Survey: what modifications are needed for the aging sailor

[Mommasails]

Ann,

We are in the SE of US with an IP 350. I am
hanpered by a hip replacement, intimidated
by the height, but highly motivated because I really
want to know everything about my boat. I do think speaking
to a rigger makes great sense. Thanks for your comments.

[sailor1924]

Originally Posted by icemate

I'm 73 and on my boat I installed an aux windless control I could use while at the helm and with a sonar installed in the bow, could see anchor when deployed. That and a hoist to bring dingy motor aboard and store without assistance.

Can you provide a little more info on the sonar? I have a remote on the anchor windlass that works from the helm and I'd like to know how you use the sonar. I have a manual gantry hoist for the outboard, is yours power?

[powsmias]

Originally Posted by sailor1924

this xray is my spine.. been livin with it since i'm 16. other photo bike wreck in '06.. broken neck, lost kidney, coma for two months. lotsa titanium in left leg, broke 7 ribs lost everything financially and got some back. play pool 8 hours a day, over 500k miles on motorcycles and bought a new one while in crutches from accident. that bike has 204k miles on it and i didn't ride it for a year cause i bought a classic lincoln town car and got spoiled on ride.. i do 200 pushups every other day.. 4 sets of fifty. bought an oversized mantus anchor so i don't lose sleep .. that's the worst for me.. like to sleep good. got an oversized windlass to get portland pudgy off the bow.. keep moving mister.. otherwise you're gonna end up in a recliner with the remote.. all the best to you



I am turning 70 in two months and suffered from a surgery and recovery last year that seriously limited my mobility for a while. Even before that I've spent the last two summers working on making my boat easier for me to handle as I age further in hope of extending my sailing life into the next decade. I'd like to hear what project and ideas others have done to ease the burdens of bad knees and aching back. Photos and drawings please, if you've got them.

So I'll start of with the list I've undertaken:

1. 3' high solid rails
2. Lazy jacks for main and mizzen
3. Electric anchor windlass with chain rode and big Mantus anchor
4. 12 volt hoist with remote control to hoist me up the mast
5. wide sturdy swim/boarding ladder that folds down from the deck
6. Mast pulpit
7. Additional boarding access step at davits

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Mommasails

Ann,

We are in the SE of US with an IP 350. I am
hanpered by a hip replacement, intimidated
by the height, but highly motivated because I really
want to know everything about my boat. I do think speaking
to a rigger makes great sense. Thanks for your comments.

A couple of additional poiints:

There is a difference between climbing a mast and being hoisted up t he mast. And then there is a difference between doing it solo and with a deck hand to do the hoisting.. And then there is a difference between hoisting manually or with some form of power supplied to the hoisting mechanism.

For most of us, even the fittest of senior citizens require steps if climbing is intended. Damn few folks can just shinny up a spar... at any age!

With mast steps it isn't all that demanding,but then the issue of safety lines arises. The worriers say never go up without at least one safety line and a harness. I blush to admit that on our previous boat I would climb to the first spreaders to con through bommies with no such line or harness, and didn't worry too much, but I wouldn't advise anyone else to do so... don't want that responsibility! So again, a deck hand is used to tend safety line(s).

If you don't have steps, then some form of hoisting is required. Most folks will use an existing halyard (or two) and a bosun's chair or climbing harness. The halyard can be hand cranked, powered by a electric "winch handle, taken to an electric winch, or taken to a power windlass. Another scheme is to hoist a 4 or 6 to one tackle to the masthead on a halyard and then hoist yourself with that. Gives you complete control over things, and that can be an advantage. Still nice to have a deckie to tend a safety line if you use one.

So, there are lots of options to consider. Your rigger may not be a great source of advice, 'cause he is likely to be young and fit and not understand the issues that face us oldies very well. Some of them are very safety conscious, others not so much. The only one we've ever employed just went up on our halyard, no safety line and no careful inspection of halyard or winch... but then he knows that we are active sailors and take care of maintenance issues ourselves.

As to fear of heights... I suffer from that myself, but over the years I've come to grips with it and now don't seem to be bothered on the mast. Put me on the edge of a cliff or rooftop... no way! I guess spending countless hours up masts has somehow convinced the inner coward that all is well up there!

Not sure about the hip replacement issue. Probably means that mast steps wouldn't be a good thing for you, but don't see why a padded bosun's chair wouldn't be ok... that is if you can sit comfortably on a hard kitchen chair or such.

And finally, I applaud your interest in doing all these things yourself. Good onya!

Jim

[Mommasails]

Great advice, and suggestions! We do have steps
so I will try those first. Thank you so much force
your thoughts.

[gjordan]

Being 3 months away from 70 , I am also interested in making life easier. Having had an on and off again bad back for all of my adult life, my first priority is easy to handle ground tackle. All chain and an electric windlass. I am thinking about a remote for the windlass, but have not yet decided on that. The other important point is the smallest, lightest 2 stroke outboard that I can find. I would much rather putter through the anchorage than lift a 10 or 15 HP 4 stroke outboard onto the boat. I dont really want to have a crane on the aft deck, so weight matters. My present bucket list boat is 10 foot shorter than my last boat and about 1/3 the displacement. Selftailers are being budgeted for and everything will be lighter and easier to handle, and yes the motion will be more, but all things are a trade off. As far as exercise or gyms go, I started Yoga about 4 years ago and while I still have an occasional problem with my back, it is less severe and heals quicker since starting Yoga. The stretching and toning helps as we get older and less flexible. Yoga can be adapted to the confine of a boat and I plan on that. Just keep moving. ____Grant.

[gjordan]

Mommasail, one of my early cruising friends had double steps up his mast. Before I met him I thought it was odd or even silly, but when we met, it turned out he had a hydraulic and fiberglass leg. He referred to it as his TIN LEG. He didnt let that stop him, he just adapted. The last I heard of him, he was still out there cruising. He would be about 75 by now. Double steps are more windage, but if thats what helps then go for it. ____Grant.

[michaelratinter]

Sailor1924,

I am 70.5 yo. My list inludes all of yours plus an electric motor driven furler for the genoa. Also, I LOVE my pilot house.

Now to convert the aft fishing cockpit to a Jaccuzi. Hot tub, not jet drive...

[michaelratinter]

... fishing cockpit bait tank ...

Short term memory lapse ...

[Mommasails]

Decided to tackle the steps one at a time until
I am comfortable at each height.

[Yellowtulip]

Originally Posted by sailor1924

I bought a 12v 2500# atv winch from harbor freight, that has a 50' wire length, and a remote control fob. I replaced the remote with one I found on ebay that has a greater range, sorry I don't remember the brand.

In use: I run the wire out and haul the bitter end up to the top of the mainmast with a halyard, I tie a bosun's chair to the low end of the halyard and a second halyard as a safety line and haul myself up with the winch remote. I lower reversing the winch with the remote.

2500 lb. ATV/Utility Electric Winch with Wireless Remote Control



Use at your own risk.

Do you have the winch permanently installed on deck, or do you have some other arrangement.

[sailor1924]

Originally Posted by Mommasails

Decided to tackle the steps one at a time until
I am comfortable at each height.

I'd like to point out that you can "wear" (and as a novice probably should use) a bosun's chair or harness as you use steps to climb a mast. You can also practice sitting into a bosun's chair and taking your body weight onto a halyard at deck level first with out risk to life or limb and proove to yourself that you're safe before you have any elevation. Mast climbing is a skill that takes a little practice to become comfortable in doing.

[keith4001r]

I'm staring at 60, therefore I am subscribed!

[Madwand]

Originally Posted by rickdamico

I don't want to sound disrespectful, but the first thing that came to mind when I read this string is: has anyone considered exercise? Come on now, being in the 70's is the new 40's. Take care of your body and you wont need to go crazy with senior citizen modifications.

I guess everyone's not blessed with your superior DNA. At almost 52 I've got arthritis in the hips, ankle, backbone, torn the lower bicep tendon on both arms, Dupuytren’s contracture in both hands, bursitis in both shoulders, failing vision, and no telling what else I can't think of now (bad memory). None of which is helped by exercise.

For lifting my 50 pound 6 hp Suzuki up from the dinghy, I lashed a ring to the end of the boom and added 2 double pulleys with a cam cleat at the bottom, that works great. Getting the engine on and off the rail, through the bimini, ain't easy though and there's no solution for that.

Saturday, I need to go up the mast, if I can find someone to crank me, because my ATN mast climber is murder, to install another pulley on a tang for hoisting the 70 pound dinghy onto the deck. I'll put a cleat at the foot of the mast to tie off. Thinking of making a 4:1 rig to pull myself up, but that's a ton of line to buy...

My 74 year old surveyor in Mobile, Al flew up the mast with his, while I was helping my 70 year old father on the boat. My father's always been a mule so that was disheartening for me.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

I have to admit that I haven't read the entire thread but has anyone mentioned exercise?

This was my very first winter where I couldn't sail. Sailing every week WAS my exercise! Having moved from SF to Vancouver Island last summer, we experienced the worst winter in decades, and our boat saw snow for the first time. I broke my leg skiing in 2009, so that was no remedy either. I'm 71.

I am seriously going to have to consider what to do for exercise next winter.

I now, however, have all summer to think about it! And to get back in shape.

I'm told (psst, psst) that some people actually escape winter by heading south. Having spent six weeks getting our boat up here, it doesn't seem like I'll be doing it on our own bottom. There's always the automobile.

First cruise of the season starts tomorrow.