Improving Ice Holding Capabilities of Sportsfish in Hull Icebox???

[J2DAG83]

Morning Gents

Thought i would chuck this up in case someone had dealt with the exact issue previously or someone with some sort of knowledge on the subject could suggest some reasonably easy fixes.

Most trips i utilise the underfloor icebox for refreshments, it is such a handy thing to have (approx 85l) as it adds extra esky space without losing any deck space and also keeps the tasty things seperate from the not so tatsy things.

The issue is generally speaking it appears to only be good for around a 24hr trip, it obviously gets opened reasonably frequently but still thought it should be lasting a tad longer. it appears as though the sides and lid (boat floor) are insulated but the base is not. I'm not sure if this was a factory thing or not but it looks as though possibly it was originally another kill / storage tank that may have been converted therefore it was easy to insulate the sides and lid but not necessarily the base due to the drain hole being flush with the base?????

anyway i'm thinking the base being just a piece of sheet aluminium is where most of my issues are coming from. The question i have is without going to the extreme of ripping things out or getting the whole thing re-insulated and fibreglassed does anyone have any suggestions to maybe insualte the bottom better or has anyone dealt with this specific issue previously????

thanks in advance fellas

Jared

[Spaniard_King]

Not an easy fix!!

my recommendation is to toss out the dekies seat and put a large esky on that side of the boat.

deckies don't need to sit down anyway :)

[Shark Poker]

Jared,
Composite sheet over foam is the easy answer, provided it can be drained easily.
What size Sportfish is it and where is the compartment located ? (ie fwd or aft of the fuel tank)
How is it plumbed?
Pauly

[netmaker]

how about a few inches of expanding foam surrounding a bit of hose that runs into the existing drain and glass over afterwards?

[Camhawk88]

ID drop in an insulated base and loose 5L or so of capacity if it is only the base causing heat intrusion.

[Justin Rossiter]

How about using the techni ice sheets they are pretty thin, cheap and come in various sizes. Mine last for a few days in the ice chest. Take em out hose them off and bang em back in the freezer for next time.

[J2DAG83]

Hi fellas....thanks for all of the replies.
Spaniard King - thats phase 2 of my plan, couple of evakools mounted behind the existing seats
Fatbuoy - 6.4m, located aft of the fuel tank (kill tank is then aft of the esky) and has a 1" drain that runs underneith the kill tank and comes out in the transom below the kill tank drain.... i dnt know much about fibreglassing and stuff so is what your suggesting to basically fibreglass in a bottom??????
Netmaker - i considered something like that but then thought it would end being a tad harder than it seemed at the time....and also potentially quite messy
Camhawk - are you talking about glassing something in or do you have something else in mind????? i originally had the thought of just laying some sort of foam or insulation down but then figured most of that stuff floats so it would be fighting any sort of glue i used to lift itself up?????.... was that your thought pattern????
Justin - that could potentially be some sort of a short term solution.... might hav a look around for them or something similar and see if it makes a difference

thanks again for all the replies fellas

jared

[spelchek]

Jared - cheap, easy, temp fix might be to just chuch a thick sheet of styro (cut to size) in the bottom. Not gonna be perfect but surely an improvement on totally non insulated bottom - and you could have it in tomorrow whilst you plan your permanent fix.

[clevelandv8]

Have you thought about buying an insulated fish bag? Ie one of those bags kayak boys use to keep their fish iced up? Saw one at 1770 M&G sounds like it could be an idea for you. Saves you messing about with fibre glass etc.

[J2DAG83]

spelchek - i had thought of that but figured once the ice melted a bit and a slurry formed the foam would try to make it's way to the surface???

clevelandv8 - yeah righto might be an idea... will have a google and see if there's something that i may be able to lay in there and leave open sort of thing so it's effectively just becoming a liner..

thanks again fellas. luv ausfish for the sort of help and ideas you can get on these sorts of issues... good stuff!!!

[cormorant]

we got lucky with one boat that the broccoli styrene boxes from the vege markets fitted pretty well after a height trim and meant any sand blood or crap from the deck didn't go in. Can't lift em in or out full of slurry so just used a small bucket to 70 % empty and tip over to empty at end of trip. Cheap - well actually free if they get damaged or hard to clean. Fish market used to have different shaped ones for yabbies from Ki and other imported stuff from NZ that was airfreighted. I know you lose volume but you don't need a lot of ice or ice sheetswhen stuff is chilled down already and insulated well. So many hard poly manufactured eskys in all sorts of shapes so maybe a 2nd from tropical fish box or such will fluke a close fit.

http://www.polyfoam.com.au/polystyrene-product.php?All-Boxes-47

[spelchek]

spelchek - i had thought of that but figured once the ice melted a bit and a slurry formed the foam would try to make it's way to the surface???


Yeah good point. You could always wedge a couple bits of dowel (cut a poofteenth oversize the inner width of the box) to hold it down. But then I suppose you start moving towards the 'might as well fix it properly' end of the DIY spectrum :)

[Shark Poker]

Hi fellas....thanks for all of the replies.
Spaniard King - thats phase 2 of my plan, couple of evakools mounted behind the existing seats
Fatbuoy - 6.4m, located aft of the fuel tank (kill tank is then aft of the esky) and has a 1" drain that runs underneith the kill tank and comes out in the transom below the kill tank drain.... i dnt know much about fibreglassing and stuff so is what your suggesting to basically fibreglass in a bottom??????

Jared,
It the bottom of the compartment flat or v-shaped to match the hull?

[J2DAG83]

fatbuoy - v to match the shape of the hull...... this sort of aids the response to your sugestion cormorant in that i would have a reasonable gap (lost space) below a box shaped item if i put it in there

i get the feeling there's a reasonably easy solution to this but i just can't think of it....haha

will def be looking a bit further into some of the suggestions i've had thus far...

[WalrusLike]

Temporary easy fix might be a fat dob of silicon under the polystyrene to keep it glued at bottom?


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[chris69]

Just put some 25mm foam on the bottom and cover that with 3mm or 6mm ply all glassed in and sealed of course [ epoxy would be best to seal the ply] and just scallop out were the bung is.

[Camhawk88]

Yep what Chris said. Although I was thinking of using say 15-25mm of foam with a covering of polyethalene plastic- a couple of mm thick and siliconed in. The foam creates the insulation, the PE gives the hard washable surface and is cheap and the silicone to seal it in. Saves messing about with glass and if it isnt doing the job it is easy to pull out and try a different tact.

[J2DAG83]

yeah cool that possibly sounds like a go where would i find the materials (foam and polyethalene plastic)... haven't done anything like this before so not sure where you get these types of things.

Cheers

Jared

[Camhawk88]

Im not sure where you are mate but just google plastic suppliers and foam suppliers in your local area.
Also if you go that option use Sikaflex as it seems to be the best silicone for these types of jobs and wears better in a saltwater environment.
Dont forget to put a hole through the foam and PE over the drain. I would get a short piece of silicon tubing the right diameter and silcone that to seal it onto the PE top so it keeps the water out of the foam and any gaps underneath where water might sit.

[WalrusLike]

I bought a bunch of cool room panels once from a manufacturer in Carole Park and they use esky foams for their product and as separator a when transporting.

They have industrial bins full of the off cuts and used sheeting. They didn't mind me nicking a couple of offcut pieces when I was there.

No idea if its still like that nowadays but industrial places throw the stuff out sometimes...


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[J2DAG83]

Cheers fellas..... I'm at murarrie, will have a search and see whats in there area.

Thanks again....like i said earlier how good is it that i've thrown out a question about a random subject and a group of people i have never met are keen to get in on it and throw ideas around..... Very cool :)