Caddy storage above dinette table port side for R-25

[baz]

Ever since seeing the storage caddy on the new R-27 I've been envious of it. I wanted one also but on our R-25 I could not see how to attach one without screwing into the cabin wall. Not knowing just how thick the cabin wall was has caused me some hesitation in drilling for fear of puncturing through the wall.

Today I came up with my solution to this. I had some Teak-stained red oak screen molding (3/4" x 5/16") left over from a previous project. I figured I could cut a suitable length and attach it horizontally between the two windows above the dinette table using suitably located screws holding the window framing in place. I needed screws longer than the ones the factory used as they had to feed through the 5/16" molding. I also wanted the molding to line up horizontally and in line with the lower window sill.

With the molding in place I can now attach the storage Caddy above the dinette table. I figure I can accommodate a storage caddy no wider than 15" because being any wider the Navigator's seat when facing forward and being leaned on backwards the backrest would/will contact the storage caddy and damage it or worse still dislodge it and break it off the molding. The distance between the two windows is 18.75" and WM sells two Teak storage caddies; one that is 18.375" wide and another that's 14.75" wide. So I will purchase the smaller one and butt it up to the rear most window above the dinette table.

The solution lends itself to easy 'uninstalling'... leaving no trace of this ever having been done. I will keep the two original factory screws I removed and if and when I want to remove the storage caddy (i.e., resale activity for example) I can do so very easily and no one would be the wiser. 😉

Here's a photo of the molding attached between the two windows and ready for the WM Teak storage caddy. 🙂

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Barry: Your idea is very clever and will obviously provide your boat with an additional storage space. nice job. As far as possibly taking it down in the future my guess is that the mouse hair you are covering up, by not having direct sunlight exposure, will not fade like the surrounding area. You might find you'll be leaving this on your R25 when you step up to the R27!

Jim

 

[Favunclerich]

Barry,

Very clever idea!

On an unrelated note, I see that your brass porthole looks great. I've been afraid to polish mine for fear of getting the Brasso on the monkey fur. What's your secret?

Rich

 

[baz]

Barry: Your idea is very clever and will obviously provide your boat with an additional storage space. nice job. As far as possibly taking it down in the future my guess is that the mouse hair you are covering up, by not having direct sunlight exposure, will not fade like the surrounding area. You might find you'll be leaving this on your R25 when you step up to the R27!

Jim

This may be true... hadn't thought of that. Since the molding 'stands' away from the monkey fur, some daylight will penetrate behind the storage caddy -- but no matter, as you say, over time there will be a difference in the shading on the monkey fur caused by this. If push came to shove I guess I would not want the expense of the WM storage caddy to interfere with or stop any potential resale, so I would leave it attached. Thanks for the heads-up.

 

[baz]

Barry,

Very clever idea!

On an unrelated note, I see that your brass porthole looks great. I've been afraid to polish mine for fear of getting the Brasso on the monkey fur. What's your secret?

Rich

Interesting observation... In fact there's no secret involved... I've done absolutely nothing to keep the porthole looking the way it is. My son told me in no uncertain terms to NOT polish any of the brass portholes (are they really brass I wonder?)... and to simple let them age and oxidize/tarnish to obtain the aged green patina look.

My portholes on the boat's outside have aged nicely and have started to have that nice green patina look. Obviously the outside porthole surfaces are exposed to salt water. The inside porthole surfaces are aging at a rate much lesser rate. My guess is that this is because we keep the boat in a covered slip which is oriented to avoid too much direct sunlight. In fact, the only portion that gets direct sunlight is the port bow. This is evidenced by noticing that crud gathers/grows on this part of the hull below the water level whereas the rest of the underwater hull stays relatively clean. Those barnacles can only survive with sunlight, so I'm told.

 

[Gin]

The portholes on the Rangers look identical to the ones that were on our last boat, which were solid bronze.

Gini

 

[baz]

FYI...

I had a chat with Andrew today about securing items to the cabin wall and elsewhere. His advice was that in general it's OK to drill anywhere vertically but not so in the horizontal direction... :lol:

I asked about the fiberglass thickness of the cabin walls and he indicated for an example that it varies from being thicker near hatch openings and then will taper off. The only way to know the real thickness at any point is to drill through and examine the thickness. Not something I will be attempting mind you. 😉

Seriously though, Andrew said that the factory will bond/glue/epoxy blocks to the fiberglass walls etc at time for providing a better footing for securing screws and bolts from the outside. If wanting to screw into the fiberglass cabin walls for example, one can removed a small section of the Monkey Fur and glue/bond a block to the wall for proving a better footing for securing screws.