Summary
(please click on any of the pictures for a larger one - use the BACK button to come back)
The anchor "locker" was not the greatest setup.
There was standing water in the bottom because the drain location and bottom were not setup up very well. The standing water had also saturated the wood core at the bottom.
There was no lid to speak of - it was a round piece of fiberglass with a teak handle that just laid on top (that would stay put in a storm, I'm sure!).
The drain went straight down from the bottom, into the vberth where you had to look at a hose clamp and hose running down and forward to the drain thru-hull - not a very "elegant" solution.
So I needed to re-work the bottom and drain, and make a new top.
I started with the bottom. I found this really neat drain that drained from the side, yet sat flush to the bottom of the well. The inside flange formed an "L" shape with the bottom of whatever you were installing it in, so that the hole was at or near the very bottom, flush with the surface. Very cool. Click the picture and look close.
I started by cutting out a round circle of plywood and fitting it to the bottom (I left the old one there). I put a short cleat on one end underneath (opposite the drain) so that the whole bottom was severely angled toward the drain.
I epoxied the board, and then put an epoxy fillet around the new corner at the bottom. I also made even more of a "funnel" into the drain hole.
If you click the picture you should be able to see the drain. The two screws are holding the cleat to the underside to angle the board.
I have also ground in a notch in the rim to allow the rode to pass through when the new lid is closed.
|
|
 |
|
|
Here is what it looked like when it was finished and and painted.
The drain, since it now exits the side, can be covered up on the interior and led to the bow without going directly down into the vberth space.
|
Next was to make a proper lid.
I cut a piece of plywood to match the outer rim diameter, and added a small squared off tab along one side that would just reach the side coaming at the bow next to the locker.
[This was the THIRD one I cut out, by the way.....]
|
|
|
 |
|
Next, I stapled some heavy paper around the edge facing up from the BOTTOM of the lid.
This would form the lip that went down over the rim of the locker.
The other lid is the motor well cover I did at the same time (it needed a longer lip on the forward edge.
I coated the paper with PVA release agent (not enough, I later found out) since I would be laying in some fiberglass. I also put a fillet of epoxy around the edge so that the fiberglass could curve up onto the lip easily.
|
Here is the glassed over bottom with the lip glassed up to the edge.
Here you can see that I have gotten MOST of the stuck paper off. The rest would be sanded off later.
|
|
|
 |
|
Next, I rounded off the top edge of the plywood with a roundover router bit, and glassed the top, insuring that a good bond was made to the "male" lip I created from the underside.
Starting to look an awful lot like a toilet seat now :((
|
After TONS of sanding and fairing compound, the lid is ready for non-skid.
I taped off a border to match the rest of the boat, and added locations for the two T-hinges. These would remain smooth after the nonskid was put on the rest of the lid.
I used the same method described here for doing the non-skid texture.
After rolling on the nonskid, it was ready for painting! |
|
|
 |
|
After painting and nonskid - here is the finished lid.
You can see what used to be the taped off areas.
|
But I couldn't just stop there........... |
I thought about storing more than one rode in the locker and thought it might be nice to divide it up so that more things could be put in and kept separated.
I epoxied in some wax-paper covered cardboard, making two pairs of fillets along the edge.
Once I removed the cardboard, I had two nice slots that I could slip some plastic panels into to divide up the locker into one large and two small compartments if I needed to. Or I could slip them out and use the whole locker.
I think I could have done a better job if it wasn't an afterthought, but hey, it's just an anchor locker. |
|
|
 |
|
Lastly, I couldn't let painted fiberglass lay right on top of painted fiberglass and scrape itself to death as people stepped on it......could I?
I cut some thin starboard material into two semi circles and countersunk screws into the lid so that the top now rested the starboard bumper onto the rim of the locker. Much better.
A spring hatch holder tops things off. |
Lessons Learned
Don't be embarassed if your anchor locker lid looks like a toilet seat.
|
