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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

Port side Cockpit 'sail locker'

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Summer Wind
Deckhand

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12 Posts

Initially Posted - 05/18/2009 : 14:04:41

I've got a '79 Catalina and the port side cockpit 'sail locker' is deep and awkward. (Outside of using the small shelf for the fuel tank) Does anyone have any ideas on how to organize/use this locker to maximize the space? I figure if anyone would have an idea it would be someone in this forum. And if you have pictures that would be great.

Thanks

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Sloop Smitten
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1181 Posts

Response Posted - 05/18/2009 : 14:32:31

If you search the C25 archives under the word "shelf" you will get quite a few hits. Unfortunately most of the photo links are broken but there are several possibilities listed.
Here's one to start:
http://www.catalina-capri-25s.com/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true& TOPIC_ID=2566& SearchTerms=shelf

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JimB517
Past Commodore

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USA
3285 Posts

Response Posted - 05/18/2009 : 15:06:40

I have a door from the aft quarterberth into the locker. Its the only way to really use the space.

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islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4018 Posts

Response Posted - 05/18/2009 : 16:24:57

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"> I've got a '79 Catalina and the port side cockpit 'sail locker' is deep <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"> I once threw a pebble in there, Never did hear it hit bottom...

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Blue Nose
1st Mate

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67 Posts

Response Posted - 05/18/2009 : 18:42:38

I keep a Nissan 3.5 hp aux motor in mine with a bunch of other stuff such as boat fenders, cleaning supplies, bucket, etc.... I actual crawled completely inside to look at something one time. I am 6'1".

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Rich G
Navigator

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226 Posts

Response Posted - 05/18/2009 : 19:18:21

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by JimB517
 I have a door from the aft quarterberth into the locker. Its the only way to really use the space.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I was just thinking about doing this on Saturday as I was digging for my hose!

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Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5352 Posts

Response Posted - 05/18/2009 : 20:25:59

I keep the boat hook, the broom, the bucket, the sponge, the brush, the dustpan, spare fenders and several docklines in the "dumpster".

I use the shelf to store a small gas container (I use this to carry gas from the filling station to the boat, where I fill the 6.5 gas tank), the gas treatment, the Coleman fuel and a few other odds and ends.

I always keep a cotter pin and ring in the hatch cover latch while sailing. This was due to advice from a Forum thread last fall where we discussed if a following sea were to poop the cockpit, and the hatch were open, it could flood the entire bilge.

With that much water in the boat, you'd probably not be able to pump it out fast enough to recover.

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sweetcraft
Admiral

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USA
816 Posts

Response Posted - 05/18/2009 : 21:22:04

I installed a level sectioned floor with hand holes for quick access. The hose and any other gear I tie a four foot line and lay it close to the hatch which does help get it again. I carry my storm anchor on a rack with the line in a bucket and the bitter end tied off. The plan is to keep items that are used out side plus the spare porta-potty tank, empty and ready for use. Sail cover and mast crutch with it's lines are stored too. Both of the fuel tanks are there with one on the shelf, tied and the other flat on the level floor (the tanks are metal with a fuel line long enough to reach out of the compartment to the engine). There is enough gear to fill the cockpit when I do need to get inside the compartment to change the back of the electrical panel.

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Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 05/19/2009 : 09:09:24

Mine has a rack for hanging lines outboard with a shelf behind it; I use the shelf for life sling, sunshower bags and similar junk that I sometimes need or want easy access to. Tall items like fenders, rolled pop top cover stand on the bottom. My flat water hose, power cable, and extra line (for rode or anything else) are stored on extension cord reels and stacked at the aft end. I keep a clip on boarding ladder on the inboard side and a plastic bin on top of everything for stuff that would be lost in the void. It still has room for extra pfds and a sailbag when I want to take a smaller headsail with me.

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Summer Wind
Deckhand

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12 Posts

Response Posted - 05/19/2009 : 10:42:17

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by JimB517
 I have a door from the aft quarterberth into the locker. Its the only way to really use the space.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Whoa, a door? In the coming weeks if you get a chance, could you get a couple pics? I'd love to see what that looks like

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JimB517
Past Commodore

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USA
3285 Posts

Response Posted - 05/19/2009 : 14:51:56

lets clarify - it is actually a hatch. Very well done, looks factory to me.

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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 05/19/2009 : 20:35:26

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by JimB517
 lets clarify - it is actually a hatch. Very well done, looks factory to me.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">I doubt that... More likely PO.

I remember climbing back under the fuel locker in my "dumpster" to attach some hardware to the transom (Bruce still wonders about that), and having the wind blow the lid closed. If I had been claustrophobic, you wouldn't be reading this post--or any others from me in the past eight years!

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jerlim
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1484 Posts

Response Posted - 05/20/2009 : 09:31:14

I've been in there a few times to deal w/ the back of the electrical panel and for running the GPS antenna line...getting in and out of that locker is slightly reminiscent of being born...

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JohnP
Master Marine Consultant

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1520 Posts

Response Posted - 05/20/2009 : 12:27:02

The dumpster is the oddest shape, and would be a challenge to make into pretty shelves and/or racks for stuff. My model has the fuel can in the cockpit, not in a fuel locker.

I have a factory-installed wooden panel in my 78 C-25, maybe like the hatch in JimB's 78 C-25, only mine does not open. I could easily make a door out of the panel, if I needed more space. But what were they thinking, putting a decorative [non-access] panel in the crawl space under the cockpit in the wall of the aft port locker?

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Ed Cassidy
Captain

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USA
365 Posts

Response Posted - 05/20/2009 : 13:18:36

I also have a 79 and I have wondered how much water that thin piece of plywood would actually hold back.

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glen
Captain

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359 Posts

Response Posted - 05/21/2009 : 06:29:08

I have removed that plywood, and replaced it with a track designed for a sliding door. This track has two 3/8” slots that allow a ¼” plywood panel that is slightly longer then half the length of the opening, to slide back and forth in each slot. This allows me access to the entire locker from inside the quarter berth

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aeckhart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1709 Posts

Response Posted - 05/21/2009 : 10:34:54

Hmmm. My idea was to take the plywood out, widen the opening to to the back of the cabinet, raise the floor of the locker, and make a transverse berth out of what remained. It would probably be a little snug for some of our larger owners but would be a great double wide with plenty of storage behind.

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John P
Captain

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USA
324 Posts

Response Posted - 05/21/2009 : 10:54:44

I emptied mine out when I bought the boat and was absolutely amazed at how much "stuff" was down in there!

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Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 05/21/2009 : 21:06:05

I found a lot of good junk in mine, even some un-installed equpment still in sealed boxes. And the Admiral thinks seeing me climb out of that locker is one of the best and funniest sights in sailing

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Prospector
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 05/22/2009 : 06:55:07

If you install doors to the quarterberth, how do you keep the kids from crawling out of the dumpster?

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seabreeze
Deckhand

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18 Posts

Response Posted - 05/22/2009 : 08:36:34

I've been looking forward to using the port locker to storing my garbage bags on a week long cruise!(garbage storage was always a problem in my previous boat.

I have an '82 with the separate gas tank enclosure, where I replaced the original 3.4 gal with a 6 galllon tank. But I have been wondering if I could cut out the bottom of that tank area and make a larger one with a 12 gallon or bigger gas tank. Has anybody tried this?

One more question: has anyone made some kind of cover for the electric panel to protect from moisture or gas fumes (from stored gas cans)? I'm thinking of building a wood frame around the panels with plywood cover?

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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 05/22/2009 : 09:11:56

Seabreeze... If you have the cockpit fuel locker, I presume you don't have the two cowl vents by the transom, which ventilated the dumpster when it had a shelf for a gas tank. This means you should not store gasoline in the dumpster. The fumes will find their way into the bilge and potentially the galley. Every year a few gasoline-powered boats blow to smithereens from improperly vented spaces.

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skrenz
Captain

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USA
351 Posts

Response Posted - 05/22/2009 : 13:07:55

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by jerlim
 I've been in there a few times to deal w/ the back of the electrical panel and for running the GPS antenna line...getting in and out of that locker is slightly reminiscent of being born...
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I have to relate this story and it makes me laugh just thinking about it. This is what happened. I got my boat last year, a '79, and as such it has the same fuel tank shelf in the aft end of the locker. The PO was not, shall we say, a person who spent a lot of time cleaning the boat. And, as we all know, no matter how careful you are with fuel, eventually a little gets spilled around where the tank sits over time.

Now gas after it has evaporated leaves behind a very slippery sludge. A project I needed to do on this boat was replace the wiring on the fuse panel which as you know is on the forward bulkhead of the dumpster storage locker. I decided to do this job on a weekend when it just so happened my wife was out of town and I was home alone. I live out in the county so there really isn't anybody within ear shot.

I started the job by getting everything out of the locker down to the bare fiberglass ... and gas sludge. Then crawled in to work on the wiring. After about an hour I was getting a little tired and stiff and decided it was time to crawl out and take a break.

I think you see where this is going. Due to the strangely angled shape of the locker floor and the very slipper sludge on it, I was having one heck of a time getting enough leverage to GET OUT OF THE LOCKER

It seemed every time I tried to get my feet under me for some traction, I would slide back down into the locker again. And of course, the hatch lid would fall down over and over and hit me on the head

So here I am. I'm down in the locker. The admiral is gone until tomorrow. Nobody is going to hear my pleading for help and I don't even have my cell phone with me. I had visions of spending at least the whole night caught in this torture pit unable to extract myself.

Finally I wiped the fiberglass where I had to put my foot as clean as I could and also wiped the bottom of my shoes and tried one more time. I was just able to get a knee onto the fuel shelf and wiggle myself out of my fiberglass and fuel residue tomb.

So as to arranging what you store in the dumpster locker, all I can say is, make sure it isn't yourself.

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Unsinkable2
Captain

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USA
273 Posts

Response Posted - 05/22/2009 : 13:09:58

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Prospector
 If you install doors to the quarterberth, how do you keep the kids from crawling out of the dumpster?

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Prospector - I'm still laughing at this, very funny!

This is a great discussion, I'm headed down to the marina to take some measurements and build usable space there.

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Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5352 Posts

Response Posted - 05/25/2009 : 17:58:04

OMG!!! I have a mental picture of the marina yard boss coming by in six months to haul your boat out, looking for some lines or fenders, and finding only bones down in the dumpster.

I've been bitten several times by the hatch (head, fingers, neck, etc), so now I have a short bungy connected to the hasp that reaches up to the stern pulpit rail when open, and I usually don't open it without securing [of course when I do I'm reminded once again why its there].

In between coats of bottom paint, this winter and spring I rewired the panel on Passage. To access the rear of the panel, I removed the sink faucet in the galley, unscrewed the board that the panel is mounted to, and tilted the board down onto the sink. Some of the wires were pretty short, so I got some masking tape to tag the wires (I wrote the switch name on the tag) and disconnected the wires from the back of the panel. The board swung down free.

It was a bit of a reach fishing wires around the quarterberth, behind the companionway stairs and thru the dumpster, but didn't need to get down into the dumpster. I'm certain I would never have gotten out either!!

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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 05/25/2009 : 18:54:32

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Voyager
 ...but didn't need to get down into the dumpster. I'm certain I would never have gotten out either!!<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Nah--I got out (after crawling back to the transom), and I've got quite a few years on you, Bruce!

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