Has anyone removed the fridge box – and if so how?!

[Tim Purcell]

Having owned Blue Idyl for a year now we’ve decided that the original fridge needs to go. We want to keep the original look of the galley, but replace the fridge with a portable unit (kept elsewhere) and use the existing space for food or other storage.

I’d like to remove the original insulated box in one piece if I can, but I can’t work out how it’s held in place – is it fibreglassed onto the galley worktop from underneath? I really don’t want to start chopping it up if I can avoid it.

There is also a strange wooden frame on the wooden (plywood?) divider between the cupboard under the sink and the fridge box. I can’t tell what it does – I’ve removed the screws but nothing comes lose! Blue Idyl has the sink sink innermost and the fridge outermost on the port side, in the corner created with the cooker.

My next plan is to start drilling exploratory holes and insert an endoscope, but before I do has anyone done this before, or other jobs that have required access to the same area?

Thanks, Tim

[Jonathan Carr]

Hello Tim,

I have completely gutted my interior as part of a major refit on Echo Papa. The good news  is the ice box can be removed, the bad news is it is going to involve some disassembly. The galley unit must have been made as one piece then fitted to the boat. 

Like most furniture on the 38 it is held in place by small timber battens screwed to the cabin sole and bulkhead. You will need to remove cooker and the small cupboard underneath it. You will also need to disconnect plumbing etc. Once the whole unit is out the fibreglass moulding can be unscrewed from the work top.

I have more images that I can share via email if it would be helpful. Cheers Jon

 

Edit Can never get photos to load here very well email me if it is easier

[Guy H]

To change the photo width, edit the reply – use Text mode rather than Visual

look for the link to your photo (I can’t write out what it looks like as the code quoting is broken on here)

After the alt=”” add width=”400″ before the / and then save.
(It should look something like the photo below)

P.S. when you see small preview pics on here, you can right click of them and open in a new tab and then see the pic in full resolution & zoom in etc

[Moderator]

Thanks to Guy for being proactive and offering advice about how to edit the image. His advice was excellent.

As moderator, I can edit others images to fix the text flow problem, so I have done that in Jonathan’s message to solve the viewing problem.

Sorry for the issue!
Marilyn, moderator

PS – I was very confused by the photo until I read Tim’s initial question. That’s when I realized that Rainshadow’s fridge is not in the same place as Tim’s and Jonathan’s boats. On our boat, the fridge is forward of the cooker, not aft. It has a vertical opening, so it opens like a cabinet. When on a port tack, when you open the door, things can fall out – most annoying.

The corner created by the galley sink inboard, and cooker forward, is just a deep storage hole. I can easily see that would be a nice area for a freezer box, except the access is horrid! I don’t think that area was ever an ice box on Rainshadow as it is not insulated. In addition, the location of the fridge forward of the stove appears to be original build – not a PO change after delivery.

I would post of photo, but oddly enough, I cannot find one!

Ah, but I did just go look at the general arrangement drawings that I obtained from Jeremy Lines years ago. General arrangement Mk I (1963) had the fridge under the galley sink (not in that corner). In 1967, General Arrangement MK II has the fridge forward of the cooker as it is on Rainshadow (hull #126 from 1974). Mk III came in 68, which appears to be a rearrangement of the aft cabin.

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