21 years ago….Spritzig II Moving on again

[Ozzie]

21 years ago we purchased our 563 after a 12 month hunt.

Well, after much, much digging and soul searching we have decided to pass Spritzig II on to a new home if there is a buyer interested. I will be turning 70 this year and life threatening health issues that have dogged me for sometime have curtailed our use of the boat now for a while and although I’m still keeping some functionality the treatments have knocked me around far more than I’ve been prepared to accept. It has however, been my spine which has been deteriorating since the 90s that has made the decision for me. Unfortunately my days of lifting outboards particularly on and off of tenders to transoms are long over, even little ones. Currently I’m doing maintenance and it’s a chore rather than fun. If my back was a horse, they’d shoot it.

I could just chain my OB to the transom and hope for the best but that’s only part of the issue. I’ve always considered that you take responsibility for your crew and guests on any boat and in a emergency, you as skipper need to be physically able to carry out those responsibilities and I’m just not confident of that anymore. Whining over.

I’ll put a proper detailed post on the sale and boat in the “for sale” section, hopefully tonight but probably tomorrow.

The sad part about selling her is we really have finally got her just about perfect for our use. But doing the little add ons along the way have been part of the fun I guess and kept us sane during Covid lockdowns.

Spritzig II interior

57FCE6B4-E756-46F3-BA9C-4DB0ED08C6F5.jpeg (45.6 KiB) Viewed 247 times

As an aside, I intend to stay on as a moderator on the forum with Geoff’s concurrence hopefully helping where I can to share my 21 years of experience with Investigators with more new owners and follow their progress. So it’s not goodbye from him. Important to say that I’ve learned as much from this forum as I’ve put into it. According to the speedo I’ve made 1756 posts …I should get a hobby .

Pm me for any details you might want. I’m not posting my phone number in the open forums as I’m knee deep in spammers as it is.

[IanS]

Hi Ozzie, very sorry to hear your boat is moving on. Keeping the boat and trailer in good condition over all those years is testament to your care and seamanship. Lots of good memories to cherish.

And your post is an important reminder to me to make the most of it while I still can.

Best wishes, Ian.

[Ozzie]

Thank you for your kind words Ian. As I’ve said before the Investigator has been the best value hobby I’ve ever had. It has cost us very little over the the years to maintain other than a good measure of elbow grease occasionally. We are sad to see her go as we had hoped my daughter and son in law would take her on and allow me to crew occasionally but they are land locked and lead a busy life style. Hopefully a young family will take up sailing and we can follow her future here. Trailer was important as I want her to get safely to her new home.
Regards Ozzie

[Phil1]

Many thanks to you Ozzie for the years of work on this forum. I'm a very new Investigator owner. The advice and info on this site has been invaluable. Very comforted indeed that your expertise will continue.
Regards Phil

[Ozzie]

Thanks Phil and ta to everyone, Andrew, Geoff, Ian and all who have offered kind words on my Investigating days. This forum has been a standout I think in many, the three I’ve been on, and many I’ve visited, in its general online espirit de corps that’s been shown among owners and posters.

It’s terrific from my point of view that people still want to learn, do, make and repair stuff in this throw away world. My kayak is 52 years old this year, bought it when I started working age 18. It’s been used to death in lakes, rivers, crunched on rocky beaches and generally beaten up. But, it’s patched up and and keeps going. My friends and family ask why I don’t buy a new one. Answer is always the same. It does what I want perfectly.

Fibreglass is hard to kill.

I may get a sticker that says Investigator 355, that’ll confuse them at the ramp.

The Investigator has been the same. It’s proven safe reliable and fun for my family for over two decades. Why change? The fact that so many people in this forum are finding and restoring them is a testament to Kevin Shepards original concept and product.

I’m just finishing off replacing the timber handrails on the cabin top. I’ll throw up a post in technical section this evening. Having trouble letting go. Have to pass the old girl on with a few nice bits