INVESTIGATOR 563

Sailing by myself is about to become a reality as the Admiral is beginning to show less enthusiasm for daysailing. I would like to start a thread to learn how you do it in an Investigator 563. Does it impact on when, where, why and how you sail?

Single handed has two components, the "land side" and the water side. There are lots of articles on the web about single handing, and the main thing there apart from all the hazard reduction techniques required, is having an autopilot makes a huge difference. Also using heaving-to is a key requirement.

The land side of solo launch retrieve is the sometimes more tricky bit. Yes, I have a mast raising system that is easy to do, but all these things take time. Double the time that two people can do it in. Then there is the bit about parking the tow vehicle and leaving the boat unattended. Usually that means having a good pontoon or beach available. Retrieving in a cross wind can be difficult, but I have an electric trailer winch with remote control for the first bit, which does help.

Given the time taken for the whole exercise, my approach is to make a weekend of it. Launch on the Saturday and retrieve on the Sunday night. If crew are available, I pick them up early Sunday morning.
Overnighting can be a delightful thing, and I enjoy having dinner on board at a pleasant anchorage.

this will happen to me in a few years kids grow up wife does not like sailing
but it will not stop me i have to buy a auto pilot tho