Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Little boat, little problems...


Over the years I have been watching the bigger is better consumer yachting parade continue to get stronger. Of course hardly surprising when most of the available information is from people whose whole goal in business is to sell more advertising...

Right now the news is filled with more and more stories of just how we are a blink away from a depression and all manner of evil layoffs and suchlike so of course the marine publishing folk are adding articles on how you can improve your $500,000.+ boat for five dollars or less and how to save money by reusing coffee filters...The mind boggles! If you want to save money on a sailing boat start with a boat that does not cost a LOT!

Small boats make a lot of sense. Stuff for smaller boats is cheaper and you don't need the complicated systems that can break down and leave you stranded or worse, which actually makes them safer...Throw in the fact that smaller boats take less work to keep them going you won't have to spend all your time cruising trying to fix stuff and spending money on it.

Over at Atom Voyages which is a great resource for sensible cruising advice and projects they have a great article on small boats. Boats that make sense and will take you in anywhere you want to go in safety and comfort which should be read by anyone considering buying a boat and sailing off into the sunset with no need to reuse coffee filters to be able to pay for it.