adapting to getting older

[westhinder]

I am 71. I see myself as a reasonably fit 71, not overweight, gym twice a week, dont smoke , maybe drink a bit too much. And I am beginning to wonder if my boat isnt too much for me despite Knox Johnson circumnavigating in a 60?? footer at a similar age.

My boat is a Starlight 35, a medium displacement masthead rigged Bowman built sloop. Yesterday I sailed her single handed across the Bristol channel and back. Beam reaching in 20kn of wind I found it hard going winching the genoa in despite Lewmar 44s, decent winch handles and the genoa being reefed to no 1. The boat was over pressed a bit, but I didnt fancy my chances of reefing the main which is not led aft - my balance isnt that good as a visit to my wife's yoga class showed. Clambering around the decks to anchor for lunch wasnt that easy and neither was picking up the pontoons in the locks. No longer do I move about like a mountain goat!

All in all, it was hard work and not the fun it used to be when I started 30 years ago. Nothing specific that I simply cannot do, just lots of things that arent that easy any longer. Sure the boat was pressed doing hull speed plus a bit but you cannot always predict and sail in easy conditions. Indeed yesterday showed that . 20kn from the north when the forecast was 4kn from the south.

I am sure that I am not alone so I wondered what other people have done to address these sorts of issues. Maybe some will have mechanised - electric winches for example. Others will have sold up. Some will have downsized. Maybe a few will simply have worked harder at the gym, my least favoured option.

So if you too are an old phrrt, what have you done in response to age to make sailing fun again. And to fend off the transition to cruising by campervan :ambivalence:

Birdseye, I obviously can't judge what you feel confident with, but is it not possible to rig the reefing system so that it all comes back to the cockpit? In my 39 the halyard and separate reefing lines for luff and leech for all three reefs are brought back to the cockpit. As far as I can see the only addition is a small ring on the mast to guide the third reef luff line. Not having to leave the cockpit means you will take in or shake out a reef as is needed, and will seriously add to the quality of life aboard

 

[Poignard]

I don't intend to adapt. The hardest work for me is getting the 35lb CQR over the rail and the riskiest is standing on the coachroof furling the mainsail and, at present, I have no problem coping with those jobs. When I get to the stage where I ought to start adapting things to compensate for physical weakness or loss of nerve, I will take that as a signal that it's time to give up sailing and do something else. There's plenty of other interesting and exciting things to do besides sailing - horse riding, gliding, long-distance walking, speed-dating etc.

 

[Birdseye]

I don't intend to adapt. The hardest work for me is getting the 35lb CQR over the rail

There I can offer a bit of advice. Faced with the same issue of getting the Manson out of the anchor locker and through the pullpit rails, I changed to a Fortress. Brilliant. Holds just as well and I can handle it with just one hand.

If I had not been able to afford a new boat, I would probably have bought an older boat of a similar type such as a Hanse with a self tacking jib, and dealt with the inevitable increased maintenance of an older boat.

With hindsight selling the Finngulf was the big mistake, we will never be able to match her and many of the issues would have been solved by wintering her in a commercial yard where they would step the mast and set up the rig. It was not that we could not afford this but my perception that no one would set her up as well as I did. Even if we were motoring too much, where was the harm in that?
.

You both raise the maintenance issue which is something I should have mentioned but didnt. I am finding maintenance much more of a problem too. I have always done my own, even down to engine changes and re-rigging. Now I find I am much less enthusiastic but like Quandary ( I believe he is Scots, I'm Yorkshire so the attitude is the same) I find it very difficult to think of paying for a yard to do work. As Tranona points out the choice is becoming either use the yard or buy new. The danger is drifting into still doing the work myself but not doing the maintenance as quickly as needed

Well you did ask, in another thread:

"What is the point, for example, in owning a Tradewind for just pootling across the channel? Very slowly. "

Now you have your answer.

No I dont. Speed matters. I like speed. I ride a motorbike. I own a sports car. I might be old but I havent grown up yet!

 

[ashtead]

Plus 1 for self tacking jib - our first boat now with one though longer makes helming single handed a pleasure and less need to use autohelm. Couple it with a larger separate headsail means speed can be maintained even in lighter winds Have a German mainsheet system led back to winches to tend the main with stack pack and reefing lines led back.

 

[ditchcrawler]

I am your age and have a smaller boat, a Moody31, however I have a dodgy back the result of an operation some years ago which only partially fixed the problem.
I have tried to make my boat as easy to sail as possible with the following,

Converted to a smaller genoa(130%), a triradial laminate which makes tacking easier.If I have another sail I shall probably have a 110%.
Upgraded size of winches.
Upgraded blocks to roller bearings where possible.
Converted to wheel steering with throttle, autopilot and plotter all at the wheel.
Stack pack with roller cars on full battened main, it falls down beautifully.
All ropes to cockpit , twin line reefing.
Electric anchor winch with self launching Rocna, but I do have to take the chain hook off before anchoring.
The best thing is the Winchrite battery powered winch handle. My friends scoffed at this at first, now several have bought one.

I appreciate your boat is bigger and you probably have many of these items already.

 

[TQA]

69 and holding with a 44 ft cutter. An electric windlass is essential as I anchor out all the time. Slab reefing on the main with a fully battened main lazy jacks and a stack pack works OK I do have to go to the mast to reef.

I am more inclined to gear down a little and be conservative with the amount of sail I set being happy to jog along at 6 knots with a reefed main and staysail than to keep the pedal to the metal all the time and bury the rail. Also I like to do my own maintenance where ever possible but on the annual bottom job I will pay someone to scrape the barnacle feet off. Getting down to those on the turn of the bilge and keel just kills my back.

One thing I would like to find is a longer winch handle, 12 inches would be good and I can swing a 15 inch one. I have been unsuccessful so far. I think I will have to get my local welding genius to extend an ali or stainless one. I would only use it to get the last foot of genoa sheet in or when lifthing the dink on to the foredeck.

If this ever becomes a big issue I suppose I would fit electric winches rather than use a winchrite.

 

[ex-Gladys]

This was my expectation when I got a stack pack but unfortunately the sail only comes about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way down under its own weight so I still have to go up on the cabin roof to pull the last part down. This in spite of copious Mclube annd changing to a smaller diameter rope for the halyard.

You need.... A retrieval line, a piece of light line (mine's about 4mm) which is tied to the headboard slide, and interweaves between the sail /batten slides all the way down. Turning block on deck, back through organiser to a small light cleat. Always remember to unjam it when hoisting or shaking out a reef, and always take the slack out of it and jam it when main is up or down to avoid loops going round radar reflectors etc....

I don't know why more people don't know about this simple add on to lines led back to the cock pit. On retrieving the main, unjam halyard and retrieval line, control the halyard drop and pull on the retrieval line... Simples...

 

[maby]

A combination of in-mast furling, all lines brought back to the cockpit and plenty of electric winches should make t possible to keep going for a fair bit longer. How feasible it is to retrofit that to your current boat is a different question!

When we were shopping for an upgrade, we were shown a fully stuffed Bavaria that had bi-directional electric winches everywhere and a control panel at the helm for them all. It was possible to make virtually all sail trim adjustments by pressing buttons without leaving the helm. I particularly liked the "tack" button - if it was on autopilot, it would flip over to the other tack, switching the genoa over without you touching any ropes or winches!

 

[maby]

and, by the way, don't forget the stair lift up the companionway!

 

[bikedaft]

i met a delightful 85 year old couple - he couldn't see well, so she did the chart work, and he did the manual stuff.

they were sailing all over the west coast of scotland.

most heartening.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

i met a delightful 85 year old couple - he couldn't see well, so she did the chart work, and he did the manual stuff.

they were sailing all over the west coast of scotland.

most heartening.

Vancouver 34 pilot? if yes they are indeed a delightful couple with many sea miles to their credit.

 

[bikedaft]

it was in tayvallich about 3-4 years ago. can't remember the boat but that would probably be about right. mebbe high side of 35 feet, but i really can't remember

 

[Fr J Hackett]

it was in tayvallich about 3-4 years ago. can't remember the boat but that would probably be about right. mebbe high side of 35 feet, but i really can't remember

Pretty sure it would have been them.

 

[Birdseye]

One thing I would like to find is a longer winch handle, 12 inches would be good and I can swing a 15 inch one. I have been unsuccessful so far. I think I will have to get my local welding genius to extend an ali or stainless one. I would only use it to get the last foot of genoa sheet in or when lifthing the dink on to the foredeck.

If this ever becomes a big issue I suppose I would fit electric winches rather than use a winchrite.

I use a couple of the Lewmar One touch 10 inch winch handles and the ability to use both hands easily really makes a big difference. Must admit I thought they were 12 inch not 10.

 

[pvb]

Must admit I thought they were 12 inch not 10.

Guys often have that problem.

 

[pvb]

And now a more serious answer. I'm well in to my sixties, and a few years ago was getting increasingly frustrated by my boat, a lovely HR352. As it was 24 years old, it needed more and more maintenance and repairs, and I was finding it heavier and heavier to use. I decided to sell it, and bought a new AWB. Similar size (bit bigger actually), but it's a revelation. Everything seems much easier to use - a combination of being new, better technology, better design, smaller jib, better electronics. It has more headroom inside, a better heads/shower, and is much lighter and more spacious. It shouldn't need much serious maintenance for some time. I happily single-hand it most of the time. I appreciate this isn't a solution for everyone, but it works.

 

[PetiteFleur]

I'm also your age, with a Moody33, the genoa winches are oversized for the size but very easy to use albeit a bit slow, I do tend to use the engine a lot nowadays. Mainsail reefing at the mast which I prefer and I tend to reef early or before leaving my mooring. When I got the boat 11 yrs ago I intended to convert reefing lines led aft but didn't want all the lines in the cockpit, so left it as it was. Have improved reefing at the mast to make it easier(using a mast winch with a diverter block and shock cord to hold the cringle on the hook) and if windy I always clip on. Also use autopilot a lot more and am seriously considering an electric anchor winch as my winter project ...
I've also found recently I get offers of help when pulling the dinghy up the shingle when I return from sailing ...
And SWMBO says we should downsize but not quite ready yet ...

 

[rudolph_hart]

I'm 69 &-a-half, & for the last 12 years, cruised a Dehler 35, which is lighter, & has similar performance to, your Starlight 35 but has the following 'effort saving' differences, some of which might be possible to fit your boat.

1. Electric Harken 44 winches, mounted aft, either side of the wheel.
2. ALL sail control lines, halyards, sheets, reefs, furl lines etc (except kicker, jib & spin halyards) led aft to quad clutches just forward of these winches
3. German mainsheet system (dumping the main in gusts is a doddle, so you reef later)
4. Single line reefs 1& 2 (longer 'string' to wind in, but you stay seated behind the wheel)
5. 100% jib with sheet tracks inboard on top of coachroof. Behaves almost like a self-tacker - very short length of sheet to pull in (again seated at the wheel)
6. Full-battened Mainsail, with roller cars, lazyjacks & zip-up lazybag. (main drops & self stows inside lazyjacks, so you can zip it up later)
7. Self launching/stowing anchor, electric windlass with wireless remote control.

Recently, SWMBO & I have several discussions about the 'what boat for 70+' issue. With various pensions 'popping' we have discussed going LARGER for 'bigger kitchens, bedrooms & en suites' but we found only 2 boats that had most of the above features (& also shoal draft - our D35 has 1.5m wing keel). Even so they left us cold in other areas.

Jeanneau 385: not all lines led aft, electric winches not easy to have fitted, also huge '*rse, so if you fell while she was heeled, it's along way down....
Hanse 385: brilliant Carl Dehler-designed sail handling systems, but a bit IKEA interior & a huge '*rse.

So, we've done nothing for now, just upgraded existing (TBS non-skid panels, replaced teak with Dek-King (well worth doing) 'new gen' anchor etc.

 

[BrianH]

I am ten years your senior birdseye and at your age changed to a motor-sailor ... being the only one HR ever made, more sailor than motor. Not the solution for a purist, I agree, but it keeps me happily cruising the northern Adriatic, usually single-handed.

As we get some very sudden and vicious katabatic storms in the area, swift and effective reefing was important and I retro-fitted in-boom mainsail reefing with halyard and reefing lines led back to the cockpit. After a lot of tweaking and tuning it now works well and my original (probably erroneous) fear of a jamming in-mast system in a rising gale is obviated.

I am lucky that I seem to have no obvious physical deterioration and manage my relatively small, 31', 7 ton, craft easily. one concession I now make to my age is to no longer make long overnight passages alone but to plan my cruises to anchor overnight, easy in my area and especially so when in Croatia. This is because I do feel easily tired after a day's sail.

Minor maintenance I can manage but annual anti-fouling and anything major is delegated to the local yard. Last winter I had a new Nanni N4.38 fitted and have no compunction in using it, especially sailing where the typical Mediterranean 'too little or too much' wind conditions occur.

I have no plans of giving up yet but the major factor against that is increasing pressure from an over-worried distaff side who thinks only in numbers and keeps reminding me about my age ... one needs a little deafness at those times, even if not yet an actual affliction.

 

[JimC]

You need.... A retrieval line, a piece of light line (mine's about 4mm) which is tied to the headboard slide, and interweaves between the sail /batten slides all the way down. Turning block on deck, back through organiser to a small light cleat. Always remember to unjam it when hoisting or shaking out a reef, and always take the slack out of it and jam it when main is up or down to avoid loops going round radar reflectors etc....

I don't know why more people don't know about this simple add on to lines led back to the cock pit. On retrieving the main, unjam halyard and retrieval line, control the halyard drop and pull on the retrieval line... Simples...

That sounds like a very good idea, I'll give it a try, thanks.