Installing a cooler through the floor

[matt194]

I wanted to install a cooler into the floor of my 14.5 ft boat. I am thinking of using a marine hatch and a plastic storage container as the cooler. I will put the plastic container on the bottom of the hull and use the hatch as my acess point and lid to cooler. Has anyone done this? Can you foresee any problems?

 

[5150abf]

Re: Installing a cooler through the floor

Put up what kind of boat it is.
The first thing that came to my mind was that you could cut through a floor support.
As long as you are absolutely certain what is under where you want to cut, i.e.foam, wires, piping,hull and are sure you aren't cutting any support members it should work.
You will need to come up with something to keep the cooler in place as you run the boat and you may have problems finding a part of the hull that is flat enough.
My best advice, be absolutely sure of what you want to do and that it will work as planned before you even start, you don't want to just start hacking on your boat.
Buddy decided to put a livewell in his front deck,grabbed his saws-all and started cutting, went through 2 deck supports, ended up redoing his entire front deck and still doesn't have a livewell, be carefull.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Installing a cooler through the floor

14' boat, doubt there is much room under there.

 

[salty87]

Re: Installing a cooler through the floor

a recessed spot to stash your cooler might work better. onboard coolers are kind of a pain, transferring cold stuff into it and taking trash out later. that would also be alot more effective at keeping things cold than a homemade cooler. could double as a seat if you get the cushioned cooler. just a few thoughts.

 

[Captain Caveman]

Re: Installing a cooler through the floor

My on-board cooler is called the live well. Cold water works really well as long as you keep your cans/bottles in a bag so you don't get your local lake's parasites all over your beverage container.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Installing a cooler through the floor

your water is a lot colder than ours.

 

[oops!]

Re: Installing a cooler through the floor

was gonna make one in my ray....19 footer....

as td said.....doubt theres much room in there.

in mine the deck is 9 inches off the keel.....the bottles are that high....so they gotta lay down....no biggie....

the cooler will have to be built for the spot. the "v" in the hull uasually has a stringer running down the middle.....so you gotta make one for each side ...its easy to make them outta fiberglass, then use foam around the side to insulate it. you would have to add a drain hose to the bilge....(dont just let the water run free).

the hatch would be as you described........

the only problem is.......the beer is really low to reach.....when sitting in your boat, you practically gotta get on your knees to get a beer. (as it will be below the water line).

ive decided to add swivel seats and put my coolers behind the two pedistal seats (driver and passenger). hidden in bench seats.

id suggest to go sit in your boat for an hour, take a beverage or two, and mentally explore all the options.....in front of you ender the deck?...behind you for easy acess? in the area u suggested......

 

[wvit1001]

Re: Installing a cooler through the floor

I have a cooler built into the floor of my Stingray. I think it holds 46 quarts. I never use it as a cooler though, it always seems to have a gasoline smell to it. Every other Stingray I know that has a cooler in the floor has the same issue with the smell. It's the lowest point in the boat so that's the place that any fumes collect. It mostly gets used to store cleaning supplies since if any of them spill they go straight into the bilge area.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Installing a cooler through the floor

Mine has 2 built into the floor with small drains in the bottom.It will drain into the bilge.I have used them a couple times but i don't really like it draining into the bilge. I'm thinking of making one a bait well..

 

[Bondo]

Re: Installing a cooler through the floor

Ayuh,.......

I gotta believe TD is Right,.......

You could probably put a Beer in it........Laying down of course........

 

[matt194]

Re: Installing a cooler through the floor

I decided not to install a cooler.