Have you blown your budget on Christmas presents already and want to know why everyone is reading Of Foreign Build?
Of Foreign Build has received rave reviews, such as:
‘I haven’t slept more than 6 hours in two days! Loved both books. Informative, funny, intelligent writing by a talented lady.’
I’d like you to read it too, so TOMORROW – 21ST NOVEMBER, Of Foreign Build is for sale for just 99 cents!
****99 CENTS!****
It’s a perfect Christmas gift . . .
Image courtesy of nirots at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
HURRY, it is for 24 hours only
Then it goes up to $1.99 for 24 hours
Then $2.99 for 24 hours
A Bargain buy for 3 days….. don’t miss out, see what everyone is saying! Click HERE.
You can also WIN a $400 Amazon spending spree to help the budget
For a chance to win a $400 Amazon Shopping Spree, compliments of The Kindle Book Review, Digital Book Today, click HERE!. To order my best-selling book for 99 cents!, click HERE.
More Reviews:
‘ I just love how you turn blank sheets of paper into beautiful words.’
‘As always, she writes with honesty and humour to engage sailors and non sailors alike.’
‘A wonderful read. Jackie’s writing style exudes energy and joie de vivre.’
‘I got it this morning and I can’t put it down.. ‘
I’ve been reminded about how crappy sanding a boat can be. I must have whinged about the job a fair bit as Noel bought me an electric sander today – and they say romance is dead!
Covered in a layer of sanding dust and looking forward to a beer!
This gift is almost as ‘romantic’ as my first wedding anniversary gift, ‘The 12 Volt Bible’!! But that’s a different, (and a rather incredible), story (more details here).
With the pipes clean I turned my attention to the next part, preparing the wheelhouse roof for painting.
First I removed all the loose paint, then I became a sanding maniac. My sore knees, stiff muscles and the fine coating of ‘dust’ reminded me how much I hate sanding.
Lying down on the job – I was just glad I didn’t fall off!
But a good painting job is all about the preparation and after one full afternoon and a full morning – hurrah! I could finally paint!
To the paint, I added Rustol Owatrol, Antirouille Incolore, the French equivalent of Penetrol, which makes oil-based paint stick and flow better. I added fifty percent to the first coat, ten percent to the second coat. The mixture is very good at covering rusty parts of steel, provided there are there no loose flakes.
The first (‘scratch’) coat went on well and highlighted all the bits I missed. The dapple pattern from the rain that followed left me a bit peeved! But, the second coat (and final) is now on and I can play plumber next – extending the ‘down-pipes’ to the water tanks.
Before
After
My new sander and I will work on the rest of the boat . . . soon . . . when I recover!
Recovery food! Chocolate mouse, macadamia and vanilla ice-cream and strawberry tart!
Well the ‘you-beaut-fan-dangled’- cleaning wotsit BROKE! – on its first use! After saying some rather naughty words I sat, and had another drink . . . I mean think.
Where I had ‘made’ the thread, the handle snapped!
I needed:
So, I cut the handle off the brush and trimmed the brush down (a new one). Then I drilled a hole through the middle and plaited some string (for strength) and threaded that through the hole. Then, to that string, I tied some strong cord. Ha Ha! That should do it!
Small brush
Until I realised it was impossible to get the cord to thread down the down-pipe. After much uhhming and arrhing – I dismantled the gate-chain on the boat and tied that to the cord. This slinky chain slipped down the pipe dragging the cord with it.
Cord and chain
The top of the roof
What followed was a rather awkward tug-of-war on the cord, each end, to clean the pipes, but it worked! Success. Now I have to get sanding and painting!
Only you know your financial situation. It’s time to be honest with yourself!
In the first article we wrote:
| 1) What budget do I have to purchase a boat? Whatever budget you have it is extremely likely that you will find a boat you love just that ‘bit’ over your budget. This amount does NOT include:a) all the unexpected problems found during survey that need to be fixedb) all the things the vendor neglected to tell you that needed to be fixedc) all those things that just pop up at inopportune times that need to be fixed
d) on-going maintenance and repairs e) additional equipment (your own ideas/wants) Summary: Keep at least 10% of your budget for those unexpected issues. |
What’s the real question?
The more pertinent question is, what do I get for my money? And, what other factors do I have to consider?
What do I get for my money?
Advice
The best advice is research, research, research. While sailboats vary dramatically in size, layout, design and price, after some in-depth researching you will create a feel for the value presented. Sorry to harp on, but it is all about research. And to only consider the boat purchase cost on its own is foolhardy.
Learn
Researching will expand your know-how. Ask questions, seek advice, you will be amazed how your knowledge grows. We spent two years searching for our second boat, all via internet (we wanted to buy a boat in America to experience the Pacific Ocean for a second time).
$0 – millions
You can spend millions or a few thousand. Actually, a few hundred if you are willing to put in the time/money to make is seaworthy. But then you have to consider whether you want to GO cruising now or WORK for several years on a boat first.
Other considerations
As mentioned previously, it is not just the initial purchase, boats have to be maintained constantly. The marine environment is extremely harsh. Without proper care your boat can quickly become un-seaworthy. The problems will spiral out of control – causing the costs to escalate out of control. Everything that moves wears out and will need replacing eventually, this includes sails. As a guide, everything that moves lasts about ten years, motor, winch, sails etc, then it will need an overhaul or replacing.
Costs to keep in mind: see here for full article on calculating your costs. Your on-going expenditure will depend on:
A smaller, seaworthy, good condition boat is far better than a large, poorly maintained, vessel that will just become a money pit!
Size matters.
Size matters
The size of the boat will matter. We reckon about ten feet per decade. So:
It’s almost like a foot for every year of your life (up to about fifty). However, larger boats can be more expensive (longer length means a longer bill at marina), you may need more gear (longer rigging, larger sails). That said, you can make savings with a bigger boat by stowing more spare parts and stocking up at cheap locations.
Fibreglass/Timber/Steel/Aluminium/Ferro
Boat material will be a factor. Which material do you like working with best? That may make you a saving if you can work on it rather than employing someone else to do the work.
Our priorities when buying a boat
Watertight integrity
Seaworthiness
Material/keel setup
Heavy displacement (for crossing oceans)/handling capabilities
Equipment (is it all working? Can you maintain it?)
Age/condition
Can we accept, repair, replace, are familiar with all the things that are not perfect.
When we bought Pyewacket, we had to install solar panels and wind generators.
The Answer
The answer as per cost is dependent on:
More reading
The Real Cost of Owning a Boat: here.
Here’s a neat UK link providing an idea of what you’ll get for your money: here.
More help
Next time we’ll talk about WHICH boat.
Our book, Cruisers’ AA contains lots more helpful information.
The key to cruising is feet. It is -really, or something similar – like hair or legs or . . .let me explain.
Love the boat you have, is one of the snippets of advice we provide in our book Cruisers’ AA. This was a tip we received from a down-to-earth, long-term cruiser.
Love the boat you have. (Mariah II)
What does this mean? Well, maybe you have a dream you aspire to – a bigger boat, a better boat, or a boat with more equipment. Well, you can wish for all this . . . but still, love the boat you have.
Maybe that won’t make sense until you are cruising. For us it means that you put whatever resources you have into the boat you have, with love, with care, with effort and respect. Then that boat will pay you back, it will love and care for you and it will even respect you.
Feet? So what the blazes has feet got to do with it?
I hate my feet. Well, I did up until about two weeks ago. You see, I have rather wide, and in my opinion, ugly feet (for one reason or another, let’s just say they aren’t the prettiest of feet).
Sailing the Pacific Ocean on Pyewacket. Making courtesy flags & resting my feet!
For the last few weeks I’ve been really caring for my feet, exfoliating, moisturising, and buying and wearing nice shoes that hide the ‘not so nice bits’.
Tonight, as I rest my naked feet up on the settee they feel nice, they’re healthy, and they don’t look half bad. And that is what we mean by love the boat you have. Love what you have.
I take care and love my feet and now they feel great, so I feel great. They may take care of me for longer than they would have, had I not cared for them. Now I quite like my feet – actually, I’m quite attached to them!
Whatever you are dealt with, in either body parts or possessions – love what you have. Make of it what you will, and it will make you.
When you’re smiling, when you’re smiling, the whole world smiles with you
When you’re laughing, when you’re laughing, the sun comes shining through
Image courtesy of Mister GC / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
“When You’re Smiling” is a song by Larry Shay, Mark Fisher, and Joe Goodwin. It was sung by many different artists, (my favourite is Frank Sinatra, but I have a soft spot for his voice).
My dad used to sing this to his three daughters when we became down in the dumps. It always made us smile.
My positive: The boat is a mess and we have a list of jobs to do that is so long I don’t think we’ll ever see the end of it. But, Noel and I still make time for a good laugh!
Image courtesy of photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Yesterday, we were sitting in the wheelhouse, that is now a workshop, and I looked at the vacuum cleaner. Noel had been using it to clear up after working each day.
‘Whose is that?’ I said
Noel rolled his eyes and said, ‘It’s ours. Allow me to introduce you, vacuum cleaner meet the wife, wife meet the vacuum!’
Needless to say, I found this very amusing, Noel was a bit perplexed and I must say, I was a little embarrassed!
Can I just say that I have swept the floor since we’ve been on board . . .!
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
My family went home yesterday and left me feeling quite sad. I miss them already. Actually, I missed them as soon as we parted at the train station.
The sadness is emotional, but also physical. Especially when Noel and I had to carry our food shopping back between just the two of us! 😉
Noel and I had ‘evening medicine’ after our au revoirs
My positive? Despite the melancholy feelings of a farewell, Noel and I have turned our attentions to the boat.
Our first two projects are:
These are the types of projects I love; tasks that take us a step closer to self-sufficient living. I plan to tell you all about it – with lots of pictures.
Mum & dad – home now in the UK
Of course, thereafter we have much painting and re-fitting to do. So, yes, while I am a bit sad, I am excited at the next direction in our adventure.
It’s a beautiful day and I have just received yet another delightful book recommendation. This time the author is Ann Voskamp. Ann wrote One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are. In her book Ann strives to find the meaning of life, and in her life she endeavours to live with grace.
She writes, ‘One Thousand Gifts is a celebration of grace and a recognition of the power of gratitude. Here’s the link.
Some of my beliefs may be different to Ann’s but I am an advocate for learning from everyone, whoever they are and whatever they think.
As well as learning from others, I also believe that we can change. My life, emotions, thoughts, plans, ideas, morals and some of my personality changed when I suffered a heart-wrenching bereavement in my twenties. With my emotions out of control, I ran away (against my counsellor’s advice) and embarked on a remarkable journey. Of Foreign Build is not just about sailing around the world on a thirty-three foot boat, but about how I changed in so many different ways – and how I learned about who I am.
This is the man that keeps me sane!
The ‘positive thoughts’ process is changing me again. It is all for the good and I am enjoying it immensely, so here’s today’s three thoughts:
In view of Ann’s book, I am determined to live my life now. Not just travel and do what I dream of doing, but enjoy THIS moment and stop thinking about the NEXT adventure.
Enjoy the moment.
Part of the Citadel
So, my big decision? I am going to carry on with the positive thoughts. Once a week I will highlight some positives in my life and post them here, I hope you’ll join me.
And, once again, I nominate anyone who would like to take part in this ‘positive thoughts’ 5-day event.
Jackie Parry - author 