about that motor…

In Rodger Martin’s recent IBEX talk about sharpies he said something that resonated for me… “In the last couple of years while cruising in the Bahamas I’ve seen that the great majority of sloops motorsail upwind or close-reaching with only the mainsail and downwind with only a jib set. In a month in the Bahamas …

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What’s a boat worth?

Over at a forum, which seems to be inhabited by those who know the cost of everything and the value of nothing, there seems to be much discussion about the asking price of Lin and Larry Pardey’s Taleisin. It got me thinking… First off, I just do not understand where the whole “wood boats are …

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Whatever works for you…

Just a quick reminder… Sometimes I need to remind myself that, by and large, folks simply do not care what sort of boat you have. As for the ones who do, you might not care to know them anyway.

Some simple addition…

So, you’ve been looking at the Michalak scow Boxtop and saying to yourself  “I could knock one of those together in a hurry for not a lot of money…” So what would it cost to build? Well for starters, you’re looking at around 50-sheets of 1/2″ plywood which, if you go marine, is a chunk …

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A simple scow design…

Jim Michalak is a designer who took Phil Bolger’s “Instant Boats” to heart and for years has been churning out various designs in the genre. Lots have been built and those using them have been happy. He’s also written a book “Boatbuilding for Beginners” on building boats of the mainly “Instant” variety which would be …

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a big cheap boat…

There’s a Morgan 41 Out Island for sale over in St Thomas for what seems like forever. I first noticed it when it was selling for around $40K and have watched, with no small amount of interest, as the price has come down (and down) till it’s reached it’s current sub-$10K asking price of $8500. …

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A quick thought…

Recently, over at the WoodenBoat forum there was some discussion of a newish George Buehler design… On the whole, I don’t like forums as they bring out a certain insecure my-dicks-bigger-than-yours mean spirited vibe that I find depressing to the max. The reason I mention this is if you want to do the VolksCruiser thing …

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