Cabin Storage Ideas

[cbadmin]

From: Mike (Original Message) Sent: 12/8/2002 9:26 PM
Last year, I cut and hinged doors into the inboard faces of the cubby holes under the dinette seats. The aft cupboard lets me see the water level in the fresh tank, and stow the life jackets on top of it without removing the seat cushion. In the forward cupboard, I put some 6" deep shelves installed right at the front, and I use the space behind it to stow infrequent use items. The shelves hold some of my fishing gear, and the rest of the space is accessed by lifting the seat cushion.

This winter, I hope to come up with some way of better utilizing and organizing the v-berth area. B~C, you said something once about wanting to put some shelves along the hull in there? Did you come up with a plan yet? I was thinking of taking a piece of 1 x 4 wood of some sort, and affixing it with adhesive to the inside arc of the hull. Maybe a screw through the glass and into the wood on each end and the center to make sure it stays bowed and stuck. With that, I could attach any old thing I wanted to the wood, and not have to screw into the glass for every hanger or bracket.

Ok then, let's come up with some plans.

Mike

From: kenonBlue-C Sent: 12/8/2002 10:00 PM
I was pondering the V-berth situation just today. I was at home depot looking at a piece of 1/2 x 6 oak and thinking of epoxyfying it on the horizontal surface so it would stick out a few inches in the center of the shelf then taper to 0 as the curve of the deck caught up with the straight board. I could install a lip on the board to keep things from crashing. I though by doing it this way I wouldn't have to try to bend anything or match the radius of the deck so a woodworking idiot like myself wouldn't screw it up. We need input from the resident wood worker

From: 2nd Byte Sent: 12/8/2002 10:15 PM
There should be a number of ways to get some productive storage out of the berth area. What's that saying .......err ...Think twice / cut once.......err

From: 2nd Byte Sent: 12/9/2002 11:28 AM
Mike, I like the idea of the hinged doors under the dinette seats. As I mentioned I have plans on making some changes in these areas. Right now I have a rubber/cushioned mat on the top of the platform over the water tank on the rear dinette seat and use that area for reel, extra knives & misc. storage, but of course have to lift the seat to access it. Your hinged door setup sounds like a nice option.

I am going to put another bank of drawers under the front seat of the dinette as my next step. When I finish that, I'll step back, take another look, including pulling a "Fox trot" and possibly moving the fresh water under the floor of the V-berth. That would open up the area under the rear dinette seat to a whole new plethora of storage options.

I'm not smart enough to figure out the whole grand scheme ahead of time. Taking these steps one at a time are taxing enough on this 'ole guy.

Having said that, lets figure out a practical way to utilize some storage in the V-Berth area.

Mark

[SeaSpray]

Can anyone tell me the models of plastic doors used to access the areas under the dinnett seats? True Story has pictures of two doors on the seats. Has anyone else put in doors?
Thanks,
Steve

[Pat Anderson]

Not sure what True Story has, but the ones mostly used are Bomar hatches...

[B~C]

I use a Home Depot plumbing manifold door, it costs about $12 and works like a champ. It's a plastic panel with a spring loaded catch that just snaps in, and out of the hole I cut under the seat

[MOOSE]

Check out www.pompanette.com for all manner of Bomar hatches.
Al