CaspersCruiser
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 11, 2016
- Messages
- 943
- Fluid Motion Model
- R-27 Classic
- Hull Identification Number
- FMLT2709G112
- Vessel Name
- Cookie
- MMSI Number
- 368203460
Today, I removed the refrigerator from its space under the counter to gain access to an item located behind the refrigerator that needed maintenance. While the refrigerator was out, I used the opportunity to take some photos of a modification I made eight years ago to the way the refrigerator is mounted and secured in my 2012 R27 Classic.
As built at the factory, the refrigerator was hung in the space and secured with four sheetmetal screws driven into fiberglass, one in each corner. There was no support installed under the bottom of the refrigerator at all. It just hung in the space. It’s a cheap and quick to way to build, but a really horrible way to mount a refrigerator in a vessel that is designed and marketed to be subjected to the rigors of trailering.
I bought my boat from its original owners in April 2017. In August 2018, after a long tow over some rough Interstate highway, I stubbed my right little toe as I was walking forward to the cuddy. That’s how I discovered that the two lower sheetmetal screws had stripped out of the fiberglass into which they were driven and allowed the bottom of the refrigerator to rotate out of its space a couple inches.
I removed the top two screws and pulled out the refrigerator to see what could be done to secure the refrigerator back into its space. I was quite dismayed to see how it was installed. The two bottom screws are under the most stress from the refrigerator hanging in its space and, not surprisingly, they are the screws that stripped out of the 7/32” fiberglass sheeting surrounding the refrigerator opening.
The previous owners of my boat trailered it A LOT and I could see that the screws had stripped out before. Their fix was to just jam a bigger screw in the stripped out hole. I could not fit a bigger screw through the refrigerator frame. See the attached photo to see how badly the screw holes were stripped. I vowed to make a permanent fix when I returned home.
I’m no engineer, but I knew I had to fabricate support for the bottom of the refrigerator to relieve the stress of towing over rough roads. I accomplished that by ripping down a 2x4 to the exact height of the bottom lip of the refrigerator opening and then cut it in half to form a pair of supports. I fastened them in place with L-brackets secured by SHORT screws so as not to penetrate anything below the plywood bottom in the space.
I also knew I had to create something for the mounting screws to bite into behind the thin fiberglass surrounding the refrigerator opening. I cut some scrap wood that was the exact width needed to make screw receiving blocks. I secured the blocks into position with countersunk screws to maintain the flat surface of the refrigerator opening.
See the attached photos. The woodwork is pretty crude, but it’s a vast improvement over the OEM solution and I’ve not had any more issues with stripped refrigerator securing screws in the eight years and thousands of towing miles since I made the mod.
If your boat is not often towed, this mod is unnecessary. But for boats towed often, it’s a worthwhile modification. I have heard of other Classic boats whose refrigerators stripped out the bottom screws.
As built at the factory, the refrigerator was hung in the space and secured with four sheetmetal screws driven into fiberglass, one in each corner. There was no support installed under the bottom of the refrigerator at all. It just hung in the space. It’s a cheap and quick to way to build, but a really horrible way to mount a refrigerator in a vessel that is designed and marketed to be subjected to the rigors of trailering.
I bought my boat from its original owners in April 2017. In August 2018, after a long tow over some rough Interstate highway, I stubbed my right little toe as I was walking forward to the cuddy. That’s how I discovered that the two lower sheetmetal screws had stripped out of the fiberglass into which they were driven and allowed the bottom of the refrigerator to rotate out of its space a couple inches.
I removed the top two screws and pulled out the refrigerator to see what could be done to secure the refrigerator back into its space. I was quite dismayed to see how it was installed. The two bottom screws are under the most stress from the refrigerator hanging in its space and, not surprisingly, they are the screws that stripped out of the 7/32” fiberglass sheeting surrounding the refrigerator opening.
The previous owners of my boat trailered it A LOT and I could see that the screws had stripped out before. Their fix was to just jam a bigger screw in the stripped out hole. I could not fit a bigger screw through the refrigerator frame. See the attached photo to see how badly the screw holes were stripped. I vowed to make a permanent fix when I returned home.
I’m no engineer, but I knew I had to fabricate support for the bottom of the refrigerator to relieve the stress of towing over rough roads. I accomplished that by ripping down a 2x4 to the exact height of the bottom lip of the refrigerator opening and then cut it in half to form a pair of supports. I fastened them in place with L-brackets secured by SHORT screws so as not to penetrate anything below the plywood bottom in the space.
I also knew I had to create something for the mounting screws to bite into behind the thin fiberglass surrounding the refrigerator opening. I cut some scrap wood that was the exact width needed to make screw receiving blocks. I secured the blocks into position with countersunk screws to maintain the flat surface of the refrigerator opening.
See the attached photos. The woodwork is pretty crude, but it’s a vast improvement over the OEM solution and I’ve not had any more issues with stripped refrigerator securing screws in the eight years and thousands of towing miles since I made the mod.
If your boat is not often towed, this mod is unnecessary. But for boats towed often, it’s a worthwhile modification. I have heard of other Classic boats whose refrigerators stripped out the bottom screws.
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