Years of Ideas: from a Simple Sailor

In Years of Ideas from a Simple Sailor Connie McBride shares her and her husband’s many hints for enjoying a simple cruising lifestyle. Included are dozens of tips and DIY projects with realistic time and money requirements. Stories relate the many challenges of cruising on a small boat as well as the joys and pleasure that sailing simply brings. Based on 15 years of experience sailing, working, and raising three boys on a 34-foot monohull, this book give real world advice on how to cruise safely and comfortably without the hassles of unnecessary “inconveniences.” Destination pieces include Bocas del Toro, Panama, Turks and Caicos, many stops along the Intracoastal Waterway, as well as their “home,” St. Croix, Virgin Islands. Recipes for cooking in a small galley (including “baking” without an oven), stories about (and by) their three “boat boys,” and an entire section dedicated to the outfitting and sailing of their Phil Bolger AS-29 round out a book with something for every sailor and adventurer.

Subjects covered include:

TIPS
Eyeball Navigation
Using Ranges
How to Plot a Fix on a Paper Chart
What to do When You’ve Run Aground
Sheet Lead
Seasickness Remedies
What to Look for When Buying a Boat
When You Get Overwhelmed
How to Store a Boat Long Term
Bowline
Sheepshank
Untying Knots
Anchoring
Marking Chain
Dock Line Snubber
Simple Fuel and Water Transfer
Line Lizards
Cotter Pin Substitute
Plastic to Plug a Hole
Bolt Extractor
Lanolin
Simple Door Latch
Laundry Onboard
Galley Ideas
Cats Aboard
Books Onboard
But What About the Holidays?
Good Times Jar
Financing the Dream

DO-IT-YOURSELF PROJECTS
Fiberglass Deck Repair
Repairing a Blistered Bottom
Adjustable Solar Panels on Lifelines
Propane Tank Storage
Simple Bimini
Homemade Clamps
How to Paint a Dinghy Name
Building a $200 Dinghy in a Week
Finishing a $200 Dinghy
$3.90 Oars
Build Your Own Solar Cooker
Homemade Salad Spinner
Fruit Fly Trap
Homemade Laundry Detergent
Screens and Shades
Air Head Composting Toilet

BOLGER AS-29 SHARPIE
Bolger’s Advanced Sharpie 29
The Right Boat for the Job
Simplifying an AS-29
Flat-Bottomed Boats
Repairing Bilge Boards
Do-it-yourself Companionway Screen
Outboard Steering Extension
Tarp Riding Sail
Sailing an AS-29

PEOPLE & PLACES
Sapodilla Bay, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos
St. Patrick’s Day: St. Croix-style
Bocas del Toro, Panama
Crossing to the Bahamas the First Time
Marathon City Marina
Curry Hammock State Park, FL
Islamorada, FL
Key Largo: Tarpon Basin
Dusenbury Pond, Key Largo
Indiantown Marina, FL
Westland Marina, Titusville, FL
St. Mary’s, Georgia
Georgia Anchorages
Savannah, Georgia
Charleston, NC
South Carolina Anchorages
Southport, NC
Carolina Beach State Park Marina, NC
The People You Meet
Coconut Telegraph Meets Social Media
Disposable Cruising
Cruising in the Here & Now
No Such Thing as a Bad Adventure

YARNS & OPINIONS
A Blue Water Sailor Goes Brown
How my Motor Made me a Better Sailor
A Boat is not a Car
Too Dangerous to Sail
Sailing Terminology
Sailing Advice that Never Ages
Don’t Leave Home Without…
Preparing for Hurricane Isaac
Surviving a Hurricane
What Size Boat Should I Buy?
The Friend Ship
Boats and Dreams
The Price of Perfection
Why Some Boats Never Go Sailing
Perfection Never Goes Sailing
Beware the Have-to’s
What to do with the To-Do List
Boatyard Madness: Worse before it gets Better
What to do When you Don’t Want to do Without
Simple Doesn’t Have to Mean Old-Fashioned
Minimalism
Simply Sailing Club
Simply Sailing: In a Van
Living and Traveling Simply—in a Van
Simplicity on Land
What I Learned from a Year on Land
Disposable Society
Glass On Board
Boat Insurance
The Inflatable Debate
Superstitions
You Can Never Go Home Again
Coast Guard Boarding: What to expect
Negatives of Cruising
Relationships Onboard
How to Convince your Partner to Sail Away

and more.