I recently rendered my aft-cabin cabinet useless with a new Mermaid A/C. The drawer remains and some space below the new shelf. Short of doing a lot of work ala Gene Greunder(link below) what other space can be opened up? If I cut through the f/g, port side under the nav table, how much room is in there? Should I plan on a custom door or would a 10x20" inspection hatch be large enough? Where else have you found easily accessible storage? I do plan to put an 8x12" hatch on front of shower seat.
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Edward Kennedy
Space
There is a large open area under the raised floor between the v-berths. It looks like it would be easy to put a hatch there, but I admit I haven't done this yet. An easy spot which I added storage is between the shower and the hull. Just cut out the bulkhead that separates that area from the small cabinet in the head. I cut it out above the shelf, and use the added area for things I rarly need to get.
There is a large open area under the raised floor between the v-berths. It looks like it would be easy to put a hatch there, but I admit I haven't done this yet. An easy spot which I added storage is between the shower and the hull. Just cut out the bulkhead that separates that area from the small cabinet in the head. I cut it out above the shelf, and use the added area for things I rarly need to get.
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Bob Miller
More space
Ed, have you opened up the area below the galley stove, yet. There's quite a bit of space in there. Bob Gusty Getaway
Ed, have you opened up the area below the galley stove, yet. There's quite a bit of space in there. Bob Gusty Getaway
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Ed Schenck
Bob, underneath from front?
I have not heard that. Presently my stove "slot" has a refrigerator in it. What kind of access door did you use? The link below is a picture for reference(not mine). Talked with Tom Hadoulias today and he mentioned the space below the salon sole, either side of the bilge. I think Gene Greunder wrote something about that also. Have you been under the floor?
I have not heard that. Presently my stove "slot" has a refrigerator in it. What kind of access door did you use? The link below is a picture for reference(not mine). Talked with Tom Hadoulias today and he mentioned the space below the salon sole, either side of the bilge. I think Gene Greunder wrote something about that also. Have you been under the floor?
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Gene Gruender
The spots I've found
Ed, what fun you are going to have! (Sarcasm intended!) I'm leaving for Mexico in a few hours (by airplane, damn the luck), so I won't be able to answer any questions for a week. Feel free to email them though. rainbow_chaser@compuserve.com Going around the boat, here are the things I've learned. Rear port side going forward: Under the wood cover, under the qberth mattrass, there is room to store pieces of wood or tube type items to about 4' in length. No mods needed, except to remove the cover, which is screwed down. Drawer in q-berth: I added dividers cut from 1/2" plywood to make it into 9 separate compartments. It makes the drawer actually usable and you can find stuff. That area behind and below the electrical panel: I have put an inspection port inside the storage area behind the settee. Looking to the port side, removing the back of the settee, then at the left end (toward back of boat), it will give you good access. I put an 8" plastic deck plate there. You can store probably 30 rolls of paper towels, or 75 rools of toilet paper, or a similar amount of other items. It will be crammed around and on top of wiring, so keep that in mind as you decide what to store there. I would not recommend can goods. This is an easy installation anyone could do. Going forward and into the floor: Below the cabin floor it is a void. I have sawed a section out of the floor, starting even with the back side of the settee, going to about an inch from the door to the head. It goes from about 2" from the bilge opening to about 2" from the settee fiberglass edge. It will give you an area that big, plus access up under the head floor about a foot. Its about 5" deep on the settee side, going to about 8" deep on the bilge side. It's quite a bit of work, will require some fiberglass work and some wood work. If anyone is interested in doing this, email me and we'll talk about the details. I can make it easier for you than it was for me. Here is my web link: http://www.geocities.com/rainbow_chaser.geo/flrlkr.html I store a 35 danforth, 300 foot of 3/4" line and some other assorted junk there. Not for the weak at heart! Going forward, adding shelves in the cabinets above the settee doesn't enlarge them, but does make them drastically more usable. I just cut plywood shelves to fit,then glassed them in around the edges. On forward, in the hanging locker, adding a shelf up high in the back about 8 inches from the top salveges a lot of storage. I have one shelf, but I believe more would be better. Up in the v-berth, I added a book shelf for big hardcover books in the corner, up high under the port. This is wasted space that doesn't interfere with the occupants. I also added a paperback size bookshelf up high on the wall between the v-berth and head. Up front, I've enlarged the overheqad (or over-foot, really!) storage. I've detailed how to do it on my website at: http://www.geocities.com/rainbow_chaser.geo/vblkr.html Going on around, I added a storage cabinet on the port side. This could have been another bookshelf, but there is more room there, so we chose storage. It's at: http://www.geocities.com/rainbow_chaser.geo/vbookshf.html The entire anchor locker area is a big waste. You can get to all the room under it, and make the leaks go away that continue to drip in the v-birth by doing this. It's not for the weak of heart, it's a major job.: http://www.geocities.com/rainbow_chaser.geo/anklkr.html Down low, where the holding tank used to be, I've cut it all out from the locker under the stbd side of the v-berth. Access is through that locker. I did not disturb the shower. In the shower, my boat had a deck plate in the back vertical wall to access the plumbing. I believe it was original but might not have been. We store extra shampoo, soap, lamp oil, all the things that dampness won't hurt. It'll hold quite a bit. In the head, I moved out the doors over the camode. I then added a shelf that goes from the back out to the new door location. It probably at least trippled the amount of stuff you can store there. I added a shelf below it, but it seems to always have nick-nacks (or shells) on it, so it's usefulness is in question. (At least to me) In the bottom of that cabinet, I put a 4" deck plate at the right (back of boat) end. In the cavity that was unaccessable before, I can store about 30 rolls of toilet paper. I toyed with the idea of opening up the area under the floor of the v-berth, but it didn't seem like there was much room there. Besides, the hose from the head runs through there, making it less usefull. On over to the stbd settee. that is where we really got serious. I sawed out both the floor and the settee, then moved out the settee 1 foot. I added a hinged door to extend out the settee bottom, moved out the top by the same amount. Extended the bottom of the cabinets, then added shelves in the ones with doors. This gives storage from the settee level down to the hull (nearly 2' deep) and about a foot front to back and the length of the settee. Plus, our roll up dinghy will now fit behind the settee on a permenant basis, along with much more. This is a major job, but added more storage than anything (maybe everything) else we did. Under the stove - I first put a deck plate on the bottom under the stove. It was difficult to access, and it wasn't being used. Later I cut a retangle door in the face below the stove. Took a little work, but make the area very usable. I think this has covered all we opened up. We can now get to every cavity and make use of every bit of space in the hull. Gene Gruender
Ed, what fun you are going to have! (Sarcasm intended!) I'm leaving for Mexico in a few hours (by airplane, damn the luck), so I won't be able to answer any questions for a week. Feel free to email them though. rainbow_chaser@compuserve.com Going around the boat, here are the things I've learned. Rear port side going forward: Under the wood cover, under the qberth mattrass, there is room to store pieces of wood or tube type items to about 4' in length. No mods needed, except to remove the cover, which is screwed down. Drawer in q-berth: I added dividers cut from 1/2" plywood to make it into 9 separate compartments. It makes the drawer actually usable and you can find stuff. That area behind and below the electrical panel: I have put an inspection port inside the storage area behind the settee. Looking to the port side, removing the back of the settee, then at the left end (toward back of boat), it will give you good access. I put an 8" plastic deck plate there. You can store probably 30 rolls of paper towels, or 75 rools of toilet paper, or a similar amount of other items. It will be crammed around and on top of wiring, so keep that in mind as you decide what to store there. I would not recommend can goods. This is an easy installation anyone could do. Going forward and into the floor: Below the cabin floor it is a void. I have sawed a section out of the floor, starting even with the back side of the settee, going to about an inch from the door to the head. It goes from about 2" from the bilge opening to about 2" from the settee fiberglass edge. It will give you an area that big, plus access up under the head floor about a foot. Its about 5" deep on the settee side, going to about 8" deep on the bilge side. It's quite a bit of work, will require some fiberglass work and some wood work. If anyone is interested in doing this, email me and we'll talk about the details. I can make it easier for you than it was for me. Here is my web link: http://www.geocities.com/rainbow_chaser.geo/flrlkr.html I store a 35 danforth, 300 foot of 3/4" line and some other assorted junk there. Not for the weak at heart! Going forward, adding shelves in the cabinets above the settee doesn't enlarge them, but does make them drastically more usable. I just cut plywood shelves to fit,then glassed them in around the edges. On forward, in the hanging locker, adding a shelf up high in the back about 8 inches from the top salveges a lot of storage. I have one shelf, but I believe more would be better. Up in the v-berth, I added a book shelf for big hardcover books in the corner, up high under the port. This is wasted space that doesn't interfere with the occupants. I also added a paperback size bookshelf up high on the wall between the v-berth and head. Up front, I've enlarged the overheqad (or over-foot, really!) storage. I've detailed how to do it on my website at: http://www.geocities.com/rainbow_chaser.geo/vblkr.html Going on around, I added a storage cabinet on the port side. This could have been another bookshelf, but there is more room there, so we chose storage. It's at: http://www.geocities.com/rainbow_chaser.geo/vbookshf.html The entire anchor locker area is a big waste. You can get to all the room under it, and make the leaks go away that continue to drip in the v-birth by doing this. It's not for the weak of heart, it's a major job.: http://www.geocities.com/rainbow_chaser.geo/anklkr.html Down low, where the holding tank used to be, I've cut it all out from the locker under the stbd side of the v-berth. Access is through that locker. I did not disturb the shower. In the shower, my boat had a deck plate in the back vertical wall to access the plumbing. I believe it was original but might not have been. We store extra shampoo, soap, lamp oil, all the things that dampness won't hurt. It'll hold quite a bit. In the head, I moved out the doors over the camode. I then added a shelf that goes from the back out to the new door location. It probably at least trippled the amount of stuff you can store there. I added a shelf below it, but it seems to always have nick-nacks (or shells) on it, so it's usefulness is in question. (At least to me) In the bottom of that cabinet, I put a 4" deck plate at the right (back of boat) end. In the cavity that was unaccessable before, I can store about 30 rolls of toilet paper. I toyed with the idea of opening up the area under the floor of the v-berth, but it didn't seem like there was much room there. Besides, the hose from the head runs through there, making it less usefull. On over to the stbd settee. that is where we really got serious. I sawed out both the floor and the settee, then moved out the settee 1 foot. I added a hinged door to extend out the settee bottom, moved out the top by the same amount. Extended the bottom of the cabinets, then added shelves in the ones with doors. This gives storage from the settee level down to the hull (nearly 2' deep) and about a foot front to back and the length of the settee. Plus, our roll up dinghy will now fit behind the settee on a permenant basis, along with much more. This is a major job, but added more storage than anything (maybe everything) else we did. Under the stove - I first put a deck plate on the bottom under the stove. It was difficult to access, and it wasn't being used. Later I cut a retangle door in the face below the stove. Took a little work, but make the area very usable. I think this has covered all we opened up. We can now get to every cavity and make use of every bit of space in the hull. Gene Gruender
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Ed Schenck
Thanks to Ed, Bob, and Gene.
Gene, thanks for all that detail. I have studied your website too many times. I have decided that you are a workaholic. There are not enough days left for me to accomplish what you have. But I might be able to handle the areas under the stove and nav station. The boat definitely needs more shelving, especially in the galley. And I am pretty certain the round access in the back of shower is original. Look in the "Photo Forum" later for some interior ideas.
Gene, thanks for all that detail. I have studied your website too many times. I have decided that you are a workaholic. There are not enough days left for me to accomplish what you have. But I might be able to handle the areas under the stove and nav station. The boat definitely needs more shelving, especially in the galley. And I am pretty certain the round access in the back of shower is original. Look in the "Photo Forum" later for some interior ideas.
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