I must be getting too darned old.....

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GFC

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I must be getting too darned old


Just when I thought I’d seen just about everything in my near-70 years on this planet, and just when I thought that nothing would surprise me any more, I have come to realize that I’m wrong. Now it’s not all that hard to admit that I’m wrong—I get plenty of practice at that, so bear with me.

I was perusing the pages of the June, 2016 issue of Yachting magazine I came across something that took my breath away. Not because it’s such a beautiful piece of art or a beautiful boat (though it costs more than many boats). It’s a frickin razor. Yup, a razor made by a company called Zafirro and it’s made out of Iridium and it costs….are you sitting down? $100,000
razor-iridium.png


But you’d better get you order in soon because they’re only going to make 99 of them. Here’s where to order it: http://www.zafirro.com/zafirro-iridium.php

But that’s not the only reason I feel I’m getting old. Boats don’t look like boats any more. They look like a millennium designer’s idea of what a penthouse apartment should look like. Or something that Captain Nemo would have enjoyed skippering. Check out this “beauty”….
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C’mon Man. If this is what the future of boating looks like I’m glad I’m going to be with Neptune before they become widely used.

And look at boat interiors. Boat interiors are supposed to look like, well, boat interiors. Not like some city apartment in one of those cheap high rise buildings you see in the big cities. Even my favorite builder, Sea Ray, has gone away from building boats with boat interiors. They build interiors that look like…wow, I don’t even know how t
2015-650-Fly-Salon-XL.jpg
o describe them any more. Words like cold, harsh, uninviting all come to mind, but I bet that’s not how Sea Ray describes them.



And to buy SR’s new L650Fly model, you don’t just go to your local SR dealer. You work through a Sea Ray Concierge. Dang, and I thought a concierge was the guy in the monkey suit standing behind the small counter at an upscale hotel.

I subscribe to a half dozen or so boating mags. Most of them deal in what I call ‘real’ boats. But 3 or 4 of them deal in boats that only those people who Robin Leach (remember “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” show?) would interview. These mags advertise wrist watches that sell for as much as many of us paid for our home. And leather bags that sell for as much as a car. And fashion items where you could easily drop several boat bucks just to look nice at your yachting party.

So I guess I am just getting too old to enjoy the new stuff and the stuff I could never bring myself to buy even if I could afford them.

Now don’t get me wrong. Getting old has its pro’s and con’s. The con part is when I’m trying to squeeze this tired ol’ body behind one of the engines to work on it. That seems to get more and more difficult every year. But there are also some real good things about getting old. It beats the hell out of the alternative, which is death and the last time I looked that was pretty darn permanent.

Being an old boater also has its benefits. My 50+ years of boating has given me a LOT of experiences I can call upon to help me do things like handle emergencies when they come up, or back the boat into the slip when the wind is blowing 25kts from the worst possible direction. My years of experience has taught me not to panic but to take my time and do it right, whether that takes a couple of ‘missed approaches’ where you pull back out and reposition the boat to make that near perfect landing.

What say you? Is it me? Or is it this new up and coming generation of boaters who have to have the biggest and fastest and loudest and shiniest of everything?
 
The new generation does not understand the "why" or the forces affecting the outcome. Anyone can operate a vessel with a joystick and look good doing it. Stick and rudder; the outcome will be predictable.
 
I share your astonishment. I'm shocked at the cost of a pack of Hydro 5 razors at Costco! If I owned a boat like the one in the photo, I'd wear a good disguise while driving it. Although I've now spent 74 years on this planet I never cease to be surprised.

About a year ago I was contacted by a guy on this forum who was interested in Grand Banks and wanted to buy one. I spent several phone calls talking with him and giving him advice. One day he asked if he could come to see my boat. I said sure and we made a time to meet. He arrived 2 hours late (traffic) with his partner. I spent about 2 hours taking hm and his partner through my boat; even offered to take them for a ride but they didn't have time.

During the conversation he told me he was on the Board of Directors of the Essex Steam Train here in Essex CT. He was soooo grateful for my time and kindness that he was going to send tickets for my wife and I to ride the Essex Steam Train on a dinner run. I love trains and was pretty excited at the opportunity. So here's the surprise; I never heard from the guy again. Nice surprise huh?
 
Wifey B: The generations of your grandparents thought you kids were crazy too. The L 650 is a very nicely designed boat, super cool. Well, thought out, although some of the colors people have chosen are a bit out there. :)

The Razor is beyond me. :banghead:

The boat looks like some super efficient narrow and not utilitarian kind to me but if that's what someone wants, more power to them. I love individuality.

That's like seeing some high school kid with layers of clothing you think are super weird but then you say something like "they don't take pride in their dress" when the reality is they took a lot more care in getting their outfit just right than you do.

Whatever your likes and dislikes are is up to you. I personally think when you shut your mind to different things and new things and they younger generations, you're missing some real fun. We love having 20 year olds hanging around just to see what they're all up to. Then younger kids too. Sometimes we think we don't like their music but then we listen. Maybe we still don't like it but sometimes we do.

Besides values are far more important than things and I know it's popular not to think so, but I know some incredible young people inheriting a world that your generation and mine has really f...ed up.
 
Mike, simply put: Yes you are getting old with the rest of us. Accept it, have a Klondike and then a scotch and cigar. Just enjoy life and see what these kids come up with next.
 
"Did the boomers and gen x-ers not have any rich people with gaudy taste? "
I'm sure we did/do. As I look around and see people my age with purple hair and body tats I just sorta shake my head. Gaudy? Maybe. Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.


Howard, The Great God of Karma will come back to bite this guy on the butt at some point in his life


B&B, My wife and I probably spend a lot more time around people a generation younger than we are and love 'em. They, and our grand kids are what keep us feeling young.


I'm active with Junior Achievement, teaching two classes this past March an April.


I feel like I'm in pretty good shape for the shape for the shape I'm in and, in part, I owe that to all the flexing and bending when I work on the boat and around the house, plus chasing the grand kids around.
 
Simple answer is that boat interiors look like apartments because that's mostly what they are, dock side apartments. Thankfully they are almost nonexistent out cruising. The further you get away from the big cities, the more traditional the boats look.

Ted
 
The America's Cup sailboats don't look much like sailboats. I have heard the innovations on those will eventually filter down to our boats yet... well, I suppose I prefer a sailboat to look like a sailboat.

But that's me.

If you've got a hankering for any type of boat, go for it.
 
The further you get away from the big cities, the more traditional the boats look.

Ted


:thumb::thumb:

Spent yesterday at my favorite West Coast marina, Moss Landing commercial docks. Sea Ray concierge couldn't find it on a map if you put a gun to his head.
 
More and more boats are looking like greenhouses. How they figure folks in hot climates will be comfortable with the sun blasting in is beyond me.
 
Form follows function. That boat is designed for the very wealthy to blast from Monaco to Cannes as fast as possible.
 
This thread could really drift but has anyone instructed a total newbie to boat handling lately. If it doesn't have a touch screen and a colored picture they have no use for understanding the concepts. Just did a delivery 37' sail and would not let the owner's son, who was mid 30's, touch the auto pilot or the GPS. Dad did better.
 
This thread could really drift but has anyone instructed a total newbie to boat handling lately. If it doesn't have a touch screen and a colored picture they have no use for understanding the concepts. Just did a delivery 37' sail and would not let the owner's son, who was mid 30's, touch the auto pilot or the GPS. Dad did better.

Wifey B: Sorry, as a mid-30's former teacher, I say :nonono::nonono::nonono::nonono: to that. Don't judge either generation on one person and also perhaps the issue is your ability to communicate to someone of that generation. I'll put my understanding of the concepts and my ability to use an auto pilot up against anyone's. I won't put this on all your generation, but I've found a lot of older, very experienced boaters, even some professional captains, who had no idea all the features and capabilities their auto pilots had and were complaining about things that could easily be corrected by just going in and making adjustments. As a teacher, I learned not to blame the student, but to think of whether I needed to try a different approach to teaching them.

Don't put down us mid-30's group. We can be feisty. :D
 
A Different View

I also receive the same magazine and find some of the newer designs somewhat unique to say the least. While I appreciate both modern and traditional designs, I favor the lines of traditional designs and appreciate the craftsmanship that go into older boats. If its a boat, it must be finished with teak wood inside or we will pass. Just my thoughts.

John T.
 
Wifey B; the difference is you had the desire to learn, observe and listen and were not preoccupied playing with your phone and letting electronics take you for a ride.
 
Something a lot of invisible, irrelevant seniors have learned first hand.

Wifey B: Some of our best friends are seniors and we don't consider any invisible or irrelevant. Some are feisty too. Although guess they tend to call it "crusty". Same thing. ;)

I think we all benefit by spending time around those different than us, in age, in background, and in other ways.

We know one couple in their mid-80's and we understand the invisible and irrelevant comment as they felt a bit that way. Too often we think of what we do over who we are and they weren't able to do as they always had (Now we also have a mid-80''s friend circumnavigating). They had been somewhat forgotten. They couldn't get out and about nor could they throw the huge parties they had before. So, we arranged the party of all parties at their home with us and others handling all the work. We also took the occasion to remind those attending how much they would love to be visited more. Plus our extended family started seeing them. I love just listening to them talk about their lives, their stories, for hours. They thank us for visiting but we feel like we're the ones who really gain the most doing so. We thank them.

Sad we equate our value sometimes with our productivity instead of our character. A girl friend of mine had an 82 year old father. He'd worked until he was 79 and after two hip replacements and two knee replacements couldn't anymore. He said he didn't serve any purpose anymore. :cry: She crawled in his lap (48 years old) and said, but you do. You're my daddy. That's plenty of purpose. That's the best.

Ok, need an ending to this serious stuff...here it comes.

Wifey B's words of the day: Go younger for energy, go older for wisdom. :)
 
Wifey B; the difference is you had the desire to learn, observe and listen and were not preoccupied playing with your phone and letting electronics take you for a ride.

Wifey B: I think people of all ages, some have that desire, some don't. Omg how many times have I heard hubby use the words "pursuit of knowledge" (a big hiring criteria for him). :)
 
Wifey B; the difference is you had the desire to learn, observe and listen and were not preoccupied playing with your phone and letting electronics take you for a ride.


Well said!!! :thumb::thumb::thumb:
 
Interesting comments all. Now I'll add mine.....


Youthful exuberance will never overcome old age wisdom and treachery.


It's not just the youngsters who are completely wrapped up in their electronics. A few years ago when I helped a guy my age take a boat from Seattle to Stockton, CA we had an interesting experience involving his electronics.


We were heading up the channel to Ilwaco, WA. It's a curvy channel, narrow, and it was getting on toward dusk. The owner had the helm and I was calling out the channel markers to him because they were hard to see. My wife does that for me and I appreciate it. He didn't and told me curtly to stop.


I just stepped back and watched him. He was glued to his electronic screens and had I not told him he was about to run aground, he would have. He was so intent on watching his screens he failed to notice he had tried to straighten out a curve and had run out of the channel. We were a boat length or so away from a grounding when I alerted him.


I not-so-politely told him if he'd been watching out the windshield instead of watching the screen that wouldn't have happened. I'd made my point so I just shut up.
 
Interesting comments all. Now I'll add mine.....


Youthful exuberance will never overcome old age wisdom and treachery.


It's not just the youngsters who are completely wrapped up in their electronics. A few years ago when I helped a guy my age take a boat from Seattle to Stockton, CA we had an interesting experience involving his electronics.

Wifey B: Nothing wrong with the electronics. It's misuse of them as in the case you describe. We need to use all the tools available to us on the boat and in the world. I learned to handle a boat first on the lake. No electronics and when you're zooming around at 50+ knots, you learn to be fully aware of all your surroundings. An autopilot was like "whoa what? A machine is going to drive the boat?" to me. I try to open my mind to all the ways of doing things. But then I think most people of all generations do. Some of all generations are close minded too. Just the way humans are. :)
 
Generational, racial, religious, and economic differences provide lots of fodder for generalizations. Times are definitely changing and Insometimes wonder at my son and daughters generation.

I feel that I am very fortunate. My entire career has been spent getting to know patients. Because of the nature of my practice, my patients range from infants to folks over 100 years old. I see some very wealthy folks, and some of the poorest. Politicians come into the office as well as homeless and the occasional prisoner accompanied by federal Marshals. In many cases I have seen these patients for decades and have gotten to know them well.

The point is, that all too often folks only spend their time around people like themselves. The folks in our neighborhoods, places of work, churches, yacht clubs, civic organizations are generally people like us. We don't often spend time around people that are different (family doesn't count).

Because I am spending a lot of time with all these different people, my attitudes and biases have been challenged. Of course I have developed new attitudes and new biases based on theses interactions.

Anyway, don't be too quick to right off large swathes of the population as beng a certain way. (Unless of course you run for President. Then it is required apparently.)
 
Interesting responses all. Thanks to each of you for jotting down your thoughts, even those who disagreed with me.


I've been away from here for a couple of days to take care of our newest crew member Isla. Well, I didn't actually take care of her, but I did get to hold her for awhile. My wife, Tina was in Seattle to help her daughter with the delivery and all the other stuff that needs to be done in Mom's absence.


So, without further ado, here's our new grand daughter Isla Lucille with grandma....
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Welcome aboard Sweetie!
 
Old age and treachery will always beat youth and exuberance.
 
Interesting responses all. Thanks to each of you for jotting down your thoughts, even those who disagreed with me.


I've been away from here for a couple of days to take care of our newest crew member Isla. Well, I didn't actually take care of her, but I did get to hold her for awhile. My wife, Tina was in Seattle to help her daughter with the delivery and all the other stuff that needs to be done in Mom's absence.


So, without further ado, here's our new grand daughter Isla Lucille with grandma....
img_447279_0_9cb081dd738ec6a3077b00541ce60127.jpg



Welcome aboard Sweetie!

Congratulations!

Ted
 
Awww- baby pics!
 
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