Good evening, Sun Cat cruisers. My ice box, the Coleman Party Stacker, which fits both under the tiller and under the bridge deck, was not up to the task during last month's Florida Rendezvous. Since then, I have lined the box with blue poly foam board but that modification left little room for food and ice. From the archives, I gather that some of you use small coolers inside the under-seat cockpit lockers. If you have found a reasonably well-insulated cooler that fits in there, I sure would like to hear from you.
Tom
Sun Cat 377 Cattail
Tom,
When I first got my Suncat in 2000, I got an Igloo cooler that just fit in the seat locker. Worked great for me, since it's out of the sun and it was handy to get things out of. I bet they make them even better now.
I still have the cooler; now I have a CP 23, and the locker area is much deeper, and I haven't tried the cooler yet, since I usually just take a small one for daysailing. I"m thinking on a cruising solution.
I have one of the new cloth with zipper playmates that I keep in the cockpit and then put it in a cockpit seat locker at night. I push it forward and then transfer the ancient playmate from the cabin into the same locker (just makes it through the opening). My ice lasts the weekend, but probably only because I make ziplock double-bagged freezer gallon size ice blocks for each cooler.
Every multi day trip (B.E.E.R.) I take, I freeze bottled water. They serve as block ice and as water as the trip progresses.
I would like to find/make a cooler for under the tiller.
Mike Howell
St Marys GA
SunCat
reedtg3,
Tom, at the Florida Rendezvous I used an old IGLOO 48 Quart Cooler stored down below (out of the sun) and secured on a custom heavy duty slide-out shelf as shown below.
(http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l594/CPYOA/Com%20-%20Pac%20Sun%20Cat%20Storage/IMG_0269.jpg) (http://s1125.photobucket.com/user/CPYOA/media/Com%20-%20Pac%20Sun%20Cat%20Storage/IMG_0269.jpg.html)
More importantly, I made LARGE flat blocks of ice in advance that fit down inside the cooler with room left over for some food storage and a little bagged cube ice for drinks. When I got home there were still some pieces of the block ice left AFTER ALMOST 4 DAYS! A no brainer - large blocks last longer than cubed ice! A small cooler for drinks and cubed ice is another option. Better yet, consider adding ice cubes to warm drinks in plastic glasses and NOT COOLING DOWN THE CONTAINERS.
My cruising and live aboard experience with frig and freezers has proven that INSULATION is certainly a most important factor. However, as trailer sailors of small boats we are limited to the state of the art in portable Ice Chests. Therefore, after acquiring the type and size of "Box" we need, we are left with only the "How To" techniques of keeping food cool, and Ice solid for as long as possible.
The current issue of "Good Old Boat" has a very interesting article entitled "Ice Magic" which talks about home made "Blue Ice" jugs and icebox efficiency. Recommend you check it out.
capt_nemo
I have used frozen water bottles to make block ice, and serve as drinking water, much as Mike Howell (hi again, Mike!) mentioned above.
Separating the other drinks is smart, too, and have a chest that isn't opened very often at all. Shut that refrigerator door! You trying to cool the whole house? ;)