adapting to getting older

Tranona said:
No contradiction at all. I try to make purchases as a result of a rational analysis of what I expect to get out of the purchase.

So, the Morgan is a toy for limited use. A substitute if you like for a vintage roadster that I can neither now afford to buy, nor want the upkeep. Low maintenance, totally reliable, and last week when I picked it from the dealer after its annual service was offered more for it than I paid new in 2003.

The Bavaria is the answer to a requirement to own a decent size cruising boat that is easy to sail single handed and requires minimum maintenance for the 5-10 years that I hopefully still have left to sail. so far going exactly as planned. nothing has gone wrong with it and maintenance has been one lift for a wash costing £60.

So, as I said earlier, no contradictions, just horse for courses.
Click to expand...

Nonsense. There's nothing rational about a car with a steel ladder frame, sliding pillar front suspension, drum brakes ( for heavens sake) and a solid read axle made even worse by an underslung chassis limiting suspension movement and car springs. Plus they leak, theres no boot, the steering wheels is 6 inches away from your chest, no left foot rest and a price thats damn near twice that of a competent car like the MX5. Rational? :highly_amused:

And then to quote " You clearly do not read all the praise that some on here heap on their boats! - often justifying their decision to buy old fashioned designs - and even claim that they are by definition "superior". "
 
petehb said:
Best description of driving a Morgan I heard was "it's like a 3 legged pig on ice";)
Click to expand...

That applied to the 3 wheelers, which were my first car aged 16. Foot brake worked the front, the handbrake the single back wheel. If needing to stop in a hurry, it was a fine balance between foot and hand or, if the road was damp, it could end in a spin - great fun:)
 
GrahamM376 said:
That applied to the 3 wheelers, which were my first car aged 16. Foot brake worked the front, the handbrake the single back wheel. If needing to stop in a hurry, it was a fine balance between foot and hand or, if the road was damp, it could end in a spin - great fun:)
Click to expand...

I used to drive my late uncles with the twin JAPs as you say great fun but of a different era.
 
I've had the dubious pleasure of riding in the 3 wheeler JAP engine model, the 4/4 and the plus 8.
The 3 wheeler was terrific fun and a huge sense of speed and vulnerability, along with an oily face from the open tappets of the early engine.
The 4/4 was not only very uncomfortable on the road but handled dreadfully with poor performance.
The plus 8..... again poor handling and comfort, with the basic Rover V8 struggling to give performance due to the cars weight.

At the time I had just completed my Nelson S350 kit car and at a fraction of the cost!
http://www.nelsons350.co.uk/

Also see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbJKa6JHFts
I sold mine to this German guy who modified it a little!

S.
 
Last edited:
Scotty_Tradewind said:
I've had the dubious pleasure of riding in the 3 wheeler JAP engine model, the 4/4 and the plus 8.
The 3 wheeler was terrific fun and a huge sense of speed and vulnerability, along with an oily face from the open tappets of the early engine.
The 4/4 was not only very uncomfortable on the road but handled dreadfully with poor performance.
The plus 8..... again poor handling and comfort, with the basic Rover V8 struggling to give performance due to the cars weight.

At the time I had just completed my Nelson 350S https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbJKa6JHFts with a standard Rover SDiV8.
It was all round a superior car and at a fraction of the cost!
Click to expand...

I remember the days well leather flying helmet and split glass goggles bought from the Army & Navy surplus store, rattly chain drive and yes the dirty face;) made you feel like a spitfire pilot.

The others definitely warrant the previous 3 legged skating porcine tag. I have driven a 4/4 and definitely didn't enjoy it.
 
I'm a good decade older and still sailing the single-hander I bought in 1990.

Yes balance is less good - no foredeck work when beating in more that Bf3 and gardeners' knee pads are a boon.

My biggest problem is arthritis, reduced shoulder movement, so I have a boom hanger allowing me to go into the wind, hook the boom onto the gallows and then drop the main. No more cut foreheads from an untamed boom in a turbulent sea.
Few boats nowadays come without genoa roller reefing, but it's worth fitting a snubbing winch on the quarter to help you get that rolled down.
I've replaced the 12mm braid on braid, running over multiple plain bearing blocks with 8mm UHDPE line running over Harken Carbo Aero-blocks, lightweight, ultra free-running blocks with lashings instead of shackles.
I've invested in a lithium battery operated WinchRite, no good for hardening up genoa sheets or flattening the main, but gets rid of all that tedious, extended winding needed for lifting main or bringing up the anchor (my boat has an SL Anchorman windlass) and with dinghy on foredeck there's not enough room to swing the handle on low gear.
I'd suggest downsizing is not a viable option, small boats are little easier, physically to sail and far more exhausting in broken seas.
Finally you have to take it more easily. I did a 63nm beat yesterday in Bf 4-5, today I've HAD to have a rest day. Incidentally a Med sea in a 4/5 is nothing like as calm and gentle as the same wind in the Western Approaches - but it is a lot warmer, no need for foul-weather gear, I just wore bathers and had a shower after I'd arrived.

I have empathy but little sympathy for those who whinge about age forcing them to give up sailing - all you need is a different, more subtle approach.
 
Scotty_Tradewind said:
I've had the dubious pleasure of riding in the 3 wheeler JAP engine model, the 4/4 and the plus 8.
The 3 wheeler was terrific fun and a huge sense of speed and vulnerability, along with an oily face from the open tappets of the early engine.
The 4/4 was not only very uncomfortable on the road but handled dreadfully with poor performance.
The plus 8..... again poor handling and comfort, with the basic Rover V8 struggling to give performance due to the cars weight.

At the time I had just completed my Nelson S350 kit car and at a fraction of the cost!
http://www.nelsons350.co.uk/

Also see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbJKa6JHFts
I sold mine to this German guy who modified it a little!

S.
Click to expand...

Now the JAP engine on the Moggie was noisy, dirty and gave the impression of great speed, but the Blackburn engined one really did fly.
As Charles will readily admit, they produce an old-fashioned car in small numbers for people who want to indulge their sense of nostalgia.
If you want the performance that the early Morgan 3-wheelers showed to advantage over their cyclecar competitors you need to look at kit cars - the Caterham is just an updated Lotus 7, though my heart yearns for an update of the Lotus 10, the most wonderful car I ever drove though, like the Shelby Cobras you used to get very warm feet.
Let people enjoy their "coffee-table" cars!!!
 
Last edited:
charles_reed said:
Now the JAP engine on the Moggie was noisy, dirty and gave the impression of great speed, but the Blackburn engined one really did fly...... the Caterham is just an updated Lotus 7,
Click to expand...

Don't remember a Blackburn engine, mine had a Matchless MX2 https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=m...ei=bpbrV9nQDYe0UM3lkrgH#imgrc=RSsq_wVy6A6DqM:

As for the Lotus, I had a Cosworth Super 7 in 1965/6, could leave e types standing up to around 70 mph and of course on road holding but uncomfortable on long journeys and no room for certain parked activities:) Had a job selling it as the insurance was £75 third party, a lot of money then. Being on a motor traders policy had advantages.
 
charles_reed said:
I'm a good decade older and still sailing the single-hander I bought in 1990.

Yes balance is less good - no foredeck work when beating in more that Bf3 and gardeners' knee pads are a boon.

My biggest problem is arthritis, reduced shoulder movement, so I have a boom hanger allowing me to go into the wind, hook the boom onto the gallows and then drop the main. No more cut foreheads from an untamed boom in a turbulent sea.
Few boats nowadays come without genoa roller reefing, but it's worth fitting a snubbing winch on the quarter to help you get that rolled down.
I've replaced the 12mm braid on braid, running over multiple plain bearing blocks with 8mm UHDPE line running over Harken Carbo Aero-blocks, lightweight, ultra free-running blocks with lashings instead of shackles.
I've invested in a lithium battery operated WinchRite, no good for hardening up genoa sheets or flattening the main, but gets rid of all that tedious, extended winding needed for lifting main or bringing up the anchor (my boat has an SL Anchorman windlass) and with dinghy on foredeck there's not enough room to swing the handle on low gear.
I'd suggest downsizing is not a viable option, small boats are little easier, physically to sail and far more exhausting in broken seas.
Finally you have to take it more easily. I did a 63nm beat yesterday in Bf 4-5, today I've HAD to have a rest day. Incidentally a Med sea in a 4/5 is nothing like as calm and gentle as the same wind in the Western Approaches - but it is a lot warmer, no need for foul-weather gear, I just wore bathers and had a shower after I'd arrived.

I have empathy but little sympathy for those who whinge about age forcing them to give up sailing - all you need is a different, more subtle approach.
Click to expand...

I have somewhere a photo of my father singlehanding his small gaff cutter, with jackyard topsail set perfectly. The boat was kept on a swinging mooring at Walton and he didn't use an outboard on the tender. He was then 85, and had started sailing in 1919 when he was 16. He died in his sleep the following year. If I can manage that, I shall be quite pleased.

And a question- has anyone thought of modifying an IOR type masthead sloop to a cutter; the running backstays could go to Highfield levers and tacking would be much less trouble...
 
Last edited:
charles_reed said:
Now the JAP engine on the Moggie was noisy, dirty and gave the impression of great speed, but the Blackburn engined one really did fly.
As Charles will readily admit, they produce an old-fashioned car in small numbers for people who want to indulge their sense of nostalgia.
If you want the performance that the early Morgan 3-wheelers showed to advantage over their cyclecar competitors you need to look at kit cars - the Caterham is just an updated Lotus 7, though my heart yearns for an update of the Lotus 10, the most wonderful car I ever drove though, like the Shelby Cobras you used to get very warm feet.
Let people enjoy their "coffee-table" cars!!!
Click to expand...

Very few Blackburn engined morgans were supplied by the Malvern works, but plenty were re-engined later-the side valves being superceded by a lusty OHV supplied by the aircraft firm Blackburn and Burney.

I realality the Blackburn was little different to the JAP, both having crude lubrication systems and exposed valve gear.

The most civilised ones were the mid to late '30's ones with the later JAP engines, with some enclosure of the valve gear but the best-if not the fastest were, as another poster said, fitted with the Matchless engine.

A little known fact is that, in an effort to sell their proprietry clutches Mr Borg and Mr Beck asked Morgan for the dimensions of their leather faced cone clutch and an example of the gearbox input shaft so they could supply some for evaluation and testing.

To their amazement the input shaft had a 1 inch square that the driven plate slid on............................................The same as on Mr Morgans first car in 1910!

Morgan's old fashioned-whatever gave you that idea.
 
Interestingly Morgan are once again making 3 wheelers, this time using an American V twin engine from S&S. Its been a commercial success to my great surprise - I cant comprehend why anyone would pay over £30k for one today. They only ever were made for people with a bike licence but not a car one.
 
GrahamM376 said:
Easy, they're fun to drive (in the dry) and another toy for those who have spare cash to play with.
Click to expand...

Before the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Revival meetings the Vintage Motorcycle Club hired the Goodwood Circuit for two weekends of thrashing old motorbikes around it. I rode the 1926 TT Douglas owned by Dr Joe Bailey and prepared and tuned by the late Len Cole. It was capable of 14 second standing start quarter miles and I did over 120MPH at the end of a standing start half mile once. It was a real goer.

I also got the chance to give a Triking-a Morgan style 3 wheeler with a hot Moto Guzzi V twin in the front.

Apart from an indifferent gearchange it was a great drive, very easy to hang the back out and with its high geared steering it was a real blast.

The Triking had the advantage of modern suspension-I hope the Morgan has uprated from the vertical pillar/sliding axle which does little for ride or roadholding.

I like to think the VMCC's two weekends gave young-well he was at the time-Charles March the idea for the Festival of Speed and subsequently the Revival at Goodwood.
 
rotrax said:
The Triking had the advantage of modern suspension-I hope the Morgan has uprated from the vertical pillar/sliding axle which does little for ride or roadholding..
Click to expand...

Cant comment on the new three wheeler but they still use the sliding pillar on the 4 wheelers apart from the Aero series.
 
charles_reed said:
<< ... I have a boom hanger allowing me to go into the wind, hook the boom onto the gallows and then drop the main. No more cut foreheads from an untamed boom in a turbulent sea. >>
.
Click to expand...
Could you describe this arrangement, please? Or post a photo?

I want to fit a boom gallows to my boat but I don't know what you mean by a 'boom hanger'.

Thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

S
Sailing to the USA. Do I need a special visa?
2 3
Replies
50
Views
2K
Roberto
Roberto
Roberto
Herbal teas at night
2
Replies
21
Views
841
Roberto
Roberto
B
Getting grease to rudder pivots
Replies
9
Views
354
2Tizwoz
2Tizwoz

Share this page

Top