about those costs...

I'll admit it... I kind of like Bernie, not so much this guy, and this nearly made my head explode...

Have you ever noticed how much good quality, lightly used, boat gear is available for sale? Or how it sells at a fraction of the cost?

I mention this because yesterday I was tempted to buy a near state-of-the-art radar with a carbon mast that was selling for less than the carbon mast alone would go for. The reason the guy was selling it is he felt he needed to upgrade from near state-of-the-art to full-blown-state-of-the-art.

I suspect the guy is a regular reader of Panbo...

But, it got me thinking about how big of a percentage of operating and maintenance costs for some folks on boats is about replacing stuff that really does not need replacing at all.

Oh yeah, I decided against the radar...

Listening to Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers

So it goes...

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I have achieved Nirvana...

This is depressing, Donkey Mountain simply nails it, and something worth reading...

 So, as many of you are no doubt aware, the yearly sale at Defender is in progress.

Like everyone else, I spent the morning looking for needful (and not so needful) things for "So It Goes" and could not find a single thing to buy.

Nada.

Doing the happy dance to the sound of one hand clapping...

Listening to Little Steven

So it goes...

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So, I'm at the list making stage...

L,G,&M has an important reminder, G&T wth some thoughts on the current definition of "Good", and some lucid thoughts on why some folks are stupid...

Of late, I've been doing a lot of thinking about the next boat and how I'd fit it out because I need a budget to work with and I need it soonish.

The funny thing is the fit out list in my head is actually pretty short and, as a result, so is the monetary outlay. Partly due to the fact that good marine electronics have actually become quite cheap since the last time I built a boat, partly because I have a much better understanding of the whole need/want thing than I did before, but mostly because having been on boats for so long I've developed an appreciation for simplicity and an aversion for anything on a boat that adds unneedful complexity.

My categories for list triage is pretty basic...

1. It has to be needful.
2. I have to be able to fix and maintain it myself or cheap enough that I can afford to back it up.
3. It's something I don't have to make up reasons or improbable possibilities to justify needing it.

Pretty simple and a lot more effective than you might actually suspect.

Listening to some Country Fried Rock

So it goes...

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In the ongoing need/want battle...

Orlov asked some questions, another important question, and don't look at me I'm just the cook on this boat...

A very long time ago at the Aquarius Theater in Los Angeles I was lucky enough to see one of the last performances of Buffalo Springfield where Stills and Young guitar dueled on their White Falcons...

Last I looked, Stills

and Young...

are still ripping it up using White Falcons.

All, as they say, is right with the universe.

As it happens, Gretsch has recently introduced an acoustic 12 string White Falcon...

Well, I didn't really need that quarter berth...

Listening to Todd Snider

So it goes

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I can't wait until Portlandia gets into sailing...

Incompatible ideologies, she certainly makes a good point, and whatever you think about Krugman's thoughts on economic stuff you really have to admit he certainly has great taste in music...



Listening to Lucius

So it goes...

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On avoiding stasis...

Some alarming stats concerning seafood crime, Krugman making a lot of sense, and you know it would be no bad thing if someone did a boat building/rehabbing workshop along these lines...

I finally got around to buying a handheld depth sounder for the dinghy and it's been a "Why didn't I do this ages ago" experience.

I mention this because while a firm believer in running stuff through the need/want computer (a re-purposed wayback machine for those who care about such things) and always do a cost benefit analysis. That said, there really is a case for just buying the damn thing when your head tells you that something is needful.

It's easy to get carried away in research and finding the best thing/best deal/best alignment of planets when buying stuff but it is really a lot of time-consuming hard work and, like some folks say...

"Time is money"

I mentioned over at VolksCruiser that the older Columbia 34s seem to be a good boat at an excellent price point and yesterday there seemed like a lot of good deals floating around. Of course, the problem is that what's cheap today may not be cheap or available tomorrow and that folks who are indecisive tend to miss opportunities when they reveal themselves.

Which is not to say that you should be jumping into stuff without thinking or doing needful homework but that over-thinking is just as great a problem as not thinking at all.

Listening to Spirit

So it goes...

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