Sail no 156 on the water with new owner

General Sailing Talk
David Russell
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2016 6:22 pm
Location: Hobart

Sail no 156 on the water with new owner

Post by David Russell »

I purchased my boat a little over a month ago from the north of the state, taken me a little while to find the time to do the few things that needed doing and to figure out the rigging etc.

This forum has been invaluable to me in working out how things work. My sailing experience is fairly limited so I am feeling my way on several fronts. Having a few technical hiccups with the forum, thanks Ozzie for the help, that seems to have been self healing as far as I can tell.

I managed to get her launched and sailing over the weekend which was great fun and went surprisingly smoothly given her age and length of time out of the water, been three years or so in the shed with her previous owner. My two teenage boys came out and helped with the process and enjoyed the afternoon.

Now a few refinements to make the whole thing a little smoother and more efficient. I will read what little I haven't read as yet on the forum before I start asking questions.

Thanks again to all who post, it may be surprising what can be helpful to others.

I will attempt to attach pictures, bear with me if this doesn't come off.
IMG_20160209_145716_opt.jpg
IMG_20160209_145716_opt.jpg (45.1 KiB) Viewed 6456 times
IMG_20160306_143024_opt.jpg
IMG_20160312_145234_opt.jpg
Cheers

David
atles
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Feb 16, 2014 1:41 am
Location: Brisbane

Re: Sail no 156 on the water with new owner

Post by atles »

Hi David the boat looks good!!have fun with the sailing
atles
Investigator #133 sky bird
brisbane
User avatar
Ozzie
Posts: 1621
Joined: Wed May 27, 2009 1:07 pm
Investigator Boat Name: Spritzig II
Location: Lake Macquarie
Contact:

Re: Sail no 156 on the water with new owner

Post by Ozzie »

Boat looks well cared for David. I like the idea of the pads under the rollers .

Great to see yourself and Fatpaddler buying boats for family and kids . My two adult daughters grew up on boats and have great memories. They are both too busy in their own lives to join us sailing now much, but one has a sea kayak and the other a stand up paddle board so they took their boating upbringing away with them.

Boating is its own reward and introducing your kids to it is a recipe for lifelong entertainment i think. It can be enjoyed at very low cost levels these days, even free, so many boats given away on interweb on a regular basis. Just add elbow grease and your boating.
Ozzie
Investigator #143 "SPRITZIG II"

The Mariner - “It’s too strange here. It doesn’t move right." ...
Enola - “Helen said that it’s only land sickness."
Waterworld (1995)
fatpaddler
Posts: 32
Joined: Wed Feb 17, 2016 6:40 pm
Location: Brisbane
Contact:

Re: Sail no 156 on the water with new owner

Post by fatpaddler »

I agree Ozzie, some of my best childhood memories are of sailing with my dad... including the time we actually had a boat sink on us!

My daughters are incredibly active already but I feel that sharing the joy of boats is something that will hopefully add to their lives... and to mine. :D
Investigator #111 "Missy"
Yara50
Posts: 835
Joined: Mon May 25, 2009 7:10 pm
Location: Sydney

Re: Sail no 156 on the water with new owner

Post by Yara50 »

David, can you provide more pics of the pads over the rollers. Like how do they stay in place? I made individual pads over each roller and they kept falling off. Only now that the boat is off the trailer I realised one of the clamping brackets' welds had failed, and was letting the mounting slip.
Ian B
Ex Investigator 563 #50 Yara
David Russell
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2016 6:22 pm
Location: Hobart

Re: Sail no 156 on the water with new owner

Post by David Russell »

The pads are pieces of closed cell foam from an old trampoline spring protection mat I had kicking around (I have a great deal of stuff kicking around). I put them there after reading on the forum about wobble rollers digging into the hull over time and the same warning from the previous owner. My plan was to make something box like from plywood as I had seen on the forum, may have been you Ian?

I had also intended to slip some 3mm ply between the foam and roller to spread the load but it seemed unnecessary once I had the foam wedged in. We slackened the roller lock bolt off, put the foam in then levered under the square section with a 6 foot digging bar while tightening the lock bolt back up to get a bit of pressure on the foam.

This was intended as a temp measure to get me home after buying the boat, 5 hours or so driving. Now I think its the permanent solution, they don't fall out and I can get them out just before launching with a bit of shoulder pressure on the hull and turning the wobble rollers. Reinstate them the same way once off the ramp.

Its good fun getting away camping and sailing in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel down here, I have been out a few times with my boys and friends on a mates Nolex 25, this has inspired the Investigator adventure. No distractions, no screens and time to spend with each other is hard to find in the modern world, I can do without any sinking boat memories though!

Noticed an Investigator for sale down here in Hobart on gumtree tonight, http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/glenorch ... 1107329186, just in case someone is looking.
User avatar
Ozzie
Posts: 1621
Joined: Wed May 27, 2009 1:07 pm
Investigator Boat Name: Spritzig II
Location: Lake Macquarie
Contact:

Re: Sail no 156 on the water with new owner

Post by Ozzie »

:lol: man this forum is really kicking again. Good job on the roller pads David.

That is a nice 563 down in tassie. I made a comment on a previous post thet 9 k plus was top dollar for a 563 but in retrospect and having just mentioned my daughters it's probably not expensive for people with busy lives and who would rather get straight into sailing than DIY .

$9.5 k only buys a pretty average used car these days so I guess a fully refurbished yacht with as new outboard and tiller pilot etc is not bad use of brass. I've gotten too used to DIY, because I enjoy it, in my old age to see the other side of the coin objectively sometimes.

I'd also say that a moderately well looked after Investigator will always resell with minimal loss..

One of my good mates who is a bonkers keen outside fisho bought a new Cruisecraft Outsider a few years back. About 65 grand , but he uses it to death and gets his family and himself safely out and back to his offshore fishing grounds in comfort.

So good on him.


......you can still get free boats though... :shock: :lol:
Ozzie
Investigator #143 "SPRITZIG II"

The Mariner - “It’s too strange here. It doesn’t move right." ...
Enola - “Helen said that it’s only land sickness."
Waterworld (1995)
User avatar
Ozzie
Posts: 1621
Joined: Wed May 27, 2009 1:07 pm
Investigator Boat Name: Spritzig II
Location: Lake Macquarie
Contact:

Re: Sail no 156 on the water with new owner

Post by Ozzie »

I could not resist bumping this thread I was having a bet with a mate the other day that I could not find him a free yacht in lake Mac, actually for his son. This came up in 24 hours one suburb away from him in Belmont.

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/belmont ... 1180634174

Yes it’s not an investigator it’s a bluebird. Fibreglass but not exactly the most renowned design , but free isn’t a bad price for a 22 ft yacht . I’ve seen a few on the lake and they have something of a rustic charm with their odd window design but the price is right if anyone’s wants to start a fleet :D

Bugger me if I’m not getting the WEBSITE NOT SECURE warning again tonight.
Ozzie
Investigator #143 "SPRITZIG II"

The Mariner - “It’s too strange here. It doesn’t move right." ...
Enola - “Helen said that it’s only land sickness."
Waterworld (1995)
Yara50
Posts: 835
Joined: Mon May 25, 2009 7:10 pm
Location: Sydney

Re: Sail no 156 on the water with new owner

Post by Yara50 »

The Bluebird 22 is actually a great boat to sail, and a good sea boat. I used to sail mine offshore. However, does have a bolted on keel which would need to be checked, as well as the rigging. Wood would be to old, but thr FG ones could be OK.
Ian B
Ex Investigator 563 #50 Yara
User avatar
snoopebj
Posts: 327
Joined: Wed May 27, 2009 11:32 am

Re: Sail no 156 on the water with new owner

Post by snoopebj »

Welcome David
The low price of the Investigators belies their real value. An exceptional design strong and safe. Even more important it has one of the strongest support groups of all in this web site and the IYA - great people with a wealth of knowledge. I have sailed with other owners all around NSW and I also sail the Investigator offshore in Wollongong. My wife and I have had many great trips in Tasmania . Perfect sailing grounds for the Investigator.
Great job on the boat.
Looking forward to your future posts.
Fair winds and following seas

Emrys
Investigator #166 'Current Affair'
Post Reply