Shoestring Sailors (Cruising on $500 per month - part II)

[Nemo55]

You are a wise man Bob,,tis the women who put up with us.. after all!!

Originally Posted by bobconnie

I don't use go aheads anymore !!It's barefoot or a pair of Mexican tire soled sandles Ive had for 20+yrs(wont wear out !!)That I wear for dress up and white shrimp boots !!No shoe laces for me!! Now Connies a shoe freak LOL she has her nursey shoes and as you call em flip flop collection ! +++ LOL But shes a hell of a watch stander and a great baker and cook so I let her have the room I don't use for shoes LOL

[sabray]

A few ideas fir cheap good ways to do things.I don't have many but hope cf will add Butyl tape as caulking it lasts is cheap and doesn't harden in the tube. Learn how to sew. Be patient you can find what you need do not hold yourself to a schedule. things can be fixed you may need the newest gear. Some old stuff is fine. Keep an eye on stainless fasteners and rigging it's cheaper to find the problem before it fails. A few of my ideas.

[atoll]

any boat can be a death trap!
no matter how old or new.

with time and effort any boat can be rebuilt and refitted,the equasion is with a cheap boat is: how much are you willing to spend,this in turn is defined by the depth of your skills,on the job learning is a very costly exercise!

fortunately i've done this more than a few times,and hopefully by the end of the season i will have a more seaworthy boat than one that just came out the factory at a fraction(1/20th) of the cost.

here is one previous to this one that i got for a dollar!
it was sunk!
fixed it and sailed it 5000 miles.
spent £6000,sold for £18000,had masses of fun doing it,priceless

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

For all I know your boat may still be a deathtrap that won't make it past the end of the harbour , but nonetheless your example a pretty good demonstration that if someone brings own skills (and time) to a problem that was someone else's multi-thousand pound nightmare it can become a low cost opportunity.....from the simple application of effort.

Kaput engines being a classic case - if only I had those skills (yeah, I know - I could learn ).

FWIW, I nearly bought a Macwester 26 a few years back - engine went tits up during the demo / first looksee Unsurprisingly I never bought her .

[bazzer]

Originally Posted by atoll

motor and bits,so far it runs beautifully and is ready to go in.
cost so far.
motor on ebay £106
paint,rust treatment etc £20
engine mounts +couplings £190
hoses and 12v pump £35
oil and atf fluid £15
total £366 or $550,not bad for an engine that only has a few 100 hours on it.
i could have saved money by modifying the old coupling and cheaper engine mounts,but the season is upon us now and buying off the shelf was the faster option.
i have also put a deposit down on a nice 30 ft mast for $300,and found new stancions for $80 dollars.

just need the only tool not in the box "aroundtooit" tool.

What mounts are those? Look pretty nice

Baz

[SaucySailoress]

OK, just to show we do occasionally listen, and do indeed care, I'll change the title for you

[sailorboy1]

so far it seems the thread is missing out on political comments

[atoll]

Originally Posted by SaucySailoress

OK, just to show we do occasionally listen, and do indeed care, I'll change the title for you

a flip flop and a prayer! lol!

i love the philipines

[sailorboy1]

real cloth/napkins that can be washed and reused instead of paper towels

[atoll]

Originally Posted by bazzer

What mounts are those? Look pretty nice

Baz

made by a company called "polyflex from brisbane australia.

bought for £50 pounds from a guy on another yachting forum(ybw.com)

bases are plastic so no rust issues.

[sabray]

I used welding cable free and a heavy service auto solenoid for my windless . Used gel and heat shrink on the terminations. Much cheaper then some alternatives.

[barnakiel]

Book swaps: one can pick up charts, cruising guides and belles lettres there.

b.

[barnakiel]

Learning to cook from local ingredients: all taste is acquired. See what locals eat and how they prepare it, then improvise and modify to get the local staples taste the way you like them!

Some examples: bread fruit, maizena, sago, tapioca.

Local food may taste yuck (excuse me!) at times, but local ingredients are always fresh, tasty and worth the effort of making them work for you!

b.

[barnakiel]

Learn to go quality where it matters.

Example: we got our ship with old and slightly worn genoa sheets. I bought new sheets prior to departure. But I did not think quality. Half way thru the journey the new sheets were gone! We went back to the old ones - and these took us all the way back home - another 15k miles or so...

So, long term use items - buy quality. (Your boat is a long term item too.)

b.

[atoll]

in a busy boat yard check the rubbish skips daily,you will be surprised what you find,super yacht rubbish is the best!

sand paper,trays and rollers,plus antifouling are often left behind by boats launching,who never return to throw it away.

in a big marina if you need fenders check the leeward side of the marina.
discarded fenders will end up floating there.

if you are really hungry many bars give out free food and snacks at happy hour.

[rubyjean]

Count me in.........Michael..