Minimalistic Approach to Power Cruising

Our old Carver was as primative as we want to go. The refer used too much battery power so it was dry storage only. Igloo 66 qt with blocks of ice, alcohol stove, spinning flasher depth finder. Our luxuries were a fairly spacious cabin, a reading light over the table, dropping the dinette to a lumpy double bed, and the 4 hp for the dinghy. We had a lot of good times then but we're not going back!

ksanders said:

Most of us started out with trailer able boats with few amenities .

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Some of us did serious blue water work when sextants, charts, navigation tools and RDFs were the standard. No radar, chart plotters or inverters were available. We even used tell tales on the sails as digital wind direction sensing was unheard of! Water makers, huh?

Point being, minimalist depends on your boating age.

sunchaser said:

Some of us did serious blue water work when sextants, charts, navigation tools and RDFs were the standard. No radar, chart plotters or inverters were available. We even used tell tales on the sails as digital wind direction sensing was unheard of! Water makers, huh?

Point being, minimalist depends on your boating age.

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I still use tell tales on my sails, as well as cassette tape on the stays. An old Cat Stevens tape gives me a 10 year supply. Does that make me old or young?

AusCan said:

Does that make me old or young?

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It makes you smart. I actually don't know of any electronics that gives you sail shape like a tell tail does?

Imo, minimalist in sail boating stems from limited funds. I doubt 10% would practice it if funds weren't an Issue. That being said, I applaud any and all who do it if that is what allows them to go boating. When I was in my 20s, I use to sleep in my truck in parking lots or camp in state campgrounds when I went on scuba diving trips, because I couldn't afford the cheapest motels. Don't regret having done it, but it was done out of necessity nothing else. My days of nautical camping are long gone.......I hope.

Ted

kulas44 said:

Check out Briney Bug. Its a very minimalist cruiser thats out there doing it. Very interesting boat. No VHF (gasp) but the captain is proficient in sound signals. No engine gauges, but the captain knows what the engine is supposed to sound like. Etc.

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"No VHF (gasp) but the captain is proficient in sound signals."

How does that work out when the boats he is trying to communicate with are not very proficient in sound signals?

Yes, you can do without a lot of things on a boat but why would you want to? How is that better than living in a box under a bridge?

Jill a Rudy's (briney bug) minimalist approach allows them to GO BOATING NOW. And they are, enjoying every minute of it. A broken AP or waiting on parts for the watermaker never slows them down. The only bank they have to look out for is the mud beside them. Insurance, probably not or just minimum liability. A lot of folks boats are just to intimadating to even leave the dock. What happens if this happens they think, and are paralized into inactivity. On Briney Bug there is not much to go wrong, so going is easy. I have not kept up with them in awhile but always enjoyed reading there posts on the "other" trawler forum. Rudy is a kind and very knowledgeable fellow and I'm sure he could build or install anything he wanted. Jill is apparently tireless and may have been an actuall galley slave in a previous life. There sense of humor is grand. Maybe that comes from not having to fix broken stuff on a boat.

I am not condoning the absence of a VHF, just saying its not neccessary. I have 3 on the flybridge. Lack of same would not stop me from going. Rudy could easily have 1 if he wanted it. He may have 1 now. But, where does it end ? a VHF now, SSB next,then full on nav system, etc. Now we need a genset for the tv and toaster. We need 10 more feet of boat !!

The sole purpose of pleasure boats is to make us happy. So whatever makes you happy is good. There is no one answer.

I am in the process of thinking about my next boat and its systems will be no more luxurious than my present boat. My current boat (a sailboat) would be regarded as basic by most posters standards.

The main reason for these basic systems is reliability.
I would rather go for a swim than repair/maintain complex systems. Unfortunately paying someone else is not practical if you cruise full time in deserted out of the way places.

My wife wants a washing machine if we go ahead with the new boat, so we are not evangelistic in our minimalism, but each luxury has to earn its keep to be included.

I began cruising with a compass, charts, depth sounder, ice chest, alcohol stove and a Danforth.
None of that ever gave me any trouble except the Danforth. Later in the colder waters off CA oil lamps provided welcome heat as well as light. All of that was better than when I went backpacking. []


Today I enjoy having the creature comforts but would have no problem driving a boat without all the toys. It would not be my preference but I would not be stuck at the dock if the GPS failed.


I just don't see the attraction of minimalist boating or backpacking any more

See Avatar for my rendition of affordable and basically care free... 21st Century Minimalist, yet Fully Comfortable, Pleasure-Boat.

kulas44 said:

I am not condoning the absence of a VHF, just saying its not neccessary. ...........

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I would consider a working VHF a safety item. Other folks must share that opinion or I wouldn't hear so many "radio checks" when I have mine on.

Seems to me everyone is mimimanist in some way. Few boats are 100+ footers with crew. anything less is going withour something. Because you cant or wont afford it.
Howerer thewhole conversation of doing without as a meritorious lifestyle escapes me and I don't see whee the bragging rights attach to doing so.
IMO use the boat you have and enjoy it but don't look to me for applause of your decision to do without stuff.


PS: IIRC Tom Fexas toward the end of his design career was promoting the idea that boats had become too complicated and would be more fun if simpler. I'm not sure if he sold any.

psneeld said:

"
Many that watch TV aboard are liveaboards or long term cruisers and may watch no more TV per week than if dirt dwelling.

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Agreed. We live aboard at anchor for 4 to 5 months each year. TV watching, all recorded, is an every so often evening break in an otherwise outside life. Movie night is complete with popcorn.

manyboats said:

I sometimes think about why some skippers don't have a 40' boat w only the equipment that we have. You could probably afford a boat 10' bigger if you didn't have all that convenience stuff.

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This is exactly the sort of thinking I was going towards when I originally posted this thread. Going minimalistic, not to make some sort of social statement, or to pretend that one can still "camp out" even though we're getting older.

I'd say the two reasons why these thoughts come up are:
1) To simplify systems so as to minimize headaches, breakdowns and maintenance;
2) To reduce construction cost so as to be able to afford a slightly larger and more comfortable boat.

O C Diver said:

Imo, minimalist in sail boating stems from limited funds. I doubt 10% would practice it if funds weren't an Issue. That being said, I applaud any and all who do it if that is what allows them to go boating. When I was in my 20s, I use to sleep in my truck in parking lots or camp in state campgrounds when I went on scuba diving trips, because I couldn't afford the cheapest motels. Don't regret having done it, but it was done out of necessity nothing else. My days of nautical camping are long gone.......I hope.

Ted

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when I did it 30 years ago that was why I did a adventure I could afford

O C Diver said:

Imo, minimalist in sail boating stems from limited funds.................

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"Minimalist" is a highfalutin' word for "poor".

rwidman said:

"Minimalist" is a highfalutin' word for "poor".

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Perhaps in your view.

Maybe some people just don't need luxury items to make them happy.
I still go camping in a tent with my wife, even though I could easily afford to buy a new luxury motor home with a couple months salary. We enjoy waking up listening to the birds and wind blowing through the trees.

When traveling. we sometimes stay in quirky hostels, even though we could stay in $500/night hotels. (and occasionally do) We tend to meet much more interesting people this way, in the shared kitchen or common room.

I think the minimalist approach in a boat or elsewhere keeps you closer in touch with your environment, rather than insulating you from it. I'd recommend it to anyone.
(except maybe those doing polar expeditions; - you'd best stay insulated)

More & more I see more & more lavish boats, err yachts out there. These yachts have more & more electronic stuff crammed into, onto and around the helms. This conglomeration of electronic crap is not a replacement for seamanship. These yacht owners DO look down upon anyone who doesn't have a boat which is top heavy with unnecessary garbage they deem essential. I believe It is essential to many due to their lack of seamanship. Most need multiples of spare electronics because they can NOT navigate without it. I joined this forum to gather info. So far all I have read is mostly folks spouting superiority (my imagination?) I think NOT.

AusCan said:

I think the minimalist approach in a boat or elsewhere keeps you closer in touch with your environment, rather than insulating you from it. I'd recommend it to anyone.

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Agree wholeheartedly with everything you said, particularly that last bit.

Sea kayaking is as intimate a form of travel on the ocean as one will ever get, because you feel everything and have to respect what Nature sends your way. It's like bicycle touring while larger boats are like riding on a bus.

The minimalist approach is embraced by many, such as free solo rock climbers or those who climb Everest alpine style without supplemental oxygen or Sherpa support.

Oh, and before anybody poo-poo's the idea of sea kayaks not being able to cross oceans, Ed Gillette sea kayaked solo from Monterey Bay to Hawaii in 1987 using an off the shelf 20' Necky Tofino double kayak.

Now that's minimal!!! http://www.legendinc.com/Pages/MarbleheadNet/MM/Articles/EdGillette.html

A lot of folks that own yachts (use your definition) are the "look at me, look at me," type, where bigger and flashier is apparently better. They are not so much the "go somewhere do stuff meet people see places" kind of folks. I can afford most things on a boat that I might want, but I got to much crap already. I will admit to being lazy. I know how to navigate with a chart and all the tools but either or any of my 3 GPSs do it more easily. I can watch the barometer and wind direction/speed and do a fair job of forecasting weather, but my electronic devices do it even better,,,mostly. I dont embrace the minimalist boating lifestyle, but to say they are "poor" is about as ignorant as one can get. By being out there doing it they are richer than most here will ever be, no matter how much money they may (or pretend to) have.

What a journey Murray. Yes. VERY minimal...


1983 Present 42 Sundeck
Twin Lehman 135's

Sorry to disagree but it is much more about observation than mode of travel.

Some people could be walking on hot lava and be oblivious while others could spot the lava from a 600 mph jet at 35000 feet.

I have traveled hundreds of miles by canoe and kayak, and thousands more by small boats.

Observation and caring to go slow enough or stop and smell the roses can give the same results in many of the boats here on TF.

I wouldn't.....actually couldn't travel to FL and back to NJ every winter in 4 months in a kayak.....but when I stop, I observe the world pretty closely.

AusCan said:

Perhaps in your view...............

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Well of course in my view. I wouldn't have posted it if that wasn't my view.

I am entitled to my view, you are entitled to yours.

Willow-B said:

More & more I see more & more lavish boats, err yachts out there…. These yacht owners DO look down upon anyone who doesn't have a boat which is top heavy with unnecessary garbage they deem essential.... So far all I have read is mostly folks spouting superiority (my imagination?) I think NOT.

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Back when I owned my 65ft trawler I generally had difficulties trying to reach out to other cruisers, to locals and to fishermen. My boat was an old, rusted dump that cost less than most people's cars, but still the first thought of others was that I was a rich snob!

Plus nowadays I travel to third world countries and places where Westerners aren't exactly the most liked people.

So my future boat will be somewhat minimalist (for simplicity and cost sake) but also it needs to stay relatively small (incognito - not drawing attention).

I'm confused: Your earlier post said minimalist so as to afford a slightly larger boat. This post says you want to stay relatively small. Does that mean 190 ft rather than 240'?

Ah, "minimalist" and "utilitarian". Two highly subjective words.

Dawdler said:

I'm confused: Your earlier post said minimalist so as to afford a slightly larger boat. This post says you want to stay relatively small. Does that mean 190 ft rather than 240'?

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Hmm, good point. Size is all relative. My previous 65 footer was too large. So smaller would be something quite less than that, actual length TBD.

>IMO use the boat you have and enjoy it but don't look to me for applause of your decision to do without stuff.<

Minimalist does not mean a poor lifestyle , it usually means a far better Boating life style.
More time boating , less time repairing stuff, or having it repaired/replaced.

EG for modest sized boats a Dickinson diesel range will both cook and heat the boat , on the hook ,24/7/365 , no worries about battery draw.

OK its > minimalist < one has to turn a knob , rather than set a thermostat. WOW!

However one does not have to provide electric 24/7 , repair complex electronics , carry spare parts , listen to the noise like a vacuum cleaner (air models) and still provide space for a range and fuel to cook with .


Minimalist? perhaps, , (but still warm below freezing , with fresh home baked bread ) , the only minimum part is expense and maint headaches.

WE sometimes get visitors at our FL dock with so much installed electronics they have no idea how to turn it OFF.

At night they have learned to sleep thru alerts , bells and beeps from the electric toys, they PAID for !!

Willow-B said:

More & more I see more & more lavish boats, err yachts out there. These yachts have more & more electronic stuff crammed into, onto and around the helms. This conglomeration of electronic crap is not a replacement for seamanship. These yacht owners DO look down upon anyone who doesn't have a boat which is top heavy with unnecessary garbage they deem essential. I believe It is essential to many due to their lack of seamanship. Most need multiples of spare electronics because they can NOT navigate without it. I joined this forum to gather info. So far all I have read is mostly folks spouting superiority (my imagination?) I think NOT.

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That's not true. Most here have been boating for a very long time. They started without the more sofisticated electronics. You confuse lack of seamanship with wanting to have some nice electronic toys to play with. No different than the smart cell phone I have now versus the rotary dial phone I grew up with.

Finally, yes it's your imagination. It's not about superiority, but pride of ownership. Yes, I like to post pics of the prodjects I've done on my boat, but would rather in joy viewing the beautiful boats that others have (boat porn). There is lots of useful information posted everyday on this forum. It just may not be the info you need. Try the archives.

Ted