CD 36 icebox construction/insulation details

[dancer]

Good evening,
Has anyone torn apart the galley the learn exactly how the icebox was constructed, and how it is secured in the galley? I've checked all the past posts on the board, but no one has described it in detail, particularly with respect to the port side and bottom adjacent to the hull.
Is the countertop straightforward to remove?
Thanks for any help you can provide!

[John Danicic]

I have some photos of that someone else sent me. Unfortunately, I can't remember who.

He did a complete gut of his box. I do know that the aft drawers and cabinets must be removed before you can take off the counter top.

I ended up foaming in the box through a multitude of holes from the inside. Worked pretty good but.....not the best job. A heck of a lot easier then total reconstruction.

Private message me and I will send you the photos. I don't feel right posting them with out the owners permission.

[Jim_B]

I needed to increase the insulation in my box. Rather than tear it and all the cabinets apart I opted to install insulation in the inside. I use several overlapping layers of foam board (Lowes) and then covered the entire area with marine grade 1/4" plywood a layer of fiberglass cloth and epoxy and painted with floor epoxy paint. The original box is quite large and even with making it 2" smaller all around it is still 5 cubic feet...

[Steve Laume]

Raven was build in 1984. Her ice box insulation consisted of about an inch of some kind of foam.

I did a series of one inch holes on a four inch grid. The holes were cut with a hole saw and all the pieces saved. I used low expansion foam and started at the bottom filling holes. When foam appeared at the hole above I would add some there. In this manner I was able to fill the entire area around the box. I also cut a access panel on the inside of the galley panel at the forward end of the ice box. This allowed me to really fill up the area at the bottom. I did cover the wires and water hose that ran under there so there would be some hope of getting it out if the need ever arouse.

Once everything was all filled I epoxied the plugs back in, then faired and painted everything.

If you were to decide to go with adding foam sheets to the inside it would still not be a bad idea to drill and foam the outside first. You wouldn't have to worry about fairing and painting the holes then.

I would still like to add an inch of blue board to the underside of the top but have not gotten to this as yet. This is the least important area as cold sinks, Steve.

[Troy Scott]

The icebox in my Cape Dory 36, #152, built in 1987-1988, consisted of a "box within a box" as far as the walls and floor were concerned. There was just an air space between the two boxes. The air space varied between one and three inches thick. No part of the exterior box is also part of the hull. There were, at the top, some unsealed gaps between the ceiling and the external box. I used a method similar to Steve Laume's to fill the air space, followed by refinishing the interior of the box to look more-or-less original. I also added a custom-made drain with a plug to replace the original not-very-impressive one. One other thing: I discovered that parts of the top, which is also the bottom of the cabinet-top, were insulated with glassed-over one-inch foam. However, some odd areas were missed when they installed the insulation. I made sure to add some (Lowes) blue foam to those areas, installed with home-made epoxy "spooge", which I faired to the sidewalls before it hardened.

If you use expanding foam to do this job, be sure it is the type that expands less, and that it will cure to be non water-absorbent.

I hope this helps!

[JimMc]

It isn't a CD36, but this link is cool if you are thinking of a total rebuild. Foam insulation is discussed in there too....

http://www.wbryant.com/StellaBoat/Proje ... /index.htm

[Troy Scott]

JimMc,

That's a great link! The Frigoboat refrigeration with Keel Cooler is exactly what I installed on my CD36.