INVESTIGATOR 563

Hello all,

I have owned an Investigator for about one month now. It has not touched water in that time, as it is a "fixer upper". Not sure what the hull number or sail number is, but will look to see if I can find it (offer help on this please

The hull is sound, and has a very nice set of sails, with good main, 2 x std jibs, storm jib and a Code zero that is brand new. The only major problem is that the boat has at least 4 coats of paint on it, looking very faded and nasty. This includes some extra in the way of antifoul. Most of the rigging and hardware is good, but some will need to be replaced or reworked to be safe enough.

The trailer is a bit sad, and is from friendlier times before braking was made mandatory on everything over 750kgs. I will need to add override brakes and do a bit of welding here and there, replace a few bits, easy enough having a workshop at my disposal.

Im pretty sure the boat is a later model (has a square shaped fwd hatch with two hinges), but otherwise know knothing of its history.

Have a photo somewhere, will post it sometime soon.

One thing I will need to know is where all the gear is supposed to go, as it has all been removed to allow for painting - this is how I received it. Some bits are obvious, and I have done a bit of sailing, so have some idea. If I take some photos later, maybe the kind members might tell me how it all works

BTW:

My name is Rod, I work in Perth fulltime, but my family home is in Woodanilling in the Great Southern Region of WA. This is about 1.5 hours north of Albany and due west of Bunbury on Great Southern Hwy. I have a large block in this little town, so have plenty of room to move the boat around and do trailer work etc.

Look forward to conversations about this interesting little boat.

Hi Rod:

Welcome aboard! It sounds like you have a fair bit of work ahead of you, but it will be worth it!

As you will read elsewhere in his forum (under topic '30 year refurb', etc), I also overhauled my yacht after I bought it.

I did not have it on the water for the first 18 months; instead, I stripped, checked and (where necessary) replaced or re-bedded most of the items back onto the bare boat shell. I also added a lot of missing gear, such as a complete electrical system - including a sound system which I really appreciate when cruising about (most times I enjoy the 'silence' of being on the water, but occasionally some music is great to listen to).

It was a lot of work, and I spent a lot of time and money doing so (my wife would say far too much of both). However, I now have a yacht that I know backwards, and one that is set up exactly for the sailing I do - which is mostly single-handed on my local bay.

In recent weeks I've sailed in all sorts of conditions, including through 25 knots in a club race (wouldn't recommend this; we just got caught in it), and more recently some lovely days cruising with family and friends aboard for their first sailing experience.

You have all this to look forward to, and I believe that working on a boat is half the fun and enjoyment you get from it, especially if you like working with your hands on practical tasks.

Good luck with it all, and I look forward to seeng your photos and reading of your progress over the coming months.

Cheers,

Hi Rod
I am an Invesigator owner living in Kalamunda. I purchased the boat over 30 years ago and have only recently given the boat a complete overhaul. I Have all the fittings back in place which was quite a feat as I didn't take photos prior to stripping. [ big mistake ]. I also have a Mirror Dinghy which I purchased 18 months ago. I brought the Mirror to teach the G'kids to sail. If you want to look over an Investigator at any time please feel free to pop in and have a look around
Roscoe

Guys
I believe some Investigator 563 were made in WA. It would be interesting to see what detail differences there were in the design. Photos of your boats would be appreciated.

Hello all, thanks for the replies.

I will probably take up the offer sometime at looking at a boat, thanks Roscoe.

I dont intend to spend lots of time and money on this project, it is merely going to get a coat of paint and put back together. I dont have the time spare to do all sorts of tricky stuff, just the basics.

Hi Rod as Ian said some 563s were made in WA . According to one article, under licence, so it would be interesting to note any differences. Would they have bought the moulds off NSW or made their own off a boat and maybe changed a few things ?