill Tripp designed Columbia 26 MK2. As it happens I found six of these boats for sale and all of them were selling for $3000 or less. The average price was just a kiss shy of …
The current issue of Blue Water Sailing (not a magazine I read on a regular basis) has an article on “New Cruising Boats” and it seems that the cheapest boat listed is about $175,000.00 or so. Which, I’ll admit, does seem in the cheap-seats when compared to the boats on the list over a million …
When a $175,000.00 boat is considered cheap-seats… Read More »
A couple of decades or so back while living in in St Thomas there was a really nice couple who’d bought a famous (it had featured in a movie with Bing Crosby) albeit semi-derelict Alden schooner sight unseen. At the time I was working at a local marine consignment store and the couple came in …
I know everyone says that when using plywood aboard a boat that one should always use the best marine plywood you can get. So here’s where that advice does not quite add up. Some time back I built a hard dodger with marine ply, saturated it with epoxy and glassed then painted it. I was …
In my RSS inbox today there was another “is the cruising life for you” themed podcast. Which apparently answers all your needful questions like “What’s it all going to cost?”. The thing is, I don’t feel the need to check out the podcast in question because it will just be a regurgitation of the same …
What it costs and empowerment from a surprising source…. Read More »
“One of the very best boats ever designed. I based a good part of my design work around the Haida 26. I love that boat.”… Robert Perry Robery Perry sure knows what he’s talking about. For a variety of reasons I monitor sailboats for sale in a few places and a 26-foot Haida in Washington State popped …
I just realized that we’ve been using our DIY composting toilet without any issues or problems since 2009. which, if you do the math, adds up to twelve years. As it only cost around $100 that’s a pretty good return on investment. I mention this because the whole idea of VolksCruier is not about doing …
On, “So It Goes” we have a 400-amp hour battery bank made up of lead acid golf cart batteries with 350-watts of solar panels being the prime charging input. I should also note that I have two 50-watt panels that I have not included as they currently need repair (so much for lifetime warranties) that …
Avoiding the bigger/more expensive death spiral… Read More »
Way back when, Jimmy Carter pointed out that it might make sense to turn your thermostat down a few degrees and wear a sweater as a means to save on fossil fuels. Which, as it happens, was a very simple and elegant answer to a difficult problem of the then current oil shortage. Just use …
