Blueplume, I agree that hand flying of the a/c is the single best way to stay sharp. I used to only use autoflight in cruise on B-727, DC-8, and B-747. Of course this was years ago and the AP's didn't have full regime autothrottles, so what's the point of using them if I had to run the power anyway.
Nowdays all of that has changed and the manufacturers, and most airline ops specs want full use of autoflight from early climb until late final and autoland if visibility is in question. Couple that with RVSM level off and nav accuracy requirements and say goodbye to hand flying.
Also, it's not the line Captain's responsibility to allow the F/O to hand fly. That aircraft is flying on his ATP. Say goodbye to the good old days.