Retired from newspapers and television, currently sailing Thelonious II, a 1984 Ericson 381.
I have a duplicate on board of every boat tool in the garage. It took 50 years to accomplish that. For the first 40 years I felt that it was morally wrong to have two of everything, when those less fortunate had only one, or even none at all. Then I just gave up and bought another entire socket set, another Japanese saw, duplicate metric and English spanners, a second vice-grip and so on--times 50.
All that stuff was contained in one tool bag, overflowing into an ice bag. But searching for an allen wrench in the depths of a crowded canvas bag is no fun. I wanted to be able to see the tools, not dig for them like a gopher, tossing the stuff on top into a mound behind me.
A shelf would solve that, as best we can in the compartmentalized world of boat storage. My biggest locker is under the starboard bunk. The access is easy, but the shape of the hull gives the locker a concave wall on which nothing lies flat. A shelf would at least sit high and reveal its contents without a sonogram.
So, make a box and hang it under the hatch opening.
I had to cut the box in half to fit it into the compartment, since the hatch cutout is several inches smaller than the space available beneath. The two halves were then joined inside . I added a divider keep things from rolling around and to provide another surface for tool mounts. Those I made those out of scrap nylon strap, with washers on #6 hold-down screws. The box is screwed to bulkheads on either side, flush with the underside of the hatch.
It fills up fast, but does make putting your hand on the right wrench easier.
A full complement of tools on board, all the time, is luxury. All the box does is raise them into plain sight, for easy access, and keep them from rusting in the bilge.
But that's a lot.
(By the way, hinges on the locker lid are one of the great $5 improvements in yachting. Instead of having to place the lid aside, it stands up. What's more, after going into a locker there is always something in your hand--which is why you went in there. A free lid takes two hands to replace. With hinges, one flick and it falls closed. )
All that stuff was contained in one tool bag, overflowing into an ice bag. But searching for an allen wrench in the depths of a crowded canvas bag is no fun. I wanted to be able to see the tools, not dig for them like a gopher, tossing the stuff on top into a mound behind me.
A shelf would solve that, as best we can in the compartmentalized world of boat storage. My biggest locker is under the starboard bunk. The access is easy, but the shape of the hull gives the locker a concave wall on which nothing lies flat. A shelf would at least sit high and reveal its contents without a sonogram.
So, make a box and hang it under the hatch opening.
I had to cut the box in half to fit it into the compartment, since the hatch cutout is several inches smaller than the space available beneath. The two halves were then joined inside . I added a divider keep things from rolling around and to provide another surface for tool mounts. Those I made those out of scrap nylon strap, with washers on #6 hold-down screws. The box is screwed to bulkheads on either side, flush with the underside of the hatch.
It fills up fast, but does make putting your hand on the right wrench easier.
A full complement of tools on board, all the time, is luxury. All the box does is raise them into plain sight, for easy access, and keep them from rusting in the bilge.
But that's a lot.
(By the way, hinges on the locker lid are one of the great $5 improvements in yachting. Instead of having to place the lid aside, it stands up. What's more, after going into a locker there is always something in your hand--which is why you went in there. A free lid takes two hands to replace. With hinges, one flick and it falls closed. )
