# Good bang for your bucks or just nuts???



## JoCoSailor (Dec 7, 2015)

I don't think I want to be sailing on this boat. What do you guys think?


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

*Re: Good bang you bucks or just nuts???*

I think they are enjoying life


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## MikeOReilly (Apr 12, 2010)

*Re: Good bang you bucks or just nuts???*

Good on them. I don't agree with all their choices, but I love their approach. As the fellow says, (paraphrase): "People may laugh, but we're out here living the life, while the naysayers are still tied to the mooring ball."


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

*Re: Good bang you bucks or just nuts???*

Love the spirit. Not so much the choices. Think some of those shown are not simply the budget choice, but suggest they don't know what they don't know. I loved the line that said to untie the blue and white sweater from around your neck and get out there. (I keep mine in storage, for special occasions). However, arbitrarily declaring their severely rusted homemade galvanized steel rigging will last a couple more years is just a WAG. They realize this as they continually disclaim it not being a how to vid.

I do wish them the best.


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## mbianka (Sep 19, 2014)

*Re: Good bang you bucks or just nuts???*

I had a co worker bought a 38 footer and spent four years on the hard and about one half the cost of the boat trying to make it perfect before he left for his dream of getting to the Bahamas and ultimately Grenada. He finally left and got to the Bahamas in January and could not stand the winds and weather. Returned to Miami where he pretty much stays on the dock these days.

This couple is at the other end of the spectrum. As long as they stay close enough to parts supplies I think they'll be able to survive. I keep thinking about what happened at Palmyra Island. A similar couple got there and got stuck with a boat that became too un-seaworthy to return. Then another couple came along and anchored. They were an older couple that had a well prepared trawler in top notch condition. They were never seen again and the young couple ended up back in Hawaii on the couples trawler. That murder trail was chronicled in the book AND THE SEA WILL TELL.

Dreams can end in desperation if you don't prepare properly or have the skill set needed to survive. When you are out there you never know who you'll run into or how desperate they really are.


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## MikeOReilly (Apr 12, 2010)

*Re: Good bang you bucks or just nuts???*



mbianka said:


> Dreams can end in desperation if you don't prepare properly or have the skill set needed to survive. When you are out there you never know who you'll run into or how desperate they really are.


Wow Mike... this took a dark turn. It's a big leap to go from galvanized standing rigging to murder.


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## Don L (Aug 8, 2008)

*Re: Good bang you bucks or just nuts???*

I didn't watch the video since I was pretty sure of the goal just from the cleavage bikini photo


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## denverd0n (Jun 20, 2008)

*Re: Good bang you bucks or just nuts???*



Minnewaska said:


> Love the spirit. Not so much the choices. Think some of those shown are not simply the budget choice, but suggest they don't know what they don't know.


A very hearty "ditto!"

As someone other than me has said before, the sea is unrelenting and unforgiving. Bad choices made at the dock, or in a quiet anchorage, can lead to life-threatening situations at sea. I can only hope that these folks learn the lessons that they need to learn before anyone gets really hurt.


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## RobGallagher (Aug 22, 2001)

*Re: Good bang you bucks or just nuts???*

I watched them on occasion over the winter. At first I thought they where well under prepared, didn't even know sailing terminology and had so little money it seemed to be unrealistic. Then I remembered I was on my couch in New England.


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## mbianka (Sep 19, 2014)

*Re: Good bang you bucks or just nuts???*



MikeOReilly said:


> Wow Mike... this took a dark turn. It's a big leap to go from galvanized standing rigging to murder.


Well as Jimmy Buffet sang "Down in the tropics they come and they go" Some people will try a cut all kinds of corners. After seeing their boat I certainly would not hire this guy to work on my boat. You never know who you might run into. Probably won't get murdered but, it has happened at least twice that I know of. More likely you might lend some charts or a tool(s) to a fellow sailor only to find their boat has pulled up anchor and left the next day as has happened to people that I know. Still got to keep your eyes open even in "paradise".


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## MikeOReilly (Apr 12, 2010)

*Re: Good bang you bucks or just nuts???*



mbianka said:


> Well as Jimmy Buffet sang "Down in the tropics they come and they go" Some people will try a cut all kinds of corners. After seeing their boat I certainly would not hire this guy to work on my boat. You never know who you might run into. Probably won't get murdered but, it has happened at least twice that I know of. More likely you might lend some charts or a tool(s) to a fellow sailor only to find their boat has pulled up anchor and left the next day as has happened to people that I know. Still got to keep your eyes open even in "paradise".


Very true. But I bet the murder rate amongst cruisers is far less than most urban areas that cruisers come from. I agree, I wouldn't necessarily hire the couple to work on my boat, but their spirit of making do with what they have, and what they know, seems to be one we can all appreciate.

The stories of people who are never quite ready to leave because they have one more project, or have one more thing to improve, or don't have enough money ... these are the far more common stories. This little video shows that perfection is not required.

P.S. I knew a fellow who used galvanized rigging. He was a linesman, so that's what he knew. It seemed to work fine. Was way cheaper and easier as a DIY. Just wasn't very pretty.


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## Arcb (Aug 13, 2016)

*Re: Good bang you bucks or just nuts???*

Pretty hard for me to judge these folks when I think of how many rigs I have made from scrap lumber and green polytarp 

Now, out to my yard to finish installing my scrap lumber gunwales on my $15 dinghy.


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## Siamese (May 9, 2007)

*Re: Good bang you bucks or just nuts???*

Liked her. Didn't like him.


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## wellie57 (Feb 28, 2020)

I enjoy watching their vids. Their positive attitude is inspiring and they show that you can live the dream, even on a shoestring. You just have to have the courage to toss the lines. I admit some of his DIY repairs are cringe-worthy. When you don't have much money you just make do. Bailing wire and duct tape and a watchful eye. I wish them luck.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Continue to applaud their spirit. The only thing that worries me is if they inspire some of the unsafe methods they chose. Severely rusted galvanized standing rigging could kill the next cruiser. Unsafe DC wiring is the number one cause of boat fires, by far. I took no exception to them passing on tinned wire, but I think he said he ran lamp cord. 

Still love that they are out there and that inspiration is very welcome. I hope it continues safely.


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## Chili Palmer (Oct 16, 2012)

Siamese said:


> Liked her. Didn't like him.


I've been watching for a while. She's definitely more likable than him. Actually, during that video he mentions he used to be a cage fighter. After he said that I looked at the woman sitting next to me and said "That makes a whole lot more sense, I don't dislike him as much now". Not sure why, but knowing that changed my perception of him in a good way.



Minnewaska said:


> Continue to applaud their spirit. The only thing that worries me is if they inspire some of the unsafe methods they chose. Severely rusted galvanized standing rigging could kill the next cruiser. Unsafe DC wiring is the number one cause of boat fires, by far. I took no exception to them passing on tinned wire, but I think he said he ran lamp cord.
> 
> Still love that they are out there and that inspiration is very welcome. I hope it continues safely.


In the video he mentions that anything above the water line is lamp cord (or whatever he used) but did indicate below the water line it was marine grade.


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

Keep the mast up...and they keep on going
If everything was 'proper' it would all the the same stuff...and just another one of those
Not a clone for sure


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## JoCoSailor (Dec 7, 2015)

*Re: Good bang you bucks or just nuts???*



Don L said:


> I didn't watch the video since I was pretty sure of the goal just from the cleavage bikini photo


It really was not..not that I mind seeing the bikini I was embarrassed when that thumbnail displayed on the post......I had never heard of using galvanized cable for rigging....I just had to know what everyone here thought about their cost-cutting


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

Tarred hemp came before


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## Don L (Aug 8, 2008)

*Re: Good bang you bucks or just nuts???*



JoCoSailor said:


> ......I had never heard of using galvanized cable for rigging....I just had to know what everyone here thought about their cost-cutting


Well that has been around a long time and you can find out more on it by people more reliable than a bikini wearing blogger with some research


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

I always get a chuckle at the prudish reactions to women's clothing on videos shot in tropical heat and humidity. There was no sexual innuendo in the vid. Sure, the thumbnail may have been gratuitous, but welcome to 2020. The 1950s ain't coming back.


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## MikeOReilly (Apr 12, 2010)

There's no doubt both of them are using their sex appeal to attract views. That's the norm on most successful Utubes. But that's completely missing the point of their video, and I believe of the intent of this thread. 

The point is that there are ways to live this cruising life without having a monthly budget of many thousands of dollars. This couple was illustrating this with a few examples. You certainly don't have to agree with all their approaches (I certainly don't), but the broader point is the important one.


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## cdy (Nov 10, 2013)

The dude is batting way above his average when it comes to his GF - I have seen some of the videos - enjoy seeing people on their "needs work" boats but out cruising -


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## Arcb (Aug 13, 2016)

*Re: Good bang you bucks or just nuts???*



JoCoSailor said:


> I just had to know what everyone here thought about their cost-cutting


Idk, he's out sailing around the Carribean instead of getting his teeth punched out in a cage match :wink


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## JoCoSailor (Dec 7, 2015)

*Re: Good bang you bucks or just nuts???*



Don L said:


> Well that has been around a long time and you can find out more on it by people more reliable than a bikini wearing blogger with some research


Precisely why I asked here at sailnet. Where I know I'll get good feedback from folks I've come to "virtually" know and trust.


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## Sal Paradise (Sep 14, 2012)

MikeOReilly said:


> There's no doubt both of them are using their sex appeal to attract views. That's the norm on most successful Utubes. .


No, the GF is.


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## MikeOReilly (Apr 12, 2010)

Sal Paradise said:


> No, the GF is.


For you .


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## Sal Paradise (Sep 14, 2012)

MikeOReilly said:


> For you .


I mean,to each his own - but there was a reason she was on the preview thumbnail.


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## Jeff356 (May 4, 2016)

Take a look at the video where he free climbs the mast, impressive but crazy...

As said, out there and doing it but with a different mindset.


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## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

JoCoSailor said:


> *Re: Good bang you bucks or just nuts???*
> 
> It really was not..not that I mind seeing the bikini I was embarrassed when that thumbnail displayed on the post......I had never heard of using galvanized cable for rigging....I just had to know what everyone here thought about their cost-cutting


I had galvanized wire on my old gaffer and replaced it with the same in NZ some years later. It was spliced into loops to go around the mast aloft and around thimbles at the turn buckles. We used a mix of white lead paste, turpentine and bee's wax to coat it and it never rusted.
Many traditional sailing vessels use galvanized wire and if properly cared for it is every bit as strong as SS and long lasting.
Shortly after we rerigged in NZ we were capsized three times in a cyclone off Fiji and did not lose any of our rig.


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## DanM1 (Oct 4, 2017)

Jeff356 said:


> Take a look at the video where he free climbs the mast, impressive but crazy...


That was the one I watched and decided not to watch any more. GF didn't know how to sail at the time. Away from land. I don't rubberneck car crashes either. Miracle they are still alive.


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## davis1296q (Jul 28, 2020)

Its Good For them!


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