Aging Cruisers Choose Battles

[JamuJoe]

Originally Posted by JamuJoe

I have a Winch Buddy and love it. Raising the heavy full batten main on our Leopard 42 is now easy, rather that the workout that it is without the Buddy. I've used it to hoist a man up the mast - there is no safety issue as long as you have a secondary halyard - just as you should when manually cranking. You're using the same winch, just a with power handle.

Safe Sailing,
JamuJoe

Correction: I wrote Winch Buddy, yet was referring to my WinchRite. Forgive a Senior Moment in a discussion about Aging Cruisers

JamuJoe

[Bestathook]

At about 50, I noticed I had less tolerance for BS each year. Now, at 70, I have none at all. Some say I have become downright grouchy about it.

I have a small boat, 28 feet.

I am not tied to keeping a crew,which has become increasingly difficult, both to find and to tolerate.

20 years from now, when I get old, the smaller sails will be easier to handle, as will the smaller anchors, and other components. Smaller is often also cheaper.

Also, I am becoming even more of a minimalist. With a simpler boat and fewer systems, I spend less time on maintenance, and more time on really important activities, like drinking demon rum, and walking deserted beaches.

What little desire I had to impress others with the appearance of my boat has altogether disappeared with age. I keep her in excellent mechanical shape, but unpolished, perhaps a bit more than unpolished. Good times with friends delights me more than the admiration of strangers.

I make shorter hops, and stay longer in each anchorage. An ideal day is enough sailing to get there and find the joy of a good run, and a good meal followed by a good night's sleep. I could never understand passing ten nice places hurrying to some eleventh nice place.

With retirement, I abandoned the calendar. The biggest sailing scrapes I have gotten into all involved compromising on the weather in favor of the calendar. Now I wait until the weather is just right.

All and all, aging is quite comfortable. I have good health, retirement income, and my appreciation of what I have has grown greatly.

And aging is vastly superior to the alternative.

[rw58ph]

Many sailors switch to trawler/power boats. If you go over to Trawler Forum Trawler Forum there are many sailors that have see the day light and come over to the bright side. Many of the discussions/topics are the same, except we do not talk about tall sticks and sheets very often. However, motor sailor and trawler with sails is a common topic. Much easier nice to be in a AC/heat helm area, and not have to work so hard to get from point A to point B.

[Jolly Roger]

Originally Posted by JamuJoe

Correction: I wrote Winch Buddy, yet was referring to my WinchRite. Forgive a Senior Moment in a discussion about Aging Cruisers

JamuJoe

I was thinking of buying a WinchRite but I'm a bit bothered about the single built-in battery. I'm sure it will be okay for a while - probably until the next day the warranty ends - but what then? Also, when it runs down you have to wait to charge it up again.
A removable battery on an angled drill does mean you can have continuous operation, if you buy two batteries.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by JamuJoe

Correction: I wrote Winch Buddy, yet was referring to my WinchRite. Forgive a Senior Moment in a discussion about Aging Cruisers

JamuJoe

Take it from someone who wrote "wash" but meant "walk" -- it happens! I'm glad you made that mistake, because now I have a choice.

If I remember, anyway ...

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Bestathook

At about 50, I noticed I had less tolerance for BS each year. Now, at 70, I have none at all. Some say I have become downright grouchy about it.

I have a small boat, 28 feet.

I am not tied to keeping a crew,which has become increasingly difficult, both to find and to tolerate.

20 years from now, when I get old, the smaller sails will be easier to handle, as will the smaller anchors, and other components. Smaller is often also cheaper.

Also, I am becoming even more of a minimalist. With a simpler boat and fewer systems, I spend less time on maintenance, and more time on really important activities, like drinking demon rum, and walking deserted beaches.

What little desire I had to impress others with the appearance of my boat has altogether disappeared with age. I keep her in excellent mechanical shape, but unpolished, perhaps a bit more than unpolished. Good times with friends delights me more than the admiration of strangers.

I make shorter hops, and stay longer in each anchorage. An ideal day is enough sailing to get there and find the joy of a good run, and a good meal followed by a good night's sleep. I could never understand passing ten nice places hurrying to some eleventh nice place.

With retirement, I abandoned the calendar. The biggest sailing scrapes I have gotten into all involved compromising on the weather in favor of the calendar. Now I wait until the weather is just right.

All and all, aging is quite comfortable. I have good health, retirement income, and my appreciation of what I have has grown greatly.

And aging is vastly superior to the alternative.

Where, oh where, did we go so wrong?

Good job well done!

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by rw58ph

Many sailors switch to trawler/power boats. If you go over to Trawler Forum Trawler Forum there are many sailors that have see the day light and come over to the bright side. Many of the discussions/topics are the same, except we do not talk about tall sticks and sheets very often. However, motor sailor and trawler with sails is a common topic. Much easier nice to be in a AC/heat helm area, and not have to work so hard to get from point A to point B.

I know several people who have done it just this year, but I won't be one of them. Power boats never appealed to me. I like the feel of the boat taking off under my feet because I got the sails right. I like that a lot.

[jkindredpdx]

Originally Posted by rw58ph

Many sailors switch to trawler/power boats. . . there are many sailors that have see the day light and come over to the bright side. Many of the discussions/topics are the same, except we do not talk about tall sticks and sheets very often. . .

It's the sticks and sheets that make my rides memorable. There's something about the feel and sound of slicing through the water using natural forces. My biggest problem with aging is the weight gain so I'll happily keep manual gear on my boat until I need power assist. I know the day will come, but I'll hold off until my body says back-off.

[Jim Cate]

If and when bodily decay says trhat I need some electrical help for driving winches, or else I must go to a trawler... well, that choice isn't hard for me. In fact, I will likely buy a Milwaukee 28 volt drill motor as others have done before I return to the boat in Tassie. I suspect that my biggest use will be for the furling line since we must roll up the genoa for tacking (ugh!)... a frequent and repetitive job. Hoisting the mainsail is some work, but only happens once or twice a day and offers some leisurely exercise... not so bad.

And if things decay further and we need to go to a trawler, well, tht isn't so bad... can still live aboard and enjoy the cruising life, and that is the cruicial factor for me.

Maybe when I reach 90...

Cheers,

JIm

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

If and when bodily decay says that I need some electrical help for driving winches, or else I must go to a trawler.
JIm

Oh hell Jim...just use deodorant!

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Oh hell Jim...just use deodorant!

Sheesh... where do I put it? On the winch drum or on the handle? Enquiring minds want to know!

Jim

[Tayana42]

Jolly Roger,
I have a Winchrite that I am very happy with. A few years ago my wife and I fell in love with a used Island Packet 485 that had everything on it including electric winches all over the place. We gave serious thought to buying it until we realized that if we sold our current boat (which has no debt on it), our house and our grandchildren we would still have a half million dollar mortgage on the IP. So instead we bought a Winchrite. My wife refers to it as the Island Packet. I figure it saved us $500,000. By the way, the company has twice made repairs long after the warranty was out.

[bobconnie]

We tried a trawler a couple of boats ago! Bought one, a Defever that needed a engine rebild on one engine! Ya know the one thing we disliked was there was never a time that the engine noise went away! Missed the lack of noise when ya raise the sails and shut the engine down !! Never again! we will stick to sail with electrical help for the winchs! either powerd winchs or angle drills !! Rather sail then burn diesel at 4+ bucks a gal!! just our 2 cents (did make a bunch of bucks on the trawler tho! LOL)

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Tayana42

Jolly Roger,
I have a Winchrite that I am very happy with. A few years ago my wife and I fell in love with a used Island Packet 485 that had everything on it including electric winches all over the place. We gave serious thought to buying it until we realized that if we sold our current boat (which has no debt on it), our house and our grandchildren we would still have a half million dollar mortgage on the IP. So instead we bought a Winchrite. My wife refers to it as the Island Packet. I figure it saved us $500,000. By the way, the company has twice made repairs long after the warranty was out.

Take care of that baby. According to what I found on line, it looks like they're not being made any more. People who used to sell it don't have them and don't know when they'll have any.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by bobconnie

We tried a trawler a couple of boats ago! Bought one, a Defever that needed a engine rebild on one engine! Ya know the one thing we disliked was there was never a time that the engine noise went away! Missed the lack of noise when ya raise the sails and shut the engine down !! Never again! we will stick to sail with electrical help for the winchs! either powerd winchs or angle drills !! Rather sail then burn diesel at 4+ bucks a gal!! just our 2 cents (did make a bunch of bucks on the trawler tho! LOL)

I just don't picture myself ona trawler, and for the same reason: my favorite moment in sailing is turning the engine off.