Fridge use in 21ec

I am thinking about removing the fridge in my tug and put some shelving instead.

Every time that we go out I notice that the fridge doesn't hold much stuff and then it warms up pretty quickly when we turn it off at night at anchor. My pelican cooler seems to offer more space than we need and it hold ice for 7-10 days.

However we find that there is not enough room to easily store our belonging without using the storage compartment under the bed... So I will remove the fridge and make 2-3 shelf and put a nice door made of teak like the other 3 cupboard doors.

Has Anyone tried this to put shelving or actually removed the fridge for another reason and if so, how do you remove the fridge?

It is very easy to remove the fridge and comes out very quickly. Just remove the four screws that hold it in place The unit can then be lifted out carefully and taken out through the cabin door. It should have a long power feed wire that will let you move it out the door. If your power feed wire doesn't have a plug system in line that would be easy to install so that the fridge can be reinstalled easily and powered up.
You might want to construct a box the same size as the fridge to mount back in hole as there are all the boat's electrical harnesses and the bottom of switches are exposed that can be damaged if not careful.

Two killicks":2j6dc1wa said:

Has Anyone tried this to put shelving or actually removed the fridge for another reason and if so, how do you remove the fridge?

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Hello Pat,

The answer is YES. I have not personally removed my fridge yet but have been thinking about doing so. I HAVE seen several 21ECs for sale in which the fridge had been taken out and replaced with storage space.

I like having the fridge, but it is not all that useful for me...water, soda, and food items tend to get 'jumbled' in the course of trailering to the ramp and getting out on the water. I often think a cooler would be more useful.

Let us see what you end up doing.

/dave

Instead of removing the frig why not turn it off and store you clothes in it? Just a thought.

just ot keep resale issues at bay, you should try to make your modifications to a no-fridge cabin, completely reversible. Most of the EC's are coming from the factory with fridge as far as I can tell and that may be because it is a popular option that makes EC owners feel more like they are on a big boat. I personally wouldn't have one for all the reasons that you have cited. BUT, keeping the option open to go backwards for the next buyer would be worth considering as you re-purpose the fridge compartment.

Thanks for your comments,

I will remove the fridge, there is way more room to gain. I will construct a box type of closet and the lower shelf will have a hinge to allow me to open it and store more stuff below on the bottom of the boat, I will make sure that everything is reversible for sure. I will post some pictures once I am done...

I believe removing and then taking the Fridge through the cabin door opening is made easier if the Fridge door is removed first.

For me, I use a waterproof sailor's duffle bag for my clothes and personal items.

Yeah this is a good idea to remove the door before! Thanks Barry 😀 I also use a duffle bad that is waterproof to put my clothes in and I leave it on the focsle

Two killicks":6uxvb73i said:

Yeah this is a good idea to remove the door before!

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Hold on...

I've had my fridge out a MANY times with various projects. I've NEVER removed the door nor felt it necessary. I remove the fridge from the pilot house with its door facing AFT, such that door removal yields no benefit in terms of clearance through pilot house exit.

Messing the the door turns a "remove 4 screws" job into considerable more effort.

Regarding the available storage space within the fridge opening...I have seen modifications on other 21ECs whereby the owner fabricated a "box" with screwed in place same as the fridge and could then be removed to return the boat to 'factory' set up in the event of resale, changed plans, etc.

The IS a lot more space back there than the 1-2 cu ft contained withing the fridge, so this is sounding like a worthwhile mod to me.

dave

Dave: A good post and good advice. 🙂

The less work the better! I am glad to read this before I get the fridge out, Thank you Dave 😀

I will more likely do this project next week...

I love my fridge, have had no problems with food moving around when I trailer my boat, and would never consider removing it. The alcohol stove I could do without. I also carry a portable butane stove, as someone else mentioned.

A good solution for packing clothing is using E-bags (Google it). They hold a large amount of clothing, keep clothes from getting wrinkled, and fit perfectly on the both sides of the hull in the V-berth area. I use the medium size, mark what is in them with colored tape (jeans/tops, shower gear, shoes, etc.) so I don't have to pull one out to search for what I want. No need for extra storage space, and it is all well organized and looks neat.

Here is a follow up on my post:

I remove the fridge yesterday, it is an easy task, I made up my mind after seeing what it looks like in the void space. Here is what I am going to do: I will build a dish organizer tray with separator to put at the bottom of this new cabinet. This way the dishes will not be all messy under the sink in 2 separate bin like it is now. The bottom of the dish tray will have hinges to access the wires located underneath if needed. Above the tray, I will put a shelf to allow for more storage. on the side wall there will be hooks to hang kitchen stuff.

I will do a homemade louvered door and frame to fit the opening this way it will blend in with the doors that are already in the tug. All these mods will be fully reversible if I want to put the fridge back if needed.

I will also put a shelf in the cabinet under the sink and we will put our clothes in there because it offer plenty of room for it. On our last trip (14 days) we had 2 bags of clothes that we left on the bunk among other stuff, and at night we had to put everything in the cockpit, this will not be the case anymore...

Last weekend, I was also working in the cabinet under the sink, I raised the water tank with a stainless banding strap because it was lower on one side (toward the center of the boat) by doing so, the water will now go all the way towards the pump water fitting. I now understand why our water smelled the RV winterizing stuff for a long time, there was about half a gallon of water that was unable to exit the tank because it was leaning...

While working behind the fridge and around the water tank, I noticed the void space under the stairs in the cockpit, I will put 2 x inspection port to put more stuff in there (as other have done).

Once that is completed, I will post picture in my album for sure.

I love working in the tug, it's amazing how these little mod makes the boat feel roomier.

Here's what we've work out over the years and going on multiple 2,3 and 4 overnight trips. The fridge is not big but it works great and we use it. It requires some planning to get everything to fit. We've bought small resealable containers for condiments and such to replace large bottles and we've made ours work. It's also nice to have cold water handy in the middle of the night. There's not a lot of room in the 21 EC cabin but there's a LOT OF ROOM in the cockpit. Here's what we've done and it works great! We have 4 medium size ( 14" W X 22" L X 18" H) plastic bins with lids. The bins can be stacked together if needed. They are not totally waterproof but will keep everything dry even in a heavy rain. We have one each for electronics/bedding, clothes for her, clothes for me and one for non refrigerated food and utensils. During the day the bins are stored in the V-berth area. When we are ready to call it a night we move the bins out to the cockpit. They stack/store easily on top of the engine compartment or on the floor. The bins are easily accessed but out of the way. Next morning we move them back into the V-berth area. This method has worked well for us and we continue to improve our packing each trip. Another handy feature. It's easy to load the bins in the house before you leave then carry them back into the house when you return. We'd like to hear how everyone else packs for trips.

Cheers!

Sara and Karl
Maneo

Another point to mention. Why would you turn your fridge off during the night? It doesn't draw that much power. Here in Florida night time temps are in the high 70's to low 80's and we keep ours running all the time AND power the stereo (for hours), the anchor light ( all night) and use the cabin lights and have never had an issue with low voltage. It's a nice convenience to have and it works for us.
Keeping cool in Florida,
Karl & Sara
Maneo

Good evening Capt'nKarl,
The reason why I do not need the fridge is because We have a pelican icebox that we put on the engine cover, we cut the seat on the engine cover in a half and the pelican serve as a cooler and as a backrest as well (See picture) it contains three time as much food and drinks. We use the boat for up to two weeks at the time. The admiral is vegetarian, we have to stock up on all the food that is not available most of the time during a trip... Up here in Canada, were we live, marinas are not as frequent and most of the time too far away to go shopping anyway.



Here is a sneak peak of what I did for the past 4 hours... A door similar to the other in the cabin. 😀

Capt'nKarl":lvkk9liq said:

Another point to mention. Why would you turn your fridge off during the night? It doesn't draw that much power. Here in Florida night time temps are in the high 70's to low 80's and we keep ours running all the time AND power the stereo (for hours), the anchor light ( all night) and use the cabin lights and have never had an issue with low voltage. It's a nice convenience to have and it works for us.
Keeping cool in Florida,
Karl & Sara
Maneo

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We turned it off, because it kept my wife awake every time that the fridge would start... I do not want the admiral to be grumpy because she did not sleep well... :lol:

Must be nice to be sooo talented. Looks great and some great ideas.

Jake

My project is almost over. I installed my cabinet door to see if everything fits before I put the final coat of a different product to match the color with the other cabinet inside of the cabin. Inside there is 2 shelf. All the cookware will be in this cabinet.