How Old is Too Old ?

[Jonathan Reiter]

As Spring follows summer, so goes the flight of the green arrow--TheSmothers Brothers

[annk]

On a personal level we decided that once I could no longer wind the better half up to the top of the mast manually --- we must stop cruising offshore! Thanks goodness we are still able to do these tasks (63 and 56). Takes a bit longer than when we started though!

Get a Milwaukee 1/2 inch right angle drill with 28 VDC lithium battery and winch adapter. (or ATN top-climber) Its the easiest way up with a self tailing winch. KEEP SAILING


Sorry I don't think I made myself clear, once I physically no longer have the strength to haul the other half up the mast manually we'll stop offshore cruising. I wouldn't risk being a long way from shore and needing to rely on an electronic aid to maybe deal with a serious problem. Once that day comes we will change our sailing habits and adjust our passages accordingly....

It's not that I am unaware that there are easier ways out there it's just our personal measurement of our ability to physically meet the challenge of offshore sailing as we age. :-)

[Wireless1]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

Get a Milwaukee 1/2 inch right angle drill with 28 VDC lithium battery and winch adapter. (or ATN top-climber) Its the easiest way up with a self tailing winch. KEEP SAILING.

Yes! I can personally attest to the value of the Milwaukee right angle drill motor. Anyone interested; make sure to get the 28 volt model. There are others but none come close to this one. I don't have one yet but it's on my list. I used one on my buddies Catalina 42 to raise the main. Just snap it in the halyard winch and pull the trigger. A couple of minutes later put in your winch handle and do the last foot or so by hand.

I was told by a shop that repairs these that they are soon to be discontinued, so get 'em while you can.

Here's the link to the ... "winch-bit"

[deckofficer]

There is another drill that will do the job, but a fair bit of coin. If you are someone that appreciates having the best (and most powerful by far), the DeWalt 36 volt, 750 watt drill takes no prisoners. They use the A123 battery, invented here in the states by a group of MIT alumni. Their circular saw boasts more power than any plug in that is using a 50' extension cord. How is that for power?

DeWalt 36 Volt Cordless Power Tools

[Celestialsailor]

In the Marina where I have my boat, the Paramedics came down and took a live-aboard away on a gurney apparently having another heart attack (he was older). Maybe he was too old but he was living his dream! How old are you going to be if you don't try?
I had an Ingrid 38 (25,000 lbs. and 46 ft. over-all. then went down to a Rawson 30 (too small). I find my 35 ft. sloop is simple, cheap to maintain and easy to maneuver. To me, the best of all worlds.
Will I be too old some day? I thought I was but I fought back and won.

[Wireless1]

Originally Posted by deckofficer

There is another drill that will do the job, but a fair bit of coin. If you are someone that appreciates having the best (and most powerful by far), the DeWalt 36 volt, 750 watt drill takes no prisoners. They use the A123 battery, invented here in the states by a group of MIT alumni. Their circular saw boasts more power than any plug in that is using a 50' extension cord. How is that for power?

DeWalt 36 Volt Cordless Power Tools

Man that is some honkin' power but I didn't see a right angle drill motor listed. Do they make one I wonder? That would seem to be awkward to heft that much drill over the top of the winch and not get you as much arm leverage as the longer right angle Milwaukee. The beauty of the right angle motor is that it is long and you don't feel like it's going to twist you instead of the winch.

[FxdGrMind]

Too old, only in your nightmares.

I recently meet a pair of retired folk, they quit at 55 and went cruising and kept the budget tight. They have been gone 10 years and are now on their way to making thier next 10 yr trip a reality.

They have been all the way to Tazmania, Coverd all of the eastern seaboard of the USA including the inner water ways of NY and the St Lawrence all the way down the Mississippi to the Gulf and back up to Carolina.

They are currently in refit for thier next journey through the PC and on to the Med.
They just prove, it can be done, you just have to put your mind to it and DO IT!

They have had 41' sail boats and Power boats and are currently working on thier dream boat a 37 Creelock.

I personally decided a 38 Morgan '78 would suit me just fine and I have another convert in the making. As soon as I can get things together at work, so that the Co. can continue operating without me, can't let them fail as my pension is dependent on them continuing. Well as soon as that is done, I'm on my way (current est is 2-3 yrs). Nothing holding me back.

Meanwhile, I'm getting her fixed up and ready to shove off. Sails, rig, heater, stove, LPG tanks, storage, Bat/charging/generator, radar/AIS, water maker (emergency) and getting her out every time I get the chance and sail, in addition to sailing on other's boats in various local races as all the experience I can garner now will pay me back at some point in the future.

Cheers

[Jim Cate]

OK, here's another data point: I'm 74, Ann is 72, she's recently had both knees replaced with marine quality titanium, and we're still cruising. Currently sailing in the fringes of the forties, do the occasional passage offshore, and still enjoying the life. We don't drive the boat as hard as we used to, and we're pretty conservative about weather, but we get where we want to go. Don't intend to stop until we fall off of our perches... hopefully at sea where funeral costs are quite low.

Boat size? Insatiable II is 46 ft OAL, but pretty light and easily driven. This means that we can maintain decent boat speed with reduced sail area when we need a rest, and we find this boat easier to handle than our previous 36 foot ex-IOR one tonner.

We're surely not as strong or as fit as we were in 1986 when we took off, but we've learned how to compensate for this, and still feel competent at sea. Hope that this continues, but if it should deteriorate too much, well there's always a canal boat somewhere in Europe that would do for a few years!

Cheers,

Jim

[Nemo55]

Power to ya ,,keep on keepin on matey!!!

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

In the Marina where I have my boat, the Paramedics came down and took a live-aboard away on a gurney apparently having another heart attack (he was older). Maybe he was too old but he was living his dream! How old are you going to be if you don't try?
I had an Ingrid 38 (25,000 lbs. and 46 ft. over-all. then went down to a Rawson 30 (too small). I find my 35 ft. sloop is simple, cheap to maintain and easy to maneuver. To me, the best of all worlds.
Will I be too old some day? I thought I was but I fought back and won.

[terradagua]

Age, no such thing as age....
I think you are never too old to do anything your heart desires. My grandma is 85 years old and she is dancing, jumping around, going on travels and she spends more energy than many young people of 20 years old don't in one day. She is honestly a bomb, incredible to me and so inspiring. What's important is the spirit and what your heart says and wants. If you dream about going sailing, I think that you are not too old to do it. Was I too young to buy a sailboat and get out a conventional 9 to 5 life and dream of sailing around the world with the man I love. I am 27 years old and people my age don't often get out of the responsibilities of earning money to have a nice house and eventually a pool and a dog and a good position in a well known company so they can talk about it on a friday night in their nice clothes with their wealthy friends. I am not saying that this lifestyle is bad, only saying that society nowadays seem to dictate rules to follow and us people, seem to think that we should follow like sheep always walking on the same path. At this age, you should be doing this and that so a bit later you can have that and find security in that and so on! This is the speech i got from my father when I told him about my new project of sailing around the world. His words were of course full of love and he only wanted me to be well and take good decisions in life so I can be happy but soon we started to discuss about it... I told him that this is the path my heart is showing me, should I ignore it? should I wait until retirement to follow my dream because society says so ( oh when you retire, you can start doing the stuff you dreamed of all your life). What if I die tomorrow, there would be one more dream digged down. Our discussion became really fruitful and he soon remembered what he uses to say himself, that life should be lived upon dreams and this applies also to his daughter, even if it is sometimes scary to see someone you love going on a more unknown path. So all that to say, go for it!! WE only have today, the now. tomorrow, not sure what is going to happen and if your heart leads you there it is because it is your path and that you are not too old to do it. You will find your own pace, explore this new thing on your own way and you will be walking on the road of your dream, your road.... and this is really awesome.

and by the way, sorry for the english, it is not my first language so it is probably a bit twisted :-)

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

...... had both knees replaced with marine quality titanium........

You are opening up a whole new debate that could rival the traditional anchors, number of hulls and guns threads.

Which is the better knee: grown oak or marine titanium or .....

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Nemo55

Power to ya ,,keep on keepin on matey!!!

I had 2 MCI's. One in 2000 and the second in 2008. The last one I was told there was permenant damage and to hang up my jib sheets. After I stopped feeling sorry for myself, with the help of a good friend who is a natural remedy Dr. and a lot of work from myself, I changed everything I was doing. It took about 3 years for my numbers to come back.

“To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea… cruising, it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about. I’ve always wanted to sail to the south seas, but I can’t afford it.” What these men can’t afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of security. And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine – and before we know it our lives are gone. What does a man need – really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in – and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That’s all – in the material sense, and we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention for the sheer idiocy of the charade. The years thunder by, The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed. Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life?”
- Sterling Hayden

[Irish rambler]

There are as many opinions as there are types of boats, that's all the better as we all have different tastes/personal criteria and objectives. I've sailed in the Med but personally always really been in the motor cruiser camp because of work/time restrictions, also I'm a diesel engineer and love the level of comfort/cruising area such a boat gives me.
Sit down with a glass of Irish whiskey(we need the exports) and have a wee look at cruisinginretirement.webs.com
Good Luck in your search for a suitable craft, You'll love the life and wonder why the hell you didn't do it earlier.

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

I had 2 MCI's. One in 2000 and the second in 2008. The last one I was told there was permenant damage and to hang up my jib sheets. After I stopped feeling sorry for myself, with the help of a good friend who is a natural remedy Dr. and a lot of work from myself, I changed everything I was doing. It took about 3 years for my numbers to come back.

“To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea… cruising, it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about. I’ve always wanted to sail to the south seas, but I can’t afford it.” What these men can’t afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of security. And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine – and before we know it our lives are gone. What does a man need – really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in – and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That’s all – in the material sense, and we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention for the sheer idiocy of the charade. The years thunder by, The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed. Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life?”
- Sterling Hayden

Love the quote and glad things are better for you, but what's a "MCI"?

[Hudson Force]

We are doing a little adapting with age. I flew my cruising chute for the last time this trip.


I love this sail, but it beats me up physically. I'm going to let it go and keep my sails suitable for easy cruising.