Ice box removal!

This week past I got the icebox removed from the Bristol.  It took up a LOT of space and I never, well almost never, used it as an icebox, it mostly stored galley stuffs, plates, food...kind of an inefficient use of the space, and on a small, skinny sail boat, that could be considered criminal.

I had read an account of Daniel Spurr's removal of his icebox from his Pearson Triton, almost the same boat as the Bristol 27 in many ways, and he put fear into me about the project, saying it was difficult and messy.  I can only assume that Pearson and Bristol built their boats a bit differently from each other because the job was not to bad at all.

I took my time trying to deconstruct the icebox rather than just taking a cutting tool to it.  As I unscrewed the outer plywood structure the attachment points to the hull became apparent.  It was basically 4 large wood screws that went thru a bulkhead, easily reachable from the cargo hold(or if you don't have my customized Bristol 27, from the starboard cockpit locker, and making a cut in the fiber glass along the cockpit access hatch (10x12 opening).  I also had to cut off the fiberglass drain tube that went thru the bulkhead in order to wiggle the icebox out of position once it was cut free.

Now I have a HUGE amount of space at the foot of the starboard settee/berth.  I plan to make a chart table/desk in that place and in doing so increase the foot room for the berth.

Now I get to do what I enjoy doing so much, I get to sit in the cabin and stare and think and imagine and conjure and cogitate over what the new area and accommodations will look like, what they will do to make life aboard better.  I have the winter to do the figuring, and the building.  I have longer than that if I choose, but knowing that I have the time allows me to take the time to enjoy the designing process.  So, sitting in the corner of the port side berth, next to the wood stove, with a cup of coffee and a sketch pad and a dream sounds like a great way to spend some of the coming season, almost as good as if the boat were in a berth, floating, but not quite.