When will you pack it in?

[Hawgwash]

A month ago I met a gal who was prepping to walk the 800km El Camino Trail. She will celebrate her 80th birthday on the trek.

Last week I met a couple on a GB 42 who have decided that next year they will give up their annual solitary cruises to Alaska and start travelling with other boats. She is 80 and he is 85.

We should all be blessed with such good fortune.

I have given up riding largely because I need to get back on the water but mostly because my reaction time has lost a beat. There is a five point buck on US 395 that is waiting to challenge my abilities and I’m not going there.

The salt water in my veins is still good and I feel I have some good boating years left. Realities of physical and mental abilities will not be denied and I will loop the rode to my ankle when I know I’m done.

So, how long do you plan to paddle the dugout how old is too old?

 

[menzies]

How old are you now?

We are currently 57/58 and we plan to keep on going until health/our safety forces us to stop. Even then I will probably get a little runabout.,

 

[micksbuddy]

Until I'm no longer physically or mentally able to! I've just turned 50 and hope I've got a few decades of boating(and riding) ahead of me. Aging is a very individual process, you don't know ahead of time how it will treat you, so enjoy every day along the way to the fullest!

 

[Hawgwash]

How old are you now?

Well, two mornings ago, I was much older than I am today.

By the calendar, I'm nestled right in the middle between you and the skipper who is going to scuttle his AK solos.

I'm playing the big crib game to move the peg 5 holes at a time and see if I make it past the skunk line.

Thumbs up on the runabout to finish the race.

 

[Heron]

I have given up riding largely because I need to get back on the water but mostly because my reaction time has lost a beat. There is a five point buck on US 395 that is waiting to challenge my abilities and I’m not going there.

I've done the same after 25 years in the Motorcycle business...My Honda pension now pays for my boat hobby. I still dabble a bit with my Vespa, but I'm loath to expose myself to the risks that are out there in this age of distracted driving. I live in the most dangerous (vehicular) county in the state..

I've met some older cruising couples as well...I think beyond about 75 it gets a little touch and go...Some hang on to the end, some gracefully make the move to shore after years of great memories.. I'll boat as long as I can...Done it since I was a kid.. 66 yrs young at the moment..I figure I have another 10 years..

 

[Nomad Willy]

I'm going to "pack it in" very soon.
I'm 75 and if I was still in Alaska i would'nt but here most anchorages are busy and going to a marina most nights is expensive. My base moorage is expensive and my income is going down and there's taxes and much other expense. Selling Willy will definitely simplify life and I view that as a good thing. I've learned a lot w Willy and had wonderful times underway and otherwise.

So for me call it "age 76".

 

[Wayfarer]

Well I'm 31 now. I figure I've got another 20 years before the cheeseburgers get their revenge...

 

[JohnP]

Basically satisfied if it all ended today---but another ten good years would be great!


I am now 62 years old.


JohnP

 

[Hawgwash]

Basically satisfied if it all ended today---but another ten good years would be great!I am now 62 years old.

 

[Moonstruck]

The only people that want to live to be 100 are now 99. When do i pack it in? Don't know, but probably when they take the keys away or shot by a jealous husband. Now, that's the way to go.

 

[BaltimoreLurker]

Well I'm 31 now. I figure I've got another 20 years before the cheeseburgers get their revenge...

Ha, the cheeseburgers and bourbon have already had their way with me at 59. But after 2 months of paying attention I've beaten back most of their advances!

When do I pack it in? I won't know because I'll be pushing up daises before I'll admit defeat.

 

[MurrayM]

I'm 55, so if it's in the cards health-wise there could be 20 to 30 more years left in me. Cool!

I'll probably hang on too long, and Badger will be one of those boats people look at and wonder why it doesn't move from its berth anymore. Why? Because some days it's enough to know there's a boat sitting there, and I could disappear down the channel if I was able to and/or had the time.

There'll be a point however, where my not getting down to the marina enough will put Badger in danger, and that's where I'll draw the line. We had a bunch of boats go down this winter in a record snowfall, and many of them were old timers boats.

I think some of the boats that sank had a bunch of little jobs that were past due that kept being put off until "later". Those accumulated factors probably contributed to the boats going down due to the weight of the snow, combined with the road being closed, and the power being out for three days.

So, I'll probably pack it in well after my actual boating days are over, but before it endangers the boat that has already added so much to our lives.

 

[kelbylinn]

I'm 70 now and healthy. Looking to do the great loop completely but still working as well. Not thinking of slowing down for years yet unless forced to by health issues. Maybe in my 80's? ?

 

[Britannia]

Very interesting question. Now 51 and probably won't retire until early 60s. That's when the fun will really begin (I hope). Long term cruising will be my objective. South Pacific first I hope. So that means I have about a decade to get Stillwater ready for the trip!

As others have said - there's no knowing how aging will be for each of us. I hope that I'll be boating into my 70s. If I have to stop earlier I think I'll feel a bit cheated. If I'm still at it in my 80s I'll feel like I won the lottery.

Richard

 

[Larry M]

Last October I had a knee replacement. Lena and I still spent March - June out with 2 months in the Bahamas with only 5 nights in the marina the entire trip. This November I get a new hip and we're planning on heading south in February, if not before. When we do we hang it up? When I have so much metal that I can't float on my own anymore.

 

[markpierce]

When I can't get on and off the boat under my own power or stay alert continuously for at least ten hours, the Coot will be for sale.

 

[tpbrady]

When I was 5, I shot my first dove on the wing. It was a couple more years before I finally learned how to shoot a limit of doves on the wing with less than a box of shells, but I was deadly shooting them out of trees. I guess I can always go back to shooting them out of trees, but when I can't do that, I will have to also give up the boat.

Tom

 

[mbevins]

I'm battling eye issues at 58. Had two cornea transplants so far. It's really affecting my ability to boat.
If we get a handle on this then 15 years. If not ?

 

[markpierce]

My ninety-three-old father at the time wasn't confident to continue piloting the boat due to his declining eyesight.

 

[Bendit]

I'm 64 and boating is still a joy, but the maintenance ain't.
Just done a bottom job and polished the topsides on Pioneer and this will be the last time I do it myself. Took a couple of weeks to recover.
I can still do all the mechanical stuff, but need longer bars and bigger wrenches to compensate for reduced strength.
I expect to have another 15 years or so, if I take it easy and hire people for the really big stuff.

 

[markpierce]

Bendit, I'm at the age (approaching 69) I hire people to do the "heavy" and technical/skilled maintenance.

 

[jwnall]

When they pry my cold dead hands from the helm. And even then, reluctantly.

 

[gaston]

I'm 63 retired for 2 years massive health issues close to dead 4 time in the last 15 years including a 415v electrocution that stuck me in rehab
So to me I have no plans when ""enough is enough""

 

[gonesailing13]

I'm 65 now and just bought another new to me boat so hopefully another 10 -15 yrs or who knows.

 

[hmason]

73 here and just getting going. Have no problems that limit my boating. We live aboard and have friends who are boating well into their mid 80's. When the time comes to give it up I hope I'll be smart enough to recognize it. As for now, we are prepping for our trip south from CT to FL. If you see Magic sound those Kahlenbergs and maybe I'll hear you.

Howard

 

[Codger2]

I'm staring down the barrels of being 75 but as long as I can hire the maintenance out, I'll stick with it. I mean let's face it....the really fun (stuff====>) is almost gone these days!

I said ALMOST!

 

[menzies]

I'm staring down the barrels of being 75 but as long as I can hire the maintenance out, I'll stick with it. I mean let's face it....the really fun (stuff====>) is almost gone these days!

I said ALMOST!

If'n the boat's a rockin' don't come knockin'!

 

[kthoennes]

I'm 64 and boating is still a joy, but the maintenance ain't....I can still do all the mechanical stuff, but need longer bars and bigger wrenches to compensate for reduced strength...

53 here, just changed the brake pads on my truck. I still had to use a 4' pipe to break the caliper bolts loose. Could just be uncooperative hardware, not you (yet).

 

[janice142]

I was conceived, born and raised aboard. I think being aboard until the very end is just about perfect. That's one of the reasons why I do things for Seaweed... making her safe for the long term...

Daddy died aboard the boat he built and spent nearly 50 years aboard. He was a lucky man.

And compensating for aging body parts is a given. I'm not as strong as I was ten years ago and don't have any reason to suspect I'll be improved ten years hence. But I'll be here -- solo aboard my Seaweed.

With the Skipper -- all four pounds of her.

I don't want to live ashore. Ever. Seaweed isn't just my home -- she represents freedom to live my life as I see fit.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
I suspect I'll pack it in when my mental age surpasses my shoe size...