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jpswoope · 13-04-2010, 11:44

My wife and I plan to retire soon, possibly to a Gemini 105mc coastal sailing cat. In the experiences and opinions of users, is retiring to a coastal sailing cat sensible or should we, like some of our sailing friends, consider retirement cruising (liveaboard) on a power boat (cat / trawler / etc.)? Is the work of sailing this smaller sailing cat so much as to drive experienced sailors to power boats in retirement?

**Pete7** · 13-04-2010, 12:11

If you are retired what is the rush to meet deadlines like having to get back to work. Sail when its nice, stop when its not.

I took Viv to a multihull boat show a year ago. Huge mistake when she realised how much room their was on board a 36ft cat (FP 36) and it didn't fall over. Her words were "want one", thankfully I left the cheque book at home.

I do wonder about the price of fuel in the future too. Diesel is now 80p a litre in Southern UK and its only going to get more expensive.

I think you should charter a similar sized sailing cat somewhere nice and warm for a fortnight to help you decide if sailing is the way to go.

Pete

SeaKing · 13-04-2010, 13:12

Get a PDQ 36, I know many people who have retired and lived aboard those. They sail and hold up better than the Gemini's. I think they also look alot better.

jpswoope · 13-04-2010, 13:39

Thanks for the replies. I'm not committed to any specific boat yet -- PDQs, Lagoons, Geminis, Leopards all considered -- but my primary concern is the desertion of sailboats by experienced sailors at retirement.

Paul L · 13-04-2010, 13:47

It really is another one of those 'How long is a piece of string?' questions. If I asked your expert opinion on how fit are 62 year old males, you'd think it is a stupid question. It depends on the individual and the exact time - fit one day, dead the next. Only you can answer if a trawler, a Cat, an RV or a couch is right for you at any given time.

Paul L

Alan Brown · 13-04-2010, 15:58

I'm 63. I grew up around sailboats, but was a power boater for much of my adult life. When economic necessity (aka divorce) forced me to sell my no longer affordable 35' powerboat and switch to sail, I did so so without complaint. I've been a sail boater for the last 10 years and my 1981 Hunter 30 has taken me everywhere I wanted to go in the Keys and the Bahamas.

There are pros and cons to power vs. sail. I've seen both sides of the coin, so let me throw out a few thoughts.

1. It is easier to become a power boater than a sailor. Sailing, not only involves all the normal ship-handling responsibilities, but it adds sail-handling responsibilities as well. These responsibilities require physical strength and agility. This is reason many older sailors switch over to power vessels.

2. When you are under sail in a good breeze, there is no better feeling of freedom. The only noise you hear is the water rushing past the hull. However, being honest, most sailors have their engines running more than half the time they're away from the dock. My sailboat, with it's 2GM running, is actually is louder at 5 knts. than my 35' Mainship was at 15.

3. If money is an issue, sail is the way to go. Not only are they much cheaper to buy, they are cheaper to operate due to their smaller engines and ability to operate on wind-power alone. Normal day-to-day maintenance is a PITA on any vessel, but the cost of an engine rebuild/replacement is much feared among the powerboat set. One can replace a full set of sails for far less.

4. Speed! My Mainship could cross from Biscayne Bay to Bimini in about 4 hours. The same trip in my Hunter took almost 11 hours and required an overnight passage. However, speed comes at a steep price. My tiny diesel sips fuel at 5 knts., while my 454's chugalugged gasoline like crazy. For example, in 2000 when I brought my Mainship back to FL to sell, it cost me almost $1500 in fuel costs, and I took it easy on the speed.

5. Maneuverability in a monohull sailboat sucks! Docking is a serious challenge when conditions are not perfect. Until I learned to master that thing called "prop walk", I used to think of docking as another form of crash control. Now with the twin engines on my Mainship, I could spin that boat on a dime. The maneuverability of twin engines is a big plus for multihulls. For monohulls, having a bow thruster is a great way to assist your docking.

Finally, If I had had my druthers, I'd trade in my Hunter for a 2-stateroom trawler with either twin engines or a single diesel with a bow thruster. Fuel economy would be good. Space would be large, and I wouldn't have to bust my butt raising and lowering sail.

Just my $.02.

**Hudson Force** · 13-04-2010, 16:10

Well, I'm a 63 year old male living aboard a sailboat and actively cruising. When the weather is not good, I'm tucked away. When the wind is not right, I'm motoring. When the sailing is good, I love it. My wife & I have been living aboard since we were in our twenties and no different now than then. 'take care and joy, Aythya crew

DRS · 13-04-2010, 18:14

Sailboats have engines to. In the worst case senerio you are a power boat with a really tall antenna

oscar · 14-04-2010, 05:50

Quote:

my primary concern is the desertion of sailboats by experienced sailors at retirement

You have numbers to support this? I'm not sure that it's true.

jpswoope · 14-04-2010, 06:00

Thanks, folks, for the comments! Thanks, Alan, for your experienced perspective from 'both sides'!

Alan Brown · 14-04-2010, 07:07

Oscar,

I've been a member of Seven Seas Cruising Association for many years. It was founded by and for sailors in 1952 and offers 2 levels of membership - Associate and Commodore. An associate member includes just about anyone, power-sail-kayak, etc. However, to become a commodore you must be able to document some serious offshore miles (10,000) and be recommended by three other commodores. It's quite an achievement to go from associate to commodore.

The reason I bring up SSCA is that up until recently, commodores could only come from the sailing ranks. No power boaters could be considered. If you were a commodore who switched over to power, you lost your commodore status. However, that all changed a couple years ago.

It seems that an ever increasing number of commodores, as they got older and "retired" from their circumnavigation days, etc., were switching from sail to power. Most were opting for the easier life of a trawler owner. So, after several years of contentious debate, the SSCA changed it rules to allow commodores who switched to power to maintain their commodore status. This rule change reflected the reality of our organization, older members were/are switching from sail to power.

I know this is just anecdotal evidence, but it does lend some credence to JP's comment about the desertion of sail boaters at retirement.

bloodhunter · 14-04-2010, 08:27

My wife and I are in our sixties and are in the process of selling everything, then moving aboard Enchantress and heading to the Caribbean. We intend to keep sailing until we physically can't. Then they can bury us.
Seriously, whether you go for sail or power depends on how you feel and whether you can physically handle it. Sure, there are a lot of situations I could handle at 30 that I would have trouble with now. But I would hope that in 30+ years I've learned enough to avoid those situations in the first place.
Anyway good luck on whatever you decide and good cruising be it sail or power

oscar · 14-04-2010, 18:32

I have noticed that serious motor cruising is increasing in popularity. I also suspect that the fact that people work longer may have an effect on things. I'd still like to see some science.

svcattales · 30-04-2010, 15:41

We are in our early sixties wouldn't want to trade our cat for most of the trawler we see while cruising. We have seen many trawlers in the Bahamas rolling at anchor and underway. When the winds & seas pick up, our cat is stable, dry and comfortable. Unless the trawler is really large or has hydraulic stabilizers, I don't see them being comfortable when a sea is running. If I were to switch "to the dark side", I would get a trawler-cat and get the best of both worlds.