Sidetracked for a cooler

The decking process got sidetracked because of a need for a cooler and trash container.  These were late requirements that stopped the build until a solution was found.  They also had to be hidden.  Now, a small 16' runabout does not have a lot of extra free space.  What I ended up doing was building them into the deck area between the front and rear cockpit.

I created two frames that would sit inside the structural framing of this deck area.  These frames are curved to match the shape of the deck and will be glued and screwed to the decking.  When the deck is complete, I will then cut around the frames to form two hatches that will be hinged to swing out to each side.  One hatch will expose a trash container, the other a cooler.

The problem with the cooler area is that the space is limited and I couldn't find a cooler that offered reasonable capacity and also fit through the small hatch.  So, the obvious solution is to build a custom, built-in cooler. 

Using 1" foam board and masonite, I constructed an insulated box that fits into the area as shown here. I plan to line the cooler with white styrene solvent welded at the seams plus caulked to make it waterproof.

The edges of the cooler are reinforced with fiberglass cloth and the entire unit is coated in resin. I also added mahogany trim strips on the vertical corners to provide attachments for plywood panels that will hide the cooler and trash container.  This box will intrude on some of the leg room for the rear seat passengers.  Fortunately, I don't have to sit there. ;-)

This approach created one last problem, drainage.  Melting ice, etc. will leave water sitting at the bottom of the cooler.  I am adding a drain, but I found the bottom of the drain was too close to the water line to allow a gravity fed drain to outside the hull.  I also didn't want the liquid draining into the bilge.   So, I am adding a small submersible pump in-line with the drain tubing to pump the water up to a thru-hull. There will be a run button inside the hatch to trigger the pump.