INVESTIGATOR 563

hi i am new to this forum. i am looking to leave my boat on a swing mooring what i would like to know if there are any issues with this in particular the centreboard fouling up with barnacles. I was told they don't like to live in the dark places?. The hull will be anti fouled. Any advise would be appreciated cheers rob

Talk to Ozzie, who no doubt will be along shortly. He has his boat on a mooring and he is happy with the arrangement.
If you want to put a 563 on a mooring probably best to buy one that has already been on a mooring, as you can get them cheaper. You still want a trailer, though, as the cost of slipping is expensive if you have to go on a commerccial slip.

Then again, if you want a moored boat, for the same money you can buy a 24ft keelboat these days. The Marauder 24 is by the same designer and is the bigger brother to the Investigator. The biggest version is the Marauder 27 which is available second hand for around $10k if you can find one. However, the running costs for a 27 footer are a lot more than an Investigator 563.

Hi Rob. I have had Spritzig II moored for about 12 years now with no major issues. As Ian states keel boats are really the best option for mooring on a price basis but I like the beachability of the 563.

The first thing you need to do is establish a waterline . I screwed this up on my first attempt and redid it a year later . Float the boat with what will be your normal loading in place (balanced loading side to side if you can) in waist deep water on a nice calm day and mark the waterline with dots along the length with a permanent marker say every few feet or 600mm or so. When it comes time to paint, my suggestion is to mask a smooth line using say a steel Stanley tape measure so its flexible about say 100mm above this . The boat will rock in the water and you will get slime/weed growth above your original marked dotted line. DONT try and improve on your marked line you did in the water because it doesn't look right, just come up parallel to it. Dont ask me how I know this You can also put a boot stripe above this with coloured paint as I did or 3M tape if you are rich. it looks good and sets the boat off rather nicely.
My boat had two coats of two pack primer put on below the waterline prior to two coats of antifoul. Depending on what paint system you use I think hand brushing is fine. Make absolutely sure to follow safety instructions when using two pack primer. This seals the hull for better protection against osmosis apparently. While the primer was still tacky I put the first coat of International hard antifoul. Allowed it to dry overnight and put a second coat on the next day with extra coats of the forefoot and keel edge until I'd used it all up. A four litre tin is more than enough for a 563. International hard AF does not have a time limit to get to the water as some softer AFs do.

There are many opinions on types of antifoul with most favouring the soft ablative style. My reason for sticking with the hard International was so that I can beach the boat and also bring it home or take it away on the trailer through the year if I wish without scratching the AF off and creating spots for critters to grow. My only real casualty of mooring has been the wearing through of the pull ring on the CB after 6 years which I replaced by welding. Up to then all I did special on the CB was squirt fish oil on it and had minimal rust. After going to the trouble of lowering it to weld on the new ring I gave it two coats of two pack primer, one coat of single pack metal epoxy and anti fouled it. But in the years since it just been the fishoil. I have replaced the wire pull rope on the CB pull with all 6mm spectra tied on with a buntline hitch coated with marine sikaflex to eliminate mechanical wear on the new ring pull when rocking on the mooring.

You are right about marine growth. It does not generally occur in the CB slot but does sometimes accumulate around the bottom externally which has jammed the CB requiring a nudge with screwdriver towards the end of the season. If used regularly it's less of a problem. I experimented with a 2 mm spectra pull wire led to the taffrail which also works. A quick dive under the boat in the summer in waist deep water usually solves the problem. You can give it a bit of a scrub with a yard broom while you're there.

On annual (lie) haul out I touch up any areas that show white through my black antifoul after I clean the bottom as obviously its had a scrape. I use two pack here even if I'm not sure if its gone through to the gelcoat. So far this has served me well. No osmosis blisters after 12 years, although, things I have read say that osmosis is often due to a bad original layup in the glass in bad weather conditions. I'm not a material scientist so maybe I've just been lucky but I'll keep doing what Ive been doing.

Well sorry if this has been a bit of an epic but mooring is not as scary as it sounds. The joke ultimately is that all the pelicans in LM eat all bran and like to target my boat but I like the convenience of a moored boat and the fact that I can just row out any time, have a fish , a cup of tea, kick a pelican in the bum and generally commune with nature. My 5hp OB comes home on the tender and all sails go inside the cabin in their own bag, main rolled on the boom, so everything stays out of the weather.

Last point. I had a moored cruiser for 14 years before the 563 and the first year I anti fouled it in white coloured AF. Dont be tempted . Weed growth looks bloody awful on white. Ive used black ever since, although I think dark blue may be ok... check other boats. Good luck

PS get your mooring apparatus serviced by a licensed contractor annually . I have always done this and sleep well during storms on or off the boat.

thanks guys for the info.i already have a mooring on port hacking. i know i will use the boat more if its in the water . the 563 design with the shallow draft should be ideal as the channels are pretty shallow . and to be realistic i know i will most days be sailing alone. cheers rob

A full and comprehensive answer, Ozzie.
Top job!

Thank you Peter . I appreciate your comment.

I really consider the 563 as a moored TS is in its own small way the ideal sailing vessel. You have the stability of a keel boat with the beachability of a TS, admittedly with some controls. Then you have the portability of being able to take it out of the water and sail elsewhere , very expensive for true keelers or requiring offshore passage which the skipper may not feel competant to do. (me). No slip fees with a trailer is also a benefit for running costs.

Maintenance on the 563 is for the most part fairly easy compared to other trailered yachts except perhaps a Red Jacket or similar design. The high mounting position on the trailer and alternate lowering of the side supports makes it far less a chore to clean and anti foul than my old cruiser which required being down in the dirt with toxic AF dripping on you and working around multiple cross members and braces on the big quad trailer. No fun at all.

Also for those considering mooring, the NSW R.M.S. allow you 28 days off the mooring at a time for trips away or maintenance . More with written permission. Other jurisdictions may vary.

Anti foul, while it may slightly reduce the resale value of your vessel, does allow you to take it away for long periods in the water without fighting marine growth. Barnacles, if they get on your pristine gel coat, are difficult to remove without some damage . Anecdotal evidence from other forums suggest that most temporary attempts at anti foul like oil or WD40 have been considerably less than successful. Food for thought anyway.

Terrific post Ozzie, lot of great info and you have convinced me not to pursue my plan of summer mooring - its all too much for a few weeks per year and I like my clean boat bottom the way it is.

Cheers

Mark

To each his own, mooring is obviously not for everyone Mark. Although if someone has already two packed the hull and uses ablative AF its not a one way street I suppose. You could blast all the antifoul off at the seasons end and be back to your pristine hull.

Over on the far side they talk about "Mast up Storage" being the ultimate . When I bought my cruiser back in 1989 I had equivalent of MAS for the first six months while I got the trailer up to scratch and got a mooring organised. At the cost it was, if Id continued that for 27 years, I would have spent enough money to buy the Queen Mary by now.


I have also been fortunate to not have the hull deformation and keel bolt issues that appear to come from regular trailering although I may have just been lucky, who knows?

Well Ozzie, I have been lucky to have a mast-up facility 300m from launching ramp so those wear and tear issues and not such a concern. I must say its so much easier and quicker getting on the water with such a setup.

However I often think it would be nice to arrive at the marina, step on board and toddle off but here in the bay I am out-priced on that option and we come back to the antifoul requirement again. You have it well sorted though and an excellent example of how to do it properly.

Best

Mark

Thank you for your kind words Mark. I was not trying to sway anyone one way or the other and to be honest after 14 years of the cruiser I had several long talks with myself before I took the plunge with putting Spritzig II on a mooring. Particularly regarding the CB which was the great unknown and something of an experiment.

Just thought I'd add this last post with a few pics I harvested from an old thumb drive just to complete the story for future reference.
This shows the minimal rust on the CB body after six years submerged. The worn ring was I consider partly from electrolysis between the stainless thimble and gal CB plus mechanical wear from the same rocking on the mooring which would have exposed the steel to rust. As Ian suggested an alternative to a new ring would be drilling a hole and using a long flat shackle to hold the rope. Electrolysis may of course, still be an issue.
This shows a snap taken a few years ago of the boat in its post haul out trim with spit , polish and bootstripe ready for the season. We make a point of bringing the boat to sale condition when we get it out. That way if we ever decide to sell we just have to hopefully pressure clean it and advertise .

My wife hates haul out as the back yard and drive way looks like Steptoe's for three weeks.

As per my post in the thread on CB removal the rear stand is holding up the back of the boat and the front of the long keel clear of the CB slot is just on the trailer.