Before doing any boat recommendations I need to know about the couple.
Eighty year of age does not means much.
How physically flexible is the couple. Are they quick enough to react if the
boom swims toward them. Can they swim ashore if their boat capsizes or can
they get back in their boat. I know people sailing dinghies is their late
eighty and doing extremely well.
Mr. X is over eighty five. He build his own 11'2" Shellback Dinghy. During
the summer he takes his grandson sailing with him or his girlfriend of the
same age.
Conversely, today you can buy 30 (and up) foot sloop sailboat with walk
though transom, furling for the main and jib.
If a couple has been physically active and know what they are doing on the
water age is not a problem.


"DSK" wrote in message
...
Harlan Lachman wrote:
Does anyone have sail boat recommendations for a couple in their 80s?

snip

Lew Hodgett wrote:
SFWIW, I'm on another list with a guy in Rhode Island that has sailed a
Marshal cat boat for years.

He loves it and while not 80, is no spring chicken either.

If you want something smaller, how about a 9 ft Fatty Knees, a dinghy
designed by Lyle Hess and now being built by Eddy & Duff.


If you want to go with something small, why not a Tech dinghy?


Jeff wrote:
I certainly wouldn't recommend a Fatty Knees to anyone with mobility
problems. It would be a death trap - they wouldn't last one tack! I
have one - I only capsized once, but that was stepping into it from my
boat.


And they're not as tippy as some other hard dinks. A Tech or one of the
other frostbiting classes might be a good mix of stability & performance.


A Marshall 15 might be better, but the larger ones have a lot of sail to
handle.

A Beetle Cat!

.... I was thinking of a Rhodes 19, or the Mariner (same hull, with a
cuddy). With a keel its going to be stable, nothing happens too quickly,
and the sails aren't to large to handle. Its even reasonably functional
under main alone.


Good idea.

Of course, a lot depends on where they are and what type of sailing they
want to do.

A boat with a cuddy cabin need not make it too large or heavy or
expensive, and can add functionality.

DSK