Frugal Cruising Idea Exchange

[stevegerber]

Regarding the ubiquitous ziplock bag.

My cost per one gallon bag: 6 cents
Time to wash: 10 seconds
Potential number of bags washed per hour: 360
Tax-free value recouped per hour: $21.60


So I think it's worth somewhat more than pennies per hour. But I sure wouldn't want to do it for a whole hour! . I only do maybe 2 per week since I mostly store food in reusable plastic or glass containers.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by stevegerber

Regarding the ubiquitous ziplock bag.

My cost per one gallon bag: 6 cents
Time to wash: 10 seconds
Potential number of bags washed per hour: 360
Tax-free value recouped per hour: $21.60


So I think it's worth somewhat more than pennies per hour. But I sure wouldn't want to do it for a whole hour! . I only do maybe 2 per week since I mostly store food in reusable plastic or glass containers.

Sorry, bad example. Got too hung up on the ecofaith ecofriendly aspects.

Let's use another one suggested. Who wants to:
- Collect driftwood.
- Build a small temporary kiln.
- Tend kiln for a day while cooking up some charcoal.
- Ferry charcoal to boat.
- Puzzle over where to store really messy charcoal on boat.
- Take 20 minutes to start stove to boil up some water for tea, coffee (pick a something modest to heat up).
- Repeat charcoal production process 2-4 times per year.

Vs

Spend $40/yr on a couple tanks of propane.

Is that a better example?

[seandepagnier]

Originally Posted by daletournier

You have very strong convictions about how us cruisers should do it......your way?

This is a frugal cruising idea forum. propane is not a frugal way to cook food.

I choose not to live like you, i don't want to, I'm happy with my beliefs, values and lifestyle.

Why don't you go start the extravagant forum? There you can discuss how much propane you waste.

[stevegerber]

Wait, wait! I didn't even get a chance to point out that a box of brand name Ziploc bags on a remote island might cost $3-4/box which would earn me $60-$80+ per hour!

The real economic problem with ziplock bags is that they are both low cost and low volume usage item so there is little total quantity of savings to be found even though the theoretical monetary value of reuse may be high.

Perhaps we should focus more on expenses that are large percentage budget items as well as recurring and difficult to avoid?

[250224]

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

This is a frugal cruising idea forum. propane is not a frugal way to cook food.

qed.

Why don't you listen? "You have very strong convictions about how us cruisers should do it......your way?" --> 100 % correct.

[seandepagnier]

Originally Posted by blu3534

qed.

Why don't you listen? "You have very strong convictions about how us cruisers should do it......your way?" --> 100 % correct.

I am not 100% correct. I do not know the best way to do anything.

I was being very critical of "propane" specifically. This makes perfect sense because this is a frugal idea thread.

Originally Posted by Fiveslide

I wash my ziplock bags because I try to do everything possible not to throw something away after a single use

exactly

things, the only exception I can think of right now is toilet paper, that stuff is single use as far as I can tell.

I knew a guy who burned it in his wood stove...

For me, I stopped using it years ago. 80% of the world uses water for good reasons. It's more hygenic, paper just smears and chafes.

Perhaps it isn't even about money, for some?

Frugal has nothing to do with money. It's about not being wasteful

Originally Posted by valhalla360

If you want to collect driftwood, build a temporary kiln and create charcoal as a protest against the modern socio-industrial complex rather than buy a tank of propane 2-3 times per year...again, more power to you but it's false economy to claim you are being frugal...

How would it be more frugal to buy a tank of propane 2-3 times a year?

It sure seems everyone is happy to suggest what they do to be frugal, great place to share ideas.

Now that propane is repeatedly suggested, it is obvious that many here who use it, want to justify it, because it's what they do. Why not suggest things that actually are frugal?

[stevegerber]

I really do appreciate boat_alexandra's minimalist points of view on simplifying and frugal and sustainable cruising but I also feel that some of his posts are a little over the top when they imply that everyone should imitate his extreme measures.

I agree that propane is a reasonably frugal way to cook. I also like the idea of having multiple options on board, like a solar oven or a low wattage electric cooking device as long as the capital or maintenance costs of these devices is not high. This way you can hopefully lower on going costs a bit and also have multiple backup systems in case one fails.

[stevegerber]

Oh yeah, one other backup cooking device I have on hand is a penny alcohol stove. It's great for occasional backpacking on shore or as a simple backup cooker onboard if more complicated cookers fail. It's quite efficient with fuel and costs almost nothing to build using a few basic tools. Just Google 'penny alcohol stove' for lots of step-by-step construction details for different variations on the same basic concept.

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

You have zero sunny days? My parabolic solar furnace is as powerful as an alcohol stove whenever the sun is shining. It concentrates 6sq ft down to 1sq inch using mirrors from the dollar store. It gets hotter than a flame in the focal point.

My wood stove cooker/heater is very simple to build and can bake things. It is an empty gass bottle with 3 inch pipe stuck into it, and opening to load, with a tin can cut open to close the opening. The suction from the fire holds the door in place.

I also have outdoor wood cooker. I made it using lots of fiberglass mat (almost an inch thick) surrounding a stainless container. I use a small electric fan from a computer to blow air in. This keeps the fire relatively hot, and one handful of twigs can cook a meal this way.

Very creative & interesting ideas. Can you post some pics? I actually bought a Cobb grill which works well on very little fuel but it's a slow way to cook compared to propane. I don't think I could wait that long for coffee.

http://www.cobbgrillamerica.com/

[Steve Bean]

Lots of frugal ideas can be found in Kenneth Neumeyer's 1981 book, "Sailing the Farm." I have a print copy as well as pdf in my downloads file. I will post a link to the pdf if I can figure out how. Can anyone coach me?

[sailorboy1]

Even an "expensive" box of ziploc bags lasts me on my wasteful boat a couple of months. I do reuse them depending what was in them because sometime what was in them was in its own bag. But really now, thinking you need to always reuse the bags by washing them is crossing the line from frugal into misplaced cheap.

Maybe instead of plastic bags you such consider using reusable containers!!!

[Mike OReilly]

So much for a friendly exchange of frugal cruising ideas. Now we have to discuss the idea of frugality. Thanks

Frugality is not just about financial resources. It is about being wise with ALL resources. This is why it makes sense to wash ziplock bags. There is a law of diminishing returns though, and at some point they become so grimy or damaged as to make the washing un-frugal, if I can use that term. But in general, it is a ridiculous waste of ecological and financial resources to always use them once and then toss them.

As for simple financial frugality, like I said earlier, it is all in the balance sheet. You can add income, or decrease expenses. Both achieve the same financial state. Whether it is easier to work on one side of the sheet vs the other depends on you, your situation, and a whole lot of intangibles too many to list.

Originally Posted by daletournier

Hi Mike, I agree making it functional shouldn't be to hard, making it look good and not taking away from the boats appearance is the tricky part. Also keeping it light. Function over form is more important to some folks but a combination of both is what I'm after.

I'll probably go the anodized aluminium route with a corcell top if I can make it work financially.

Thanks for these tips Dale. I think for my setup, some simple unobtrusive guttering around my solar panel bimini, which can be directed through a removable hose, might work. I’m thinking simple aluminum L-chanel for the edging, which will look just like the solar panels, and perhaps a PVC centre duct to collect and direct the water toward a hose which I can roll up when not needed.

[daletournier]

Eating out less has been suggested, how about eating less period?

Most days I only eat one or two meals a day, regularly just breakfast. Coming from the industry I did I came to realise our sense of "normal food consumption" is a little warped, we just eat to much, we eat for many reasons other than the hunger.

It's surprising how little we actually need. Although I don't eat less to be frugal, it actually does play into the frugal theme, we waste alot of food by unnecessary eating.

[conachair]

Originally Posted by daletournier

Eating out less has been suggested, how about eating less period?

Most days I only eat one or two meals a day, regularly just breakfast. Coming from the industry I did I came to realise our sense of "normal food consumption" is a little warped, we just eat to much, we eat for many reasons other than the hunger.

It's surprising how little we actually need. Although I don't eat less to be frugal, it actually does play into the frugal theme, we waste alot of food by unnecessary eating.

One of the many pluses of living on the hook, IMHO, is a tendency to eat less and end up on a more vegetarian/fish based diet. As much cos it's easier to get quality than the meat we've been condition to think of as a necessity.

Similar with the ziploc bag discussion - hard to imagine how any cruiser on the hook wouldn't spend a few moments washing something as useful onboard as a ziploc bag - takes moments, less rubbish to take a shore. Though maybe to non cruisers it might not be so obvious having a lifetime of conditioning in a consumer/throwaway society being told to throw out and buy more.. Takes a while to chip away at those wired up neurons.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by daletournier

Eating out less has been suggested, how about eating less period?

Most days I only eat one or two meals a day, regularly just breakfast. Coming from the industry I did I came to realise our sense of "normal food consumption" is a little warped, we just eat to much, we eat for many reasons other than the hunger.

It's surprising how little we actually need. Although I don't eat less to be frugal, it actually does play into the frugal theme, we waste alot of food by unnecessary eating.

I’m certainly no poster boy for health eating, but I definitely eat better when cruising than on land. And I tend to eat less, even though I’m more active. And I also tend more toward vegetarianism the longer we’re out due to simple practicality. Beans keep a lot longer than meat .

I’m full-time cruising, for ~1/2 the time each year)