ICEBOX IMPROVEMENT'S
(2 Parts) 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

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.

Part II: Converting to Refrigeration

Skip Baker, White Cap, #3

I have the biggest top loading Norcold unit in my boat.  It will keep the temp below 40 degrees for as hot as my boat has ever gotten.  Although the drain on the battery is substantial, I have found that by setting the fridge at just above freezing in the early morning while charging batteries will keep the cooler below 40 degrees for a day of sailing if the fridge is not opened too often.

The only problem is that the fridge takes up the entire area where the sink once was and I have not found a proper  area to  reinstall it.  I am thinking about building a cooler that will allow the sink to  fit in and buying one of Norcolds installation units.   The units have an external compression unit
which can be mounted near the fridge and an L shaped cooling plate which bolts onto two sides of the icebox.  Since my present unit is  Freon filled, I will probably have to purchase a new system when the present one needs repair anyway.

Rob Squire, Head Over Heals, #96

I solved the cold beer problem on Head over Heels with a Supercool unit in the original ice box.  I re-insulated and the unit keeps the beer at 38 in the summer on SF bay.  1 amp/hour!  The Supercool is a Peltier electronic unit.  Add 12 volts and heat transfers to one side.  You've seen the coolers that plug into your cigarette  lighter?  Same thing, but a stand alone unit.

Brian Barone

When I moved aboard a couple of years ago I had nothing but the original icebox, which quickly showed how bad it was at keeping things cold.  After living off canned food and pasta for most of the winter, with the occasional McDonalds and chinese food, I decided to Chop the front of the Icebox off with an ax and shove one of those college type refrigerators into the hole where the thing used to be.  I put a hasp on the door so it cant come open, and use it when I am at the dock.  When sailing I use it just like the crappy icebox.  Its not exactly so hugely useful when sailing, but its nice that I can have a cold drink and maybe a bowl of cereal when I want.  it was a good idea if you are living aboard, as most people I know have one of those things kicking around in their basement or attic (like mine was).  I think you can buy em new for around 180-250.  It actually looks really nice there and fits well.  Whole project took me two afternoons of hacking.

Allen Hilburn, KAHOLEE, #158

(I have) an Igloo Survivor.  It, like almost everything else, came from West Marine.  It runs on AC, DC, or propane.  In AC mode, it has a thermostat, and works quite well.  On propane, one of those little bottles you buy at camping stores will last about three days.  The drawback, asides form the obvious, is that propane powered refrigerators need to be level, for maximum effect.  It will still keeps things cool enough though, even when the temperature is 85 or more.  It makes ice if you do not consistently heal over to much.  On the DC side, the disadvantage is that it draws 7 amps, so if you have a power boat, it may be useful.  It is kind of an all around unit, you can load it the night before, plug it into an AC outlet, then move it to the vehicle and run it on DC until you get to the boat, then hook up the propane.

I have an Adler Barber Cold Plate which fits in the original ice box. It works great. It will freeze water bottles solid inside of the cooler. It’s a little heavy on batteries but if you have two double battery house banks and run your engine for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening it will handle it. Probably helps to upgrade to 110 amp alternator so you can get the juice back in all the batteries when charging. Ice Box needs additional foam which you can get at home depot in a push button can. Get the non-expanding because the expanding will blow your sides out..

Here’s what I did on Thalassa. I felt the original ice box was too large and didn’t like the front access to it because a lot of the cold air fell out when the door was opened. So I removed the original ice box completely and fiberglassed the deck access to it.

I added 2 inches insulation to the area behind where the box was and filled the area below the settee with insulation (fig. 1, original ice box). Then I took some standard 1 ½” insulation and started to form a box that would fit into that space and match the curve of the hull (fig. 2). I added small shelves on the hull side which both provide more storage for small items and adds more insulation to the hull side (fig. 3). I added some supports to the walls so I could attach the refrigeration panel, and also a separator that would hold the ice blocks in the back of the ice box, then started to layer fiberglass over everything (fig. 4). I added a drain then painted the interior. I used bilge coat paint because it’s so tough (fig. 5). I then just placed the box on the settee, added 1 inch more insulation to the front side and 2 inches to the engine side and enclosed it with my cabinetry. I cut a hole in the top, and edged it with teak strips. I made a cover out of insulation, fiberglassed it and covered the top with laminate, edged it with teak strips and added a brass pull so it could be removed (fig. 6). Although the current box is smaller than the original, it easily holds enough food for 4 days. I ended up with close to 10” of insulation on the bottom, and about 4” on the sides. Meats stay frozen in the bottom for 2 days even when the temperature is in the 80’s. The refrigerator, if turned down, can keep meats frozen (unfortunately milk and other stuff too) for days. We’ve left the refrigerator on for 3 days, come back to the boat and found the house batteries still ¾ charged, so all of that insulation makes it pretty efficient also. This approach may not suit everyone, but it has worked pretty well for us.