When does age become a decision variable?

[Ed Schenck]

Seems to me that one's age eventually becomes a serious consideration when making boating decisions. Or should one sail on, undertake big boat projects, buy a new boat or maybe two old ones, not leave the big lake for a smaller one, and not go out the canal again where you have to dismast a 400 pound keel-stepped stick?

Especially those of us with older boats where it seems the work is never done have to consider our age. At age 72 I am lucky to be healthy and relatively strong. But every time I start thinking boat projects like a new dodger, a new salon sole, or worse like a complete hull painting, I wonder if the effort and cost is warranted. Or should I sell my H37C, buy a newer smaller boat and move to the much closer lake where I still enjoy my Highlander?

I remember some years ago when a fellow over 70 bought a new Hunter 30. I really admired that attitude. Ten years later he is still sailing that boat. But that is certainly the unusual case. We should all be so fortunate. What do you think?

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

I know a guy in his late 70's who always says "I don't buy green bananas".

Then, there are folks who ascribe to the theory whomever has the most toys, wins.

What do they say about opinions?

 

[Stu Jackson]

Ed, I had an epiphany a few years ago: No trawlers for me! Gonna keep the boat I know and love, even though she still needs maintenance. Stuff works, I know where everything is, I have replaced most of it myself, and know that the hard stuff is mostly behind me.

Except for the new dodger - how did you ever manage to know that's next on my list?

That and a haulout, replace old muffler with new from a great guy on this forum, time for a new exhaust riser so I might as well stick in some new engine mounts...

Darn, why'd ya have to bring this up at all!!!

 

[boblufkin]

Well I went from a Catalina 22 to a 30 then to a Grand Banks 32 trawler and now back to a newer. Catalina 22.

The last move was the best. Never have I had so much inexpensive effortless fun. Should have some it long ago.

 

[Rich Stidger]

Maybe when in the back of your mind you think "This is getting hard to do." Or when you choose to motor instead of working to put up the mainsail. Or when you realize that you just don't move as easily as you used to.

 

[Rick D]

Beats Me

Seems to me that one's age eventually becomes a serious consideration when making boating decisions. Or should one sail on, undertake big boat projects, buy a new boat or maybe two old ones, not leave the big lake for a smaller one, and not go out the canal again where you have to dismast a 400 pound keel-stepped stick?

Especially those of us with older boats where it seems the work is never done have to consider our age. At age 72 I am lucky to be healthy and relatively strong. But every time I start thinking boat projects like a new dodger, a new salon sole, or worse like a complete hull painting, I wonder if the effort and cost is warranted. Or should I sell my H37C, buy a newer smaller boat and move to the much closer lake where I still enjoy my Highlander?

I remember some years ago when a fellow over 70 bought a new Hunter 30. I really admired that attitude. Ten years later he is still sailing that boat. But that is certainly the unusual case. We should all be so fortunate. What do you think?

I have the same thoughts and am in the same position as you. Plus you have to be concerned when all the money you have is all there is. However, I think it's like a lot of things; you just know when the time is right. In the meantime, you just keep up the maintenance. If you stop to wonder what is worth doing because of cost or how long you'll own it, it's time to bail in my opinion. How many decrepit boats do you see owned by old guys who don't want to put any money in them but won't sell them? Lots. Not a position I want to be in; better to sell when she's ready to cruise. As for selling for another boat, it's hard to look forward to getting another boat up to par and modifying it for your standards since it's all the same issue causing you to sell yours. I think the exception is downsizing into something much more simple, smaller and less expensive. Good luck!

 

[Scotty C-M]

Another consideration is that at 65 I have less strength and endurance than I used to. I do modify my sailing to reef earleir and be more conservative in my sailing. Hopefully it is not a question of giving up sailing, but of being aware that my activities may be modified. If I can't do it, like if I have a stroke or somthing, then I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

 

[Bill Roosa]

I believe all the above is why you should have at least one male child. Not that a female would not be helpful too but the guys seem to respond to guilt more easily. Maybe he/she is a sailor in training and just needs the opportunity.

 

[kito]

Not sure what the size of a boat has to do with how old you are. A smaller boat mostly has the same things to go wrong as a bigger boat......only smaller spaces to access the problem area. I am only 56 but being 6'5" and with a bad back my project H30 has darn near killed me. But it is a heck of lot easier to work on than my C22.

 

[woodster]

well i am 68 and just about done with my refit .....mind you i have never sailed on my own .....i plan on putting it in the water some time this year ...the only thnig that is not new is the yanmar ...everything is ...i am hoping to sail up in to my seventy's and live aboard....the point of all this is that i am just starting out ...so maybe by starting out at this age i will learn fast and be able to enjoy it ...one thing for sure by watching and reading Roger Long's adventures if i cant sail via wind its ok to motor to all those places...the way i see it now there is still a lot of people and places to see and meet....i am starting to realize that i am not 20 any longer and i hate that but what i have to do is learn my new limitations and try to live with in them.... we all worry about this and that at our age but to me its better to just live one day at a time and hope and work for the best....its sorta like a fellow said one time.... he made a mistake one time and that was he thought he was wrong and later realized he was not ....so for me its gonna have to be a gut feeling for me to change direction now ....as long as i am healthy enough to cast off ...so i say to you Ed if you want to go sailing by all means go and if you don't then don't.... but be happy with your self what ever you decide

 

[CharlzO]

The way I figure it (being young enough to think this way), is that when I start feeling my age, is when I'll know it became a factor. There are always ways to make up for fading strength, to a point. Can't muscle a mast up? gin pole, A frame... electric winches...4:1 instead of 2:1 setups... Pretty sure I've got another 30-40 left in me though, so I'm way too early in the thought process for it.

 

[navigator97]

We have a 1990 H-33.5 and have had her since 1999. Our 16th season. My body seems to have gotten a lot older than me . It turned 79 last month, and the Admiral turned 76 last spring. Last year I thought I turned 26 for the 3rd time. The voices in my head say this should be the last or second to last season. We still like sailing and I hate the thought of giving it up. So, I may ignore the "voices" for another year or so. I have kept her up quite well and still enjoy puttering around on the boat, unless it gets to an overwhelming situation, then I call in the guys at the yard.

 

[Claude L.-Auger]

I'm turning 70 this Sunday. I am blessed with good health so I can still sail singlehanded whenever I want to, which is as often as possible. I just completed a 49-day 1000 miles trip all around Lake Ontario, sailing in all kind of conditions although I do admit staying put more often when weather is nasty. I guess rain and cold bother me more than in the past. I have a 91 years old friend who still sails his 33 footer on a regular basis. Last year he put a new engine in her. When I asked him why he told me with a mischivious smile in his eyes: "I'll be good for the next 15 years". I guess if your health and financial means allow you to do the things you love, you can pace yourself and do them at will. I think if you're healthy, it's a matter of attitude towards life. Like Stu I'm happy with my boat, in spite of the various things I know I'll need to do eventually. So Ed, if you still like sailing your 37, keep on doing it as long as your health allows you to.

 

[Allan12210]

Tough question. When you have to, or when you want to. I have friends who bought new boats at age 79. One is still sailing his Catalina 36 at 92. He does have help go along now but still enjoys that boat every day. My friend Nick passed away this year at 90. Three years ago he was doing the bottom in the yard like he always had done, but with some help this time. So the fact that one is weaker, doesn't mean they can't continue to enjoy the sport. They just have to have some help. Unless you are really sick and incapacitated, it seems possible to carry on.

 

[Ed Schenck]

Well OK. So tomorrow I will paint a test area with Kiwi Grip and get that dodger estimate. Oh, and get someone to get that foresail halyard down that let go last Wednesday. Pop, and down comes the yankee!

 

[Allan12210]

Well OK. So tomorrow I will paint a test area with Kiwi Grip and get that dodger estimate. Oh, and get someone to get that foresail halyard down that let go last Wednesday. Pop, and down comes the yankee!

Ed,

Excellent decision. Live life to the fullest. Through most of my life I had to procrastinate my wants and prioritize my needs. Now its time to address things I want and figure out how to enjoy them as long as possible.

Knowing what it takes to live on allows me to spend anything leftover on the fun stuff. No sense hoarding money as I don't think it will do me any good to be the richest person in the cemetery.

Allan

 

[hewebb]

I was 69 (Now 73) when I gave up flying and bought the sailboat. Started to refit everything, including new engine and related items, and now almost done. (Still want to get a asymmetrical spinnaker) I started to crew on a race boat and that kept me in better condition to sail mine solo. I think that if you can keep going you will be able to unless you experience a serious health mishap.

I like what one of my wife's ants said when she planted a small tree. It will grow and give me shade-she was 91 at the time. Good attitude makes all the difference.

 

[Dunlookin]

I Spend My Days...

...with men and women damaged by ten years of war in Irag and Afganistan. I try to help them make sense of thier injuries (there is none), and help them realize a new dream different than thier earlier dream of a career in the military.

Not one has ever told me they regretted what they had done. Thier regrets were for what they could no longer do, or what they did not do when they were "whole."

A dear friend of mine called me this morning. While undergoing routine surgery her Mother suffered complications and died.

The clock is ticking for all of us. Whe have no idea when accident, or age, will change our lives...or end it.

I will ride my motorcycle, sail my boat, and do everything else as long as I can still do it. I'll know when I can't...

...at that point I hope the heart fails, the breath becomes shallower, and the light brighter.

I always said the life I see often is not the way I want to live.

A friend told me yesterday that my perspective was wrong.

That was not the way she wanted to die.

I remember a line from a song when I was in high school....

"Boogie, Oogie, Oogie till you just can't boogie no more."

...sage advice.

 

[FredV]

I’ll be 64 next month and in OK (not great) health, and I’ve been restoring my 37-C for 2 years now – about a year and a half longer than I originally thought! All new wiring, new plumbing, new electronics, and lots of miscellaneous cabinetry work, and I’m not even close to being finished! There’s no doubt that my age and health are slowing me down, but so what – a task that should take 2 hours may take me 2 days, but at least it gets done (and I'll know how to fix it if it gets undone!). So why am I doing it?

Simple – I’m fulfilling a lifelong dream. When I was a teenager, I saw a photo in a National Geographic magazine of 4 Tahitian girls sitting in a grass hut and, considering the raging hormones so usual at that age, I promised myself I would eventually live there with them! Since then, I’ve read hundreds of books on sailboats (design, construction, refitting, maintenance, etc.), and sailors (Slocum, Chichester, Heyerdahl, Chiles, Graham, and recently Jessica Watson), subscribed to far too many sailing magazines (now only to Practical Sailor’s online edition), and devoured literally thousands of boat reviews. All served to reinforce my dream of living on a boat and cruising the oceans. So now I own Fred V – not only is she my new home, but she can also get me to Tahiti!

At the rate I’m going with her refit, I may be dead before I even get her into the water! But after years of long hours and hard work for various companies, including my own, I’m now finally doing what I’ve wanted to do for over 50 years. And if I die before I get to Tahiti, at least I’ll know that it will be with a s***eating grin on my face!

 

[kloudie1]

I will be 67 in January; I am hoping to follow Claude Auger's lead in cruising a bunch in the near future. My mom's comfort and well being require me to be close to home for now. I will sail as long as health allows.