Custom built drawer refrigerator

[sailingunity]

You make some excellent points billgewater, particularly about difficulty opening or closing on a lean. This is perhaps the one reason that has got me thinking about either using the wet locker as the fridge (the amidship orientation means we can open it regardless of heel), or just finding a way to make due as is.

As far as insulating behind, the reason I think it would be difficult is because the builder fiberglassed it in by building ridges of fiberglass against the hull and setting it in place. I can only see down the side of it from under the stove, but I get the feeling there will be lots of of air pockets behind it.

Our sistership, SV Galapagos, used the dry locker on the opposite side of the galley for an engel freezer. If I did this, I would reconfigure the existing box so it is fridge only, and make it shallower with a drawer or two underneath. While this wouldn't solve our problem of having to clear the top to open it, at least we'd have the extra width (100% fridge no spillover), and it wouldn't be as deep.

[RaymondR]

I had the same problem on my old boat and solved it by cutting the lid into two pieces then making a sliding bench top over the lids which provided easily relocatable work space and access to the fridge through one or the other of the fridge tops.

My present boat has a large, deep box with a sloping bottom. I am going to place a eutectic lank in the bottom to raise it and give me a more "level" bottom and a 7 day timer so that the compressor only runs when there is usually excess power from the solar panels.

The eutectic tank should carry the refrigeration load during the night and during cloudy periods and assist in extending house battery life.

[sailingunity]

Raymond, do you have a pic of that setup?

[sailingunity]

Originally Posted by jhulmer

I like the KISS (keep it simple silly) principle.

Why not just add a foldup countertop onto the front of the frig/freezer to accommodate the food prep and give you a place to move things to if needed? It would allow access to the frig/freezer albeit a little harder to access. But, as has been suggested, you could add baskets and/or plastic storage boxes to make it easier to pull things out.

You mean something like this? Also from our sister ship. They've done a lot of other things that we'd like to do as well.



We may very well do something like this before going the drawer route, in combination with bins or baskets to see how much it improves things.

As far as being able to close/open the drawers on a heel, that would be pretty annoying. Most time is spent at anchor, but this isn't really a problem you want to have to deal with at sea!

[jhulmer]

Originally Posted by sailingunity

You mean something like this? Also from our sister ship. They've done a lot of other things that we'd like to do as well.



We may very well do something like this before going the drawer route, in combination with bins or baskets to see how much it improves things.

As far as being able to close/open the drawers on a heel, that would be pretty annoying. Most time is spent at anchor, but this isn't really a problem you want to have to deal with at sea!

yes, simple enough.
but I would reduce the radius on the corners add fiddles on the edges.

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by sailingunity

Raymond, do you have a pic of that setup?

Afraid not, I sold the boat.

It was fairly simple with a 3/4" timber rail about 3" high along the back side and another about 1 1/2" high along the front. I left a space behind the back side rail as a spice rack.

The sliding part was a piece of 3/8" plywood with 1" x 1/2" side pieces. A 3/4" x 3/4" cleat on the underside of the front and a stepped rail across the back made from a 1/2" vertical and a 1/2" x 1 1/4" top piece.

I can try to sketch it and post the sketch if you are seriously interested.