How old is too old for motorboating?

[nonitoo]

Age is only a number or goodness sake.

Provided you can, and can afford it, then do it - there's plenty of time to rest when they nail down the lid.

Whatever you do, don't put things off - my parents put everything off "until Dad retires" - my mother had a stroke and died within a year of retirement leaving my father to stare at the wall for the last 25 years of his life.

We learned from this and took the family all over the world when we could afford it (and sometimes when we couldn't). Now they are grown up, successful in their careers, and we have all these happy memories.

OK, we have a boat that suits us and a bank balance substantially less than if we had squirrelled it all away but I wouldn't change one bit of it.

Don't just think about it - do it !!

Tom
(sorry about the rant!!)

 

[Duster]

Don't just think about it - do it !!

Tom
(sorry about the rant!!)

That's no rant, it's the best advice the OP will get in a long while.
mikej

 

[drew silverwitch]

Cannot remember where I saw it but
We all have a finite allocation of time on this earth, but time spent boating or fishing does not count.
Allways felt that is the best view

 

[AndieMac]

Some very wise words spoken here gentlemen.

 

[AndieMac]

Oi, speak for yourself! I was 40 yo when I ...gravitated to displacement boats, for reasons that had nothing to see with age.
Now, after a decade, I just bought a 60kts speedboat for lake runs.
I even made the brand new signature below for the occasion!
Oh, and fwiw, I'm planning to use both for another 50 years or so...

Do we get some info on the new speedboat; size, engine etc...

Sounds like fun though

 

[MapisM]

Do we get some info on the new speedboat; size, engine etc...

Yup. Just to avoid double posting, you can have a look at this thread.

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

Surely if Vera Lynn can reach number 1 in the charts aged 92, then there is real hope for elderly boaters yet!

We plan to sail until its too much, adopting electric winches along the way... and when that is too much, buy a little displacement cruiser, and go visit every last inch of the european canal system.... and hopefully die quietly, aged 107, sitting on the deck in the sun in the middle of France somewhere...

Enjoy it while you can... its the only sensible option

 

[nonitoo]

and hopefully die quietly, aged 107, sitting on the deck in the sun in the middle of France somewhere...

.....while wearing purple I hope !

Tom

 

[Mrs Seagoon]

And a red hat. Mustn't forget the red hat.

 

[hlb]

When I am an old man I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on whiskey and motor boats
And diesel, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other peoples' gardens
And learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickles for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.
I’ll have sex twice a week, but not on Tuesdays or Thursdays.
And pay our marina fees and not swear at the manager
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to the boat and read the almanac.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

 

[Coastgal]

Personally, I can't wait till I'm too old...to handle the fenders & lines. Dear old hubby will have to take over my fendergirl role, and I shall be forced to helm! And it would end those tedious arguments over whose turn it was to skipper this weekend, so more time for drinking ;-)

 

[Yorfedog]

Hi

One of my guys has just retired he was a lathe operator/setter

I cant remember when he didnt work for me

He has just sold his house and is buying a bed and breakfast in Norfolk to run with his wife

HERE IS THE PUNCH LINE HE IS 82

Never to old


BUT NEVER WEAR BEIGE::

 

[davedpc]

My SWMBO has been badgering me to take more time off work to go boating, her argument being that by the time I do feel it's right to take more time off, I might be too old to go boating. That got me thinking. How old is too old to go boating? Is it a physical thing as in handling lines and fenders becomes too much once you pass a certain age or when your eyesight goes, it becomes positively dangerous to be zooming around in 20t of grp? Is it a mental thing in that, once you reach a certain age, you just can't be bothered with all the hassle and the delights of crown green bowling and watching Antiques Roadshow on TV become more alluring? Is it a money thing in that, once you retire and you're on a fixed income, you simply can't afford to go boating anymore?
And what kind of boats are more suitable for older people? Do old people naturally gravitate to displacement boats or are there octagenarian grandads still zooming about in 50knot RIBS?

I have the opposite problem. I love boating and could afford to go up a couple of sizes but SWIMBO refuses to come with me anymore,. She likes trips off in our motorhome which i also find enjoyable but recons she is now weary of the mooring and fenders etc. Most of my trips are solo or with my mates most of which is in the evenings. I am therefore lothe to give up 'my shed by the sea' and will carry on boating well into retirement [whatever that means].