INVESTIGATOR 563

Hi all,

It's cruiser Pete from the forum.
Thought, I'd pop in and say hi... with an update on 'where to next'

Well as some might know I refurbished my fantastic I563 over 8 months ( ended up being closer to 13 months in the end) and then promptly sold her to a neighbour. Had a chat with him and he loves the Investigator. I asked him about how well the refurbished items were holding up and he was still very happy. Especially the window refurbishment so that good testimony to the 3M-VHB tape and Corning 791 silicone method I used (a write up on here somewhere)

After my gorgeou I563 was sold, I bought a Farrier TT680 Trimaran and yes..... ended up refurbishing her over 15months. Again, I stripped every nut and bolt and replaced most 80% of her fittings (except sails ) including building a new Nav station and installing a Lido Marine LPG gas stove .... and bugger me dead, she sold sight unseen to a Guy in SA...

Ok, so the running joke in the family (girlfriend and my son ) is that 'dad' buys boats, rebuilds them and NEVER get's to go sailing.

So to rectify the situation I've gone back to monohulls but to the 'dark side' and a keel boat.
I'm off to Melb in 2 weeks to look at a Top Hat or Columbia and hopefully end up with one, sail her to Tassie in Dec and have a boat that minimally needs a clean.... I'm over rebuilding and NOT actually sailing

I still have a love of I563's because they're just fantastic trailer sailers and they look great.

Not sure if anyone remembers my original reason for the I563 way back in 2013
I have a long term plan to circumnavigate Tasmania, then Australia and then set off to retire onboard a yacht.
My plan was, start small and work up to larger, hence the I563 was my starting point, then the 23ft Farrier now a 25/27ft Keel boat and in 2 years hopefully something in the way of 34-37ft to liveaboard and retire on.
So far so good with my plans...

I'll poke about on the forum because the I563 forum was my very first starting point on my retirement journey, I met some wonderful people on here. Oh, if I'm ever in a bay or marina and I see a I563 getting ready to launch.... I'll make sure I run (I'm past sprinting lol ) to say hi help with a few lines or mast raise... she's a big blue planet so chances are slim, but you never know who you may meet at a boat ramp or marina.

Pete
It's not quite an I563 .... but I know how much we love photos so just a few of the Farrier trailer tri refurbishments pics
New Gally and Nav area ( completely built from scratch )

Gally and Nav Before



Gally and Nav After





Making complex templates of the cabin sides
I couldn't think of a good way to copy the curves of the cabin sides to make a wall template between the oven and Nav area... but I came across an old ship builders method called a Joggle or tick stick.... absolutely ingenious and brilliant. Those old boat builders were a common sense bunch. If you google joggle or tick stick you'll find what I'm referring to

the finished result was an absolutely perfect fit.. was quite surprised how damn good the fit was. I could never have 'guessed' this and I wasn't about to have a sheet of paper flapping about while I'm 'trying' to trace... this is simply a brilliant method


The joggle/tick stick ( see actual stick on top of the marine ply )




New battery compartment with correct wiring size and 70a ANL fuses (added another fuse block if extra battery was required as I'm a bit of a power hog.... but getting better)




Similar photos to my I563 deck non-slip - masked off non slip areas and painted. Lessons learned from my I563 Use 3 coats not two, mask in one continuous overlapping line so when peeling off each end 'pick up' the other end and making tape comes on in one neat piece )



The end result


As mentioned, she's most definitely not an I563 but I know we love photos and my gorgeous I563's refurbishment was instrumental in helping this refurbishment be a success, so I owe a lot to the brilliant I563

Cheers all, Pete

Pete! Mate good hear from you . Great to see you are still enjoying boats . Never apologise for not sailing , boats are their own reward, no matter how you get a buzz from them. I personally think your posts here were a big inspiration to a lot of lurkers who may be thinking of a boat Reno . And over at the "other Place" they were a damn site more inspiring than the negative stuff that was passed off as help.

For what it's worth you inspired me to do my last haulout when the flesh was weak. You really are in the wrong business. From the care you show in your pics you should be a professional refurbisher of boats.

I am about to join my wife in complete retirement, giving away the bit of casual work I've been doing for a few years. I have toyed with the idea of buying a keeler just to do up and use for a year or so for the experience and then resell keeping the 563 for normal use . But I'm running out of get up and go , wasting it on house renos. I did buy an old tinny to fix up to take travelling a few years back, used it for a while intending to tow it behind a small motorhome! But ...changed tack and bought a caravan instead so I know the feeling . Next owner got the benefit of all the mods and improvements I made. I did however turn a small profit which I put into a poly rooftopper and found the project quite rewarding. Post a pick if I can find one.

There is an Endevour 26 "fixer "for sale locally for $1000, sorely tempted but not quite enough. My back is going out more than I do these days and I would like to keep what integrity it has left for sailing Spritzig II and travelling.

In any case keep up the good work and keep posting . We have just done pulse check on here to see if we were all still alive .

Cheers Ozzie

Ps. Good to see you using the "joggle stick" . I still remember my first day as junior draftsman in 1974 and the first thing the boss taught me was the value of templates over measuring. The principal stuck with me for my whole career. for anyone who wants to find out about joggle sticks

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread. ... gle-sticks

EDIT:Found em Big sun shade was for NT and WA sun

Also meant to ask what brand of anti slip paint did you use?