My kind of sailboat ad...

An interview of note, another AIS issue, and in the "Not really a bad idea when you think it through" department...

A Westerly Tiger going for nada. I have an excellent memory of being rafted next to a Tiger in Honfleur and having a spirited conversation over tea with about eight people aboard and being very impressed with the overall quality of construction as well.

Looks like an excellent project for the right person...

Listening to Link Wray

So it goes...

Some folks you'll want to bookmark...

A solution of sorts, my sentiments exactly, and in the "It takes a good man 377 cops with a gun to stop a bad man with a gun" department...

Dawn Treader is just about my favorite cruising couple currently doing their thing. They've made significant voyages on a boat they refit without much in the way of fuss. For me at least, their most appealing virtue is that they don't seem to know what a selfie is and only post articles and videos when they have something worthwhile to say.

Listening to Billy Iuso

So it goes...

just another affordable sailboat...

A different orbit, music for flat earthers, and Badtux with the needful...

Pretty much everywhere I look there are boats in good condition selling for very little. This morning I came across a Newport 28 Mk 2 going for $2500. Admittedly the engine is not currently working  but as it's a Yanmar and not seized it's more than likely a repair rather than replace situation.

 

Practical Sailor had a pretty good review you might want to check out. 

Anyway, that's a lot of boat for not a lot of money.

Listening to Maverick City Music

So it goes...

So, here's the question...

Book bans, something about speculative fiction, and a plethora of climatical bad news...

So, I saw this Columbia 26 MK2 selling for $500 OBO in New Orleans.

Obviously, the boat is in desperate need of a cleaning and I've an ominous feeling that the interior might be even more daunting,

Still, the Bill Tripp designed MK2 is a very cool boat and with a little work and talent, might make someone a great little boat. The advantage of a small cheap boat is that the labor and materials to bring it back to life are small as well.

Looking at the selling price of more turn key examples of the design, the average seems to be somewhere around $3500. So, the question is can one restore and outfit this boat for less than $3K?

I'm guessing that, providing there is a reasonable place to put the boat for a month to work on it, you do all the work yourself, and avoid buying anything marine, it's possible. If I were doing the boat I'd budget for $1500 with an extra $500 just in case. I'm pretty sure that's a doable project.

One proviso though: on any project like this it's vitally important to keep within that budget framework and only fix what needs fixing.

Listening to some Talking Heads coverage

So it goes...

a boat for sale you might want to check out...

Some seriously scary shit, a selection of seaborne fantasy reading, and in the "How world domination and genocide is a cure for homelessness" department...

I heard that there was a Bolger AS29 for sale up in Canada and if you're someone who does the facebook thing there's information on the Bolger page.

Smaller than our Loose Moose 2 and bigger than our Loose Moose (a Bolger Jessie Cooper) it's fairly close to what I'd consider a perfect DIY VolksCruiser for a couple.

As the AS29 is really just a stretched Jessie Cooper, I've long considered building either an AS29 or a stretched JC but I''d stretch the JC out to about 32 feet allowing for a bit more load carrying, additional stowage solutions and be a bit faster.

I'm pretty sure I'd keep the lug rig and off-center mainmast over the AS29's gaff and give some serious thought to going with a junk rig for the mainsail. I'd also retain the single off-center dagger board as it worked just fine and why would I want to spend the extra cost and labor of having two off-center boards.

Still, a well built AS29 at the right price would be no bad investment...

Listening to Fairport Convention

So it goes...

a great design from the early 60's...

Some important bullet points, a question of note, and a bit of needful reading...

Yesterday while perusing boats for sale in the PNW I saw a Piver Nugget going for not a lot of money. I always liked the look of the Nugget but will be the first to admit it's a bit small for cruising.

That said, its big sister the Nimble would still make an excellent small cruising multihull.

 

 

Listening to some Christopher Cross coverage

So it goes...

Maybe the first boat to check out in the under thirty foot bracket...

A good reason to live on a boat, Patagonia walking the talk, and Blue Heron Blast with some current news and a needful read...

OK, I'll be honest and admit to not really grooving on boats by Catalina. Which does not mean that I don't think they're good boat but just that, for me at least, there just isn't that spark that gets me excited. For those readers who are into guitars I pretty much feel the same way about Fender guitars (with the exception of the pre-CBS Fender electric XII-string) none of the various Fenders get me excited while Gibsons and Guilds do. Sure I admire the Stratocaster and Telecaster but neither has the excitement factor that a Les Paul, Firebird, or Guild Thunderbird does for me.

Anyway, I meant to talk about a Catalina design that makes all kinds of sense and, as Catalina made a whole bunch of them, pretty much anywhere you go you'll find some Catalina 27s for sale.

When I say that Catalina made a ton of these boats (the actual number is actually 6662) over a twenty year period that's really a very impressive accomplishment.

With so many boats out there it's not surprising that you see a lot of these boats for sale and, as there are so many it's hardly surprising that the going prices are pretty affordable.

Even better, is that they're a very good design which performs well, has a pretty livable interior, and very few issues. That said, most of the issues are well known and have already been dealt with by previous owners or can be sorted out pretty easily if you need to.

Designed as an affordable boat to a price point (think VW bug) it is certainly not a "yacht" in terms of interior joinery and suchlike and in my mind that's the best thing about it. There is a lot to be said for a boat that does its job at an affordable price and is pretty much available anywhere you look.

The thing is, while the boat never quite got me excited, it's still one of the boats I tend to use as a baseline when comparing other designs of the VolksCruiser ilk and may just be the most bang for the buck in terms of an under 30-foot cruising boat.

Listening to some music from my youth

So it goes...

An interesting boat...

An interesting point, your heinous crime of the day, and in the "Carrots and sticks" department...

For quite a while I've been considering downsizing to a smaller boat. The boat design we were planning to build, Yann Quenet's Skrowl 900, got put on the back burner after we got hit by two category 5 hurricanes as dealing with the aftermath took precedence. Then there were some health issues and the whole pandemic thing. 

That said, I'd still prefer building the Skrowl or some minimal cruising cat or proa that could handle the Skrowl's payload and accommodation. Then again the easy, frugal, and most environmental plan would be to simply buy a used design and do a refit.

So, here's a possible contender...

The Ericson Bruce Kirby designed 28+. It has a very livable interior for a couple and it sails well. Its draft is a bit more than I'd like and the V-berth is really only suitable for kids or guitar stowage but it does pack quite a bang for the buck within a smallish envelope.

Listening to a particularly good Iron Leg Radio Show

So it goes...

Might want to dust off your Babel program...

Wendig on getting his vaccine shot, something on apocalyptic cathartic masochism, and a cool animated map...

Bateaux magazine has an excellent article on the crew of Blowin' in the Wind that is well worth checking out.

You're still here?

Listening to Ravel's Bolero

So it goes

In the "No big deal" department...

Understandably pissed off in the USVI, tsunamis of Bullshit, and unwelcome visitors...

The other day I was perusing Les Amis du Sangria et de L'Aquila website and came across this map.

Which, to my mind at least, represents a pretty impressive Atlantic circle. More so when you consider that the boat doing it was a Sangria which, at 25-feet and an over fifty-year old design, is now considered too small by many for such exploits. The reality is that I've actually lost track of the number of Sangrias that have crossed oceans over the years because there have been so many that it is simply no big deal.

Which when you consider that if you look around you can find one for two or three thousand bucks in pretty good shape.

Listening to the Simple Radicals

So it goes...

on the subject of a coming attraction...

An interesting read you might want to peruse, a good cause, and in the "Ongoing destruction of the USPS"  department...

I'm currently doing an interview with the Sailing Blowin' in the Wind folks that will be up on VolksCruiser soonish.

That being the case, I've been pondering the whole idea of a family of six cruising cruising on a 28-foot sailboat. Not so much in the whether or not it's possible but just how best to do it and the various out-of-the-box thinking that will be required to make it work.

On a semi-related subject I've been told that the Sailing La Vagabonde family currently have their catamaran up for sale because with another kid on the way they'll need a bigger one. Which, I suspect, is more along the lines of the current group-think on the subject.

More soon come on the subject...

Listening to Gangstagrass

So it goes...

A very cool yellow plywood boat...

Cowlitz County, Washington in the news, surf is up, and in the "Not really surprising at all" department...

 

I was recently reading in about a couple sailing in the south seas on their Harle designed plywood Armagnac.

At a kiss less that 28-feet it just goes to show that small inexpensive boats can get you where you want to go.

Listening to Black Pumas

So it goes...

a boat I really want to build and sail...

EBM with the method to their madness, a film I'd very much like to see, and Samantha Bee gets it right...

I'm excited.

Michael Schacht has been using his time hunkered down designing a very neat boat...

It's a low cost, quick build, and minimalist catamaran that makes all kinds of sense. I could go on about it at length and more than likely will in the near future but, for the moment, I'll let Michael tell you all about it himself over at the ProaFile.

Did I say I was excited?

Listening to some excellent covers (in particular the Watkins Family Zevon cover)

So it goes...

some designs just get better with age...

Some timely worthwhile reading from Liz Clark, Wendig nails it, and in the "two or three percent doesn't sound like much till you do the math" department...

Every time I look at Tad Robert's Future Cruiser 28 I find something I like even more.

Interesting how boat designs grow on you.

Listening to the North Mississippi Allstars

So it goes...

What is tiny anyway?

The wrong man for the job, a Caribbean earthquake, and something on the subject of mass extinction...

The other day I came across someone going on about how difficult it is living in a tiny space (spelled s-a-i-l-b-o-a-t) and as I'm currently writing about how to make a 26-foot boat more livable over at VolksCruiser I thought it worth checking out to see how someone else might be handling the same set of issues.

As it happens, the tiny space in question was actually a modern 42-foot sailboat.

So, not expecting to find any tips, solutions or cunning plans on making a small living space more livable from that source but it did get me thinking.

Being an old fart, who's been doing this gig for more decades than I prefer to dwell on, one thing I've learned is that the bigger the boat the less inclined it is to have a great use of space.

Two of my favorite production designs are Philippe Harlé's Tonic and the Sangria NV/Fantasia from Jeanneau because they both had an incredible use of space in a small envelope. The Tonic at 23' and Sangria NV/Fantasia at 27' were both innovative and comfortable cruisers which had interiors that might surprise some for their size or, if a Dr Who fan, bring up thoughts of TARDIS.

Which brings me back to that 42-footer and terms we use to denote size these days. For me at least, I categorize sailboats along these lines:

• Small (20-29 feet)
• Medium (30-39 feet)
• Large 40- 49 feet)
• BFB (50 or more)
• Tiny (19 feet or less)

Admittedly, I do come from a time when the average cruising boat out cruising was somewhere around 30 foot, the $500 a month cruising budget was a reality, and a candy bar cost ten cents. But, at least for me, when I hear someone referring to their boat as "tiny" I expect it to be something like Yann Quenet just crossed the Atlantic in and not something over 40 feet.

Listening to Rodrigo y Gabriela

So it goes...

Something simple...

Something from Dorworth, Rude Pundit saying what needs to be said, and the ongoing plight of billionaire snowflakes...

I'm pretty sure that the average cost of a new self-steering gear is somewhere around $4.5K all up these days.

That's really a lot of money for a piece of gear that is inherently simple. Especially when most of the designs around are easily reverse engineered, well suited for home building with readily available affordable materials.

Fact is, I'm sitting here contemplating building a couple of designs based on a clone of the Auto-Helm or the very basic Moitessier style Trismus design.

They both have a lot to offer, are well proven with countless ocean crossings, and will pretty much steer you wherever you want to go.

Mainly, I'm just trying to come up with the bottom line least expensive self-steering gear that does the job with the least downside.

Self-steering for the VolksCruiser budget and lifestyle if you will...

One other gear I'd really like to find, so I can test it in comparison of more modern gears, is the old John Adam designed version of the Windpilot vertical axis auxiliary rudder gear.

So, if anybody reading this knows of one gathering dust in the back of your local yacht grot (spelled c-h-e-a-p) for sale please drop me a line.

Listening to Lucinda Williams cover Hendrix with Charles Lloyd & The Marvels.

So it goes...

A boat I like...

A climate summit of interest, some seriously stupid fucked up shit, and in the "It's back to school time kids" department...

The other day I came across a boat for sale in Portland that really caught my attention. Obviously not the sort of sailboat that's for everyone but for someone who is in tune with his/her inner need/want and should/could dynamics it might just be the right boat.

That said, it needs some serious sweat equity but then it's cheap and has enough style points (need I point out the custom gimballed stove?) to turn some heads wherever it goes.

Seriously, if I were in the PNW I'd be all over its flush deck goodness.

Listening to Grace Potter & Warren Haynes

So it goes...

a thought or two about boat buying in the tRumpian universe...

A bit of depressing reading, something on the measles outbreak, and over in the "amateur president with authoritarian instincts" department...

Of late I've been looking at various small sailboats in the twenty-eight foot and under zone and it has been somewhat enlightening on a couple of levels.

First of all, it's apparent that there are some very nice boats going for what I consider giveaway prices pretty much everywhere. So many, in fact, that it's kept me up nights wondering why. Maybe I'm just a sucker for conundrums...

Looking for clues in the topography of what passes for the sailing/cruising world on one hand makes the picture clearer but, at the same time, tends to confuse. Smaller boats are obviously no longer hip, cool, or even worthy of consideration as a cruising option. The sheer amount of negative pressure about suggests that deciding to cruise on a (let's say a Bristol/Sailstar 26) is a ticket to becoming a social pariah.

The fact that a Bristol 26 is both a capable boat and more than a few have successfully crossed oceans (I know of at least one that has circumnavigated) you'd think the design might just garner some respect rather than disdain. Then again, you most likely can pick up a one for less than $1.5K (I know of one going for $800 at the moment) and in the age of million dollar cruising boats that puts you seriously in cheap seats land.

Some time ago, a reader of this blog, wrote to tell me that I really should not write or promote fixing up older boats for cruising as it was just impossible to cruise on anything less than a $100K boat. He went on to say that anyone cruising on less than $5K a month was going to come to grief of one sort or another.

In our current tRumpian universe it is apparently all-important to show others you have lots and lots of money or, at least- this being a tRumpian universe- to pretend you have lots and lots of money. The fact that appearances are more important than reality being the current bottom line.

The sad part behind the bottomed out resale value of small cruising sailboats is that the main cause seems to be the adoption by the many of the cult of willful ignorance which has deeper repercussions than just the price of boats. Which I'll readily admit is all kinds of depressing.

That said, for someone with an IQ higher than room temperature, there are lots of good deals you can take advantage of.


Listening to Buffy Sainte-Marie

So it goes...

A Lyle Hess design you may want to check out...

Regarding Puerto Rico, a bit of good news, and something you should keep in mind...

For a variety of reasons I've been looking at boats in the 25-30 foot range, thinking a lot about downsizing, and the bottom line where most bang for the buck can be found.

You'd be amazed at how many excellent cheap boats are out there.

For instance: did you know you can buy a Lyle Hess designed cruising boat that's trailerable with enough room for a couple to live on comfortably (providing they can deal with the headroom) with a working engine for less than $3000 if you shop around?

That's a lot of boat for very little money.

Did I mention the Balboa 26 is shoal with a draft of less than two feet?

Listening to Courtney Marie Andrews

So it goes...

a small boat voyage...

Sagan on climate denial, some needful reading, and a depressing fact...

Listening to Dave Mason

So it goes...