Part I: Staying with an Icebox

Jonathan, #586, Mercury

I was tired of my ice box not staying cool..and I didnt want to rebuild it and re-insulate it at this point in time..so i saw a note in Cruising World mag. about use foam insulation filler to fill the gaps around the exisitng ice box.

I drill a few 1/4" holes 12" o/c in the face of the ice box...and stuck the filler nozzle in the holes and filled the space surrounding the ice box with foam..I used 4 cans (4$ each) and will use 4 more to finish..but it made a huge differnce immeadiately. I plan to insulate the cockpit locker side with foam board and then fill the gaps with the spray foam. Very time and cost effective!

Now my ice last longer than my beer...not a bad thing!

Brock Richardson, #522, Good Goose

I rebuilt my original ripped off all the old insulation and added as much blue foam insulation as I could being careful to fit all the joints exactly. It now keeps thing reasonably cold. If I had it to do over again I don't think I would do it this way. I think I would just use one or two coolers. I find I rarely use the icebox and I think the space could be better utilized.

Dan Lawrence, #129, Sandpiper

What was done with Sandpiper, where the icebox was removed and the deck opening was filled with lexan to provide a skylight below and the place where the icebox was is now simply a very large storage location. I bring aboard an ice chest which I keep below the mast while sailing or racing to put more weight between the center of effort and the center of lateral resistance. It isn't much, but it may help. I don't take Sandpiper out for week-long cruises and that allows me to get away with a temporary solution to keeping things cold. If I took her out more often I may re-evaluate that!

The benefit of being able to get to the engine with unrestricted access is wonderful. The shelf that was put in Sandpiper removes in about a minute to give me total access to the A-4. The sink on the other side comes out a bit longer, but that also affords me great access to that side of the engine when I need it. The person who redesigned the after part of the Salon put in a great deal of thought and it really is a great, usable space.

The way Sandpiper was modified and the changes that Jim made to Thalassa seem to go hand-in-hand. Jim did a great job with his icebox! I just found that I really didn't need one in order to enjoy Sandpiper. I've sailed or crewed aboard most of the active Tritons in the Annapolis area and they all have iceboxes except Sandpiper, and I found that it really didn't increase the enjoyment or flexibility of the boat by having one rather than a cooler. Just my thoughts.

Sandpiper's Modification's

 

 

Ray Alsup, #256, Pegasus

Like everyone else that has tried to keep anything cool in an icebox built in the '60s and '70s I embarked on an effort to improve what I already had. And failed. I removed the original icebox ten years ago during PEGASUS's restoration and added insulation (sheet and spray) to a level of no less than 2 inches. In the Spring, Winter and Fall it as "adequate". In the summer when temperatures often reach 100 plus degrees in the California Delta, the ice would melt in a day or two. For day sailing it was never used. For an overnighter, it was so so. For a trip to San Francisco Bay, I learned to live on food and drink products that required no cooling or ice.

Then one day several years ago while talking to Nick Frey (Mintaka, #251) while he was preparing for his journey to Mexico, I noticed that he had a regular portable ice chest that was secured enough for a bumpy ride yet easily removable when needed. All I could see were advantages over a 40 year old icebox. That years winter project on Pegasus was to remove the original icebox and replace it with one of the new portable chest that is said to retain it's temperature for 5 days in 90 degree heat. It's out of the way, secured when sailing (even across San Pablo Bay in the summer), easily accessed when needed, I can fill it at home and take to the boat cold and, It's works as advertised.

The only Five Day unit I found that would fit holds more than adequate food for myself on a weeks trip. For myself and one crew it packed enough to last 4 days but probably could have lasted longer if we were not using the ice for sun downers ;-) To make it fit I did have to replace the large plastic handles with a section of white rope (makes it look nautical ;-) And, after it's first trip I decided it was too much trouble to move it to the cockpit to drain the ice melt so I added a small valve and can know drain it in place. The entire project has has since been painted and trimmed and although I have no photo's of the finished area, you can see from the following photo's how it went together.

Old icebox and insulation removed and a support platform with stowage below added

 

Fitting the Five Day unit

 

When the chart table is down, the box is secured in place. A cutting board was placed over the old access hatch.