something from the budget conundrum files...

Justice in the sloth lane, an awesome resource of Japanese wood block printing art, and what's going on in modern policing...

The other day while watching a movie it occurred to me that it has been ages since I've seen a film where the characters housing actually reflected their supposed income. You know how it goes with the unemployed guy/girl somehow living in an awesome apartment, house, or loft that would be unattainable by anyone with meager means.

It seems that, where media is concerned, poor folks are only interesting if they drive nice cars and live in good neighborhoods.

The media's depiction of folks on boats is morphing into a similar state with more and more well off people on expensive boats pretending to be less than well off than they are. Which I find just a bit upsetting.

Dishonesty in fiction is bad but in the no-mans land where documentary mixes with reality film and video production meet it's a cardinal sin.

Just something to think about next time you wonder just how someone installing thousands of dollars of gear on a boat with no visible means of support makes sense.

Listening to Olivia Rodrigo

So it goes...

On the cost of marina berths these days...

An overly apt boat builder's mantra, a very good point, and in the "Not exactly surprising now is it?" department...

Sailing Anarchy has a quick note about the cost of keeping a boat in a marina and it's, in my view at least, pretty scary. 

That said, rising costs in marinas is hardly surprising as I've never understood the appeal of keeping a boat in something akin to a trailer park with pretensions and paying rent to upscale slum lords.

Just sayin'.

Listening to the Country Westerns

So it goes...

on how not to spend...

On maps being wrong, light at the end of the tunnel, and in the "Pretty much common knowledge" department...

This morning, while I was waiting for the coffee to brew, I watched a video of a guy with an Oyster go on about various ways of not getting taken to the cleaners and saving money while your boat is in the boatyard. For what's it's worth, his advice was mostly spot on.

Of course, the best way to save money in terms of boat work is to have a boat that does not require the hiring of people to fix it. Or as Lin and Larry Pardey said...

"If you can't repair it, maybe it shouldn't be on board."

The good news is that for the most part, there's pretty much zero rocket science involved in sailboat systems so it's within the abilities of most everyone to sort problems when needful. For those jobs and repairs you don't know how to fix there is always a good book on the subject you can refer to.

On the other hand, since a lot of folks don't like to read, they go to their forum of choice and try to get their information there. Which, considering the large amount of erroneous information I see on the various sailing and cruising forums, might not actually be your best bet and an excellent way to screw up beyond repair whatever needs fixing.

To make things easier to save money on repairs and suchlike, confine the various systems aboard to equipment that is simple and user repairable and where user repairable is not an option (spelled most electronics) choose items that are affordable enough to carry backups for redundancy. 

More on some simple user repairable systems and redundancy strategies soonish...

Listening to Aquarium Drunkard

So it goes...

Not a good idea in sight...

A sane reaction to the ongoing situation, someone's scared shitless, and in the "Just your usual rampant stupidity" department...

Some days I just don't know what to write. I mean, I had a couple of ideas when I sat down to do this post but neither of them seemed to pan out and mostly I've just been looking at this blank void on the computer, typing a word or two, and then erasing said words. Which is what I've been doing for the last hour or so.

It would appear my heads just not in it today...

So, here's a really great post on frugal cruising that I've wanted to link to for ages. It's so good it will make some folk's heads explode.

Listening to the Texas Tornados

So it goes...

Some thoughts on the budget thing...

Apparently someone has a problem with basic math, a new font of interest, and on the passing of someone who rattled the cages...

All the current talk about minimum wages has me rethinking what would be the minimum budget to comfortably cruise in the right here and now.

Writing about budgets is always going to be problematic. For starters, everyone defines the word "comfortable" differently, and I'm pretty sure your idea of what you need to cruise in your comfort zone is a lot different than what I need in mine.

In our case, we hate marinas, don't like to eat out or do bars, and generally do not feel we need a lot of what we deem to be spurious systems aboard our boat. This has a huge affect on our ability to cruise on a smaller than average budget.

As far as spurious systems go, take air-conditioning as an example. I don't like living in a refrigerated environment so the whole idea of air-conditioning is somewhat repugnant to me in spite of living in the tropics for the last few decades. On the other hand, I know a lot of people who wilt when the temperature or humidity climbs a kiss and rush to the thermostat. Whatever your stance on controlling your indoor environment, the fact is that whatever it is will affect your budget in terms of outfitting and energy costs.

Another factor I've come to recognize is that some folks are good at setting and following budgets and some just don't seem to be able to. Recently aboard "So It Goes", our sewing machine quit working. Confronted with the choice of fixing it myself, paying someone else to fix it, or buying a new sewing machine had me looking at the budget wondering just what fixing the thing would cost. Since having someone else fix it or buying a new one would adversely affect the budget, I was left with the option of fixing it myself which, it turned out, was a fairly non-problematic affair and did not cost anything at all. As a bonus, I can now fix a sewing machine if the need arises. Of course, either other option would have cut in to the month's budget.

Being able to do the work needed to maintain or fix the various systems on the boat is a great way to keep on a budget so my first thought is to always fix it myself even if it requires learning new skills to do it. Which is not to say that there is anything wrong with not doing the work yourself but the fact remains that if you throw money at problems it will always affect the budget.

As it happens, our recent thrown rod experience with our generator which was beyond my ability to fix within a cost effective envelope meant we had to buy a new generator. We got a great deal on slightly more powerful, yet quieter model that is much more user serviceable than the Ryobi.

So yeah, budgets really have to be dealt with on an individual basis and what works for you. Keep in mind that what you spend is 99% under your control and you have the ability to spend less if you need to.

Listening to some Willie Nelson coverage

So it goes

some help with that learning curve...

Viral insanity, EBM lays it down, and a scary mosquito-borne virus you might want to read up on...

Doing just about anything involves a learning curve and some pursuits have a steeper curve than others. Take cruising for instance.

Most folk we know, ourselves included, have had a problematic first year. Which mostly translates to not really having a clue, a general suspension of common sense, and being prone to bad decisions.

Been there, done that, and got the t-shirt.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I still marvel at all the little mistakes we made at the beginning. In our case, the main culprits that resulted in that far too steep learning curve were mostly about following the hive mind, non-application of common sense to cruising advice, and in particular, thinking that throwing money at problems was a panacea when it was just the opposite.

Most of us don't really talk about that first year of cruising because who really wants to tell tales of the "Boy, I was really a stupid melon farmer way back when!" sort.

That said, boy, I was really a stupid melon farmer way back when. Trust me you don't really want to hear about it.

Which brings me to the fact that Carolyn Shearlock from over at the BoatGalley has a free course on Overcoming the first-year learning curve. Better yet it's free. The thing is, learning from someone else's hindsight is a whole lot less traumatic than learning from your own mistakes as well as being a lot less expensive. Just the thing I could've used way back when.

Good stuff.

Listening to an album's worth of Lucinda Williams covers.

So it goes...

in the $642 is not pocket change department...

An apt nautical analogy , just the same old same another day/another lie, and some news in the "timey-whimey" department...

Some recent changes from Egypt got me thinking about the shifting sands of bureaucratic attitudes to boats visiting their countries.

On one hand, I get the inclination to tax wealthy visitors who come riding in on castles built of amazing, by their standards, disposable income. While, on the other hand I admit to rankling somewhat when my less-than-ostentatious vessel gets caught in the same net...

Whatever your view I'm pretty sure a $652 fee to clear out becomes a not going to go there note in most folks travel plans.

And people wonder why I hate the word y-a-c-h-t?

Listening to Frightened Rabbit (Scott Hutchison will be missed)

So it goes...

Boat economics 101...

Something taxpayers might want to take note of, a little situational awareness snafu edition, and in the "Pants on fire" department...

So, let's say you need a water jug or two for your boat and have chosen the Scepter five gallon because it's what just about everybody uses. You know, this one...

What's it going to cost you?

Well, as it happens, Budget Marine just sent me an email that had that very thing on sale for $53.95 (normal price is $59.95).

Yowza! I'm not sure about you but more than $50 bucks for a plastic jerry can seemed just a little bit high so I thought I'd see what other folks were selling the exact same thing for...

WEST Marine had it for $29.99.

Defender had it for $19.99.

Amazon had it for $14.44.

WalMart did not have the Scepter jug but did have a reasonable facsimile for $12.97.

Quite the difference. Obviously this sorta/kinda disproves the whole "You get what you pay for" mantra /idiot speak so common where boat stuff is concerned as well as underlining the fact that you really should do your due diligence and math before shelling out money for just about anything for a boat.

Especially whenever the seller has the word b-u-d-g-e-t in their name.

Listening to Los Lobos

So it goes...

PS Have a great Cinco de Mayo

a good read...

This may ruin your day, Kunstler making sense, Earth-Bound Misfit on the subject of Hawaii, and in the "insufferable ego from wannabee generals and men of action" department...

SV Adventurer has an excellent post about age, surfing, and health care in the not US of A. You should really check it out.

Listening to Ljova and the Kontraband

So it goes...

On the current cost of yams...

An interesting read on oil, some seriously neat news from NASA, and in the "just how bag-of-hammers stupid do you need to be a Republican in Congress these days?" department...

Color me worried.

The other day while out shopping, I was appalled to see that yams/sweet potatoes were selling for $1.79 a pound. Which, I'm pretty sure you'll agree, is a whole lot of money for what I've always thought of as "poor-people food". Two years ago, I'd never even consider buying yams if they went over sixty-nine cents a pound.

The thing is, I can't recall hearing or reading about some awful yam blight or large scale infestation of sweet potato eating bugs that might account for such a steep price rise. It seems to be that someone just decided to raise the price.

What I have been reading in the news is that the powers-that-be keep threatening to send back the workforce that actually does the grunt work of harvesting the produce we eat and, if that comes to fruition, the added costs in labor with the impossible to avoid resulting scarcity of produce will make $1.79 yams start to look cheap.

Provisioning in "interesting times" is going to take some lateral thinking...

We'll be talking a lot more on the subject in the near future. But, in the meantime, check out this interesting bit of thought  from Shanty Boat Living and while you're at it you might want to download the PDF of "Sailing the Farm" as well.

Listening to the Pogues and Mekons

So it goes...

A video blog you just may want to follow...

Two reasons (#1 and #2) you don't want to have anything to do with YAHOO, a book of interest, and a little something to look forward to...

Lin Pardey making all kinds of sense.




Listening to some Moon River Music Festival goodness

So it goes...

as if being too far to windward was not enough reason not to visit...

Buckwheat Zydeco is no longer with us, a whole lot of sense being made, and in the "I still don't understand why we're not seeing perp walks" department...

So, according to the new October issue of  Blue Water Sailing, Barbados has now added a flat $2000 annual fee per boat to the cost of visiting the island. Apparently the powers that be in Barbados think it's going to attract more tourism...

Yeah right!

Offhand, I can't say such antics of clueless bureaucrats on small islands with not much to offer in the grand scheme of things is going to affect me one way or the other as Barbados is just not on my places to windward I ever need to go to.

That said, dumb ideas are a lot like the common cold and tend to spread so I wouldn't be at all surprised to see such silliness popping up elsewhere.

Just saying...


Listening to The Main Squeeze

So it goes...

Just another day in the greed zone...

Metastasized global economy pretty much says it all, just about the profit, and in the "poisonous corrosive man" department...

A reader sent me a link this morning to this...

...wanting to know if it was a good deal.

Now, I could easily insert a whole lot of snark here, go off on a rant of epic proportions, or simply acknowledge that, in point of fact, that the quote most often attributed to Mr Barnum (that he most likely never said) would be spot on.

Instead I'll just answer the question...

West Marine sells it for $299.99 and Defender sells it for $235.99 so the one you're inquiring about is not really a good deal and, if you're going to spend your money foolishly, you're better off giving it to the folks at Defender.

Then again, if you want something that does the same job just as well for a non-stupid price like this one...

Just $13

Really, just how stupid do they think we are?


Listening to some interesting versions of Sloop John B

So it goes...

on the subject of budgetary carnage...

Some very needful reading, a good reason to buy stuff somewhere else, and just the sort of thing to read during Christmas week...

Lately I've been receiving a lot of email with links and suchlike sent by folks as proof that it takes a LOT OF MONEY to fix your boat or to cruise and today was no exception.

Today's example (you can read it here) concerned a couple with a Cape Dory 33 whose engine was toast and the local diesel repair guy had just given them an estimate for $6,741.47 ($2903.27 parts + $3270 labor + tax & shipping). It was a rather depressing story.

The guy sharing the link to the story said it was proof positive that boats/cruising was very expensive and how I was wrong about budgets and suchlike...

OK.

So yeah, it does cost money to fix stuff and shit happens.

That said, while I don't think the couple with the engine problems are doing anything wrong, their spending and budget is not the only path available to them...

For instance, if you can work and maintain the systems you have on your boat you can dispense with that rather large labor charge and, looking over the prices on parts, you could save a whole lot of money there as well with a little educated effort but the important lesson that comes to mind is that old but still valid observation...

If you can't repair it, maybe it shouldn't be on board. - Lin and Larry Pardey

Which just may be the smartest thing Lin and Larry have ever said.

As it happens, I don't much like working on engines but, over the years, I've rebuilt a few. The first one was the engine in my 1963 VW van that I had to rebuild on the side of the road in the back end of nowhere with the tools on hand and a dog-earred copy of John Muir's "How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step by Step Procedures for the Complete Idiot". It took me a week and a half and I had to hitch hike fifty miles each way several times to buy parts and get stuff machined but at the end of the ordeal the engine worked and continued to do so till I sold the beast a couple of years later. You might say I'm living proof that John Muir was right about the complete idiot thang.

On the other hand, my first thought when I saw the estimate of $6,741.47 was why on earth would someone pay that kind of money for a repair of an old diesel engine when you could buy a new one for less than $3000? Someone always has industrial diesel engines on sale cheap if you know where to look...

I'd expect a brand new 27HP Kubota could be easily adapted and would work finestkind on that Cape Dory. It only took me five minutes to find it (Surplus Center has a bunch) and costs $2,895.95. I would not be surprised if you spent a couple of energetic days looking you could find an even better deal on a new engine.

You could also install an electric propulsion system for less than $2000 (batteries not included so that would add another $1000) or adapt the boat to use an outboard. Some might even say that you don't really need an inboard engine at all... 

The bottom line is that there are always options and, almost always, there's an affordable one sitting right there in plain sight but most folks are usually so busy throwing money at the problem they miss it.

Which, I suppose, is me saying that I'm sticking with my thoughts on budgets and costs...

Listening to Angry Johnny & The Killbillies


So it goes...

Regarding the mythical $500 a month cruising budget...

In the "lest we forget" department, some scary reading, and taking dead, discarded materials and bringing them back to life...

Writing Boat Bits, I'm often reminded that different folks have very varied experiences with boats, the sailing of such things, and cruising. That said, I'm surprised at just how often tunnel vision becomes part of the mix.

For instance, the $500 dollar cruising budget...

Not too long ago I found myself on the receiving end of a reader rant that went on for about a dozen emails explaining to me how the $500 cruising budget was simply impossible. To prove his point he illustrated said emails with copious notes of how much he had to pay while cruising over a three year period. As it happens he was right because there is no way he could have cruised on $500 a month.

For starters, he had a newish 52-foot boat...

He didn't like to anchor so always chose marinas whenever possible...

Admittedly, not a very handy person, so most all maintenance and repairs were done by various contractors or marine businesses...

Loved to eat out and something of a food snob or so he said...

Had grandchildren (with more on the way) that he and his wife felt the need to visit on a regular basis...

So, yeah, not exactly a candidate for a $500/1000/1500/2000/2500/3000 monthly cruising budget and, in fact, told me he could not even imagine how someone could sail or cruise on less than he spent.

I'm pretty sure the key word in all of that is "imagine" because to do something you really have to be able to see it in your mind's eye before you can make it a reality.

As far as I'm concerned there is zero wrong with the guy's cruising budget or the way he chooses to cruise. He obviously has deep enough pockets to support that sort of lifestyle so all power to him. On the other hand, do I think he has a clue about cruising budgets for folks of, shall we say, shallower pockets or people who have simpler less expensive tastes? Well, the word clueless does jump to mind.

Which brings us to the same old same question...

Can you cruise comfortably on $500 a month and the answer is, more than likely, maybe not.

But, if you can imagine it with no rose colored glasses in the mix maybe you can...

Listening to a whole lot of John (who would have been 75 this year) Lennon covers

So it goes...

Me beating that dead horse again...

A riff on complexity/complication, something interesting about violent crime in the US of A compared to other places, and just in case you ever wondered what the homicide rate was like in America's Paradise the USVI.

So, some cruising/budget advice from the current SSCA Bulletin on Belize...

"Lots of people say Belize is expensive, but we didn't find that to be true. Some things are more expensive than other places, such as the Rio Dulce, but many things are less expensive than other places."

Pretty much describes EVERYWHERE in the WHOLE FRELLING WORLD doesn't it?

More importantly it really does not give any useful information...

So here are a few helpful hints for folks giving us the lowdown on cruising areas and suchlike.

• Don't assume your reader shares your definition of expensive and not expensive or, for that matter, even has a clue what you think is expensive/not expensive unless you tell them. For instance, just the other day, I heard two people talking about bikes, One saying that you could find an OK inexpensive bike for around $2500 and the other one saying that he'd really like to get a certain "expensive" bike for $900.
• If you're going to give an example (the Rio Dulce and Belize spring to mind) what is cheaper in the Rio Dulce than in Belize and what is cheaper in Belize? 
• One of the best ways to save money cruising is knowing before you get somewhere what stuff costs, what's available/not available, and what they need to stock up on. Cruisers thrive on input and the more input on what stuff costs is very often the difference between a good cruising experience and a bad one.

Back before we left France and provisioning I assumed, since all of the canned tomatoes for sale in France seemed to come from Spain, that they'd be cheaper in Spain... Guess what? When we arrived in Spain canned tomatoes were about three times the cost and being on a budget that was something of a painful/expensive discovery.

Speaking of painful/expensive discoveries that happen all too often is where you arrive somewhere all stocked up on something as mundane as oil filters only to find that the local island ferreteria has them for half the price you just paid having them shipped from the states where stuff is supposed to be cheap...

Input folks, input!

Listening to Bird Dog

So it goes...

A small thought about budgets and boats...

Making a very good point, on considering the price tag, and about how they're spending your tax dollars...

I've been researching a lot lately about the costs involved in buying a boat, setting it up for cruising, and actually cruising and, for the most part, what I've been looking at is pretty depressing reading.

If you go over to the Retirement Project (a very good blog by the way) you'll find a lot of links to various cruisers budgets and in the process going through them I noticed something that bothered me...

Hardly anyone writing about budgets has apparently made any mistakes.

Now, maybe it's just me, but lookng back at my spending habits where boats are concerned over the last forty-years is chock full of WTF was I thinking, I spent HOW MUCH for that, and Boy-Howdy-I'll-never-make-that-stupid-mistake-again moments.

Maybe I'm just the only guy who has made mistakes where budgets are concerned or, just maybe, other folks don't look at their budgets with the same critical eye or don't care to share their WTF moments with the public at large.

Of course, the downside of not being self-critical or not sharing your budgetary lapses of judgement when posting your budgets and thoughts on what boats, stuff, and cruising actually costs is you send the message that your budget is what boats, stuff and cruising should cost and folks reading your budgets will think that's the best they can do.

What we need is more talk about boat and cruising budgets with hindsight sans the rose-colored Ray Bans.

Just saying...

Listening to Hanna Rae

So it goes...

Doing some math...

Some seriously scary shit, Deepwater Horizon the gift that just keeps on giving, and since we were speaking of oil spills...

I need some new chain as our 5/16" high test is getting way past its sell by date. There, I've said it and I'd be lying if I told you I had not been avoiding the subject of new chain for "So It Goes" because it is an expense I never relish thinking about much less going to a purveyor of chain and forking out an obscene amount of money for a 150-foot length of the stuff.

So, Friday we trundled over to the local purveyor of chain to get a quote for 8mm or 5/16" BBB chain (both fit my gypsy). They did not have any 8mm but did have 5/16" BBB for $6.50 a foot... Doing the math that comes to the hellacious amount of $975.

Ouch!

Of course, the chain size I'd prefer is 8mm which costs in the neighborhood of $3 a foot and the total on that, while still pain-inducing, is a whole lot better than $975 and all I have to do to get it is sail to a different island...

I can live with that.

The thing is, 8mm and 5/16" BBB are nearly identical in strength/weight/size and 8mm fits most 5/16" BBB gypsies finest kind. Fact of the matter is, 8mm and other metric chains are calibrated for use in gypsies as the norm so it's pretty much perfect for use on a boat and, if you factor in the fact that it's generally less than half the cost of BBB chain, choosing it is something of a slam dunk.

A quick side note on the high test chain we're replacing is that while stronger than standard chain, it has about half to two-thirds the life cycle. The added strength of high test is at the cost of using an alloy more susceptible to corrosion. Something you might want to factor in next time you're buying chain.

Listening to Valley Queen

So it goes...

about those costs...

I'll admit it... I kind of like Bernie, not so much this guy, and this nearly made my head explode...

Have you ever noticed how much good quality, lightly used, boat gear is available for sale? Or how it sells at a fraction of the cost?

I mention this because yesterday I was tempted to buy a near state-of-the-art radar with a carbon mast that was selling for less than the carbon mast alone would go for. The reason the guy was selling it is he felt he needed to upgrade from near state-of-the-art to full-blown-state-of-the-art.

I suspect the guy is a regular reader of Panbo...

But, it got me thinking about how big of a percentage of operating and maintenance costs for some folks on boats is about replacing stuff that really does not need replacing at all.

Oh yeah, I decided against the radar...

Listening to Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers

So it goes...

Could I ask a favor?

A seriously problematic statistic, a quick reality check on that global warming myth, and something important you should be aware of...

I have a pet peeve about folks who write cruising blogs, hang out on cruising blogs, and folks who write up their cruising experiences in such places as the SSCA Bulletin and it's this...

If you're going to talk about cruising don't be coy about what stuff costs.

For instance, if you say you stayed at a marina, hauled out, or stocked up on provisions somewhere don't say it was expensive, inexpensive, or a "little pricey" because unless we know you personally, none of those descriptions actually mean anything to us. So, if you're going to mention you filled up your fuel tanks it wouldn't hurt to throw in a "at $3.77 a gallon" to give us an idea what the current cost of fuel is in Saint Somewhere.

I've lost track of the number of times I've called a boat yard for a haulout I'd heard was inexpensive, a marina for rates because they had been termed "affordable", or walked into a "Great cheap place to provision" only to find the places in question were not only not inexpensive/affordable/cheap but downright pyratical with a capital P.

I won't even get into what eateries and beach bars cost but if you think a $4 Coors and a $14 plain burger that looked like something from a Jr high school cafeteria is a bargain, I just may have a great deal on a hardly used cast iron tower in Paris you might be interested in buying...

So, about that favor...

Since I know a lot of folks cruising read Boat Bits from time to time, I'd really appreciate it if the next time you haulout, do a serious provision, or spend a chunk of money while cruising someplace interesting maybe you could drop a note about what it all costs. It would be especially helpful if you could include cruising fees and suchlike as well.

The idea at the moment is to work up a reality based database of just what the basic cost to cruise in places is and dispel a lot of the misinformation floating about what stuff costs and, hopefully, maybe we can lose a certain amount of the old WTF factor in the cost department.

I realize that this is asking a lot... So, thanks in advance.

Listening to PHOX

So it goes