Cruiser size

[Franklin]

hard case vs soft case

It was stowed in a hard case in the aft lazarette.

That's weird. The reason to go with a hard case is so you can bolt it on the deck so you don't have to use up valuable storage space. Maybe they wanted a hard case so boozos couldn't tear it or puncture it but didn't want to detract from the lines of the boat by mounting it.

I went with the soft case thinking I was going to keep it below. After I got it, it didn't want to fit into all the places I wanted to put it so now I have it strapped on deck and wished I went with the hard case now Although it sure is easier to strap it down then to bolt it down.

Did you know that, even though life-rafts are heavy, they float when not inflated? I had to try that Same thing with a full water jug and a deflated dinhgy. That's why I don't like the idea of keeping things like water and food inside the life-raft because they don't need to be in there and aren't going to be fresh. If it's time to abandon ship in a hurry, just start throwing things overboard like jugs of water, a floating ditch bag of food and other items and anything you can get your hands on. If it floats, it will help rescue workers find you. You'll have plenty of time to recover them later.

 

[David in Sandusky]

Simplicity?

The two of us are quite comfortable in our '77 h27. We have cruised on her for 8 weeks, and are not tempted to buy a bigger boat despite experience on charters from 30 to 45 feet.

But another big advantage of Lady Lillie is her simplicity. No electric pumps, a portapotty with a pump-out rigged, alcohol vs. propane, ice vs. a compressor all of these reduce maintenance and repair time, complexity and cost.

Storage needed for an offshore cruise, or more berths for grandkids may drive us to a larger hull. But we just committed to a like-new engine replacement because we see neither of those happening in the next 5 years.

 

[newly anonymous]

the hard part is not knowing what we can handle now...

For the typical cruising couple who don't want to carry crew there is a maximum practical size. [...] My default answer is for the ideal boat length for a voyaging couple of means is 36' for monohulls and 46 for multihulls... .

...it's knowing what we'll be able to handle after retirement. I purchased a 46-footer at the age of 50, figuring that with a 15-year mortgage I'd pay the boat off the day I retire, at which point I'm planning to sail her south. My wife and I can easily handle the boat now, thanks to furling systems, et cetera. (I opted for a single powered winch on the main halyard so that the 5'3" wife is able to power the 6'3" husband aloft. )

What remains a mystery is how capable we'll be in terms of sail handling, et cetera at retirement age. We'd examined the possibility of keeping our 41 footer and retiring early, but decided we are both enjoying our careers too much at this point to even consider early retirement. Ultimately, we settled on 46' as the maximum boat we think we'll be able to handle at the age of 65. It's a total guess, of course.
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Nice to see that you've registered, Tom. You'll find us to be an eclectic mix, running the gammut from wharf rats to active cruisers, most of whom actually own sailboats. As a general rule, you'll get twice as much good advice on this site as bad.

 

[tsmwebb]

Ultimately, we settled on 46' as the maximum boat we think we'll be able to handle at the age of 65. It's a total guess, of course.
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Nice to see that you've registered, Tom. You'll find us to be an eclectic mix, running the gammut from wharf rats to active cruisers, most of whom actually own sailboats. As a general rule, you'll get twice as much good advice on this site as bad.

Newly [sic], these things are always a trade off. Asking for the ideal boat size is just about as vague as asking for the ideal length of string... It sounds to me like you're enjoying the boat you have now and that's the important thing to my way of thinking. I hope you'll be loving it when you're 65, too!

Sorry I delayed registering so long. We're in a marina right now awaiting new solar panels and when they arrive we'll be off the net again and out cruising. A friend pointed this site out to me and I thought I'd just visit quietly. Turns out I can't keep myself from typing I have been enjoying reading the posts here very much. I hope I'm adding to the signal more than the noise.

Cheers,

--Tom.

 

[Franklin]

Just go to the gym and lift weights two times a week and you'll have absolutely no problem handling it when you are 65. After the age of 35, we loose .2 lbs of muscle every year if we don't lift heavy weights (running doesn't help). You can keep all the muscle you have now with just 40 minutes a week in the gym well into your 70s.

 

[Hermit Scott]

Telling people who want to be in shape to work out is like telling people who want to be rich to become a surgeon. If they aren't already doing it, it probably isn't gonna happen.

 

[Franklin]

Telling people who want to be in shape to work out is like telling people who want to be rich to become a surgeon. If they aren't already doing it, it probably isn't gonna happen.

I just wanted to point out that we have the ability to extend our sailing lives. Many don't know that we can or what it takes. Some may think it takes hours a week. Some may think you can't fight age. Both are false.

Not only does the weights make the muscles stronger, it makes the heart stronger, it makes the bones stronger, it makes the joints stronger.

 

[Hermit Scott]

I agree whole heartedly. I would give up my dream of growing old rich before I would give up my dream of growing old strong and in shape.
My last invention was built for the baby boomers who want to get in shape. You can push or pull the handles slow and it has little resistance, but the harder you push/pull the more it resists. That way people can go at their own comfort level and not tear up any cartlidge or tendons when they first start up. My idea is to try to remove all things that hinder or scare someone away from working out. However will power is greatest thing to overcome it seems. www.body-spin.com I should have them in specialty fitness stores by the middle of 2009.
I thought about a smaller unit for cruisers but cruisers seem to be more physically active than their land dwelling peers.

 

[Hermit Scott]

There are guys that are stronger in their 60's than they were in the 20's or 30's. If people really knew the benefits of working out, just how it makes you feel, many more people would.

 

[Ross]

Hermit, those are also the benefits of canoeing and cross country skiing. Rowing is goodI can supply a complete exercize kit for under one hundred dollars that will not only keep you in good physical condition but will get you outside, provide you with home grown food and a better diet. It consists of a shovel, a rake, a hoe a pair of gloves and several packages of seed and a bag of fertilizer.

 

[Hermit Scott]

Resistance training is different than cardiovascular. I believe most people need both to be healthy. Weight training strengthens my joints while extended cardio tears them up.
My grandfather was a farmer in Kentucky, he died at 55 of a heart attack.
Everyone's body is different. Diet is almost as important as exercise.

 

[Ross]

Resistance training is different than cardiovascular. I believe most people need both to be healthy. Weight training strengthens my joints while extended cardio tears them up.
My grandfather was a farmer in Kentucky, he died at 55 of a heart attack.
Everyone's body is different. Diet is almost as important as exercise.

Hermit, you are wearing his genes! With the cardio care today he probably would have survived his heart attack.

When I turned fifty I went to my family Doctor and asked for a complete physical. He wanted to know why and I told him that I was feeling at the top of my game and that I wanted him to have a record of how the machinery sounded when it was running right. I go back every year and just turned 70 and and the doctor pronounced me to be in good health. I could have told him that but it is nice to have it comfirmed. I continue to work at my business of repairing houses and will do so for several more years. If I must exercize I may as well get paid for it.
All of this doesn't answer the question concerning the best size for a 2 crew cruising sail boat. I am sticking with under 30 feet for all of the reasons I have expounded. I don't take up very much space and it is nice to be able to reach every hand hold before letting go of the last one. Looking at bigger boats I think that I would be forced to become " Lurch" diving from one point of security to the next.