Being in the middle of a part time refit of our Islander has me thinking both about the cost of things these days, as well as the creeping loss of common sense where cruising boats is concerned. This morning I read a great article in Voiles et Voiliers about crossing the Atlantic with a 25-foot …
Practical Boat Owner, otherwise known as PBO, has a small article talking about the Westerly Cirrus and Tiger that is well worth reading. That said, I have not a frelling clue as to what a decent sofa actually costs so, if anyone out there does maybe you could let the rest of us know in …
Every once in a while I find myself somewhat dumbfounded on just how bad some of the Islander 36 build and design happen to be. Far too often I find myself doing the “What the hell were they thinking of?” two-step mantra and it’s just sorta/kinda crazy making. Of course, the truth is that the …
I just saw that the Chinese auto builders are coming up with cheap EVs and the prices really took my breath away. Try $9,698 on for size. Which, I’m told, is $50K less than the average EV available in the US of A. Almost makes me want to go out and buy a car. Which, …
something from the “not really surprising” files… Read More »
While I make no secret about what I think about consumerism-led boat projects, I will admit to having a wish list of things that I want to have on the Islander. For starters, there’s AIS. We already have an AIS receiver as it’s part of our Standard Horizon radio but it would be nice to …
I’m trying to get my head around the idea that if building a single smartphone produces 87 kilos of waste and 110 kilos of CO2 emissions what the holy fuck does it take to build a Bendytoy 32? Seriously, there has to be a better more sustainable way to do things. If that makes any …
One of the issues that the Islander presented was that the opening ports were well past their sell by date. All six ports either needed parts or required replacement and, as the cost of Beckson parts were astronomic, new ports were a given. My first impulse was to build Wiley ports as they are dead …
next job on the list, installing new portlights… Read More »
I recently sat down and wrote a very long rant about what was/is wrong with what passes for sailing and cruising videos and, at least, had the good sense not to post it because who needs scathing negativity these days? Am I right or not? I mention this because I’ve heard that the one of …
