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The Cost Conscious Cruiser
The pleasures and adventures of cruising under sail are amazingly affordable, say Lin and Larry Pardey. But to keep your dreams on budget, financially, emotionally, and timewise, you have to decide - are you a cruiser or a consumer? Topics covered include making your getaway plans to finding a truly affordable boat, keeping your outfitting costs and maintenance time in control, then learning to feel confident as you cruise farther ahead.Their chart of the gear considered necessary by many shoreside experts, compared to that carried by several cost conscious cruisers, will give you a convenient checklist to gauge whether you are buying true necessities or overloading your budget and boat with high-tech items."Written by experienced cruisers (over 30 years) and authors (10 books) ...it is sure to provide answers to important questions about choosing the cruising lifestyle. -Cruising World
359 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
26 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
About the author
Larry Pardey
28 books11 followersSailor, boatbuilder, life-long ocean cruiser with wife, Lin Pardey.
AWARDS
Mauritanian Legion of Honour, as Captain of first American team to sail across the Sahara Desert in a land yacht, 1966.
Cruising Sailors to contribute most to the sport of Sailing – voted by readers of Sail Magazine 1990.
International Oceanic Award – presented by Royal Institute of Navigation sponsored by Little Ship Club 1996 – in recognition of Larry’s voyaging using traditional methods of navigation.
Ocean Cruising Club Award – for contributions to Seamanship for small boat sailing. Presented to Lin Pardey 1996.
Geoff Pac Memorial Award- to both Lin and Larry for fostering and encouraging ocean cruising in small yachts
Cruising World Hall of Fame-2000
Ocean Cruising Club Merit Award -To Lin and Larry for inspiring voyages including a west-about rounding of Cape Horn
Seven Seas Cruising Club Service Award – To Lin and Larry for their lifetime voyaging achievements 2004
Cruising Club of America Far Horizons Award – To Lin and Larry for life time achievements and contributions to seamanship 2009
Sail Magazines Top 40 Sailors who made a Difference – 2010 – As America’s first couple fo cruising, Lin and Larry have inspired countless sailors.
RECORDS
Smallest boat to have circumnavigated contrary to the prevailing winds around all the great southern capes, Only couple to have circumnavigated both east-about and west-about on boats they built them selves, using traditional means of navigation and having no engine.
AWARDS
Mauritanian Legion of Honour, as Captain of first American team to sail across the Sahara Desert in a land yacht, 1966.
Cruising Sailors to contribute most to the sport of Sailing – voted by readers of Sail Magazine 1990.
International Oceanic Award – presented by Royal Institute of Navigation sponsored by Little Ship Club 1996 – in recognition of Larry’s voyaging using traditional methods of navigation.
Ocean Cruising Club Award – for contributions to Seamanship for small boat sailing. Presented to Lin Pardey 1996.
Geoff Pac Memorial Award- to both Lin and Larry for fostering and encouraging ocean cruising in small yachts
Cruising World Hall of Fame-2000
Ocean Cruising Club Merit Award -To Lin and Larry for inspiring voyages including a west-about rounding of Cape Horn
Seven Seas Cruising Club Service Award – To Lin and Larry for their lifetime voyaging achievements 2004
Cruising Club of America Far Horizons Award – To Lin and Larry for life time achievements and contributions to seamanship 2009
Sail Magazines Top 40 Sailors who made a Difference – 2010 – As America’s first couple fo cruising, Lin and Larry have inspired countless sailors.
RECORDS
Smallest boat to have circumnavigated contrary to the prevailing winds around all the great southern capes, Only couple to have circumnavigated both east-about and west-about on boats they built them selves, using traditional means of navigation and having no engine.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 28, 2014
Required reading. A classic.
The Pardeys make a persuasive case for simplicity and downsizing. They back up their recommendations with cost-benefit analyses, observations, surveys and their own experience. Very well laid out, clear and concise.
Downsizing:
The Pardeys advocate buying a smaller (preferably second hand) boat in order to get out cruising faster and be able to stay out longer – cruising funds stretch farther with a shorter boat. they do the cost analysis to demonstrate this dramatically. Smaller boats cost less every step of the way.
Simplicity:
They recommend eliminating unnecessary boat systems to ‘make your boat unstoppable’ – to cut down on the number of breakdowns experienced. No fridge, no electronic media entertainment, no electric watermaker or autohelm. A tiller instead of wheel steering. Rethink everything and eliminate whatever you can is their mantra. The Pardeys even eliminated a flush toilet in favour of the ‘bucket and chuck-it’ method.
'Build necessary systems that are optimised and simplified' is their corollary. They offer several solutions in detail with great diagrams that they have used successfully for many years on their own boat.
One mysterious note:
The Pardeys refer to an average monthly spend for cruisers of $1000/month – in a book that was copyright in 1999. Over on the Shards’ Distant Shores blog: ‘Budget for Cruising’ post in 2011, the Shards estimate that ‘budget cruisers’ spend about $1000-1500/month and ‘beans and rice cruisers’ do it for $800-1000/month... It sounds like budgets haven’t changed too much in 12 years. Hmm.
Could this be explained by different definitions of ‘budget’ cruising? Probably.
Do the Shards refer to Canadian dollars? Unlikely and CAN$ are currently nearly par with USD anyway.
Do these budgets differ in their inclusion/exclusion of major repairs and parts and upkeep in the monthly budget? Most certainly.
It could also be that $1000/month is a nice round number and people in their surveys self-report to the number they feel comfortable with. There may be a disconnect between planned spend and actual spend if accounts are eyeballed instead of being meticulously tracked. This would help explain the number of people that overrun their budgets and wind up heading home sooner than planned. Apparently it happens a lot.
Conclusion: Overall, this book is my best addition to the sea library yet.
The Pardeys make a persuasive case for simplicity and downsizing. They back up their recommendations with cost-benefit analyses, observations, surveys and their own experience. Very well laid out, clear and concise.
Downsizing:
The Pardeys advocate buying a smaller (preferably second hand) boat in order to get out cruising faster and be able to stay out longer – cruising funds stretch farther with a shorter boat. they do the cost analysis to demonstrate this dramatically. Smaller boats cost less every step of the way.
Simplicity:
They recommend eliminating unnecessary boat systems to ‘make your boat unstoppable’ – to cut down on the number of breakdowns experienced. No fridge, no electronic media entertainment, no electric watermaker or autohelm. A tiller instead of wheel steering. Rethink everything and eliminate whatever you can is their mantra. The Pardeys even eliminated a flush toilet in favour of the ‘bucket and chuck-it’ method.
'Build necessary systems that are optimised and simplified' is their corollary. They offer several solutions in detail with great diagrams that they have used successfully for many years on their own boat.
One mysterious note:
The Pardeys refer to an average monthly spend for cruisers of $1000/month – in a book that was copyright in 1999. Over on the Shards’ Distant Shores blog: ‘Budget for Cruising’ post in 2011, the Shards estimate that ‘budget cruisers’ spend about $1000-1500/month and ‘beans and rice cruisers’ do it for $800-1000/month... It sounds like budgets haven’t changed too much in 12 years. Hmm.
Could this be explained by different definitions of ‘budget’ cruising? Probably.
Do the Shards refer to Canadian dollars? Unlikely and CAN$ are currently nearly par with USD anyway.
Do these budgets differ in their inclusion/exclusion of major repairs and parts and upkeep in the monthly budget? Most certainly.
It could also be that $1000/month is a nice round number and people in their surveys self-report to the number they feel comfortable with. There may be a disconnect between planned spend and actual spend if accounts are eyeballed instead of being meticulously tracked. This would help explain the number of people that overrun their budgets and wind up heading home sooner than planned. Apparently it happens a lot.
Conclusion: Overall, this book is my best addition to the sea library yet.
September 3, 2013
Don't stay home, go cruising. This book is made for the likes of me and you who don't have millions. I hear the wind calling. Great book. More inspiration from the Pardeys.
December 28, 2015
Fantastic book full of useful information as always. For couples with kids though, a good deal of the advise seems like it should be taken with a grain of salt. Still, I have about 20 spots in this book dog-eared for ready reference.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews