INVESTIGATOR 563

Hi All,

I've lurked here for a bit over a year now, but thought I'd better join now that I actually have an Investigator (as of about 10 hours ago!)

Today my family and I purchased Penny (#67). She has been a well loved and cared for boat for some years, structurally very sound, but showing her age in a few areas and with a bit of work needed on the trailer too. I plan to get started on some refurbishment work soon, my son is very excited about helping with that, I just need to temper his enthusiasm long enough to come up with a workable plan!

This isn't my first Investigator experience, when I was young my family bought a factory fresh Investigator, Jodamari (#137), which we sailed in Sydney initially before moving with it to Melbourne, owning it for about 14 years before selling it.

I haven't sailed much in recent years, and my wife and son haven't really sailed at all, so I thought I'd go with the Investigator again to build our confidence and have some fun.

Cheers

Matt

Great to have a new member Matt. You have also filled in two more slots in the investigator story/ history. Post your story chapters , we need new investigator material . This place feels like the twilight zone at times.

Welcome,
My only advice is that if you want to sail then you restrict the work to refurbishment and making safe rather than rebuilding, but should ship-wrighting be your thing then you have come to the right place to pick a few brains.
Once again, welcome.

Thanks for the welcome guys.

Peter, my plan is to divide work into what is necessary for safety and seaworthiness, and then do what is nice to have for the longer term. I've built a couple of small boats already and plan to build more, so I'm happy and comfortable with woodwork and fibreglass.

My main issue, after doing some tinkering today, is the trailer. The basic structure is OK, not perfect but roadworthy. The keel roller shafts are rusted into place, and two of the side support brackets were more rust than anything and broke apart as I tried to loosen the retaining bolts. I'm tossing up the effort of repairing the old trailer versus getting a new one. Unfortunately tilt trailers that suit Investigators appear to be very thin on the ground, but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers

Matt

welcome Matt i know you will hours of fun with your investigator