Shelves in lockers

[zboss]

Our cabo rico has two large lockers... a "wet" locker in the salon and a hanging locker in the berth. We want to convert a substation portion of both of those lockers into usable shelving for our clothes and whatever else we decide.

The are lined with cedar strips. I'd like the shelves to look nice but be functional as well.

I was thinking I would like to reuse the cedar strips but maybe put in drawers. However, I am concerned drawers might take up valuable space so maybe instead just plain shelving with thin dividers. Most of all, I want to have good fit and finish with plenty of airflow to avoid squeaking while under way and keep the mold/mildew at bay.

Any construction tips would be welcome... I'm ok with wood... could be better.

Pics for some ideas would be nice.

[JPA Cate]

Hi, zboss,

The cedar is great. leave it as "ceilings" in the lockers, it repels moths, and so forth.

Lots of ways to make shelves, simplest is to add cleats fore and aft and use plywood for the shelves. Level of finish is up to you.

However, we like having hanging locker space, for foulies and cold weather gear, and for "dresses" or long pants (stuff you wear when going out to dinner or checking in with Customs in foreign ports).

I feel blessed that this boat has many drawers, and generally speaking prefer them to shelves; however shelves use the space better. Your choice, your boat.

Good luck with the project.

Ann

[Jehoshaphat]

During our refit we ended up doing the same thing with a couple of our lockers. What worked well was making fiberglass sheets about 1/16" thick with an edge turned up at the front of the locker to prevent contents sliding out while heeling. Face the front edge with the same teak slats used in most slatted locker doors.

They look good painted or finished with gelcote. Lightweight, never rot, but sort of labor intensive I suppose.

[zboss]

Still exploring shelving options. We have decided that we like the idea of using cedar or teak to build shelves that hold plastic totes that slide into the shelves and lock in place using a bungie/net across the front. The shelving wood be a teak or cedar grating material so air can flow.

We are looking at the plastic totes because they at least keep some moisture out and we can put fabric dryer sheets or moisture absorbers in there.

Does anyone have a best practice on how to trace the horizontal contours of a hull onto a piece of wood?

[Stu Jackson]

Contours are usually done with cardboard or heavy paper.

While the cedar is a nice idea, we used plastic shelves purchased at a hardware store, secured to the sides of the locker with wood strips (cleats). They're open to begin with. Although the edges in a hull side are straight, we haven't lost anything back there yet, and your idea of totes is even better.

Here's something we copied:

http://www.c34.org/projects/projects-galley.html