YOU SAID:

I would but ask, how old must a man be, before he may go over sea in a ship, like my father?

INTO JAPANESE

私はただ尋ねるだけです、私の父のように、船で海を渡る前に、人は何歳でなければなりませんか?

BACK INTO ENGLISH

I just ask, like my father, how old must a person be before crossing the ocean by boat?

INTO JAPANESE

私はただ、父のように、船で海を渡る前に、人は何歳でなければならないのかと尋ねます。

BACK INTO ENGLISH

I just ask, like my father, how old must a person be before crossing the ocean by boat?