INVESTIGATOR 563

I know you got one or two on your boat.
it may be a sweet depth sounder,that nice lighting.
the rope with funny colours.
what ever!! it time to confess.

Gas struts on the cockpit locker lids - great
What gadgets would i like? Maybe more than gadgets but a walk around bed and stand up gallery

couple of years ago when i installed the auto helm i also incorporated a wifi controller for it from Madman Marine (http://www.madmanmarine.com) allows me to control the auto helm from the cabin from iPhone or anywhere on the boat really - great when you are making lunch etc

I ike the odd gadget Atles, but I tend to enjoy the simplicity of the investigator. You may recall my low tech sound system from an earlier post with now ancient gen 1 iPod mini. The best modern tech I've added to Spritz has to be the LED lighting. I used to do a fair bit of night time boating and nothing was a bigger pain than scraping bulb contacts and hoping the nav lights were not going to fail. It also allowed me to ditch the mammoth truck battery I used to lug around for overnighters.

As my night vision is fairly poor due to medical factors I have also updated all my torches to LEDs and supplemented them with CREE LED torches in my sailing bag and jacket. Man these things will cook your eyeballs at close range. I have an LED spot to mount on the pulpit this haulout for picking my way through the mooring area at night . Worst job ever finding your way back through a crowded mooring area on NYE . You won't hit a boat but its hard to avoid unattended mooring apparatus. I also have a couple of plug in blue low level lights to install inside to preserve night vision that I've never got round to installing(supposed to be better than red ...dunno)

Funny thing about gadgets. One of my CREE torches I got from ALDI has a three setting pushbutton ... one push is full power, second push is 50% and third push is SOS flashing ..---... but I wonder if any bugger other than Marine rescue or MSB would even recognise it as such or think it was a malfunctioning cardinal marking float. Hope I never need it.

Second funny thing about gadgets . Both myself and two of my friends owned the old air cooled kombis in the past . You remember the kombi. Simple like the Investigator. Two instruments , speedo and fuel gauge, glove box lid was an optional extra. Anyway one of those friends last year bought a new Audi Rv with more bells and whistles than the bleedin' space shuttle for a retirement gift for himself and his missus. Driving up the new Hunter Expressway at xmas he noticed the dash mounted fully integrated GPS was not registering the new road...said he was in the bush!!!

On the blower to Audi the next day....."yessir we can update your GPS...$900"

Simplicity does not break often and if it does is usually easy and cheap to fix.

PS when I do need a gadget fix you can't beat Dealextreme

Aus site is http://aud.dx.com You can buy a half dozen small devices/ gadgets / boredom relievers for under ten bucks. Great stocking fillers at xmas time.

sorry had lots on, did not have time to jump on !
nice to see everyone

My favorite gadget is the 12v cigarette lighter socket.

not for lighting up a ciggy but to power up any kind of portable device
Like the small 'beer can" inverter

Andrew wrote:My favorite gadget is the 12v cigarette lighter socket.

not for lighting up a ciggy but to power up any kind of portable device

WP_20160904_14_44_52_Pro_LI 2.jpg

Like the small 'beer can" inverter

Yes- very good at draining the battery quickly too!

The inverter is one of my favorite gadgets, So far it hasn't caused a noticeable battery drain problem on Teria, which is 80ah and fully charged on departure and has 35w solar panel top up when sailing. (Teria is relatively simple electrically-electronically, not many power draws)

The inverter is a Powertech mi5127, 150watt. It re-charges any (small) thing with a re-chargable battery. eg smartphones, digital camera, small led torches, led lamp, FM SW radio.. i don't have any power-hungry stuff aboard.

http://teria563.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Inverter

https://getawayoutdoors.com.au/Product/ ... USB-Output

If you just want USB charging then a cigarette lighter socket is more efficient than an inverter. You can get cig lighter to multi USB plugs for about $20. Just make sure you have the correct polarity on the cig lighter socket.