I keep running into some people’s mindset that a VolksCruiser is some beat-to-shit derelict boat that requires a full rebuild and a shit-ton amount of money to get it to float with the mast pointing up. To tell you the truth, it’s really getting up my nose.
The fact is most of the boats of the VolksCruiser persuasion I’ve talked about over the years mostly just need a bit of cleaning, some decluttering, and a bit of aggressive maintenance. Just like the Islander I’m working on today. Most of the work on my to do list is just to catch up on maintenance while the other work is just to make the boat more a cruising boat rather than a dock-bound marina liveaboard. So, at most, I’m looking at another month of part-time jobs to sort the boat out.
Sure, in the not-too-distant-future, I’ll be doing some upgrades like swapping the rig over to Dynex and replacing the chainplates but that’s a next year job because the rig that’s on the boat is just fine for the moment but getting near its replacement time. For the moment it will be just maintaining the normal stuff and fixing what cries out to be be fixed.
Today I’m just doing some epoxy work on the water tanks, checking out the diesel tank gauge, and getting organized for some electrical work for tomorrow. None of the current projects are expensive or even raise much of a sweat which I’ll admit is pretty close to just how I like it. Working hard and spending more money than needful is not my idea of an enjoyable way to spend a day.
That said, I’d still rather be building an electric twelve-string that’s sitting on a shelf crying out to be finished.
On a different tack, you might want to read this post because it’s important, timely, and has an element of hope that a lot of folks are missing.
More soon come…