Way to go Terry!

[Ken Palmer]

Just viewed your photos on the Photo Forum titled "Adding to Icebox Insulation H33". You have done a terrific job getting into a difficult place. I now have new hope of repairing the drain hose on my H33.One question: You used R11 fiberglass insulation. What happens with that stuff should it get wet? I know the chances of getting it wet are slim, but just wondered if it will dry out.Keep those pictures coming!Ken Palmer, S/V Liberty

 

[Terry Arnold]

Ken, insulation choice?

Ken, I had originally planned to use expanding foam in all the cavities adjacent to the icebox. I believe that there may be large scale systems appropriate, say for filling stud wall cavities in house construction. This sort of expanding foam would probably be good for the large spaces around the H33 icebox. Maybe somebody can point to a good source of the expanding foam insulation suitable for volumes of several cubic feet. I only had access to the small aersol expanding foam cans which are completely inadequate for the large volume involved, particularly outboard of the icebox. I ended up using the pink stuff since, besides being cheap:1. The 21 year old boat showed no evidence of past water around the icebox. Under the box just showed the expected grime and dirt of two decades.2. The bottom of the small cabinet outboard and above the icebox also serves as the top of the icebox and is tabbed to the hull so that any future leakage from above should not enter the area between the hull and icebox.3. The pan is tabbed to the hull so that any water that might get between pan and hull (say with a heeled boat sailing with overflowing bilge) is confined to that space and shouldn't show up above the pan which is where all the insulation is.I wish that I had taken some data about ice life before and after the insulation change but didn't. My feeling is that the insulation level is probably been doubled from the original installation.

 

[Tim Schaaf]

Good job Terry,

But I was stunned to see that there was no insulation around your box. The only place I have gone through, on Casual Water, is between the box and the under-sink counter, and it was full of foam insulation, from three to six inches, depending on the slant of the box. Also, the wires and hoses that pass under the box go through a tube, implying insulation under the box, as well. Now you have gotten me thinking about what may or may not be between the hull and the box on a 1980 model. I think I will drill a hole......by the way, I am working on my travel plans.