This came up in the Ford Model 'A' club this I belong to.
It's a concern that the medium age of the club members and car owners is really creeping up there. Up high enough that members are are starting wonder what to do with the 1928 to 1931 Ford Model 'A'?
Typically the kids don't want it, it's not that collectible, museums are a great source for a buyer to find one in. Ect.
So I'm reading how all your kids are grown up and moved away, and a few of us can't bend over anymore, and are a bit on the short but rotunda's side. This all makes for sailing the smaller Com-Pac a bit dicey and it appears that there is enough ballast to go around.
I'll start. It's "welcome to the 60'ies generation. YOURS!" On this St Patty's day. I have no kids. When I get rid of the boat, well it'll be gone. Probably in a garage sale.
skip. Nothing worked on 'cause it all works. Well most all. Still walking to Target from my house and back six miles round trip.
Well, Skip,
You and I were both born in 1951, but mine's in November. Dang hard to believe. I have a harder time getting into and out of my '67 AH Sprite, but still manage to scramble around my 19 pretty well. Left knee hates me, right knee is ambivalent. My lower back screams 'Torque You!' a lot, but I've lost 10 Lbs since Jan 1 so I don't hear it as often. My water skiing is now down to "I can still get up" - libido says the same. (Don't hear that as often anymore either).
In 3 years I'll start collecting SS if it's still around, the Admiral in 4. The house will be paid for in 5. I'll probably keep working to maintain the gray matter, just not enough to tax it. (pun intended)
With the price of Gas, we'll probably keep sailing, but I'll get rid of the runabout & Jet skis, keep the pontoon & Sunfish, & waste away at Timothy's Cove Lighthouse. Might 'still' try my hand at making whiskey.
I guess I'm going to be busy. Will probably spend a lot of the winter in St. Augustine, FL so my daughter & grandkids can get used to supporting me.
TG
64 and lately most days I feel it, particularly in the winter. I consider myself lucky, the Admiral and I still mostly have our health and don't have any debt. Run to stay in shape, trained for and ran the San Antonio Marathon last November specifically to qualify for Boston, however, have had many problems since then with my back, think training for that distance may be too much strain, too many miles. Still agile enough to single hand my boat with the help of the tiller pilot, but wonder if those days are numbered. Maybe the next step is a smaller cat boat, no jib, as Forrest Gump says "you know, one less thing...."
Mind still clear, memory still good, Spring is on the way.
brackish,
Regarding "...next step is a smaller cat boat, no jib, as...". If it's a Com-Pac Sun Cat you might have to consider retaining your jib trimming skills. The Sun Cat is quite noticeably underpowered in light air so I made a small Rip Stop Nylon Drifter of approximately 38 square feet which I set "flying". It transforms the otherwise sluggish boat into a light air rocket, relatively speaking. The photo below says it all! By the way, I'm 66 and sail solo most of the time.
(http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l594/CPYOA/com-pac%20sun%20cat%20pics/jib-5.jpg)
Jib lookks good, I am 58, but when the wind dies and I get tired, or the first mate wants to get to an anchorage, or my 3-4 hours a day sailing limit (First mate Limit) is reached I drop the 5HP and get going a 5.5 knots.
capt_nemo said:
<snip>...I made a small Rip Stop Nylon Drifter of approximately 38 square feet which I set "flying". ...<snip>
Why the very idea....if I move in the direction of a Sun Cat I'm going to lobby Tom Ray to appoint me to the Sun Cat Nationals rules committee and we will nip that blasphemy in the bud. I've already talked to the Admiral about the possibility of becoming the chief jib trimmer if we get a Sun Cat and she asked what she would have to do. I told her the job description consisted of: Look pretty, engage in pleasant conversation with the helmsman, and occasionally fetch a snack or cold beverage. She was fine with that, I can't complicate the matter with an actual jib to trim.:) :) :)
Boy, y'all are making me feel old! So far at 67, I'm the oldest to report in. I picked up a good used SunCat last Wk. end. I single hand 75% of the time. Recently, I sold my Telstar 28 Tri and my Seapearl 21 Tri. My plan is to get down to more sailing and less rigging. Can't wait to get the SunCat on the water. Should launch the new boat this week, times a-wastin'!
Terry
60 and some more. It's all I can say without crying. Oh, there I go again!
fair winds
63. Skip you may be right - I'm starting to see a pattern.
BobK
brackish,
For Tom Ray's latest thoughts on racing modified Sun Cats, go to the Sun Cat Forum and review the post "hitchhiker Sun Cat Jib Sailing".
And, just wait 'til you see photos of my "Frisky" all decked out in her Light Air MAINSAIL splendor! (Work in process.)
Well let me break that trend Bob, I'm 30. I started sailing about 5 years ago, sold my Mastercraft skiboat and haven't looked back since. Funny that I am looking forward to the day I can afford a bigger boat, but I figure by the time I have enough money, I'll be like all you old fogies and to stiff to run around on my 50 footer!
I guess that is why they say "youth is wasted on the young".
Got to get some more decades accounted for here .... born in '60 .. so just turned the big 5-0 last year!
springtime slowly coming to New England.
-Ray
Skip,
I'm 62 and retired, (worked 43 years) fair health but loosing strength every day as part of the aging process.
I sold all my antique cars (1930 Ford Model A Pick Up, 1967 Ford Mustang Convertible, 1938 Buick Special, straight 8) a few years ago when the gas prices got so high. My thoughts were, when I pass on, my wife would not know what the cars are worth. better for me to sell and get the most for them now.
We are dept free and my wife is still working, she has 5 years to go before retiring at 62.
I love my Eclipse but I'm struggling to keep up with her, I just don't have the strength any more. I will keep her as long as I can.
I'm amateur astronomer having designed and built my own telescope (open trust Dobsonian, 12.5 f5 telescope) which is keeping me busy with club events and "out reach programs " for the local schools. I know this will keep me going after I sell the Eclipse.
Some one once said "less is better"................I'm understanding that now!
Glenn
I'll be 58 on the 20th of April, knees and shoulders giving me some fits now and again, but working like crazy now to get ready for another season on the water. My big camp/sail/fish on Kentucky Lake is coming up 29 April to 6 May.
Just turned 60 and I currently own a Ranger Bay 20 center console, a Ranger flats skiff and just added a Com-Pac 27 to the fleet. Am still working and burning the fuse at both ends but there are days when I feel something is going on. I still mess around with older cars and have a Miata for autocrossing and an 87 Mustang GT convertible for the sound of a 5.0 V8 5 spd. I know that the difference between good health and bad is one day once you get a little older. Yes, my friends all think I am a little loose, I think I am doing what I want to... Next adventure is sailing the 27 from Annapolis to Wilmington, NC, it's new home. Just praying for enough weather days to get out of the Chesapeake... If you have any good words of advice I am all ears. Here's to all us old guys and our toys and our adventures.
Dag nab it, somma you guys are doin a lotta complainin fur bein so youthful. ??? I jus spent the fall singlehanden my new to me 23 and havin a great time. No furler and no halyards fed back either. :P
Course I bin singlehandin an H16 for about five years raisin & lowrin the mast each sail so the 23 is like the lap of luxury.
Ready? 73.5 middle of this month. ;D First myocardial infarction at 48 in a canoe race. "Retired" at 52. Glad I did. 8)
turned 51 in january. already had both knees and both shoulders worked on. hands don't work too good in the cold, and the scar tissue on the finger tips doesn't help. i do keep in shape and i raise the mast on our 19 myself by simply lifting it up.
i hope to remain in good enough shape to move about a small boat for some time.
carl
They say the first sign of aging is talking about the aches & pains. I still do all the things (except for whitewater play-boat kayaking) I used to do, I just do 'em slower & less often.
My first post must have sounded like I'm complaining - NOT SO! I enjoy every day I wake up on the sunny side of the dirt.
The Admiral and I can tack & gibe like pros. The river end of SML doesn't lend itself to broad reaches like you get in the low country of NC, SC or Florida. We are happy to run with the Asym chute up & listen to the quiet.
TG
redfishnc you made my heart sing!
You'll like this. A lot! "I built this 1954 AH for the sound." As you say.
"If you don't poop ya pants in this, you ain't alive."
skidsteer skippy~ray~lou
(http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh299/1930fordroadster/1954-Austin-Healey-100-with-Ford-289-V8-RS.jpg)
(http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh299/1930fordroadster/1954-Austin-Healey-100-with-Ford-289-V8-LF.jpg)
(http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh299/1930fordroadster/1954-Austin-Healey-100-with-Ford-289-V8-Eng.jpg)
(http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh299/1930fordroadster/1954-Austin-Healey-100-with-Ford-289-V8-B.jpg)
I reduced the hp considerably. Down to 40 on a good day with my 1930 roadster.
(http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh299/1930fordroadster/oldpictures016-1.jpg)
Ziggy, a wedding gift, was a '76 XJ-12C and was an honest 153 mph double six motorcar at 6750 rpm on the single nickle between Chicago and DeKalb. Just up to speed and back down. Once. Everything was fine.
(http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh299/1930fordroadster/Tmp1-1.jpg)
Will be 52 come June.
Aged more in the last 2 years than the previous 50.
But those were 50 kick ass years.
We just bought a new to us cruising boat and hope to get at least 5-10 years out of it before, well, we can't.
P.S. wanna buy a 27?
Skip, Nice Job on the AH 100 4X2 Cobra! Once did a mid engine 66 Corvair w/a 400 Cu In stroker. I named it Street Sleeper I broke 2 transaxle input shafts before I made one out of 17-4PH. It was truly a scary car. Sorry for the drift, fellas.
tg
Well I suppose I'm the youngster round here at 28 then! Ive been sailing for a few days shy of a year now. I had always wanted to learn and finally got around to it.
64 .................retiring in June ,, thinking of a bigger boat...Mainship 30
Rob
Will be 58 on 3/24. I try to be thankful for every day. That's why I keep my cp23...gonna take some time off this summer for some semi-extended cruising, probably solo.
I know about the loosing strength thing. In the past 15 years I've been hit on my bicycle by vehicles twice and had 2 rotator cuff surgeries. Each "fun" session was followed by extended periods of inactiviy while I healed. Each day of such inactivity, strength is lost.
Last Thankgiving I dusted off my old Concept 2 model C indoor rower and took the Holiday Challenge" 100,000 meters between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. I just barely made it but haven't stopped. I'm now at 400,000+ meters and eying up the Million Meter Club- hope to complete it by the end of October 2011.
I feel great, have more energy, and am keeping my blood pressure and cholestarol in check. I am hoping to row the Blackburn Challenge in 2012 and this summer maybe row the length of Long Beach Island (18 miles). They say if you don't use it, you'll loose it. I've lost enough and am darned intent on gettin' it back.
Bob23
http://www.blackburnchallenge.com/Blackburn.html
Skip, Love your little Healey. A few years ago I had a kit car version of a 1967 3000. It had a Chev 350 and would scare the pants off you. Sold the Healey and bought a 1949 Willy's Overland with a sweet little Buick V6. Last week I sold my last hot rod. It was a 1996 Corvette conv. Now back to the subject, am I the oldest one here? Maybe I better think about selling the SunCat!!!
Terry
i think im the youngest at 24, ive been sailing since i was 12. you all have some nice cars.
You just gotta love old guys... nothing like 'em.
58 but still kicking as they say. pains-gottem, do they stop me?--not yet. i have learned a lot in the past couple of years (mainly from the old farts that i play tennis with on tuesdays and thursdays. a couple of these guys are near 80 and can still play (and i mean PLAY). the concensus is "once you stop moving---you die". i have concluded "keep moving". the alternative doesnt interest me. with each year i am glad to have my cp16. she sails well, looks great and most importantly trailers easily and riggs effortlessly. as to the last, if it ever requires effort to rig her----then i am DONE. having been born in 52 i decided to build a time machine of sorts. my 52 ford pickup (presently in pieces in my garage). it will be finished by the summer and be pretty much stock, save 12 volt ignition and taller differential gearing. then it will be---AN OLD MAN IN AN OLD TRUCK. it wont be fast, but neither am i (never was). what better tow vehicle---a slow truck with leisurely acceleration towing a classic com-pac 16 (also hardly a speedster). the truck will however be painted CHILEPEPPER RED.
I'll be turning 69 on the 20th of this month. Will be spending it with the West Coast Trailer Sailors in Cayo Costa. Our SunCat Sanura is my lucky 13th boat in 45 years of boating. Still working part time out of fear of day time tv.
When are they going to Cayo Costa? I may be interested in makeing that trip.
Billy
I'll be 70 next October. So far so good.
Ferd Johns
I have achieved Level 53 in this game.
Weight is in Spring Tide.
Metabolism and energy level are in Ebb Tide.
Still playing basketball 3 days a week at the Y to slow the inevitable.
THE BAD: Wasted 50 years before trying out this sailing thing. I've rapidly progressed to what I'll generously call "Novice" ability. i.e. Boat leaves land - boat returns to land - I leave the dock in more or less the same condition that I found it - all the crew is still accounted for and willing to try sailing again.
THE GOOD: 29 1/2 years ago I married a lovely girl who likes nothing more than to go sailing with me.
(http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt211/greene2108/Door%20County/Carlyle%20Lake%20Rendezvous%202010/CLR2010007.jpg)
C'mon spring. There are freshly painted docks waiting to do battle with us.
Mike
I may be the senior member here, I"ll be 75 in July and just bought my CP16. I live in N.C. and have a small place on the space coast in Florida, where I keep my sail boat. This is the best sight ever, and thanks for all the help you guys have passed along to me!
Fair winds to you all...
I started sailing in 1957 the year I was born.
I started in a Dipper and will probably be sailing when I'm back into them, or at lest going along for the ride
Can't imagine a life with out water and boats
David
I don't remember, mom says I was a baby in the bassinet when our family took the schooner up to the North Channel.
Mom's uncle was the postmaster and store keep on Drummond Island. The last photograph I think shows the Corinthian Yacht Club pennant flying high.
We had that boat in Chicago, Belmont Harbor till just about when JFK was assassinated.
Hey! Years later during another visit to Drummond was where I first saw a Model 'A'. It was a Tudor. I pointed it out to my dog Bomber who was in the back seat with me.
skip.
(http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh299/1930fordroadster/schoonerNorthChannel.jpg)
(http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh299/1930fordroadster/schoonerLiferings.jpg)
(http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh299/1930fordroadster/schoonerHarbor.jpg)
(http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh299/1930fordroadster/schooner.jpg)
ALEXANDER, thanks for your post and "Karma to you". And also to Skip & ferdjohns !
I just sold my iceboat and I'm feeling a bit low. I'm 75 and by the time I got it rigged and on the ice I was too pooped to enjoy the sail. But I have my CP 16 in the garage outfited with its new CDI and ready to go when the water turns soft. As for old, you guys ain't seen nothin' yet.
Don't you know you are never supposed to ask a lady her age?
That being said.. I just turned 49 for the 6th time. You do the math.
Cheers,
Sherie
Well, here I was thinking I was on the old side of things, and I find out that I'm just about in the middle. Fifty-seven here, but I still mostly feel like I'm about 30.
Cool thread.
-Speak
Age is a strange thing. I know some very young 80 somethings and some 20 something old farts. To keep young, it's good not to live by the clock whenever possible. Dance while you can. Don't take life too seriousliy. Don't take yourself too seriously for that matter. Go out of your way to help folks who cannot pay you back. Eat expensive chocolate. You get the idea, I think.
I'll be 58 in 2 weeks. I'll never have very much money but in truly priceless things, I'm a rich man. A paid-for house with a roof that doesn't leak. A wife who puts up with my curmudgeonyness. 2 wonderful kids who, although knowing my faults better than almost anyone, still love me. A business since 1984 and a very good reputation in my field of work. I am a blessed man!
Who knows how many more years I have? Not me but I try to cherish each one!
Bob23
"Life is too short for cheap wine, a grumpy attitude or an ugly sailboat."
When a friend of mine turned 76 I teased her about her age to which she replied that she was proud of being 76 - That s how you keep score - she said
Matt 61
Hey Bob 23 , here is something you will appreciate. It is the saying on the bottom of my lady's emails:
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? M.Oliver
My underline...rip
rip:
That is one very good question. It has always been a dream of mine to cross the Atlantic but I don't think my 23 is the boat. If I can find myself at the end of my days knowing that I've cared for my wife, tried my best to raise my kids, cared for my widowed mother and left this world a little better than I found it, I guess that's a good start, eh?
I believe that to be able and willing to forgive unconditionally is the greatest achievement one can strive for. After that, it's all details/
bob23
Quote from: Bob23 on March 10, 2011, 07:42:57 PM
rip:
That is one very good question. It has always been a dream of mine to cross the Atlantic but I don't think my 23 is the boat. If I can find myself at the end of my days knowing that I've cared for my wife, tried my best to raise my kids, cared for my widowed mother and left this world a little better than I found it, I guess that's a good start, eh?
I believe that to be able and willing to forgive unconditionally is the greatest achievement one can strive for. After that, it's all details/
bob23
ABSOLUTELY Beautiful Bob.
David
Redfishnc - leave Annapolis on the back of a cold front. They come through that area frequently in the spring and will give you a fast reach going down the Chesapeake. Crisp air, cloudless blue skies to boot. The Northwester can last up to two days, more more commonly they diminish after the first day. Enjoy the trip - if you've not made it before, the Virginia cut is a pretty and fascinating passage. Passing through Norfolk is strange, and I suggest you approach Hampton Roads during daylight as there is heavy commercial traffic.
Ron
I'll be 58 in June, feel it sometimes in body but not in my mind!!!! Had open heart bypass surgery a year ago, but not letting it slow me down. Sailing my 19 on Lake Nockamixon in PA every chance I get (at least once a week in sailing season); furthering my sailing skills by taking a US Sailing Passage Making course from Tortola BVI to Bermuda in May (6 days of non stop open ocean sailing - can't wait!); bareboat chartering this summer with Nockamixon Sail Club (4 days on the Chesapeake in August and 3 days in New England in September); going for my USCG Captain's License and ASA Sail Instructor certification in the future. Gotta keep the dream alive! Still work full time (gotta pay the mortgage!) but plan to retire in 7 years. Life is good!
Ralph
CP 19 "Patricia Lee"
48. This past month I have sailed 3 times per week, a couple of hours per sail.
I am feeling like a youngster reading this thread.
It seems to me that sailing boats requires skills that most younger folks don't like to do or have never required. You have to want to work with your hands, understand a broad range of topics, and rely on your own wits. I love sailing because it challenges me in a broad range of very diverse topics.
41 years young here. Living everyday to the fullest.
I just turned 30 yesterday
we might be the newest compac owners here. I just sent the check for the balance due yesterday - compac 23 to be renamed Adagio in NJ. I am 51 and my wife is 45. We are anticipating spending as much time on the water this summer as possible, although we are 3 hours away from the boat :(
the immediate plan - spend time in the Tom's river and Barnegat Bay this year getting used to the boat and sharpening our sailing skills - spend as many weekends on the boat as possible - meet up with bob and any other compac owners in the area ( of course there will be wonderful folks on other boats to meet as well)
next year - take our first cruise - up the Hudson to the canal and then on to Lake Champlain were we will visit with my daughter.. and then home again. The cabin on the 23 looks pretty roomy after spending numerous nights in a two person tent :)
I have always wanted a sailboat even though most of our experience has been with powerboats. At 51, I have convinced myself that I have pushed the dream off into the future for too long. Three weeks ago I was sick and home from work, and I spent the day on line looking at sailboat listings on yacht world.. I found the compac and called a friend for some advice.. we agreed that it would be a great entry level boat, and here we are! what a difference a day makes :)
60 (dang, almost typed in 50). Sealed the deal on my 27 last week. Waiting for the truck to bring the boat to the southern coast of NC. Shipping and waiting for them to pick her up in Deale. MD and deliver to Oriental, NC. I will bring her home to Myrtle Grove sound between Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach, NC. I feel fortunate after reading about others being far from their marina and boat. I am about 4 miles to the marina/boat and 4 miles to the inlet. Have been lurking and reading old post for the past couple of months. Previous boat was a Catalina 30. Sold her and got sailboat fever again. Wanted something a little smaller so here I am. Think there is a couple of other 27s around here.... At 60 I must say I am starting to appreciate life in a different way.
Jason:
I'm looking forward to bumping into you guys on Barnegat Bay. I'm moored (well, not me but my 23 actually) in Manahawkin Bay but I almost always sail north into Barnegat Bay. I put the boat in at Long Key Marina in Waretown. Tice's Shoals is a regular destination for me.
I found my 23 over 5 years ago in a similiar way...home from work, drinking my 2nd cuppa and checking out the boats for sale in the paper. I saw the ad, called the owner and that afternoon, she was mine. It was love at first sight! She was such a looker, that I know if I hesitated, someone esle would taker her home.
Bob23
Old is a state of mind. May you never grow old.
Since we're all fessing up - I'm 55.
btw - I have an aunt who will soon be celebrating the 50th anniversary of her 49th birthday. She lived alone after my uncle passed away until about a year ago and now she's not quite up to going it alone and lives with my sister, my neice, and their five dogs. I'd love to get her out sailing and she has just the spirit in her to still go for it. She's never been sailing but there may still be a chance.
Curtis
I'm 49 and retired over three years ago from the Air Force. I just completed seminary and will seek a church to pastor in the fall. I completed a career and now it's time to pursue my calling!