Global economic situation for liveaboard cruising yachties

Close to my feeling of the situation http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/casey/2009/0325.html and some "belly-button contemplation" (naval gazing - to keep the nautical theme) http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/casey/2009/0324.html

 

independent of center is more appropriate description mas. independent of right and left too. these economic reports are verbose, fascinating and useless. the sky is not falling -- it fell. history now repeats itself, and on this note i'm not enriched watching paint dry.

the topic of your thread is interesting, but your postings seems to be diverting course. to your thread and its questions, well, there's much to contemplate. in troubled times boaters should stay close to welcoming shores is my observation, thus boating takes on this theme it seems.

 

I suppose I have used this to vent my frustration at the adverse consequences of market intervention and manipulation to such an extent that during a recent election in Queensland, the leader of the opposition declared often "what recession, economic downturn does not exist" or some such drivel - which I feel was the major factor in his loosing an election that was quite winnable as many were hurting with the fallout from market corrections in USA....

Even our local domestic media is toeing the denial line and not screaming so much about the losses inflicted on pensioner superannuation funds, decline in tourism, reduction in airline services, reduced prices and volume in mined production, and for me - manipulation of prices for precious metals and exchange rates.

Yes, "financial sense" seems to be quite verbose, but other blogs tend to have registration fees that would exclude my readership, and a concise timely free site would be appreciated...

My predicament is, being dependant on gold increasing in value and US needs (FED / Treasury) determine it should be held down to support the value of the US$ - - without that intervention Gold should be a lot higher - that is having a significant impact as I commence to build of my boat on April 22 - since committing the value has gone down - ergo my frustration and anguish Oops in too soon........ So for me relevance to boating is relevant and significant and I have to now "ride the storms"...

 

every time obama opens his mouth the market blips miles outside of trend
making it hard to trade
if the white house would just quit the lame announcements
we would all be better off

 

financial analysts make their trade describing or motivating the behavior of a drunken mob of ramblers at a large, unwieldy block party. gluttons staggering from house to house imbibing in the fruits of their own greed.

it’s a revolving game. objective is to always be the first person to next big party. three rules. 1 – all parties are private invitation only. 2 – don’t come late. 3 – see rule 1 if you have to clean up.

the u.s. didn't make the game or invent the rules. we’re not the biggest party anymore and right now we’re on cleanup with mama calling for us to come home. back to our room. isolation. where we come from, and so goes the cycle. its not interesting and nothing any of us can change.

i’m interested in things i can influence. you’re a thoughtful man mas, your insights into boating technologies for troublesome times is a fascinating subject. historically speaking its in context with the essence of boating. hopeful i can persuade you to focus on your own questions, i would very much welcome your ideas as we start to plan our next project. not spending a ton of money this time, and thinking of doing most of the work myself.

aside from what the analysts say, what are your thoughts on boating technology for these troubled times?

 

http://boboramdesign.wordpress.com/39-c/ is the designer and they are light, robust and simple to build... ATL composites cut them ready to stick into long sections then build see The Scrumble Project in the links at the bottom right of Bob Orams pages, and show the entire process for their 44-C.... The kit for mine (start on 22 April) is around Au$54K plus delivery either the 39 or 44 will allow 4 kits to be carried in a 40ft container, I think.... Mine should weigh in less than 4862kg ready to cruise....

At this point in time I am looking at Torqeedo electric "outboards" of about 10hp equivalent thrust weighing some 18?kg (from memory but not sure) and a couple of small diesel gensets of about 5000w & 48V dc nominal output each to charge the batteries and run the engines for extended periods as well as house services... PV cells will also be utilised so the quiet of a romantic location will not be disrupted... (about 10 giving 2000W topping capacity max)... The diesels will also run on coconut oil... Simple hanked on hitch-hiker dual flat cut battened genoa rig and forward cockpit... Batteries are yet to be considered and a few other items....

Basically, I am happy with broad reach/down-wind sailing or 6 knot motoring and a very "Keep It Simple Stupid" live-aboard boat... A link for the web-log site of the build will be set up soon....

 

Sounds great M.

I had dearly wanted to go with a electric diesel in my refit but was priced out of that option.

My traveler is ordered. I spent a couple of hours going over the deck gear yesterday... to single line reef or not to single line reef this is the question that haunts all men..

I got a call from a client and have work.
Imagine that - first call in many a moon.

I am going to drop every dime I can in the market. Recovery is a slow train but its heading our way. I am accumulating shares of auto parts suppliers for my cruising kitty. Up to 15,000 shares & want an additional 100k or so.

 

very nice mas, impressive

 

Bntii, I do not have the confidence in the early recovery of the global markets that you seem to suggest. - that is why I am into actual gold (not paper shares) - Gold seems to be the best option for me, in the long term as there is lots of uncertainty globally with many a finger pointed at uncle Ben and cohorts, still heavily into **** and pillage of the US economy, which also has significant adverse global impact... - and the criminals still get huge bonuses and are not prosecuted? - I do not know the feeling inside the USA, but the external perception is quite gloomy, and fingers are firmly pointed at US failure to stop the criminal behaviour of the "money controllers"...

Bntii, on gensets, see if you can find something powered by a small 0.719 litre (43.88 cu. in) 3 cylinder Kubota and put a 48v regulated v-belt drive alternator on it to charge your batteries The one I am looking at delivers @3000 rpm–kw 12.4 (16.8hp) - @2800 rpm–kw 9.6 (13.0hp) - @2600 rpm–kw 8.9 (12.2hp) and with base and alternator, marinised weighs about 98 kgs (216lbs) - I reckon output should be around 7kw at 2600rpm continuous... If anyone has anything to add/change please correct me...

What is the torqeedo selling for over there? contact for USA?; -
Torqeedo Inc., 22705 W Lochanora Drive, Hawthorne Woods, IL 60047, USA... - T 847.726.0054 - F 847.726.0084


Although committed to physical gold at the present (mainly as a hedge against turmoil and uncertainty), I would rather invest in something I can participate in, - - like 100hectare (about 250 acres) coconut plantation with angora goats as lawnmowers and providing a processing facility for locals to also make virgin/cold-pressed coconut oil instead of copra which is exported to Europe to be made into coconut oil.... The goats also provide a source of meat, that is not as huge and difficult to distribute as cattle, where power and refrigeration are NOT the norm... Goats browse and are useful as weed controllers, more-so than cattle and sheep which are "picky eaters", and the fleece is an additional income stream harvested twice a year...

 

on pure dumb luck today I did quite well in the market
market seems flat with a slight but steady upward trend in the price volume index
as long as the president and his staff keeps there mouths shut
all is good

gold will go one way or the other but telling which is going to be tricky
as these clown seem to be trying to borrow there way out of debt
could work for a while
but in the end
we need a new system

 

Have a quiet read of this - http://www.biiwii.blogspot.com/ - a view by usanians on US economy... Like I posted on another forum but got deleted money should be tied to actual gold bullion held by the reserve bank inside a country (nation) so count all the money in circulation in that country, and count all the bullion held. - - THAT is the true value of your currency. - That should set things into true panic mode for the "print more money" fools.... immediate consequence - instant devaluation of the currency, but for global/international trade steady/stable monetary exchange conditions.... Ahhh Ha, here are some thoughts that concur with mine http://financialsense.com/editorials/schmidt/2009/0331.html

http://financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/bloom/2009/0331.html gives a "big picture" view from a gold perspective - reading between the lines may be a help for you Boston?

The political word "courageous decision" springs to mind when I think of those still playing with stocks and shares... I can only explain the variability as a consequence of blatant manipulation by uncle Ben and cohorts... Lots of horizontal movement, scratching the surface, looking for a trend or signs of movement to ride like a wave, close to the rocks/shore, before jumping off to swim out to deeper waters and await the next wave to ride.... and throw some more berley out to attract the sharks in the hope that they will eat others and make an even bigger wave to ride....

 

Mas- I heard today that the current forecast is for an additional decline 4% of US GDP in 2009, and flat in 2010. I suppose I agree with you but am accumulating stock against the long term recovery. My targets are out at 5 years.

I am not one of those that feel we are going to be rolling along by the summer. I do however see a real recovery coming along after a bit of time. I do not share the view that this recession represent a sea change. I don't share the view that the US is teetering on the brink of collapse.

I have the Kubota V1505 as primary propulsion. Great engine which drives my boat very nicely.

 

Bntii, is that a 4 cylinder 1.5 litre?

 

Yes-

Here is the kubota info:

http://www.kubotaengine.com/products/05/v1505_e3_2.html

I purchased from a marinizer in US which I would never use again for a number of reasons.

Beta does a great job & the kubota's are used by a bunch of other outfits.

http://www.betamarine.co.uk/newsite/downloads/datasheets/seagoing-070508/Beta 38 S_ds.pdf

 

Thanks bntii - many of the web-pages in USA have more up-to-date info than some of the slack arses here in OZ, as the market here is smaller and less competitive at grass roots level (and even some wholesalers are recalcitrant and need a good kick in the same place... I downloaded heaps of pdf stuff to show the local retailers