Cruisin Loser
Super Anarchist
The smartest thing I've ever done with money has been to waste it on really cool sailboats.
Oh, and heli-skiing.
Oh, and heli-skiing.
Craigslist finds- Tragedy edition
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bmiller
Super Anarchist
In general I agree. I have a 17' Grumman aluminum canoe that's pretty cheap to own/operate.
sculpin
Super Anarchist
Nobody needs a boat, but if I couldn't have one I'd question what the fucking point of it all was...
Steam Flyer
Sophisticated Yet Humble
2airishuman
The Loyal Opposition
I don't think the difference is that stark.
Cruising boats and RVs are both, to some degree, a means of purchasing the idea of greater freedom. On a sailboat you have, nominally, the ability to go to some lonely bay where you're all alone and have everything to yourself. Same with an RV -- they're self-contained, and at least in theory you can go to the end of a road somewhere in the desert or the forest and have everything to yourself.
In both cases people who actually do this are the exception, because life aboard or on an RV is much easier when you have shore power or at least a nearby dinghy dock where there's a dumpster and you can walk to the store. Most boat owners spend a lot of nights in marinas. Most RV owners spend a lot of nights in campgrounds. Mach nichts.
If you're doing it right, the appeal of an RV is that you combine the relaxing pleasure of familiar surroundings inside, with the novelty of a different world outside your door every time you move. You do not ever have to handle baggage. You will not overpay for bad food or spend an hour and a half waiting to get a hot breakfast on Sunday morning. You can bring your dog. You will not deal with a room that doesn't smell quite right, an HVAC module that rattles, or a toilet with something gross on it from a previous guest. You will not wait in line for 75 minutes to get a rental car. You can get the experience of a $400 a night hotel without paying $400 a night and, more importantly, in remote parts of the country where there aren't $400 a night hotels to choose from. Depending on your lifestyle and connections, you can park in the driveway of a friend having a party, for a weekend at your kid's place, at the racetrack, at the fairgrounds, or at the music festival.
We averaged around 20 nights in the Airstream a year for the 10 years we had it. I kept a log. Cost wise with the depreciation and tow vehicle costs and gasoline and everything else we were money ahead compared to comparable vacation experiences for a family with kids and a dog, and we did 3 day trips we never would have otherwise, because we stored the trailer packed and all we had to do was hitch it up and maybe stop for a few groceries on the way out of town.
There are all kinds of worse ways to travel. How about a big cruise ship where nothing is organic or genuine, you get six hours on shore for five days of an eight day trip, and people fight over poolside loungers? Or the car trip where you stay in a cheap motel where hot breakfast consists of reconstituted scrambled eggs and one of those oversweetened make-your-own waffle concessions? Or spending three nights at an old friend's place who turns out to be a terrible host who you no longer have anything in common with? Or Las Vegas?
Don't get me wrong, we've been on some fantastic trips that involved airbnbs, hotel stays, resorts, tents, etc but those all have their pros and cons and limited geographic coverage.
All that said, we got what we could out of that and have moved on to other travel experiences. The kids are grown, we are cultivating a home life where we can leave for a week or two without an army of people to feed dogs, mow grass, get the mail, and water plants. With a great deal of gentle guidance the admiralty is learning how to pack for three days in just a carry-on. We've sort of seen what we want within the driving range of an RV that fits that idiom, and are doing something different. This year it's the boat.
Autonomous
Turgid Member
I take both to places like Wallowa State Park, Farragut State Park and Deception Pass State Park.
Even in the small Class B RV it is easy to pack enough firewood for 10-12 hours of ambience. More if I utilize the boat.
Even in the small Class B RV it is easy to pack enough firewood for 10-12 hours of ambience. More if I utilize the boat.
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Startracker
Member
Far less effort than you're putting into your boat, and more economical than an already built 4x4 econline one in my opinion, is the truck chassis ambulances. Keep an eye for first aid companies liquidating assets, especially anytime the price of oil dips. If I didn't end up with a sailboat again, I was thinking of trying the easy road for a while and doing up one of those. Saw a nice 2010 F-350 chassis ambulance, 4x4, big roomy welded aluminium box to build in and it's bloody square to start with. Asking 15k, 170ish km from my memory. Proper truck front end so you actually have some hope of working on the damn motor. Everybody thinks the passthrough are a window, but they're usually a bolt in bulkhead, or fixable via circular saw in a half hour for direct entrance from the cab.
Panope
Super Anarchist
Not sure what is happening lately in the airplane world, but back in the day, most airports would have a derelict or two.
I bought a complete Apache (minus engines) for $1000 sometime in the early 2000's. It had been sitting abandoned for 20 years at Bellingham WA.
I disassembled the plane on-site and brought the pieces home individually. Plane was used as a parts donor for a flyable version.
Whinging Pom
Super Anarchist
Go where RVs and trailers can't.
To me, the fundamental difference between an RV and a boat is that with an RV, the pleasure is almost always in the destination, not in the journey itself. Few people actually get pleasure out of driving a big RV down a highway at 65 mph, or on a winding road at 30 mph, or over rough terrain at 10 mph.
The pleasure primarily comes from "dropping the anchor" at the end of the day.
With a boat, you get the joy of the voyage--who doesn't like a beam reach in 15 knots of breeze, or negotiating a tricky passage under power?-- and still get the pleasure of the anchorage at the end of the day.
Do you sit around in the RV talking about what a great day of driving you just had?
No comparison in my book.
The pleasure primarily comes from "dropping the anchor" at the end of the day.
With a boat, you get the joy of the voyage--who doesn't like a beam reach in 15 knots of breeze, or negotiating a tricky passage under power?-- and still get the pleasure of the anchorage at the end of the day.
Do you sit around in the RV talking about what a great day of driving you just had?
No comparison in my book.
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bmiller
Super Anarchist
My idea of a proper place to park an RV. Takes a bit or effort to get there.
Check out the Jimmy's World on YouTube, especially the older episodes.
Jud - s/v Sputnik
Super Anarchist
My idea of a proper place to park an RV. Takes a bit or effort to get there.
I like Bernie Harbert’s approach. His “RV” is engineless, has four legs and two wheels, and goes where other RVs can’t. (He previously spent 5 or so years sailing around the world, so this approach —by virtue of its slow pace and ability to escape the crowds— is probably more in line with sailboat travel than actual RV travel.)
I would love to try travelling like this.
About Bernie - RiverEarth.com
Bernie Harberts is a writer, filmmaker, Long Rider, and husband to Julia. He and Julia drink gravity water, heat with wood, and sleep with open windows.
riverearth.com
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Marcjsmith
Super Anarchist
I look at rving a lot like power boating... do you think power boaters sit around at the dock and talk about their straight line trek from annapolis to St Micheals... narrowly missing a crab pot or two while laughing at the sailor flipping them the bird?
SloopJonB
Super Anarchist
Sounds like the comparison should be between RV's and power boats, not sailboats.
As someone who is both a sailor and a powerboater, it sounds to me like you haven't spent much time around powerboats. Most of the powerboaters I know are sailors as well, but that may just be the people I hang around with.
How do sailors get from point A to point B when there isn't enough wind for their vertical awnings, anyway? Do you just not go? Inquiring minds want to know.
How do you get into all those tight anchorages at the end of the day, when there isn't enough room to maneuver under sail?
Sorry your experience with powerboats has been so bad. On the water on a boat works for me, whether it's sail, power, or oars and paddles.
Sheesh...
Rapture_29.5
New member
Funny you should mention Rolls Royces in this context. Within two blocks of where I live there were two Rolls Royces being left to rot. One, the older of the two, was being kept in a semi-covered carport, the other, newer one is just sits in the driveway, baking in the Miami sun. The owners of the older one put the house on the market and the Rolls was taken away but the newer one continues to sit.
Kris Cringle
Super Anarchist
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I like Bernie Harbert’s approach. His “RV” is engineless, has four legs and two wheels, and goes where other RVs can’t. (He previously spent 5 or so years sailing around the world, so this approach —by virtue of its slow pace and ability to escape the crowds— is probably more in line with sailboat travel than actual RV travel.)
I would love to try travelling like this.
About Bernie - RiverEarth.com
Bernie Harberts is a writer, filmmaker, Long Rider, and husband to Julia. He and Julia drink gravity water, heat with wood, and sleep with open windows.
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Cut it out, Jud. We know you're not buying a donkey.
Let's not get our animals confused here. Polly is a mule, not a donkey. if you want a big, strong, hardworking animal that is also a useful companion, you want a mule.Cut it out, Jud. We know you're not buying a donkey.
My father plowed behind mules when he was a boy. They didn't have a tractor on the farm until he left to join the Marines in 1928. If you had plowed behind mules for most of your life, you'd probably flee the farm to join the Marines, too.
Jud - s/v Sputnik
Super Anarchist
Cut it out, Jud. We know you're not buying a donkey.
I actually love this. I hate all the gear that goes with sailboats, even keeping it simple. I’ve got zero interest in ever having a powerboat. And I know zero about and have zero interest in RVs and motorized vehicles beyond basic maintenance. (Ok, I wouldn’t mind having one of those off-road-type touring BMW bikes to like drive to Alaska, or across the Sahara or something.) I absolutely love the idea of mule travel, especially the ability to really slow down and meet locals. No freaking way I want to go to an RV park. I’m glad Bernie did it so I can just watch his vids and pretend. Ya gotta admit, it’s a pretty interesting way to travel outside the mainstream (as sailboat cruising used to be, once upon a time).
