INVESTIGATOR 563

Hi again everyone.

It's been ages since I've posted any images or an update on my 30 year refurb, but I can assure you the work's been progressing apace over the past months and I'll now resume posting some more pics to show what I've done.

The good news is the refurb is almost finished, and should be done and dusted this Easter weekend -- ready to get QUMBU's hull wet again after 14 months beached on my front lawn.

(Of course, I've been doing a lot of sailing on other people's boats in the interim, and that partly explains why my boat's taken so long to finish.)

In the pics below you can see the mounting frames I've custom built (out in my 'shed') to fit into the cabin on port and starboard aft sides.

I've made these from a combination of dressed hardwood (for strength) and pine, with saw-holes cut out to ensure all pieces are as light as possible -- yet still structurally strong.

I've also painted them with sealant, to prevent condensation from wreaking havoc down the track, and I've used galvanised wood screws to again hopefully avoid too much rust.

The resulting frames are very light but strong, and fit the spaces under the cockpit seats exactly (naturally, because I measured the bloody things!).

More to come.

Cheers,

Hi again:

In the attached two photos you can see the painted port frame, with my restored Ravia metho stove fitted -- to test its sliding mechanism. For this, I've attached two normal draw sliders to the Ravia using SS self-taping screws. My plan is for the Ravia to sit back under the inside of the port side cockpit seat, then be able to slide out when needed -- as it apparently did in the original models. I'm not sure how they used to fit the stove -- perhaps it rotated out in an arc on a single vertical hinge.

The other image is of the starboard side face panel that will be screwed onto the starboard inner frame. The large hole (part finished with a thin rubber trim) will have a poly tube inside it (about 1 metre long) for storing charts. The other holes are for various electrical leads and wires to exit into the fuse/switch box I'm making separately, that will eventually attach here.

The face board is cut out (on my bench-top jigsaw cutter) from 2mm thick ply, which I've sealed on both sides with clear plastic sealant to prevent any water damage (which is bound to happen).

More to come ...

Hi again:

In these photos you can see the test fitting of my two inner cabin frames on the inside port and starboard sides.

I've measured and designed both to be through bolted into the exterior cabin wall using SS bolts and washers.

Note that by this stage I have also cut out the black frontliner material (bought off the roll at Spotlight) and attempted to glue it to the inner walls of the cabin berth areas on port and starboard. This was a terrible job, since the spray adhesive wasn't strong enough (despite what Mr Bostick said on his can), so I had to resort to a wooden spatula (old icy pole sticks are good for this) to spread contact adhesive from a can out onto both surfaces, wait about 10 minutes, then press together. Even this brings mixed results (apart from getting progressively high on the fumes!).

The last picture shows some lengths of poly I've cut and laid under the step area, to run well back up the under floor of the cockpit. I've secured these with cable ties. I plan to put long things into these that used to roll about loose and annoy me in my previous boat: fishing rods, oars, boat hooks, paddles, etc. Note also in this pic the PVC grey conduit coming up from the inner cabin floor well, which contains the main power cable run from the 12V battery in the very front cavity. You can also see a thicket grey tube coming up from the ballast (connected to hand pump in starboard cockpit locker), and a black flexible tube that comes from an electric bilge pump, and empties straight into the cockpit at floor level.

More to come ...

Hi again:

One of the reasons I began to refurb my boat in the first place was to rearrange the deck control line layout, so that I could bring as many lines as possible back to the cockpit for ease of handling when cruising, especially single-handed.

So as you can see in the main pic attached, I've stripped off the pop-top and hatch to leave a bare coach roof area, onto which I've put new dual turning blocks on either side, and two new pairs of jam cleats on either side for the main lines. The winches were already on the boat when I got it and are perhaps a little overkill, but they work fine so I'm just leaving them.

Note that with the jam-cleats, I've cut angled pieces of old kitchen cutting board (nylon) to raise the rear end of each cleat for better line handling -- lifting them up off the deck.

Note that I've also cut and mounted a new compass on the port exterior cockpit wall, and I've mounted some tidy bags on either side too.

Cheers,

Hi again:

In this post I include further details showing some recent work on my boat.

The first pic shows a new cam-cleat I've installed on the port side to haul through and hold the line running from the jib self-furler. A friend who I used to crew with (on his racing boat) always chided me over keeping the furling jib. He claimed you could never go fast or point high enough with a furled sail. That may be so, but I'm not re-building this particular boat for racing; instead, I want something that's safe enough for gentle cruising with my wife and other novices aboard. When I want to race with the coaming in the water there are plenty of eager skippers out there looking for crew!

The second pic shows a new surface block I've inserted into the starboard cabin wall, for hoisting the centre-plate. The original block had worn right through its nylon sheave to jam into position, making it a tough haul to raise and lower the plate. Fortunately, you can still get the exact same size and model block as used in the original design (over 30 years ago), so even the holes matched up to reinstall this unit.

The third picture shows a closer view of the Plastimo Mini Contest compass I mounted in the port side cockpit wall. I had one of these on my previous boat and they are a great little compass for the price, and easy to install. They come with a paper template that you use to trace out the cutting hole on the fibreglass wall. Then it's a matter of drilling a few starter holes, then carefully cutting out the hole using a power jig-saw (fitted with a thin diamond blade, specially for cutting plastics, etc rather than wood). After a bit of filing to take off the rough edges, you can then mount the compass using its rubber grommet seal, and plastic mount screws. The most important thing is to mount it away from any large metal objects to ensure there's no untoward deflection.

You'll also note in this picture that I've remounted the port jib-sheet clam-cleat down to the right below its winch, to make this easier and more natural to grab, pull and clamp off. With all of these new mounts, I've sealed them in with new silastic compound, and backed them with a 10mm thick layer of nylon (chopped up kitchen cutting board), to ensure they have sufficient strength. The original mounts had small sections of half-inch thick ply as backing plates, which had often deformed or rotted and lost much of their strength.

Cheers,

Hi again:

In this posting I include pics of what my two cabin frame inserts look like once in place, together with their ply-wood facings screwed on.

The photos show both port and starboard sides, with the starboard side including the mounting of my fuse/switch box -- with all the wires from around the boat hanging out ready to be trimmed, stripped and connected up according to my electrical plan.

On each of these two panels I have included a 12V power plug, so I can plug in all sorts of things down the track: perhaps a phone or iPad charger, a portable TV or DVD player, my charger for the GPS, reading or map lights, etc.

The starboard side also has my VHF transceiver mounted from the coach roof (which I'll eventually replace with a 27MHz upgrade), and a hole cut in the frame at bottom ready for my S/H car stereo/CD player. In the corner I have also mounted a flexible rubber car aerial, which works really well from inside the boat as is (in other words, the GRP walls of the boat don't seem to hinder the radio waves at all from providing great reception).

Cheers,

Hi again:

The saga continues. No-one has complained yet about all these photos, so I'll just keep posting until someone does!

In this report I include two views of the completed starboard side inner cabin framework, complete with the car radio/CD player installed and the cutlery drawer -- both closed and opened. You will note that by this stage, I've also glued black frontrunner lining on the insides of the berth areas, and I've returned the original bench/berth cushions into place. These are heavily worn and in 'original condition', and one day when I pay off the national debt I may have them re-covered again; in the meantime, they will be fine!

The other pic shows the view now through the inner bulkhead, showing a glimpse of the plywood panelling I've lined the bulkhead wall with to make the interior a little 'warmer' and add a touch of nautical character. A good effect for minimal extra weight. I've also cut up some light blue nylon pool-edge carpet to lay on the floor areas.

You probably won't notice it, but I've also repainted the entire inside of both cabin areas with a new gloss enamel (in a warm beige colour): a stinky job but well worth it for freshening up an old boat, making it much easier to wipe off mould and anything else that stains interiors.

As always, if anyone wants further advice on how to do some of this stuff, or where to buy materials, or what tools to use, just let me know.

Cheers,

Hi again:

Some of you - especially my long-suffering wife Penny - may be pleased to hear that the 30 year refurb is almost at an end, and that my boat is almost ready for a dunking again after its 15 month layup.

Anyway, the three pics for this post show some final work done inside and above the cabin area.

In the first two pics you can see how I've unashamedly pinched an idea posted elsewhere in this site (by Bob, I think) on fixing some webbing beneath the forward cabin floor hatch, to stow my washboards when not in use. This was a fairly easy task, once we mastered sewing webbing on the sewing machine.

The third pic shows the board screwed back into position with some marine carpet over the top.

The original mid berth cushion was missing when I bought the boat, but I'll replace it eventually. In the meantime, the forward cabin area is now ready for stowing gear.

Cheers,

On Yara, that infill piece is also our table. Has three legs, so it can be stand-alone in the cockpit, or with one central leg, fits on a bar across the forecabin entrance to make an inside table.

Thanks Ian:

The previous owner of my boat had another piece of ply that he similarly used as a table, balanced on a dowell length standing down through a hole in the cabin floor plate at one end, and hooked over the cabin entrance step at the other (I think).

Anyway, I have attached two runners under my starboard cabin frame where I plan to slide this piece into. I may cut it down a touch and fit a swing down leg on one end, and some way of attaching it at the other end across the bulkhead.

I'll post photos of this once it's done.

Cheers,