Cleaning Boat Grill

Above picture is after the cleaning. I wish I had taken a before picture.

Before you think about throwing a grill away, try cleaning it with Easy Off Oven Cleaner (in the yellow canister). You will be amazed at what it can do, I know it amazed me.

Preparing for our adventure, we knew that we wanted the ability to grill. Not only because we like to grill, but it gives us a backup to our stove and not cooking in the galley will help keep the boat cooler, when it is hot.

We acquired a Magma grill when we purchased our Gemini 3200 , a year ago June, but we never used it. The reason we never used it was it looked terrible on the inside and it would not stay lit. We were considering throwing it away, but we thought that we should try to clean it.

I cleaned it using Easy Off Oven Clean, in the yellow canister. Basically, I sprayed (coated) the inside of the grill with Easy Off, closed the lid, and allowed it so sit in the sun for 4 hours. When I came back and rinsed the grill, I was amazed. The grill almost looked brand new and now appears to be working. I guess it just needed a really good cleaning.

I'm so glad that we tried to clean the grill before throwing it way. The $3.54 cost of a canister of Easy Off saved us from purchasing a new marine grill with prices starting around $150.

Tip: I would not use the Easy Off near anything that is painted. It took the green paint off the propane canister.

Soldering Iron - Its Many Uses

Before the boat, we had a project car called Blue Moon Dune. She is an Allison Daytona Beach Dune Buggy on a 1965 VW pan. We sold her back in May 2009, in preparation for our sailing adventure. One piece of equipment that we purchased for working on Blue Moon Dune was a soldering iron. Now that same soldering iron is being utilized on projects for our Gemini 3200. We won't be using it on anything electrical, because the solder is not marine environment friendly. We have however, used it to cut Sunbrella fabric, sail cloth, twine for the lifelines, searing the ends of the lifeline netting, lines, shock cords, and anywhere you would need a hot knife. It has worked great and the nice thing is that it was a piece of equipment that we already had.

We are always looking for multiple ways to utilize existing tools, equipment, and anything that will be put on the boat.

Igloo Water Cooler For Boat People Hydration

Our plan, for the family daily drinking water, was to have a gallon jug of water out every day that family members can use to fill their individual cups as needed. Alas, the thought of KJ, let alone little Dy, trying to pour from a gallon water jug into cups on a rocking boat just doesn't seem reasonable.

While roaming the aisles of Costco, our water dispenser concern was addressed: the mighty Igloo 5 gallon water cooler appeared!

These containers are tough and very easy for little ones to dispense water from. I recall these brutes from various sporting events I've participated in, and I love how easy it is to just push a button to get the water out.

We checked out the prices on line and found the one at Costco, for $29.99, to be a great price.

Welcome, mighty orange 5 gallon Igloo dispenser, to the Sailboat Family! You are going on an amazing journey!

Baking Soda

A couple of days ago, Val shared one of her favorite, simple living, boat voyaging friendly substances, White Vinegar. Today is my turn. I nominate Baking Soda as the stuff. It is a natural mineral that has whatever number of uses White Vinegar has plus 1!

Baking soda can be used for cleaning, fire extinguishing, and deodorizing because of its chemical composition (blending of carbonic acid and sodium hydroxide) and its physical properties.

In the case of deodorizing, it doesn't just mask odors, it neutralizes them chemically. It is for this reason that you will find baking soda in deodorant body powers and bath salts.

Of all the uses, here are 10 to show the variety of ways baking soda can be used:

1. Toothpaste (always a classic use of baking soda)
2. Underarm deodorant (can be patted onto the skin)
3. Helps relieve sunburn sting and insect bite pain
4. Antacid (1 teaspoon plus 10 oz of water mixed ... great for heartburn)
5. Cleans fruits and vegetables well
6. Put in as laundry detergent in our clothes washing bucket
7. Stainless steel polish (when mixed with water the resulting paste is super)
8. Battery terminal cleaner (super when slightly corroded)
9. Shampoo (1 tablespoon to 20 oz of water)
10. Grease remover

Take that, Vinegar pusher! Heck, between Baking Soda, Vinegar, Hydrogren Peroxide, and Super Glue, we should have everything covered!

Sailrite Ultrafeed LSZ-1 Has Arrived!!

I finally received my very own Ultrafeed LSZ-1 sewing machine!! I'm sooooo excited!! We purchased the Ultrafeed LSZ-1 off of ebay. With shipping the total cost was $829. This was $100 saving versus purchasing the machine directly from Sailrite (at full price with shipping).

I unpacked the machine immediately. It is heavy and a real beauty. I watched the enclosed dvds and now feel like I can sew anything, literally. I can't wait to start my first project!

I still have a few attachments that I need to purchase directly from Sailrite. Fortunately, Sailrite recently published a coupon for 10% off, good through April 12th. This gives me some time to make measurement and do some research. If you are interested, the coupon code is SAIL2010.

I'm sooooo EXCITED!!!!!

Taxes!

Taxes... Filing a federal income tax return is the dreaded task that most Americans have to do by April 15th of each year. In years past, when we owned businesses, we had an accountant do our taxes. But since we sold everything, our tax situation and life have become a lot simpler. Now I do our taxes.

Last year, I used Turbo Tax's online service. It was free for the federal return and cost about $20 for the state with electronic filing. Naturally, this year I went back to the Turbo Tax site to file my taxes again, but I was meet with a little surprise. Turbo Tax wanted to charge us approximately $70 to file our federal and state income tax returns. After researching our situation, I found that a lot of people were in the same boat and were pretty upset about it.

My first thought was to fill the taxes out by hand and check them against the Turbo Tax numbers. Then I saw a comment, on the Turbo Tax web site, stating that FreeTaxUSA.com does not charge for federal income tax return and only charges $9.95 for the state return. I decided to give it a try. I plugged our numbers into FreeTaxUSA.com program and got the exact same tax totals that I had gotten from Turbo Tax. This boosted my confidence in the FreeTaxUSA.com program, so we electronically filed our taxes using their online service.

So if you are looking for an online service to complete your federal (and maybe state) income tax return, then I highly recommend FreeTaxUSA.com. Next year, we might be in the Caribbean when it is time to file our taxes, I hope that FreeTaxUSA.com is still around so that we can file them electronically for free!

Where Do We Live Just Before Setting Sail

As we think through the logistics of our departure plans, one of the interesting coordination items we are queuing up is our lodging when our apartment lease expires.

Our apartment lease ends the first week of November 2010. Between then and when we set sail, where should we live? Our boat will be on the Atlantic, in Savannah GA, a bit far for a commute to work (3.75 hours each way).

So where do we live between the first week of November 2010 and the day we set sail? This transition period could be 1 month, 2 months, or maybe 3 (depending on a number of factors).

Our basic transitory period lodging strategy is as follows:

We will be offering up to our friends and family, with pets, to house and pet sit for them in the months of November and December.

We have 2 sets of such people that have already indicated that such a situation is desired! Those 2 sets cover a 28 day period! This would imply living space in exchange for taking care of their houses and their pets. If we can find a few more such folks/situations, then we would be all set. No outlay of cash, and everyone wins.

If we can't find more such situations, one fall back position is to leverage all the Priority Club points that I've acquired over the years of traveling I do for work. We can use the Priority Club points to stay at an extended stay hotel like a Candlewood Suites or a Staybridge Suites.

Another fall back position is to rent an RV, from a friend, for a month and live in it if need be. There are a few family members and friends whom have already told us that we have this option.

Should We Sweat the Small Money Stuff?

Over the years, as we've studied this magic called finance, we've run across the notion of not worrying about how much one spends if the amount being spent is below a certain threshold. One famous author says to never worry about a spend of less than $10. Another shared that his threshold changed upward as his net worth increased (it was at $100 at the time of his writing).

I've been puzzled by this approach. I understand the general concept... it isn't worth spending time thinking about saving pennies, but so many times it is easy to make an informed decision quickly that it seems foolish to not do it.

For example, let's say I want to buy a can of Coke. If I buy it at a convenience store, it will cost $1.49 and that is well below a $10 threshold so these experts claim I shouldn't worry about it. But I know that I can buy that very same can of Coke at the grocery store, which I will be happening to visit anyway, for $0.89 and if I buy a 6 pack it will cost me $0.59 per can. But going with the $0.89 price, that is a differential of $0.60!

In a given year, I would conservatively estimate that I make 100 similar decisions. At $0.60, that is $60!

The authors that share the $10 rule should also add one more part to it, time. In the 2 seconds it takes me to decide to buy my can of Coke at the grocery store rather than the convenience store, I've saved $0.60. Time well spent.

Speedos!

Nice and chilly out, and I'm focusing on Speedos! Why? Because right now they are on sale. Speedos are out of season here in the USA so they are cheap!

In my aquatic life, I've had 2 people I admired. Both were SCUBA instructors of mine ... one named Gary Covington who was my NAUI instructor back in 1990 and who educated me through NAUIs Advanced Diver, and Henry Delcampo who was my PADI instructor in 2003 whom educated me through PADI's Dive Master. It was Henry's Scuba shop and boats that I worked on in Florida. Both of these guys were in their late 40s, and both of these guys lived in Speedos. I always thought those articles of clothing were silly, but now with us spending more and more time in the water, I completely understand why.

Speedos are remarkable ... no chafing, quick drying, and easy to cover up with normal clothes. Now when we are out on the boat, that is all I wear!

I plan on living in Speedos when we take our trip, so the time to stock up on Speedos is now while the stores have them nice and cheap.

Is Buying When on Sale for a Future Need a Good Idea?

While discussing the approaches of saving money, people often share with me that they are always on the look out for a good buy and when they see one, they stock up. Sometimes this is a good idea, and sometimes it is not. The question is, how do you know when it is good to do?

Removing any psychological gain one may have when a good buy is found, let's look at the decision to buy now versus buy later from a mathematical perspective.

Let's say that you normally spend $2.59 per tube of toothpaste. You walk into your favorite store and wham! .... your tube of toothpaste is for sale for only $2.49. Do you buy it, even if you don't need it? If you do buy a few tubes ahead, how many should you buy ahead?

In our house, 1 tube of toothpaste lasts the 4 of us 2 months. So, the real question becomes, where should we invest our $2.49? Should we lock up the $2.49 into a tube of toothpaste that we won't need for 2 months or more? Or do we put the $2.49 into an investment vehicle?

In our easy access savings account that we use for daily living, we earn 1.3%. This means that for every year a tube of toothpaste is sitting in our stockpile, we could have earned 3 cents in interest on that same $2.49. That is far less than the 10 cents of savings we had in our example! In fact, our toothpaste tube could sit for 3 years before interest earned equaled the amount saved!

Another interesting factor is if you believe the cost of the item will go up once you buy it. If it does, you are even further ahead.

Always keep in mind spoilage and changing tastes if you buy ahead. Items do spoil, and your tastes do change. There is nothing like having a pantry full of Cocopuffs and deciding that you can't stand chocolate cereal anymore.

Pushing the Envelope in 2010 : Don't Be Denied!

I am worried. In 2010 we are pushing closer to the edge of being too anemic with our life spending to remain happy. The I Ching suggests, and my experience validates, that anything that goes to an extreme, for an individual or situation, always flip flops to its opposite. In our case that means if we push to the extreme of money savings that we would flip flop at some point and spend lots of money.

2010 will be our most savings aggressive year yet. Each year we find ourselves saving a larger and larger percentage of our money by reducing our living costs while not sacrificing an enjoyable life. It is this latter criteria, enjoying life, that is tricky because it is so individual.

There are those that talk about enjoying life without spending money. Can life be enjoyed without spending money? Absolutely. To a monk in the mountains, living in a cave is not only perfectly acceptable but in many cases preferable. No rent or mortgage for that guy. For us, such a life would be dreadful. No lifestyle is right or wrong, we are all individuals with different needs and desires. The fact is, there are certain things I like to do that cost money. There are certain experiences I want my family to have, and they cost money.

However, if I can keep focused this year and we can save to our targets, we will be able to start our around the world sailing adventure in December! That is one heck of a reward for staying vigilant.

It is now a question of staying focused on the prize and not feeling too denied. We shall see. It will be quite a challenge.

Training for Self Sufficiency- Clothes Washer-Part 2

If you read yesterday's post, you know that I've started my training in self sufficiency by taking on my first (ever!) appliance repair. After some research, I concluded that the lid switch was broken on my 15 year old Kenmore Series 80 washer.

I located the part at my local Sears Parts store. It cost $39.53 with tax. Using the instructions that I found on www.FitItNow.com, I took the washer apart by removing just 2 screws and 2 clamps. I replaced the switch and put the washer back together.

The moment of truth, I selected the smallest load size and shortest wash cycle and started the washer. Water filled the washer and then... a humming noise. Not exactly what I was expecting. Nevertheless, it was positive in that water filled the washer and now there was a hum.

After some more research on www.FixItNow.com (what a great web site! It gives detailed advice from appliance repair masters.), I came across a list of things to check in order to help diagnose the problem. First thing on the list was to check the lid switch. (Well I know that my NEW lid switch is working fine.) Second item on the list was to check pump, then the motor, and finally the coupler.

I followed the instructions and determined that the pump is not working. Now there are two reasons for the pump not working. One, there is a sock or something stuck in the pump or two, the pump has seized. I'm hoping that it's just a sock.

To check the pump I need to take off two clamps that hold the hoses to it. These clamps are really hard to squeeze and the tool that I need to take the clamps off is at the boat. Since I know that I will be going to the boat later, I decided not to go to Wal-Mart and purchase the pliers.

See, I warned you this might turn into a soap opera.

Training for Self Sufficiency- Clothes Washer-Part 1

When we start living on the boat, self sufficient will become my new middle name. Well the other day my self sufficiency training began. The clothes washer, that we've had for 15 years, stoped working without any warning. You know it was like the appliance knew that it had less than a year until retirement. The washer is a Kenmore 110 series 80. It has been a great washer. This is the first problem we've ever had with it.

The washer timer indicated that the spin cycle was complete, but the clothes were still soaking wet. My first instinct was to start the washer again to see what would happen. Nothing happened, and I thought "OH NO!" I stepped back from the washer and checked to see if it was plugged in and made sure that the circuit breaker had not tripped. Everything was as it should be. I went straight to my computer and googled "Kenmore series 80 washer won't spin." After some research, I came to the conclusion that the lid switch was broken.

After a little searching, I found the washer timer at my local Sears Parts store. My next step is to get the part and install it. This will be my FIRST appliance repair; however, I'm confident. Interestingly, before we started focusing on the trip, if this would have happened, we would have just bought a new washer.

Stay tuned... this could literally become a soap opera ;) ... and the clothes are piling up!

Lunch for 3 at $6.27 and gets us ready for the boat

This past weekend, the girls and I had the pleasure of a daddy daughters day; just KJ, Dy, and I for a few hours (and mommy gets some well deserved Val time). Off we went to have lunch, and when we showed up at our lunch location, there were 2 other families eating away ... each with kids the same age as KJ and Dy. We ordered our food and sat down.

I order a normal portion for me, and asked for 2 empty plates plus a cup of water. When my order arrived, I portioned out enough food for each girl, and we had a great lunch. As we ate, I looked around at what the others were eating.

It was very interesting that each of the other families ordered a meal for each of their children! One had given their kids full sized portions, the other one got kids meals. Of course, each adult had their own plate full too. While we were eating, a 4th family showed up and when their food was delivered, they too got a full portion for each kid and each adult!

I was sure to watch as the first 2 families finished off, and yep ... there was left over food that went right into the trash.

It is their business how they spend their money and dispense food however they see fit. Alas, those families could have easily saved $5-$10 each by simply sharing the food.

There is a reason why many cultures have communal plates that you take some food from for your own plate .... and it has to do with being efficient with your money and your food.

Another communal example for us is when Val and I go out for a dinner together. One of us will get a full portion, and the other will just order a side. Between the full portion and the 1 side, we always have plenty.

Next time you go out, see if you can go communal. The savings really do add up. Each of these dollars saved goes right to the trip, plus helps us prepare for the lifestyle on our boat.

Cultural Experiences

Our sailing adventure is all about being together, experiencing and exploring different places and cultures. One great thing about the United States is that you don't have to sail away to experience different cultures. In most major cities, in the US, you can find Hispanic, Korean, Middle Eastern, Eastern European, Chinese, African, Caribbean, Latin, Italian, European, and Indian communities. These communities unusually celebrate holidays and cultural festivals from there home countries and have restaurant that offer authentic cuisine. The festival are usually free and are a great way for everyone to learn about different cultures.

So if you don't feel like you can take off and sail around the world, you still have opportunities to experience different cultural communities; all within driving distance from your home.

Halloween Costume - Hair

From the posts earlier this week, you know that KJ is going to be Medusa for Halloween. I was able to construct a dress for her out of fabric that looks like snake skin. Next is the hair. After discussing several way of getting toy snakes to stay in KJ's hair we opted on using curlers.

The plan is to roll KJ's hair in curlers and pull the snakes through the middle of the curlers. So, the snakes will be encircled by the curlers. I was able to find a package of curlers at the dollar store for a $1. We purchased the snakes from Wal-Mart for $5. If we are able to pull this off, we will have made KJ into Medusa for under $15. Not bad for a custom Halloween costume.

Wrapping Up The Long Term

We have a birthday party to go to and we pulled out our handy dandy wrapping paper. But this isn't any ordinary paper, it is wrapping paper that cost us nearly nothing.

About 7 years ago, we stumbled onto a place called Mike's Merchandise. You see, Mike buys stuff ... sometimes semi-trailer loads of stuff that was bound for stores and for whatever reason it didn't make its destination, Mike buys items from auctions, Mike buys from all over and simply resales it. Mike's isn't some seedy kind of place and the items aren't stolen. Mike just has a knack for finding good goods. The items in his store vary greatly ... and are as different as the number of semi-trailers crisscrossing the US. His stores are always full and the items can be crazy .... like parts for an F-16, sometimes coffins, sometimes conveyor belts, and so on.

5 years ago, while walking through Mike's, we found a giant, and I mean giant, roll of thick wrapping paper covered in balloons. It was clearly intended for a store that does bulk wrapping but at 50 cents for the entire roll, how could we pass it up? Over the years we've used it to wrapped many birthday presents, anniversary presents, New Years gifts, and more. I'd say we are down to the last 10 percent of the original roll and I doubt we will finish off the roll before we set sail, but boy has that 50 cents paid off over the years.

This is an example of thinking long term that has worked well for us. You see, we saw something of great value, but others saw absurd dimensions that didn't fit what their mindset of what wrapping paper should be (the roll weighed over 45 lbs when we bought it!). Do you see cumbersome wrapping paper intended for a store? or do you see incredible value that you can apply at home over the long term?

Halloween Costume - Construction

So from the post, a couple of days ago, you know that KJ had decided to be Medusa for Halloween. Most of what I know about Medusa up to this point, was from the movies. After doing a little research, we decided that a Medusa costume would need to be something that made KJ's body look like a snake and she would need to have snakes in her hair.

I searched the local fabric stores for something that resembled snake skin. I was about to punt on finding the fabric locally, when I found the perfect fabric in the clearance fabric isle of Joann's. There was exactly 2 yards of fabric. Given that I had never made a dress before, I was hoping that 2 yards would be enough fabric. I also saw a sign - McCall $0.99. I asked one of the ladies at Joann's , if all of the McCall patterns were on sale for $0.99. The answer was yes! I found a pattern that would work and was simple. To my surprise the pattern's regular price was $15.95. It was a good thing that the patterns were on sale for $0.99. So the total cost for the fabric and the pattern was $6.99 plus tax. It really was my day!

The pattern was very simple. Just by following the patterns instructions, I was able to make KJ a simple dress with long sleeves. It's not the greatest construction, but I made it for less than $8 and it will work great as a Halloween costume.

Next challenge, the hair!

$3 Movies at WalMart

Last week, Val was walking through WalMart and in the video area she spied a WalMart employee carting out tons of DVD videos. She watched as the employee took the videos and dumped them into a bin labeled with a giant $3. Val watched as they were loaded in and saw movies we love, to include Dune, Tomb Raider, Mission: Impossible, AeonFlux, and more. The question became, would we watch the movies at least 3 times and break even (assuming a $1 per night rental from RedBox) and would they be movies we would want to take on the boat. The answer was YES! So she snagged a number of movies. It was quite a find. We've since gone back and the bin is now labeled with a giant $5, and we didn't see any of the Tomb Raider or Mission: Impossible DVDs left.

Super Tasty Chicken

I love this savory fast dinner. Not only does it look and taste terrific, but it takes a total of 45 minutes from start to finish. Total cost of the ingredient is $7.45. Not great, considering that we try to keep to the food budget of $10/day, for the entire family. However, we usually have enough chicken and sauce leftover for a lunch so the cost is spread over 2 meals on different days.

The first time we had it, Bill said that it looked and tasted like something we would get in a elegant restaurant. I agree!

Enjoy!

Chicken Breast with Balsamic Vinegar and Shallot Sauce

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon good olive oil

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (each about 6 ounces)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup chopped shallots

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon ketchup

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

Vegetables

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon good olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

4 cups of fresh or frozen vegetables

Heat the oven to 200 degrees F. Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter and the oil over high heat in a heavy saucepan or skillet large enough to hold the chicken breasts in one layer. When hot, add the chicken breasts, and sprinkle them with the salt and pepper. Saute, uncovered, for about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer the breasts to an ovenproof plate, reserving the drippings in the pan, and place them in the oven and continue cooking for at least 18 minutes but no more than 30 minutes. (Could be less if you have gas oven)

Add the shallots to the drippings in the pan, and cook for about 1 minute over high heat. Add the vinegar and ketchup and continue for another minute. Add the water, and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and stir until it is incorporated.

Meanwhile, for the vegetables: Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the vegetables, salt, and pepper. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes, until the vegetables are cooked through.

To serve, place the vegetables on plate and spread the vegetable into a circle (place a spoon in the middle of the plate and make a circular motion, but don't push vegetables off the plate). Place the chicken breast in the center and coat with the sauce, sprinkle with chives and serve.