Aging Cruisers Choose Battles

[Rakuflames]

Just a note: if you have anything more you want to say (or distort, or just make up) about docking, don't say it in email. If it can't be said in public, it shouldn't be said in private. Someone just sent me a PM, but it's not someone I think has anything positive to say, and it will be deleted without being read. It's been my experience (as a moderator on another board) that all too often, when people get edgy in public posts they're even worse in private.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

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

Jim

I'll give you a hint..."Old sailors never die...they just smell that way"

[avb3]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

Not half as much trouble either .
Then again, also not half as much fun .

(Ladies, substitute 'younger man' for 'younger woman' in the above quote )

Hey... Us older but experienced men have a lot over young exuberance.

At least that's what I've been told.

[Tayana42]

Winchrite is still being made and is still available. http://www.sailology.com

[Jolly Roger]

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.

I have a friend who bought a Winchrite and it went wrong twice in the first year, which they repaired. But however good they are, and whether they repair under warranty or not, it's still a pain to send back and forth when you are cruising. He's now in the Pacific, so I hope it hasn't broken again. Even so, it still doesn't overcome the single fixed battery. I guess you could learn how much you could use it on a single charge, but then you must wait for it to charge up again. If it came with a spare rechargeable battery I would buy one, but I think the Milwaukee drill is better, and about the same price. At least I could drill round corners as well - which I have needed to do more than once.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by avb3

Hey... Us older but experienced men have a lot over young exuberance.

At least that's what I've been told.

I've never seen an "older" sailor who wasn't really enthusiastic about life.

I have (pardon the pun) seen the wind go right out of the sails of people who have given up their boat although if they had a choice they wouldn't have.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Tayana42

Winchrite is still being made and is still available. Sailology

Fabulous! thank you so much!

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Tayana42

Winchrite is still being made and is still available. Sailology

Wow, Tayana. That looks so much better than a Winch Buddy. You have just really helped out another sailor. Dealing with the winches is the only thing now that concerns me about my back, and once I saw that child using it ...

deal done! Thanks.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Tayana42

Winchrite is still being made and is still available. Sailology

To top it all off -- IT WAS ON SALE! I have ordered it. If I don't like it for some reason, I can always send it back, but it looks much better than a winch buddy to me, and it's MUCH cheaper.

I'll have a review of it on my blog, but since it's a blog for newer sailors, it will be in a chatty style, not technical. However, if anyone here wants to write about the technology of the thing that would be welcome.

thanks again, Tayana. for all the problems, this place really is terrific.

[Robin3]

Originally Posted by CaptForce

I'm glad you mentioned this. I tend to overlook this choice, but it's the most common step for people who are older sailors. Most of the people we meet cruising the East US Coast on trawlers are former sailors.

There is always an exception tp prove the rule. After 50 years of sailing but not liveaboard mind (me and 26 years (her) we went liveaboard at ages 68 and 66 on a 47fttrawler. Then I spoiled it and had a stroke and we moved ashore but hey we now have a sailboat again, bit smaller at 36ft, because the sailboat is easier to handle (if less spacious). A heavy powerboat wth lots of windage can be harder to dock than a lighter sailboat with a keel and some grip in the water. We are still working up the new sailboat so this is a forward look rather than a voice of past experience yet.

Some concessions on our new to us sailboat are in-mast mainsail furling ( NO LONGER a fully battened main with triple slab reefs as well of course as a furling genoa, a RIB which is lifted up on stern davits, with it's motor lifted aboard first by a small davit to sit on the pushpit bracket. Our boat is a wing keeled shoal draught one which handles easily and whilst robust can be pushed and pulled a little if needs bewhich a heavy trawler cannot.

Last word IS DO NOT ASSUME YOU ARE INVINCIBLE! I did and a stroke proved me wrong. I got very lucky and have recovered well but am no longer as nimble r as quick about deck as I once was and I need to plan things ahead in my mind first rather than rely on instant instinctive reactions.

WE have two friends in late 70s, early 80's whose boat is on its way back through Panama on a ship for them to pick up again in Ensenada and sail to San Diego. They had been through the Caribbean, over to Europe as far as Turkey, thence back on a ship to Florida which is where we met them living on board here in Daytona

[Carlisle Spirit]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

Wow, Tayana. That looks so much better than a Winch Buddy. You have just really helped out another sailor. Dealing with the winches is the only thing now that concerns me about my back, and once I saw that child using it ...

deal done! Thanks.

yeah that's the one i bought ( i think i referred to it in an earlier post as a WinchMate )

To any prospective purchaser - don't expect too much

It comes with a restriction on up mast hauling ( says it voids the warranty )

I still used it for that function and it works ( i had another safety line as well )

its sort of ok ...but not good for any serious loads - which is precisely when we need it

As most people sailing our age are andropausal males, a certain amount of physical activity is good - choose the gym or working the winches

But when it gets tough, you want the horsepower (that you used to have)

regrettably the WinchRite doesnt fill the bill in that way ... have ordered electric upgrades for the Lewmar Ocean Series all around

CS

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Robin3

There is always an exception tp prove the rule. After 50 years of sailing but not liveaboard mind (me and 26 years (her) we went liveaboard at ages 68 and 66 on a 47fttrawler. Then I spoiled it and had a stroke and we moved ashore but hey we now have a sailboat again, bit smaller at 36ft, because the sailboat is easier to handle (if less spacious). A heavy powerboat wth lots of windage can be harder to dock than a lighter sailboat with a keel and some grip in the water. We are still working up the new sailboat so this is a forward look rather than a voice of past experience yet.

Some concessions on our new to us sailboat are in-mast mainsail furling ( NO LONGER a fully battened main with triple slab reefs as well of course as a furling genoa, a RIB which is lifted up on stern davits, with it's motor lifted aboard first by a small davit to sit on the pushpit bracket. Our boat is a wing keeled shoal draught one which handles easily and whilst robust can be pushed and pulled a little if needs bewhich a heavy trawler cannot.

Last word IS DO NOT ASSUME YOU ARE INVINCIBLE! I did and a stroke proved me wrong. I got very lucky and have recovered well but am no longer as nimble r as quick about deck as I once was and I need to plan things ahead in my mind first rather than rely on instant instinctive reactions.

WE have two friends in late 70s, early 80's whose boat is on its way back through Panama on a ship for them to pick up again in Ensenada and sail to San Diego. They had been through the Caribbean, over to Europe as far as Turkey, thence back on a ship to Florida which is where we met them living on board here in Daytona

To misquote a song, "Sooner or later, something's gonna get ya ...". Then it's all about how you deal with it. I have helped big trawlers as they docked for the first time in this marina while the current was running and the wind was up, and I agree with you -- they can be hard to dock, even when the operator is very experienced.

My favorite part of my boat is the screened cockpit. Makes the boat very enoyable even in the slip.

[Teknav]

As we age, you would want to check with your physician about taking an aspirin daily; 81 mg low dose. Some folks cannot take aspirin because of their medical condition. Other folks who are on blood thinners, are "usually" not allowed to take aspirin. Excessive aspirin usage will result in intestinal hemorrhage; do not take more than recommended. Having said that, if approved by your physician and taken as recommended, an aspirin a day will lower the risk of clotting that can result in a stroke. The flip side of the coin, if you hemorrhage it will take a while to clot. Get a physician's advice and do not experiment on your own. Everything in life is a trade-off!

Mauritz
Pharmacy - Board Certified

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Carlisle Spirit

yeah that's the one i bought ( i think i referred to it in an earlier post as a WinchMate )

To any prospective purchaser - don't expect too much

It comes with a restriction on up mast hauling ( says it voids the warranty )

I still used it for that function and it works ( i had another safety line as well )

its sort of ok ...but not good for any serious loads - which is precisely when we need it

As most people sailing our age are andropausal males, a certain amount of physical activity is good - choose the gym or working the winches

But when it gets tough, you want the horsepower (that you used to have)

regrettably the WinchRite doesnt fill the bill in that way ... have ordered electric upgrades for the Lewmar Ocean Series all around

CS

By "up mast hauling" do you mean "hauling someone up the mast?" My "boat guy" is half monkey and after he stopped laughing he'd tell me to put it away anyway, but ... good to know.

I completely agree about the excellent physical workout winches can give you, but right now it's verboten because of my back. I have work-arounds for everything else, including getting the anchor up without a windlass, so I'm exstatic. I suspect I'm also a poor speller at the moment ...

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Teknav

As we age, you would want to check with your physician about taking an aspirin daily; 81 mg low dose. Some folks cannot take aspirin because of their medical condition. Other folks who are on blood thinners, are "usually" not allowed to take aspirin. Excessive aspirin usage will result in intestinal hemorrhage; do not take more than recommended. Having said that, if approved by your physician and taken as recommended, an aspirin a day will lower the risk of clotting that can result in a stroke. The flip side of the coin, if you hemorrhage it will take a while to clot. Get a physician's advice and do not experiment on your own. Everything in life is a trade-off!

Mauritz
Pharmacy - Board Certified

It can do a lot of good, and doctors often recommend it. They recommended it for my husband. One baby aspirin a day put him in the hospital with a bleeding ulcer -- a really severe one -- for five days. He had to have a couple of transfusions. It's rare, but it happens.

I'm finding that as I get older, the trade-offs get tougher. I can't take Advil for my back, even though it helps tremendously, because my feet swell. I can take Tylenol but I notice no relief from it, so there's no point. Its anti-imflammatory effects are much less than from the Nsaids.

It's annoying. I want to get young again.