Andre,

I think your concern about the possible physical constraints of aging
and any limitations it might impose while sailing are reasonable but
perhaps a little premature. Unless you have serious health issues
right now (history of heart disease, genetic risks or cancer, obesity,
addictions, disabilities, injuries, etc.) then you can probably assume
that should you decide to go cruising your age (in and of itself) will
not be an issue for quite a while - most likely longer than the expected
lifespan of your proposed vessel.

On the other hand, my wife and I thought long and hard about this very
issue and decided that given our age and the fact that we both have bad
backs and joint problems (especially knees) from years of overdoing it,
sports injuries, accidents, etc. it made sense for us to choose a
catamaran instead of a monohull for our long term cruising vessel. We
found that the additional stability and space afforded us more that made
up for the cost, and that we felt safer and more comfortable while at sea.

We find that for us (but maybe not for anyone else) life on two hulls
was much easier on our bodies. We also find that we sleep better when
not healed over or rocking about, which has greatly improved our
enjoyment of blue water cruising, but we believe it also allows us to
get better rest and has improved our fitness while at sea, at least
compared to a monohull.

If you really believe that your physical abilities might be a long term
issue, then I'd suggest you at least try looking into the possibility of
chartering or day sailing a blue water catamaran in the 35 to 45 foot
range to see whether this option holds any possible benefit. There is
a significant number of used cats for sail and there are considerable
prices ranges as well.

Hope to see you out on the bay sometime!

Cheers,

Robb


André Langevin wrote:
Good day to all of you group fellows,

I don't know if it has ever been discussed but i am curious to hear from
other's experience regarding this subject. I'm 46 right now and i have
enjoyed several sailboat starting with small daysailer then to keel and last
of them was a Tanzer 26. This was 10 years ago. At that time i was tired
of being held hostage by the tide and reversing current of Quebec City (5
knots going down for 6 hours and 4 knots going up for 4-5 hours). So i
bought a powerboat and i still have it today altough i'm currently thinking
of selling it for a larger boat. This boat is depicted here :
www.langevin.biz/marinette34

Now i'm thinking at the next boat and i would like a sailboat to do coastal
navigation and even trans-atlantic crossing and long distance travel. Since
it will take me some years to get to this next boat, suppose i'm 50 years
old and i finally have that big 43-45 feet sailboat. What are the chances
i could use it for 15-20 years ? Could it be my last boat or will my last
boat invariably be a powerboat ?

André