You (Us) old guys have lots of options

[Pete Meisinger]

OK, I understand it. You get old, the boat gets too big, needs too much, costs too much, it too hard to handle, doesn't get used enough, is either showing quite a bit of deferred maintenance or is needing one big ticket repair or upgrade. Kids don't want it or can't afford it.The market is soft, not a good time to sell, you don't feel as "sharp" as when you were younger, boating can become confusing, etc, etc. The list goes on and on.

Don't despair, you DO have options..

First off, Sell the boat. I know, the market is soft, you are upside down on it, it needs work to sell, etc. I repeat.. Sell the boat! Make it a distress sale or a damn near "giveaway" . Make it cheap or even free, but get rid of the boat.

Now the fun part!!

Buy a Boat ! a smaller boat, trailerable. Prefer a little cuddy cabin.

Explore areas not available to the big trawler. A local navigable river. A nearby chain of lakes. A favorite marina you have visited before. Launch your new boat near the marina, chug on over to a transient slip enjoy a week or a weekend on your boat seeing the local sights you missed last time you were there.

Go fishing. OK it might be too much work to set up and catch a King Salmon on Lake Michigan but there are Walleyes in almost all the rivers now a days. Also lots of Sturgeon, Musky, catfish and bass right there in the marina.

Take a little one day cruise around a local land locked lake. Meet a few people, maybe have lunch at a local watering hole.

If your body has not completely fallen apart, get in your kayak. Many marinas are on rivers you can easily explore in an afternoon and then basically drift back to your cuddy cabin.

Don't forget your Dinghy! Marinas to explore, rivers to go up. Dinghy races and poker runs at many marinas.

While the new boat may not have room to carry your bikes the Suburban or truck you use to trailer the new boat certainly has plenty of room. If you are getting feeble, get a couple electric bikes. Within ten miles of darn near every marina are sights you will be glad to visit. Cherry picking, craft shows, flea markets museums, etc.

I know I barely scratched the surface. Any more ideas?

pete

 

[Turtle Blues]

Pete,
Commiserate with, but still in total denial of the first half.
In total agreement with the second half.
The big boat is slowing down in sync with the Admiral and I but in realistic $'s is still the most affordable waterfront property we will find.
The CC on a trailer sees the bulk of operating time. Grand kids are happy to chase fish for a day but not so inclined to take a 3 day cruise.
I'm greedy - don't want to let go of either.

 

[Ken E.]

Just had my annual physical and posed a question to the Doctor. How much longer should I, or others in their mid '70's or older be making long boat trips, if they are in reasonably good health? The response was don't stop doing it and keep doing it until you can't. Sure, a gross generalization, but I like it!

 

[RCook]

Now the fun part!!

Buy a Boat ! a smaller boat, trailerable. Prefer a little cuddy cabin.

Explore areas not available to the big trawler.

Like this C-Dory 22 Cruiser. Simple, economical, easy to tow, easy to maintain, and very capable.
Over our first several years, we explored as far north as Skagway.

 

[FWT]

Theme song

 

[Nick14]

Pete, thank you for posting this. They're important reminders of real-life things many of us are facing (or soon will be coming to terms with).

In my travels down the convoluted road of life, I've come to learn that the most powerful forces in human nature are denial and delusion. It seems to be a universal response to unpleasant things, to stick one's head in the sand and pretend something bad isn't happening. Unfortunately, reality has a way of not responding well to denial. It happens, whether we acknowledge it or not.

It's interesting for me to see how I, and a number of my friends of similar ages (60's and 70's) are responding to the unfortunate and at times depressing realities of aging. Of course everyone 'ages' at different rates. A healthy (or someone lucky in the gene pool) 70- or even 80-something may be more capable of doing things than a less lucky 60-something.

But time eventually comes for everyone. One way or another. I for one would love to keep boating for as long as I possibly can. The challenge comes with slow decline. If something traumatic health-wise happens it often speaks for itself and dictates what will or will not be possible. But most of us have trouble adjusting to the slow progressive deteriorations of aging.

Most of us know these things intellectually, rationally, but sometimes struggle with truly accepting them in our hearts. Your note is (at least for me) a helpful reminder of options. But to consider them requires doing something else that many people struggle with: change.

 

[Turtle Blues]

Have a fair number of cruising friends that when offshore became too difficult switched to RVing.
memorable quote "I don't have to stand anchor watch and a overnight WalMart lot is never more than a few exits away"

 

[bowball]

A subset of well off committed cruisers could hire a captain to assist, like Tony Fleming does.

 

[SteveK]

One thing that has not changed, at least when I compare where I was when much younger to kids in their 30's is they are starting families, working 9-5, making ends meet and no way can they afford the boat I now have (1%er excluded). Maybe a runabout, cartopper, but not a trawler. With rising cost of living I see trawlers going the way of the dodo bird as we age out
Old age will tell you if you listen, when to give it up, when to keep going.

 

[Nick14]

A subset of well off committed cruisers could hire a captain to assist, like Tony Fleming does.

I guess I'm not in that category, both not being sufficiently 'well off', and also because to me, hiring someone to drive my own boat somehow seems too much like just going for a boat ride. Easier and cheaper to do it on a cruise ship, or the Massachusetts Steamship Authority Ferry or Maine Casco Bay Ferry systems.

Old age will tell you if you listen, when to give it up, when to keep going.

But only to those smart enough to listen.

 

[Delta Riverat]

When this boat gets "too big", I'll sell it and buy another little outboard. For my kind of fishing, a big boat is a handicap. Even the last one (21 foot ChrisCraft) was too big.

In the Delta it is simple to just run the bow into the tules, toss out the line and fish. Easy in a 15 footer, but the ChrisCraft with the 150 HP on the back would churn mud before the bow was in. No fun and not good for the water pump either.

Yeah, a 15 foot aluminum boat with a little OB, steering wheel and a bimini -

 

[Marco Flamingo]

Like this C-Dory 22 Cruiser. Simple, economical, easy to tow, easy to maintain, and very capable.

I went even smaller with the C-Dory 16 Cruiser. Actually, 15' 11", so it avoids some taxes, licensing requirements, etc. Can't even tell it is behind me when towing (except that it cuts mpg to 22 crossing the continental divide). Easy to launch solo. I know, some will claim that it is camping. Wife and I have done >10 day cruises without suffering. My gigantic 30' trawler is decadent in comparison, but it can't go where the CD 16 can. Cruising everywhere from Lake Powell to the Broughtons in one year. It is waiting for me in the garage until the trawler honeymoon is over.

 

[ssobol]

The longer you do it, the longer you'll be able to do it.

Just like your boat, sitting around a lot is bad for it.

 

[mgreen]

Another option is to sell half of your boat.
I have participated in 4 boats in partnerships of various types. The last one lasted for 16 years for a 36 ft sailboat. My current boat I own alone with the admiral but we are really not using it enough because we are still working. I have been shopping (more accurately fantasizing) for my next one and one of the problems is that if the perfect boat comes along, I am not ready to use it enough to justify the cost. I have recently been thinking that a better strategy for me and what could be a good strategy for someone tapering off their use, is for me to buy half of a larger boat with the possibility of buying the other half in 3 or 4 years. My plan has been to head off on multi month cruises when I retire so it is unlikely a partnership would work as I expand my use. I have known several people who won't let their boat go and close out their boating years without leaving the marina.
The partnership of the Islander 36 was a tapering off situation for one person. He was not ready to stop but could no longer sail. He offered to sell half to his neighbor on a whim, who called me and we each went in for a third. The original owner went racing with us and he participated for about 10 years then slowed down to where it was join us for a beer when we got back and such. He lost his wife a couple of years after that and a significant part of his life revolved around the boat, even though he had stopped taking it out alone.

I had another guy I knew who could no longer run his boat so I took him on a probably 4 trips to yacht club events.

You all know that boats need use and good partners can be had.

 

[Pete Meisinger]

I think the premise I started this thread with still holds true. Sell the Boat!!

At my little marina in central Wisconsin I can count quite a large number of boats whose owners didn't follow this premise. Three or four of them get put in the water every spring and motored over to their slip by the marina owner where they sit and languish for the summer only to be driven or towed back to the well to get pulled. These boats are easy to spot. Covered with bird droppings or leaves, dock lines frayed, lots of spider webs. Flags, ensigns and burgees faded and discolored. It really makes me sad when I see such a boat.

There are always a few on the hard also. They are even easier to spot. Always on the back row.Blue tarps torn and wind damaged, big open holes. Fenders and rigging rotten and hanging out of place. Usually lots of junk on the crib and under the boat. Rotten ladders, coolers, plastic buckets, etc.

Each of these boats represents a dream either unfulfilled or forgotten. The boats in the water generally have live owners. Generally too old to take the boat out but not ready to give up the dream. The boats on the hard often do not have any real owners. Children or surviving spouse of a deceased owner. Tied up in some kind of estate or just plain forgotten.Some get deeded back to the marina for past due storage fees or mechanics liens.

Whatever the story or the individual case the boat should have been sold before it became more or less abandoned.

Yep, Sell the Boat, or give it away, move on. Just because one dream has died doesn't mean you cant have another.

pete

 

[tego]

Been there, done that (or doing that). Lived aboard and cruised for 15 years. Ended up in Florida, working on mega-yachts. We were in the eye of 3 hurricanes in two years so retired (again) and sold the 50' trawler and moved to Tennessee. After about 4 years, I took a look at the river system here in East TN and decided I didn't have to be miserable so went looking for a good, small cruiser and found a pristine Albin 27FC in N. Hampshire. I trucked her to TN and have been happy since then. I just replaced the old Nissan diesel with a smaller BETA Marine diesel so I can access all the areas that need normal maintenance and I'll have this vessel until it's time for my grandkids to inherit it sometime in the future (I'm 81 now and going strong). Ben

 

[Cargile]

In my life I went directly to Option 2. I never had the fortitude to cast off and live on a 50' trawler. The Admiral and I always required the security of a "stick and brick". We have a very comfortable lakeside home here in Florida. I doubt we could afford to buy another one if we sold our present home. Option 2 has worked wonderfully for us. We have a 28' trailer trawler. Salon, galley, dinette, full head and V berth forward. We have lived on board for up to 3 weeks. In the summer it is a 3 day drive to Lake Michigan. Absolutely beautiful. The SE offers great/large reservoir lakes and rivers back and forth to Lake Michigan. Not to mention the AICW. There is a thousand miles of cruising not to be missed as most of you know. We are 1 hour west of St. Augustine. When the snowbirds are migrating south, we are a 1 day drive to NAS Key West. West Palm Beach is 4 or 5 hours which puts us within a 8 hour cruise to Freeport and points south. Also not to be missed. Option 2 has been extremely gratifying for us. Plus, if on the road in the evening we pull into a campground and the trailer trawler becomes a land yacht.

 

[Nick14]

I think the premise I started this thread with still holds true. Sell the Boat!!

At my little marina in central Wisconsin I can count quite a large number of boats whose owners didn't follow this premise.

...

Whatever the story or the individual case the boat should have been sold before it became more or less abandoned.

Yep, Sell the Boat, or give it away, move on. Just because one dream has died doesn't mean you cant have another.

pete

Of course you're absolutely right, both in your observations of a number of boats in any marina around the country whose owners are past their 'best if used by date' for boating, and the logic of selling a boat when the owner gets too old to use it.

This whole discussion gets into basic human psychology. It boils down to the fundamental truth about most people - we're afraid of dying. The brevity of life is frightening to most people, as is the acknowledgement of the end happening.

We live in a culture of denial of aging. We're obsessed with youth, with nonsense sayings like '65 is the new 45' (no, 65 is still 65). Multiple billions of dollars have been invested in 'longevity' biotechnology companies hyping complete crap, because most people want to live forever.

Giving up boating falls into this. There's no 'cure' for aging. It's not something anyone ever 'gets better' from. It's a one-way road, with an inevitable, and unpleasant outcome, at the end. If someone gets too old to use their boat and sells it, they're acknowledging the end is coming, and there's no way back from that.

Like I said before, most people aren't good with change. Despite change being the one constant in an ever-changing world and life. The change of aging is depressing if you think about it. Giving up a boat makes it all too real, too tangible, for many people. It means you'll never have a boat again.

Of course you're absolutely right, from a logical, rational perspective. Why have a boat that you can't use? Only to watch it decay and deteriorate into a semi-floating pile of slowly deteriorating mess?

Because of hope. As long as a person hangs on to their boat, they can cling to the hope, however futile and extremely unlikely as it might be, that someday they might be able to use the boat.

It's also denial, another fundamental force driving most people's actions (at least in this country). Pretend something unpleasant isn't what it is. If you hang onto a boat, you can pretend for an infinite number of reasons why you didn't use it. But once you sell it, pretending is done.

I recently faced this voyage of self-awareness myself. Being on the wrong side of 65 and with health problems, I just took possession of a great boat I waited for a year and a half to be built. Not very rational or logical, given that was a significant portion of the time I likely had left to go boating. But I did it anyway. I don't know how long I'll be able to use it. But it's literally last call for me. It's 10 minutes to 2 am. Closing time is coming up.

As the wise sage Hillel the Elder said, "If not now, when?"

I personally like your idea and the possibility of downsizing. Getting too old and decrepit to safely handle a 40 ft boat? Get a 20 or 25 ft one! I thought a great deal about the design of the boat I just boat (Helmsman 38 Sedan), features I could (hopefully!) age into (to some degree).

For me, my own concept of a downsized boat to age into would be one that isn't made anymore - the Seaway 25 Coastal Cruiser. I think they made around 3 of them in 2009 before the company succumbed to the economic crisis of the time and was bought by Eastern Boats. It's similar to the Rosborough 246, but I think the Seaway Coastal Cruiser was especially suited for older boaters because of it's walk-around side decks - being able to safely get around and access all parts of the boat, in any sea conditions, for line handling, docking, fending off, locking, hanging fenders. That's an absolute must-have for me, and a key reason I bought the Helmsman 38 Sedan.

Somehow, I think most marinas will continue to have a sizable population of the kind of boats you described, unused, slowly deteriorating, ending up in estate sales once the owners pass on.

But by then, the owners won't care.

 

[Delta Riverat]

I'm planning to change marinas because of this. My wife does not like to slip between 2 boats that never get washed and are covered in dirt and spider webs, their owners too feeble to even care.

Takes the joy right out of it. She wants to go home as soon as we dock.

 

[Moonfish]

In my life I went directly to Option 2. I never had the fortitude to cast off and live on a 50' trawler. The Admiral and I always required the security of a "stick and brick". We have a very comfortable lakeside home here in Florida. I doubt we could afford to buy another one if we sold our present home. Option 2 has worked wonderfully for us. We have a 28' trailer trawler. Salon, galley, dinette, full head and V berth forward. We have lived on board for up to 3 weeks. In the summer it is a 3 day drive to Lake Michigan. Absolutely beautiful. The SE offers great/large reservoir lakes and rivers back and forth to Lake Michigan. Not to mention the AICW. There is a thousand miles of cruising not to be missed as most of you know. We are 1 hour west of St. Augustine. When the snowbirds are migrating south, we are a 1 day drive to NAS Key West. West Palm Beach is 4 or 5 hours which puts us within a 8 hour cruise to Freeport and points south. Also not to be missed. Option 2 has been extremely gratifying for us. Plus, if on the road in the evening we pull into a campground and the trailer trawler becomes a land yacht.

I have never seen Cargile Cutter before. Very cool! Looks like the perfect couple's downsizing vessel opening up lots of cruising options.

 

[SteveK]

@Nick14 post 18 is very true. 10-20 years ago I would have laughed at the thought.
My current boat is the last one, I actually thought of renaming it " Last Hooray".
In spite of many thoughts contrary I plan to work another 2 years with the hope there will be many more left to enjoy her. That is my plan, I chose to make it for my own reasons.

Was happy for you getting the new build. You have the right attitude, enjoy it while you can.

 

[Nick14]

@Nick14 post 18 is very true. 10-20 years ago I would have laughed at the thought.
My current boat is the last one, I actually thought of renaming it " Last Hooray".
In spite of many thoughts contrary I plan to work another 2 years with the hope there will be many more left to enjoy her. That is my plan, I chose to make it for my own reasons.

Was happy for you getting the new build. You have the right attitude, enjoy it while you can.

Thank you Steve!

 

[Sailor of Fortune]

as a soon to be 65 yo....I'm still working as Captain on a 151' salvage tug... Kind of conflicted , because the thought of retirement scares me... I hope to get another 2 years of working before I'm done... I get to work with talented young crew who make working fun...Plenty of time off.. No pleasure boats in my stable right now, but I still keep and eye out for one.. The camper experience is new to me, but having fun with it!.... Hoping to do 2 more transatlantics towing a navy ship in 2024 before I hang it up...We will see.. Non of us getting out of this life alive..

 

[NightCrawler]

Thanks Pete,

After 6 years full time on our trawler we decided to move on. Yes, we loved every single minute - well ok, three hurricanes were more 'interesting' than fun. But we simply went through the process you outline - we're in our 70's on a fixed income and frankly in order to keep Shangri-La in the kind of condition we were proud of, we just didn't have the energy or the resources.

It only took 8 weeks after she went up for sale and we dragged home a replacement. We do both love the water. We settled in Beaufort, NC where we have access to litterally hundreds of miles of 'small boat safe' waters. Plus, we can still run offshore to fish and visit the Cape. I'm guessing many are like we were - aprehensive about 'missing the old girl.' Yes, we cried and we laughed for weeks about the memories. And that's the bonus. We DID use her. After 12,000 miles of travel we have memories on top of memories. Those we will always have. Yet today, we can tow the center console down to the ramp and still have a grand time on the water.

 

[PhilPB]

This is a very interesting and informative thread with lots of experience and knowledge. I'm still in the "want a bigger boat" mode, which always has happened with me. If things go the way they usually do, I will finish my current boat for the next guy. Gladly accept whatever the boat is worth, knowing that I will get less than half of what I put into it, to then buy another bigger boat and start the process again. The only good thing is that we own our slip so I am limited how big I can go. Isn't this what saving for retirement is all about? I saved all my career to spend it on boats later!

 

[Bob M]

I'm with you 100%, Darren.. We sold the 37' twin diesel "trawler" and bought a boat on a trailer. One of the big lessons we learned on the 37' was that we didn't need or use most of the space, even on long cruises, month's long cruises.


We just bought a project boat and trailer, a 50 year old SeaCamper. She needs to be re-powered but appears to have a sound hull. With refit, I'm thinking we could cruise her anywhere but blue water.



Being trailerable is her best feature, since it gives us a huge number of cruising and storage options.


My wife kiddingly tells me that the project will keep this 77 year old out of bars and chasing women, but she's as anxious to get back on the water as I am.

 

[PNK]

Us old guys with a lot of options

Pete,

Thanks for bringing up this issue, which is apparently not only being talked about among trawler owners. I also belong to a Downeast forum, and there was a recent thread about the same topic, with many of the same ideas being expressed. One difference, someone suggested co-owning a boat to save money and have the boat used more, to which the reaction was fast, and negative. Most of them were variations of "buying a boat with a friend is a good way to lose a friend", or " a boat has only one captain, and should have only one owner"!

A friend of mine who lives in the Chesapeake area followed your advice last year, and down-sized to a smaller, trailerable boat, in his case a Seaway 25. He told me he now wishes he had made the change way sooner. He and his wife used to spend a day or two just to get to the area they were interested in cruising. Now he drives there in an hour, sometimes, and spends most of the time on the water seeing new or less-explored areas.

Could be a switch that a lot of us might enjoy.....

Peter

 

[kthoennes]

I'm no spring chicken anymore myself, but I still have a very clear memory of our trailerable boat just about 15 or so years ago, before we moved up. Yes, easily portable, more variety in bodies of water, I could far more easily work on it in the winter, everything was much, much less expensive and simpler. Much less of a drain on my time in some ways, fewer systems, easier maintenance. Two batteries instead of six, and on and on. But I also remember trying to haul the boat at the ramp, trying to align the trailer in the dark. The hassle and production of actually dragging, launching and retrieving that boat anywhere, compared to simply driving to the marina. Or scratching some of our trips on the water because of bad weather and waves. In contrast the "big boat" has significantly shifted what we consider unacceptable weather. Riding a wave on a trailer boat sure seems a lot bigger when you're riding the same wave on a 40-foot, 13-ton bigger boat. And one of my favorite moments in life is still feeling those 600 horses way down under my feet under the salon floor rumble to life and I ease those throttles back and glide 26,000 lbs of boat out of the slip. Master of my domain! Make way all you weekender ski boats.

We still have two teenage boys too, so maybe we're just not there yet. We don't get a ton of guests on the boat, but last season as it was getting very cold, we hosted our dock neighbors for a last dinner and drinks in the salon while our four (combined) kids watched movies on the couch. Memories like that are just far less likely to occur unless you're big enough to be comfortable. So maybe too early for us, but the other posts are right, all about knowing when. We probably all have examples of sad "yard boats" like the one below. I remember when this one still was in the water every spring, still looked pretty good. Then one season it doesn't get launched. Maybe next year. Then they move it to the farthest corner of the yard. And a few years later then it looks like this and it'll never come back. Have to know when.

 

[Pete Meisinger]

Lots of good points being made. I agree with some and disagree with others, guess it's a matter of personal choice.

I did own a 23 foot trailerable Pen Yann before I moved to a 32 foot Chris Craft. One thing I really did learn was this: A boat at a marina, in the water will get more use than one parked in a garage. In fact, after a year or two of trailering we put the Pen Yann into a marina. There were special circumstances though. We boated on lake Superior, out of Duluth exclusively . Always the same area, never exploring other lakes, chains or rivers. The marina made sense. It was expensive though.

I don't think I would ever consider "co-owning" a boat. I just don't think it would work out for my lifestyle. A boating club might be different, the choice of several different boats is interesting but you would have a limited playground. What difference does it make if you are on the same water in a sailboat, a center counsel or a trawler?

Campers and motorhomes? Good recreation for some people but I need to be on the water. From what I have heard maintenance on campers and motorhomes can be on going and expensive.

I love boats and boating. I guess I never see myself without a boat, right now I have four or five.

I always say, "There is a boat for everyone".

pete

 

[kthoennes]

...Campers and motorhomes? Good recreation for some people but I need to be on the water. ...

Yup. I know that's a common arc, boaters transitioning to RV life, but "as for me and my house" -- we've tried it a few times and decided we are not RV'ers. In fact we sometimes drive past RV parks or RV's on the side of the road, or a line of RV's waiting at the sewage sites and joke with each other, "Hey, let's try an RV, that looks fun!" Thousands -- millions? -- do it and love it I know. We live at a national crossroads of huge RV activity. Good for them, but not us. I'd rather be paddling a canoe than a Class A RV. If all I could afford on my old man pension was a used dinghy, and young dock hands had to roll my body over the tubes and zip-tie my hand to the motor tiller, I'd still rather be on the water.