bridge deck box

I want to put a dock box on the aft portion of my bridge. *I can fit one about 12" by 3'. *The ones i see online are ridiculously expensive for a fiberglass box- like $350. *Any cost effective solutions or ideas? *I may just build a nice paint grade type box and have the yard paint it to match the topsides....? *I have the tools to build one and can do it pretty easy...sure sounds cheaper though more time intensive. *Or maybe I just stop pinching pennies and buy one of those expensive ones. *I just want a storage box I can put extra fenders, lines, gold bullion, money printing press, etc. *Maybe you all have a creative idea or a good source for a good box of the necessary dimensions. *If not, we can begin discussing the imminent repowering Moonstruck's Sabre with some nice little MTU's! * *

*
The Eagle came with a front deck freezer box that I use for storage, so I copied the box and made two boxes, 5 ½X 30 out of ¾ marine plywood for the salon roof.* I am thinking about making another matching box for the front deck.* **
*

PF, do you happen to have any pictures of your boxes?

Woodsong wrote:

I want to put a dock box on the aft portion of my bridge. *I can fit one about 12" by 3'. *The ones i see online are ridiculously expensive for a fiberglass box- like $350. *Any cost effective solutions or ideas? *I may just build a nice paint grade type box and have the yard paint it to match the topsides....? *I have the tools to build one and can do it pretty easy...sure sounds cheaper though more time intensive. *Or maybe I just stop pinching pennies and buy one of those expensive ones. *I just want a storage box I can put extra fenders, lines, gold bullion, money printing press, etc. *Maybe you all have a creative idea or a good source for a good box of the necessary dimensions. *If not, we can begin discussing the imminent repowering Moonstruck's Sabre with some nice little MTU's!

Click to expand...

I recommend exterior grade plywood for the fenders, and high quality fiberglass for the bullion.OK, no to the plywood. I am a big fan of the quality fiberglass boxes. Pay me now or pay me later.*

Buy a used one at a marine consignment shop, boater flea market, craig's list, etc.

"ridiculously expensive for a fiberglass box- like $350. Any cost effective solutions or ideas?"

You have never worked in GRP

Visit Ace Hardware and get plastic garbage cans , lash on the lids and lay them down.

I read that someone had a box made from Starboard I imagine it was pretty pricy and heavy anyway, or you might find a fiberglass shop to make one up. I installed one recently, bit the bullett and bought it at West Marine.
Steve W

No I do not!* I used 2x2 as the inner frame and use regular molding to trim, and painted. I painted each piece several times before assembling them.* We are an ugly trawler so they are not fancy.* My wife made some canvas covers so most of the time they can not be seen any. **They also help to eliminate the open space on the roof, so with the railing, boxes, and the dink the roof is pretty much closed in.* The few days we have sun, we sun bath up on the roof with privacy.*

You can make the box out of good quality marine ply, paint the whole thing with CPES to seal the wood, then prime and paint it. It will most likely last as long as a fiberglass box although you may need to repaint it or touch it up every now and then.

Another option is a large white ice chest. You can even buy the corner pieces that attach to the deck to secure them. I've had two of them in my aft cockpit for nearly fifteen years. I just have to replace the hinges and latch every few years, and they look great.

-- Edited by Carey on Thursday 23rd of December 2010 10:38:36 PM

-- Edited by Carey on Thursday 23rd of December 2010 10:45:37 PM

You might want to take a look at "Deck Boxes" by Rubbermaid or Suncast. Not too expensive lighter weight than the fiberglass models, but made to live out doors.
*Available at Lowes, H.D etc.
Steve W.

-- Edited by Steve on Thursday 23rd of December 2010 09:31:53 PM

How about something like a Coleman cooler.* If you need slightly more room gut the interior sides to gain a smidgeon.

If you check West Marine or the other major marine retailers, you will find some nice combination seat/storage boxes. Some even have backrests. Or, you can look for standard "dock boxes". Marinas may have used ones available.

Yes, you can find cheaper solutions, down to $5.95 at Walmart. How do you keep your boat? How do you want it to look?

I thought about this for my boat and I was considering a combination seat/storage box. I haven't done it yet though.

BTW: $350 is only three and a half "Boat Units"!** By the time you buy the materials and hardware and pay somebody to paint it, you may be close to that anyway.* What a dock box has that most home made boxes don't is a lip all the way around the top to keep water out.

To make a box you will need:
Plywood
Solid wood for corner blocking
A stainless steep piano hinge
A stainless steel hasp
Stainless steel screws
Waterproof glue
Putty of some sort to fill the screw holes
Some sort of gasket
Primer
Paint

-- Edited by rwidman on Monday 27th of December 2010 11:22:07 AM

-- Edited by rwidman on Monday 27th of December 2010 11:56:07 AM

Carey wrote:

Another option is a large white ice chest. You can even buy the corner pieces that attach to the deck to secure them. I've had two of them in my aft cockpit for nearly fifteen years. I just have to replace the hinges and latch every few years, and they look great.

Click to expand...

*They now make a new type of hinge*for replacement on*the Colman type coolers. If you have the hinge looking ones. Those really suck*they break real easy.*The new ones are just a piece of plastic with a bend in it.**They don't break.

West Marine sells the replacement kits. Only problem is they come with two hinges and big coolers need 3. So you have to buy two packs.

SD*

I bought a plastic box as a temporary*anchor rode box after seeing the sky high priced FG ones at West Marine ect. Cost 2 or 3 times as much as the really cheap plastic ones but far far better looking. The lid is quite secure but I put a 1/4" line over it to keep the box in place in rough going. It still looks a bit cheesy*but it gets the job done while I procrastinate the new super box.

nomadwilly wrote:

I bought a plastic box as a temporary*anchor rode box after seeing the sky high priced FG ones at West Marine ect. Cost 2 or 3 times as much as the really cheap plastic ones but far far better looking. The lid is quite secure but I put a 1/4" line over it to keep the box in place in rough going. It still looks a bit cheesy*but it gets the job done while I procrastinate the new super box.

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Your new boat won't need one.*

JD wrote:



Your new boat won't need one.*

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I can't "see" Eric moving from a Willard to a Nordic Tug.

*

markpierce wrote:


JD wrote:

*

Your new boat won't need one.*

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I can't "see" Eric moving from a Willard to a Nordic Tug.




Eric seems like a guy that needs a boat to work on and I think the Willard has run it's course in that respect.*

Eric still needs to upgrade the deck box, install a table, and get a "better" wheel.* And then something else needs to be "fixed" like new windows on the stern-side of the cabin.

skipperdude wrote:

*
Carey wrote:

Another option is a large white ice chest. You can even buy the corner pieces that attach to the deck to secure them. I've had two of them in my aft cockpit for nearly fifteen years. I just have to replace the hinges and latch every few years, and they look great.

Click to expand...

They now make a new type of hinge*for replacement on*the Colman type coolers. If you have the hinge looking ones. Those really suck*they break real easy.*The new ones are just a piece of plastic with a bend in it.**They don't break.

West Marine sells the replacement kits. Only problem is they come with two hinges and big coolers need 3. So you have to buy two packs.

SD

*

SkipperThe bendy type is what I have. They degrade in the sun, and need replacement. I have ended up with quite a few spare parts over the years, as each of those kits you mention comes with the latch and a couple hinges, and the stainless screws. I use one 128quart for an actual ice box for long trips, and the other as a storage unit for cleaning supplies, etc..

*

Looks like I better defend myself here. You guys are miss'in the whole barn much of the time and spot on frequently too.
JD,
So you not only know IF I'm going to buy another boat but which one it is eh? Well for those that have been following and perhaps others the NT IS at the top of the list but as some of you know I can change my mind fast. A good price on a Lord Nelson w a 4cyl Cummins would set me off**** ....just as an example. Full disp trawlers are soooo far between I take them all very seriously. Right** ..as I recall they all have anchor winches that dump the rode down in the hole. Makes the V berth stink.
Mark,
We buy the boats we buy cause we like'em. I like Eagle 32s and Nordic 32s. But I do remember the last time I was aboard a NT 32 I thought the boat was OK*** ...just OK.
And if I go down to Puget Sound to look at one and repeat that experience that will be it for the Nordic. "I can't "see" Eric moving from a Willard to a Nordic Tug." It's bigger and a bit faster. Most of you won't relate to this (probably) but 7 1/2 knots is a lot faster than 6.15 knots if you have gone 6.15 knots for a long time. I'd really like to go 10-12 but not willing to pay for the fuel. There is an Eagle 32 on Yacht World but it's on the east coast. I clicked on the ship it estimate and it was less than $5K. Could that be?

Sorry, Eric, but I never*saw you as a "semi-displacement" kind of guy.* (Is it the anticipation, the*journey, or the destination one seeks?)

Those Nordic Tugs are very*overpowered and have limited range for their size.** Also, much of their "architecture" isn't*friendly as in extremely narrow side decks and vertical pilothouse windows which emphasize reflections.* Also, both the interior and exteriors*were "extremely plastic," lacking "warmth."* *They were my second/third choices in my trawler selection process, however.* Somehow, they look to me*as toys rather than serious boats like the Willards.

-- Edited by markpierce on Monday 27th of December 2010 08:54:56 PM

Eric, the shipping cost estimate feature you can click on via yachtworld is about useless and virtually never correct. Just shipping that Eagle from NC to WA would probably be more like $15k?? 47's shipping that far run around $25k and shipping a mid 30's boat to the coast from Atlanta runs around $6-7k.
Are you preferring a smaller boat to a larger boat (i.e. 32 instead of 36).

Tony,
I suspected as much. If I had a truck I would'nt run coast to coast w a boat for $5K.
I like most 32' to 34' boats better than larger ones. Smaller boats, lighter boats, narrower boats and boats that have hulls closer to full disp are more efficient and that's very important. I like a boat to feel handy. Easy to fix, run and otherwise own. Every bit of burden a boat heaps on her skipper is lost in fun. Fun is the bottom line. Fun can come from satisfaction earned from a great relationship with a beautiful boat that has great moves. Or it can come from where it can take you or how it can bring friends together for a good time. Ect ect ect. Soooo many elements to balance or put in the proper place it's difficult to keep enough in focus to go ahead and feel good about it. At least I don't need to worry about moorage cost. 50' would not be a problem.

Carey wrote:
*
*
The bendy type is what I have. They degrade in the sun, and need replacement.



That is one thing I have not had to deal with here in Ak that is the sun degrading things.

Long days but not enough direct sunlight to really make a difference to most items.

SD

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*




*


-- Edited by skipperdude on Tuesday 28th of December 2010 11:03:55 AM

nomadwilly wrote:

There is an Eagle 32 on Yacht World but it's on the east coast. I clicked on the ship it estimate and it was less than $5K. Could that be?

Click to expand...

I suppose you could get trucking quotes that range all over the map.* But as a point of reference for you, we had our GB36 trucked from Alameda, Californina to Tacoma, Washington in 1998.* We use (IIRC) Associated Trucking, which is a marine trucking specialist.* They have special trailers that drop the forefoot of the boat almost to the pavement, which is why the flying bridge did not have to come off our boat (the GB36, they said, is the largest boat of this type they can move without removing the flying bridge).

The trucking cost was almost exactly $4,000.* At the time it would have cost about this much to hire a delivery captain to run the boat up the coast, and our insurance company was a LOT happier with the boat on a truck.

So I would be VERY skeptical of a claim that a 32' boat could be trucked properly by a bonded marine transportation company using the right equipment clear across the US for $5,000 today, when it cost $4,000 to truck a boat properly from northern California to Washington twelve years ago.

*

Carey wrote:

Another option is a large white ice chest. You can even buy the corner pieces that attach to the deck to secure them. I've had two of them in my aft cockpit for nearly fifteen years. I just have to replace the hinges and latch every few years, and they look great.

-- Edited by Carey on Thursday 23rd of December 2010 10:38:36 PM

-- Edited by Carey on Thursday 23rd of December 2010 10:45:37 PM

Click to expand...

Buy stainless steel hinges. Igloo now has SS hinges in there repair parts. There are several online sites for inexpensive SS hinges. I'm sure you can find something that will work or could be re-drilled to work.

http://www.igloo-store.com/detail/IGL+24005

http://www.igloo-store.com/detail/IGL+20018

Ted

*

nomadwilly wrote:
We buy the boats we buy cause we like'em. I like Eagle 32s and Nordic 32s. But I do remember the last time I was aboard a NT 32 I thought the boat was OK ...just OK.
And if I go down to Puget Sound to look at one and repeat that experience that will be it for the Nordic. "I can't "see" Eric moving from a Willard to a Nordic Tug." It's bigger and a bit faster. Most of you won't relate to this (probably) but 7 1/2 knots is a lot faster than 6.15 knots if you have gone 6.15 knots for a long time. I'd really like to go 10-12 but not willing to pay for the fuel. There is an Eagle 32 on Yacht World but it's on the east coast. I clicked on the ship it estimate and it was less than $5K. Could that be?

Click to expand...

nomadwilly, I was looking at that Eagle 32 in NC.

Question:
If you have to pull the engine, do you the boathorn (think shoehorn) to get it back in with?

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...d=36784&units=Feet&currency=USD&access=Public

Ted

O C Diver,
The big thing I liked about the Eagle 32 in NC is that it's not so badly over powered with the 4cyl 90hp Lehman. The one I was looking at had 3 times too much power. 50hp would be plenty. I would have bought the white one out west w the 6cyl but someone beat me to it. It was 99K so I think your'e east coast boat is prolly priced right. If Eagles happen to be free of blisters it could be a good boat to buy. As I recall the Eagle out here had an aluminum fuel tank aft in the laz. Would be better for removal than up by the engine.
When I repowered my Willard they used a fork lift w a boom on the forks to lift the engine up and backed it out through the aft cabin door. Don't remember how they got the new fuel tanks in. The 55hp Yanmar or the 54hp Isuzu would be perfect for that boat but the Lehman 6 runs under loaded well and except for # of cylinders the 4 is the same engine.