I’ve been working on interior marine finishes lately, sorting out what our preferences will be for the new boat. Our last boat, Phoenix, had a mahogany interior and everything was varnished in the traditional marine way with a high-gloss varnish. Eurybia has a teak interior and a subtle rubbed finish that has become popular in […]
Boats
The Elusive Perfect Dinghy
The imaginary perfect dinghy is beautiful, strong, light, able to carry large payloads yet easily driven and maneuverable, small and stowable, affordable – this list of seemingly opposing requirements makes choosing a dinghy is as complex as choosing a mate! But, like choosing a mate, we are happy when we find what is “perfect for us”, or […]
Straw, Sticks or Bricks? Best Boat Materials
Steel boats are great. Until they’re not. Seeing rusty drips down the side of a boat? Might make you wonder if steel is a good material for a sailboat. Read about Renovating a Rusting Steel Boat to find out what we did when our 50 year old boat got a bad case of the rusts. Or read […]
Comparisons of Cruising Boats
In the spreadsheet below I have posted the numbers for some common cruisers and one lightweight racer. (Eurybia’s numbers are highlighted in peach.) If you don’t see your boat, you can also look up your own numbers online. To understand the numbers better, see the bottom of the page for the formulas from Ted Brewer. You […]
Are Cruising Boats Expensive?
Everyone is interested in the cost of cruising; we’re always asked how we afford it. It does appear from many articles and surveys we have read that the average cruising budget has gone up considerably from twenty years ago – richer people are going cruising. However it does not appear that the cost of cruising […]
Choosing a Boat: Summary
Three previous articles on Choosing a Boat: Beauty Performance Comfort So how do you choose a boat? The first step, which is sometimes neglected, is to start sailing. Sail as much as you can, on other people’s boat if you have to. Chartering? Maybe, but the boats you’ll charter may not be a realistic match […]