cooler lid repair question

[klb67]

I have a bunch of cooler lid questions.

My cooler lid was held on by a bungee type cord - is that original?

I removed the lid - the underside has what I think was a wood panel in the middle, glassed in. Was that original or added? The outer layer of glass was cracked badly and the "wood' was a soggy mess. I cut and removed the outer glass layer and the wood inside - I'm down to the fiberglass lid.

Should I replace the soggy wood with anything? Glassed-in plywood? Some type of foam? What purpose does it serve?

The underside of the lid was painted green. Was that original?

Thanks.

[GreenLake]

My cooler lid was held on by a bungee type cord - is that original?

I assume you mean, for a DS1? I that case yes

I removed the lid - the underside has what I think was a wood panel in the middle, glassed in. Was that original or added?

I don't know, mine was missing. There are similar lids underneath the cuddy, on my boat they do not have wood. However, no accounting for model changes, and who knows what or why a PO modified.

The outer layer of glass was cracked badly and the "wood' was a soggy mess. I cut and removed the outer glass layer and the wood inside - I'm down to the fiberglass lid.

Do I understand that the lid was a "sandwich" glass-wood-glass, and you are left with the upper skin of this sandwhich?

Should I replace the soggy wood with anything? Glassed-in plywood? Some type of foam? What purpose does it serve?

It would strengthen the lid. If you want to use the space as a cooler, why not get a foam panel and fiberglass an inner skin to restore it into a sandwhich? If you can get to the walls of the cooler box, you could add foam there from the outside, to improve insulation. Might keep your beer cooler longer - you decide whether it's worth it.

The underside of the lid was painted green. Was that original?

Paint seems unlikely. Unfinished fiberglass would be more like it (or gel coat). Unless that happened to be the color of the original bilge coat (again, assuming its an early DS1 we are talking about.). In producing a boat you would cut down the number of steps. (Disclaimer: this is all speculation). (I would consider this a not very practical question. Feel free to paint or not in that place, as you personally prefer, but if you use epoxy for new fiberglass, some UV blocking paint (car paint out of the can?) would be advisable as epoxy eventually degrades in daylight.

Here's a picture showing the lids under the cuddy (they only show corners of the lids as the purpose was for something else, but you can see both inside and outside corner and some of the bungee - original fitting, but new cord).

[klb67]

Greenlake

Thanks for responding. I should have specified in my post - it's my '76 DS II. The lid is on the port side bench cooler - at least I think I've seen it referred to as a cooler. There isn't really any seal on the lip of it and I don't think it stays dry inside, so I"m not sure how useable it is for a cooler or for dry storage.

There are 2 holes in the back of the lid and a bungee was threaded through those, and through matching holes in the vertical portion of the cooler opening lip and tied behind that lip. I should take a picture and post it for clarity.

I am confident that the lid itself was made first, and has the same thickness and texture as the seat. The wood or foam piece (it was too degraded to be sure what material it was - mush now) was then sandwiched between the lid and another piece of fiberglass - I just don't know if it was from the factory (which means I'll likely replace it), or if it was added later (in that case I may leave it off). The lid itself doesn't seem to need the foam or wood for strength. If it were foam, I suppose it might add some level of insulation effect. But the foam rectangle that would fit down inside the cooler opening when the lid is closed was a fair bit smaller than the opening to the cooler, meaning the foam wouldn't seal or cover the entire cooler opening if I replaced it with the same size.

[GreenLake]

Ah, yes that's different. Pictures always help - even if you locate one from another boat that's already in the gallery.

So the bench part would explain the need to structurally stiffen that. Unlike the DS1's transom cooler you could not easily do anything about the lower part of the box, because it's not accessible, so forget that. The well on the DS1 transom has a drain hole to the outside so you can do things like fill it with ice and have it drain overboard as it melts. You can also take the lid off and use it as motor well, which many people do. On the DSII the design point may well have had more to do with being able to store some small parts, more like a locker than a cooler. (On the DS1 there are enough places to stow things).

For a seat bench thing you'd want to be able to have a 300# crew stand on it without collapsing or flexing. If you have a place where you can source a small piece of structural foam, I'd possibly use foam. Otherwise, you can use marine plywood (or, in a cinch, outdoor plywood). Coating the board on all 6 sides in epoxy would go a long way towards making the repair outlast your ownership. Then finish off with several layers of glass (also in epoxy). More, if you use foam. For wood, you might go down to a single layer, mainly to prevent scratches and water ingress, but for foam, you'd need to build up a bit of skin thickness for strength.

You may have to shape your "core", whether it's wood or foam, to remove any sharp corners or edges - fiberglass does not easily follow them. Some people would vacuum bag this, or use various techniques using plastic sheeting and weights (for example, sand or cat litter) to help the lid wood and glass to bond more tightly.

Does that sound more like it?

[Alan]

My 1980 DSII has the same cooler, with the same bungee arrangement. The underside of the lid has an additional piece of material stuck to it, rectangular in shape and smaller than the lid, so the center portion of the lid underside is thicker than the edges. The whole underside is covered with spatter paint, the same stuff that's used on the underside of the cuddy roof and foredeck.

My boat seems to be original, and it shows very little evidence of water time (and unfortunately, I haven't been able to correct that deficiency). My best guess would be that the extra piece of material is original.

[jeadstx]

When I got my 1976 DS2 the icebox lid was missing. Not wanting a hole in the seat where I stepped, I contacted Rudy at D&R and he made me a new one (now listed on his site) and sent me a set of hinges similar to what would have originally been on the lid. My dad's 1969 Mariner 2+2 had similar hinges holding the icebox lid in place. The molding shows the outline for hinges. I put the new lid on, the hinges were difficult to get on, but I got them on. I have heard of other DS2's using the bungee cord. I added foam insulation (type used when you put a camper shell on a pickup truck) to the top lip that the cover fits against. I also made a strap to lock the cover down while sailing. I noticed when I capsized the boat in the spring of 2010 that the contents of the icebox came out when the boat went over with enough force to possibly damage the hinges. It was after that I made the locking strap. My icebox does not have any dividers inside, also no drain of any kind. With the foam around the upper lip, I get no water leaking into the icebox. The inside of my icebox is smooth fiberglass below the seat level (sides and bottom), but the underside of the seat part has the coating similar to the cuddy cabin.

John

[jeadstx]

Pictures of my ice box.




John

[klb67]

Excellent - thank you all. I think my lid used to look sort of like Alan's, but with green paint on the underside (the hull is otherwise white, green water line stripe). I'll assess whether it added rigidity to the lid or not - I think the lid is plenty stiff on its own. I know the lid from D&R is thicker than the factory lid. You can see in Alan's pic how the added material is much smaller than the opening to the cooler, so it isn't there to seal off the opening. I wonder if it was foam that would "float" if the boat turtled, to keep the lid closed? Who knows.

My prior owner added a hasp (not stainless, now somewhat rusty) to keep the lid closed. He also added a fairly sizable brass housing and screw in plug, presumably to drain the cooler, into the cockpit. But it is installed a good 2", at least, higher than the bottom of the cooler, so it doesn't completely do its job. I'll leave both alone for now, possibly swapping out the hasp for a stainless one or something else suitable for a marine environment, at some point. Good to see that the bungie appears to be how it was installed originally. I'm definitely going to add some foam to the lip of the cooler.

I ordered what I THINK are the last remaining pieces I need to go sailing, and they'll be here hopefully this week. Now to learn how to sail this vessel...

[GreenLake]

Just make sure you step on it and watch for flex. If there's none, and you are the heaviest person in the boat, then you don't need reinforcement. Otherwise, bite the bullet and put some backing on (even partway like it is shown in one of the pix).

[klb67]

Thanks Greenlake. I did just that last night- stepping right in the middle produces a little bit of flex. I have a scrap of leftover cabinet plywood that I think is just the right size that I'll encapsulate in resin and then sandwich under new glass, and it should work just fine.

[GreenLake]

cool.