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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

Coolest spot on the boat.

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PamC
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171 Posts

Initially Posted - 05/05/2006 : 11:42:22

Here's a question for you long-term Cat 25 owners. In my on-going quest for food cooling methods I'm experimenting this season with leaving a Coleman Extreme onboard and using my duffle style cooler to transport food back & forth each week. The Extreme works great, but is a hassle to lug around all of the time. My question is where on the boat will I leave this cooler during the week so it doesn't just heat up and use all of my ice to get it cooled down.

Pam
S/V "My Prozac"
1980 C25 SR/SK #1718

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 05/05/2006 : 12:23:07

Under the v-berth

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tinob
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1883 Posts

Response Posted - 05/05/2006 : 13:43:10

behind the ladder in the quarterbirth,

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Lightnup
Master Marine Consultant

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1016 Posts

Response Posted - 05/05/2006 : 14:15:24

The air-conditioned cabin of the Sea Ray in the slip next to yours.

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Brooke Willson
Admiral

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USA
983 Posts

Response Posted - 05/05/2006 : 14:50:46

Strapped into the quarterberth so it's accessible from the cockpit, galley, and saloon.

Brooke

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 05/05/2006 : 16:02:25

Pam, I think I am the only person answering your question. Under the V-berth allows the water temperature to pretty much control the ambient air. I think you will be able to get it down there and close it up, putting the cushions back in place will add insulation. It may not help at all, the solar gain on the hull sides (topsides) may wipe out the benefit of the water contact on the submerged hull. Let us know, thermometers in a couple places will tell you for sure.

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Champipple
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6855 Posts

Response Posted - 05/05/2006 : 16:07:00

I'd tend to agree with Frank, the v berth is going to provide water cooling on two of three sides.

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atgep
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1009 Posts

Response Posted - 05/05/2006 : 17:57:23

You may find the cooler drag, the best way to do it. A cool boat will help keep the ice, but not forever. A couple of smaller, 5day coolers with wheels is the best way to go for weekends.

Tom.

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Champipple
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Response Posted - 05/05/2006 : 20:33:33

A bit of dry ice would work. We usually get some for the 3 day overnight races.
dw

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tinob
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1883 Posts

Response Posted - 05/06/2006 : 09:59:06

I recommend not putting anything under the V bunk if your boat is configured as mine is. Too many thru hulls there. Transducers for depth and speedo plus the sink drain. Any of which could be damaged by shifting baggage(coolers etc.) If you intend to meerly store there while away from the boat for several days, PERHAPS, but while asea it constitutes a dangerous situation from where I'm sitting. In addition to which banging my head trying to traverse the head beam, which I always seem to do, heading forward for a brewski is tantamount as sufficient reason to dryout

.So rather than so radical a turn as the afore mentioned, I'll keep my cooler handy.

Val on Calista # 3936 Patchogue, N.Y.

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Brooke Willson
Admiral

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Response Posted - 05/06/2006 : 10:30:27

Respectfully, Frank, there are some other folks who are answering the question, but we're suggesting there are other considerations. I agree with Val that life is a matter of compromise. Yes, the v-berth may be a few degrees cooler than other spots in the boat, but is a few degrees of air temperature for a well-insulated cooler more important than accessibility? When the boat is used, the cooler might have to be dragged back to the center of the boat for convenient use from the cockpit and galley, or to drain. If Pam wants to do that, well and good. Otherwise, she has to go forward every time she wants a drink.

Pam, if you have access to shorepower, it might make sense for you to get a cooler with built-in refrigeration to run all week. I take my cooler on and off every time I sail -- all things considered, it's just easier for me that way, and if I miss a week of sailing for whatever reason, I don't have to worry about spoilage.

But when it's on the boat, it's secured in the quarterberth.

As someone here says, "your mileage may vary."

Brooke

Edited by - Brooke Willson on 05/06/2006 10:36:40

Dave Bristle
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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 05/06/2006 : 15:33:41

The drain for the head sink in Passage leads to a sea-cock under the V-berth. I put lightweight stuff in there, but wouldn't stow a cooler there.

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tinob
Master Marine Consultant

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Response Posted - 05/07/2006 : 08:20:05

I agree with the go the lightly there Dave, to this day that area on Calista has two things in it, a toothbrush used to clean the pinwheel on the speedo and a sponge to sop up the spill.

Val on Calista # 3936 Patchogue, N.Y.

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 05/07/2006 : 10:09:48

I have a plywood sole in there that covers the through hull, I thought it was factory. It covers the entire area. We put sleeping bags, linens, foul weather gear, lots of cramable stuff in there. The 25 has the worst v-berth I have ever owned and I have yet to have anyone sleep on it. All the cramables most people defile the luxurious quarterberth with you will find in, under and on my v-berth.

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PamC
Navigator

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171 Posts

Response Posted - 05/07/2006 : 10:17:28

Thanks everyone. The cooler would be empty during the week, it will just serve as the onboard receptacle for stuff I want to keep cold over the weekend and I will empty it when we go home. I would be using it in place of the built-in cooler in the galley. I used that last year, but this year it will be used for dry stuff. I just don't want to lug a hard cooler back & forth to our mooring. If we had a slip at the dock I wouldn't mind it so much. I agree with Frank that the coolest spot on the boat is probably under the vee-berth, and that was my question. And the suggestion of placing thermometers in a few spots is a good one. Cap't Dave just caught up on the thread & with his usual voice of reason suggested we get another of the super insulated soft coolers and forget about using the hard side coolers. Since I have a cooler fetish, I'm certainly not going to turn down the idea of buying another one

We found on our San Juan cruise that our soft side kept ice much longer than the built in cooler and almost as long as the 5-day. Thanks again for all the help, you guys are great

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Lightnup
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1016 Posts

Response Posted - 05/07/2006 : 22:54:03

Okay, so my Sea Ray response wasn't helpful, I admit it.

We have the traditional (not the dinette) layout and keep a 50 Qt Ultra cooler (Igloo) next to the port settee, against the forward bulkhead. It stays on the boat. I honestly don't know whether it's any cooler there than it would be behind the companionway steps or under the V-berth but it's a lot more accessible there than either of the other two locations. When the table is set up, the cooler sits nicely underneath, is accessible yet out of the way. In the evenings, we put the table away and the cooler makes a great "night-stand" upon which we place the lantern if we're reading or the DVD player if we're going to watch a movie.

When we know we'll be anchoring overnight, we freeze two 1-gallon jugs of water, and place them in the cooler several hours before leaving so that it's already cold inside when we put the food in. We take the gallon jugs out when we put the food in. This gives us two gallons of ice cold water to drink during the early part of the trip without having to open the cooler. We also use the fake, reusable ice cubes in the cooler. My wife likes those because you don't end up with mushy food floating in the bottom of the cooler when they melt. Of course, if you don't live near your boat, going there prior to the trip to put frozen water in the cooler may not work for you.

We left Friday at 4:00PM, stayed out two nights, just got back tonight at 8:30PM and the cans of lemonade and bottled water were still icy cold. And it was in the low 90's in South Florida this weekend.

Steve

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PamC
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171 Posts

Response Posted - 05/08/2006 : 09:47:48

Actually Steve I did like your Sea Ray idea. However our little mountain lake doesn't have power to the slips. The upside being it doesn't attract large air conditioned Sea Rays!

Just us po' sailors and fishermen for the best tasting trout in the northwest.

You're actually doing what we were planning on doing. However I succumbed to the temptation and ordered another soft-side cooler.

So we'll just pack up for the weekend at home. We have the cabin layout that preceeded yours, the L-shaped settee to port. Not as much floor space, but I do like that corner. The po cut the table in half & hinged it so we have more room than this layout normally does. Another advantage is that the table can be swivelled so it's very close to the companionway and it provides a good dry spot to put a chart to refer to from the cockpit.

Thanks for your input Steve!

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 05/08/2006 : 10:24:38

Pam, some day you need to pull all your coolers out and take a photo for us.

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