Old wannabe cruiser

Hi, all. I've recently become a member of TF & enjoy the forums, threads, etc., immensely. I'm 82, but have long had interest in boats & the sea, but have never really boated much. My only sea experience was in the Navy.


After a divorce & retirement, I bought a 39' Southern Cross cutter w/ dreams of sailing to Europe. It didn't happen. I later owned a 27' Catalina on an inland lake in Western MT.


I've realized sailboats I could afford were too cramped & so I've reexamined those dreams from a power standpoint, a direction I wish I'd gone.


I've been enjoying retracing that time, reading several books on power boating, esp. voyaging. So, any posts I make must be seen from this standpoint; I am not trolling (pun unintended), but do have some questions re: previous plans & having read a lot on power cruising. Hope you all can bear w/ me.

I'm 70+ and live aboard and cruise between Oregon and Alaska. Mostly solo, but sometimes with friends. Age isn't necessarily a limiting factor. I use to sail, but injuries and arthritis makes handling small lines difficult. I can't tightly close either hand, but the powerboat doesn't bother the arthritis.

I was also in the USN, destroyers and river patrol boats.

Welcome aboard.

Greetings,
Welcome aboard, young feller.

Welcome, you had better get crackin'!

Age is just a number, your Navy and sailing experiences will come in handy on a trawler. Take your pick inland rivers or salt water and “ Just Do It”.

Let me offer some practical advice about living aboard full time which I did for two years in my mid 50s and one year in my early 60s. I am now in my early 70s.


I have done ALL of my own boat maintenance over the years. It was easy in my 50s and I rather enjoyed doing things right to keep the boat running right. In my early 60s it was a little tougher and it took me a week or two to work the kinks out of my body once I started but after that it was fine.


Today it would be tough. It is part physical- creaky joints, etc. But also part mental- I just don't enjoy crawling down into a cramped bilge, contorting my body to work on something, getting covered in grease and skinning up my knuckles.


Why does it matter, you can always hire the work done. Well it will cost a lot, lot more and it won't always get done right. That is the reality of boat repair.


For example in my second round of full time live aboard cruising I spent about $5,000 in parts to get the boat ready for cruising: inverter/charger, battery monitor, high output alternator, anchor washdown, etc. Hiring that work done would easily double that cost. This was for a 15 year old Island Packet in good shape that cost me $135,000.


The subsequent year, I didn't do anything major, mostly routine maintenance and replacing failed parts and systems. Parts were maybe $1,000 and if I had hired the labor it would have cost maybe a couple of thousand $ more.


The point is: Budget a significant amount- at least 5% of the purchase price for fixing up any boat you buy and double that if you hire a yard to do the work. Then budget a significant amount- can't say how much because it depends on the age and the boat, for yearly maintenance.


David

You don't say what you are looking for and how you intend to use it, overnight? Several nights? Months? Are you going to be full timing it or just out for a days journey?

My experience is that with older people getting some out on a boat is harder than you might think, they have settled into "their" routine and if it has been land based for the last 60 years, most won't want to go out, not all, but most.

I think for us geriatrics, power is the best way to go from a strength, balance, simplicity point of view. For me it is no longer about just being out on the water (sail) but actually going to places I want to stay for a few days or more.

My two cents are the following:

1) Definitely get a bow thruster. (my recommendations below all come equiped with a bow thruster)

2) Get as small a boat that will make you happy considering your plans and expectations.

3) Join a yacht club, doesn't have to be a wealthy snotty one, though I like those, but also social clubs without a building with individuals who just like to go cruising. You will discover some there will give you a hand, advise you, assist you, drink and eat with you, and ease you into your new life faster than being a loan wolf. The educational nights and group cruises will be safer than by yourself and help you learn your boat.

4) Without knowing anything - budget, size requirements, type of boat, etc - here are three suggestions all from the same manufacture. They aren't the largest for their length but everything is there for you to overnight or stay out for several months.

5) And get off your ass and do it now, time is an issue.

And PS: I don't own a Ranger Tug, I just think they are a well thought out design line of boats.

Ranger Tug 23:
Ranger Tug 25:
Ranger Tug 29:
All three of these boats could go from Seattle Washington up into Alaska and back, smaller boats than these have made the trip successfully. There is also a Slow Boat company that offers escorts from Seattle to Alaska, around Vancouver Island, here is a link. I know you live on the East coast but might as well find out what's on the other side:
2019 Slowboat Flotillas – Slowboat

Welcome to the group sir. What boats are you considering?

Thanks to all for your greetings, questions, and kind advice. However, I believe I need to inform you, also, that it's not just my age; I am physically infirm. Luckily, my brain is not! (Well, some.) I am basically doing a "Groundhog Day" kind of thing, replaying that time in 1995 after divorce & retirement when I opted to buy a Southern Cross 39 cutter w/ ocean voyaging the purpose. Never worked out. Now, I replay from a power standpoint.


In the past month or so, I've read seven or eight books on powerboating, Beebe, Buehler, etc. Reliving the old days of planning to buy a boat for same purpose, long-distance voyaging.



I obtained a 1996 copy of the McKnew-Parker Consumer Guide to Motor Yachts & Trawlers, to see if there were boats I could afford at that time. Kadey-Krogen 42s fit the bill. Today, I could afford a Diesel Duck 382, steel hull, used of course. Main concern is fuel tankage & both are adequate.


From what others have said, I think I'd buy the boat I want, then hire a captain to train me on handling, systems, etc., rather than starting small & working up. This could take at least a year, but better than the way I went back in '95. Remember, this is all speculative for me, now. I can't even get my own mail from the mailroom. But, I do enjoy this "Groundhog Day" thinking & enjoy very much all your questions & comments. I do have ideas; I just can't fulfill them.

Greetings,
Mr. dd. "I do have ideas; I just can't fulfill them."...

Haha! That's me all right!

I recently saw a motorcyclist wearing a leather jacket emblazoned gang style on the back,: "Sons of Arthritis" and below that, " The Ibuprofen Division". The Ulysses Motorcycle Club here for over 60s has the motto: "Grow Old Disgracefully".
Know your limits and get into it. Now.