Hi
I am 38 and did mine jumping up to grab my daughter who had fallen in the surf at the beach. The pain was nothing compared to watching my 5 year old get thrown around and not being able to move. But after all that she came out with a giant smile on her face!
Anyway. 5 years later, three surgeries, countless hours of treatment and still have shooting pain down my legs and serious limitations.
I had a 39 foot boat at the time, couldn't use it then and don't think I could today, my wife can sail but like you with 2
kids and me it was to much.
Thought I could live without a boat - couldn't
Went to the dark side - stupid
Discovered that the fun for me was as much about getting there as being there, and when getting there takes 5 minutes it's all over. Also the motion of a powerboat is VERY unforgiving on your back.
So now selling powerboat and
buying a yacht I can work on, that is small enough to sail for the wife and still has a nice motion and a journey.
Considered a
multihull but for me it wasn't right.
Anyway the moral is, don't give up, just defer. You will have plenty of low moments with back pain and I wish I had the boat to sit on, maybe tinker etc. I am not sure how I could have got on but that's a different story.
Hopefully I will find my boat soon.