We need more cooler space. My wife hauls all these coolers aboard and they get underfoot and are always sliding around. There is a long starboard Lazarette just below the existing portable cooler that we use for cans, bottles and other non-perishables. This space was about 90 quarts in volume before the insulation was installed. I planned on about 1.5 in. insulation but ended up with over 3 in some places because of the irregular shape of the space. Since the cooler sits directly on top of the ballast tank and the hull forms one side of the cooler, it should be easy to keep cool especially in Great Lakes waters which average in the mid 60s in summer.



My idea was to turn half of this space into an insulated cooler. This is the basic plan:



Installed a dam with 3M5200 quick cure. Its in for good.

Lined it with aluminum foil insulation. The aluminum tape used for the seams in the insulation worked great.



Added closed cell building insulation and added a layer of hardboard to add stiffness and covered the insulation with fiberglass. Working with epoxy and fiberglass in this confined space was messy. To make it easier, I glassed the sections of hardboard first, then glassed them in place.





Glued some insulation to the lid and glassed and painted it.



Unless you looked carefully, you would not know this space was a cooler. We use it mainly during long cruises. During day sails I use it as a catch-all space for stuff

Getting the melted ice out is easy



I estimate the un-insulated space is about 90 quarts in volume. However, because the insulation ended up being up to 3 in some places, Ill end up with about 60 quarts of cooler space. Add that to the existing 48 quart cooler for about 100 quarts of insulated cooler space. Total cost for this project: $77.00. I doubled the cooler space, but had hoped to triple it. Post Script: In an earlier attempt I tried using expanding foam. What a mess!!!! I ripped the whole thing out and started over.