Great place for a refrigerator

[thomashwagar]

Hi, Ben asked if I would post pictures of my refrigerator. It came with the boat, so I take no credit. With the inverter it works great, it's handy and if your traveling harbor to harbor, no need for a cooler, of course Lynnette and I don't drink beer, so that saves room. The pictures pretty much tell the story. My addition to the project, was to put the table top on top of the fridge, it was a pain to squeeze into the table. Now the space is open and negotiable. We eat most meals topside anyway. Question; would it be smart to invest in an auto pilot? Last week we ventured out into Lake Huron, went from Cheboygan to Mackinaw City then back the next day and at 7 mph, it was a little tedious. Tom

[WillieC]

I have thought an autopilot would be handy, then we got out there in some interesting water. It was anything but boring and I doubt anything I could afford could keep up with the changing conditions. I will get radar before autopilot. (A25)

[DCatSea]

Tom,

Just looking through AOG and came across your pix of your table/fridge installation. It looks super, and I can see where it would free up a lot of space, while losing that annoying "squeeze factor". Is the freed up space changed in any way to accommodate seating, and if you sleep for'd do you move the table back to its "bunk" position? How is the table secured at the end opposite the fridge?
If you have overall pix of the fore cabin arrangement it would be great. I need a project for winter, and this looks like it might be just the thing.

Thanks for posting.

Doug

[tego]

Tom, Thanks for posting the pics. I've been off the site for a few days. Looks like your A/C is in the settee below the fridge. I was going to do the same thing until my wife told me where she wanted her wine cabinet (it holds rum too). The back side of that settee is really wasted space anyway because of the hull sloping up so sharply that no one can sit there comfortably. Maybe one could mount a small fridge at the back and still leave room for one to sit on that side of the table too.-Gotta get the measuring stick out. Thanks, Ben

[Mainer]

Hi Tom,

Just saw your post including question about autopilot. I have one on my Sport model and find it very handy on longer trips up the Maine coast. I stay near the helm, though, since lobster pots are a big issue here. I just change course a few degrees temporarily when bearing down on a buoy and return to course upon passing it. It holds course beautifully, and is a nice accessory for longer voyages. However, I also agree with the comment that radar trumps autohelm, but already had radar(important on the Maine coast - lots of fog that rolls in quickly) Nice frig location and pics!

Dick Jones

[tego]

Tom, I think an autopilot would be great on Lake mich. I had one on my 424 ketch up there and we used it a lot. No worries about lobster or crab pots on the lake-still gotta watch out for floating crud and fishermen though. Almost any pilot will work, even the old autohelm 3000 or 4000 wheel pilots. Our boats have a very light helm and a fairly quick steering ratio. You're gonna love this boat more and more as you use it and I really envy your trailer. Loadmaster in Pt Clinton, OH makes the best trailer available for the 27FC. Ben

[thomashwagar]

Hi, this is Tom, Thank you all for posting, good advice is hard to come by these days. I'm heading to Mackinaw Island this week end, one night, perfect weather expected, should be fun. I'll take more pictures to share and have a few more questions, especially about the Bow eye, which I installed last year.