Lazarette Storage

[Jeff and Sarah]

So who's got good storage solutions for the cockpit lazarettes? I'm using milk crates right now in the port locker (they won't fit in the starboard one) and they work pretty well, but theres got to be an ingenious solution out there that keeps things perfectly organized. I was on a Sea Ray 50 the other day that had a couple trays installed in the engine compartment that snuggly held quarts of oil and such- that seemed like a good idea and started me down this path of getting things sorted out better than they are now.

On the 33, the starboard locker is particularly difficult to keep neatly organized because the access is fairly small- I do use canvas bags, but again it's not the perfect solution.

Ideas?

[Joe Myerson]

I found this solution on this board (sorry, I don't remember who posted it).

Some brands of cat litter come in square plastic buckets with snap-on covers. They are waterproof, narrow and can be packed fairly close together--with the tops labeled.

It has worked somewhat for me, helping keep some of the cockpit-locker jumble under control.

Of course, if you don't have a cat, that could be a problem.

--Joe

[M. R. Bober]

I found this solution on this board (sorry, I don't remember who posted it).

...
--Joe

I posted it years ago. They work like a charm. The lids snap on securely. The buckets usually stack, there are at least two different models, so try to stay with a single type. Some have plastic bails and others use metal. I prefer the plastic.

If you need a few ask a local vet, especially one that has a cat practice. FYI: I used to get the litter at COSTCO, but they no longer use buckets as containers.

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster, (not a litter free zone, alas.) VA

[Tod Mills]

...or a local cat shelter or humane society.

I stocked my dog park with lots of them, which I mounted on fence posts, for use as waste tubs.

They came from a local feline rescue group...

[Jeff and Sarah]

How convenient- my sister lives just down the road and she and her husband are both Vets. I'll ask them. I'm also thinking about using some 50 CAL ammo cans since they are free and last forever. They might be useful for stowing/segregating small quantities of some flammable liquids (obviously still in their own containers inside the cans). The shelf in the port locker would be an easy place to secure them.

Along those lines, my wife brings me all sorts of useful things from the hospital- syringes for injecting epoxy, medical clamps for hanging on to wires or kinking hoses, granulated containers for just about any purpose, etc. The clamps are in Davy Jones' locker now though, so I need more.

[Sea Hunt]

Hello Sarah and Jeff:

You may want to reconsider .50 cal ammo cans. Although they are durable, I think they may have two drawbacks for a sailboat you may want to consider:

1. Even though durable they will rust in a salt environment, at least the ones I am familiar with.

2. They have some sharp edges particularly on the lid. Again, at least the ones I am familiar with.

I would think the cat/dog food containers would be much more practical.

Just the rambling thoughts of an old guy temporarily in between Cape Dory sailboats.

[Jeff and Sarah]

You are probably right about the cans, but I'm in a river that is more brackish and the can supply is free and basically unlimited so I'll give it a shot. They might not even fit on the shelf though they look like they should. I'll report back with results.

Also, talked to my sister about the cat litter buckets and her first comment was "those would be great for boat storage!". So, I'll try those too. The milk crates have been pretty succesful so far- like all projects it will just take a little bit of trial and error to develop the best solution.

[Duncan]

... it will just take a little bit of trial and error to develop the best solution.

I've had good luck with the heavy-duty versions of plastic food storage containers ("Tupperware, Rubbermaid").

I've thought of expoxying a board inside one of the cockpit lockers, and screwing in a row of plastic-coated "garage storage" hooks for docklines, etc.. Has anyone else done this, and did it work out ok?

I've also thought of blocking off the bottom of the lazarette with some sort of grating (maybe upside-down milk crates?). This would be partly to promote air circulation, and partly just to make a flat surface and to keep junk from accumulating in there.

[seajunkie]

I found this link a while back. I saved it because One day I wanted to use some of the ideas. Look at the links for the lockers.

http://santana.thebilge.com/projects.htm

[Duncan]

I found this link a while back. I saved it because One day I wanted to use some of the ideas. Look at the links for the lockers.

http://santana.thebilge.com/projects.htm

Thanks, there are some great ideas there!

[Steve Laume]

Nice link and some good ideas. Some questionable ones too.

I don't know if his cockpit lockers drain to the bilge but keeping all the propane and flammables in there might not be such a red hot idea.

Luan plywood is also not such a great choice.

Running the anchor line through the towing eye might be okay. If the eye is strong enough it will reduce the amount of scope needed. I do something similar on Raven. I know the bob stay fitting is strong and I replaced the pin with a shackle. I can then put a length of three strand on the shackle with a chain hook on the end. This not only reduces the amount of scope needed but also helps reduce searching at anchor. This is a sound concept but I would not run the anchor line the way the link shows it. There seems to be a tremendous opportunity for chafe with the sharp angles and fittings he has. The bungee cord with the S hooks just seems crazy. If the system sees enough strain to destroy this set up, you would be left with less scope than needed.

I hate bungee cords in general. They are not really reliable for most applications and are dangerous when they do part. Give me a piece of line any day.

Looking over the Santana in general it makes our Cape Dories look extremely well made, but of course we already know that , Steve.

[Joe Myerson]

Mitch:

I remembered the tip, but not its source. Thanks again!

--Joe

[bhartley]

I made a small peg line holder for the starboard locker on Pyxis. There are 4 long pegs which have room for most of our extra lines. The locker is a little full right now due to winter hibernation.

http://picasaweb.google.com/11087937783 ... directlink

The port locker has a great shelf that the previous owner made (I think it is not standard...) The flat surface is very helpful and has room for our cleaning bucket (full of cockpit deck cleaning stuff) and a milk crate with assorted other goodies. It is very quick to remove when accessing the engine. 2 cotter pins go through vertically on each end.

[Bob Ohler]

Picking-up where bhartley left off, an alternative to the wood pegs in the locker is to use single, brass, coat hooks... the ones that do not protrude but instead are like an oversized cup hook. The ones I used were made by H.B. Ives. By creating a loop of 1/8" line, I could hang one end on the hook, then pass this small line through the coiled line, then back up to the hook. These were very handy for storing docking and rafting lines.

Fair winds,

rbo

[Numbah134]

For smaller amounts of stuff, the plastic replacements for what used to be a "3 pound coffee can" (now down to 33 oz, just as the "1lb" is down to 11 oz) are worth considering. No rust, snap lid, etc.

There are also faux ammo boxes in plastic, but they cost money (if you have a free source of real ammo boxes, you're doing well, since they are actually typically fairly spendy once they make it though surplus to those of us without a direct line to them.)

As for the buckets, really any cat owner that uses the stuff that comes in buckets will have too many - you quickly outgrow uses for them, and at least around here, the recycling center only takes bottles under 2 gallons (no buckets at all, and certainly not 3-1/2 gallon buckets, which is about typical for a plastic cat-litter bucket.) I'd characterize the lids as more "water resistant" than "waterproof/watertight."