Before my one of my fishing partners died. We made changes to the way we fished. The 7' dipsiey rods let Bob (at 86) bring in kings on the wire that he couldn't have done with our bigger rods. A 10' wire rod would be hard with a good shoulder, the 7' is a piece of cake.
Take out kids and groom them into your new partners Its tough to make changes to a well oiled machine. Good luck , hope your friends shoulder is on the mend., He can steer with one arm