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ski locker to beer cooler conversion?


Arctic Slalom

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i've got an older ski boat and would like to convert the ski locker into a properly insulated beer cooler... Thumbup.gif

seems to me there is a time in the day when the ski(s), or other gear should come out of the locker and this space would be more useful as a beer cooler. this time of the day (+/- 10 a.m.) Crazy.gif may be earlier or later depending upon how rough your day/week has been going. anyway, at this time it would be really useful to pull out the storage gear and simply install an insulated box which has been custom fit to the exact size and shape of the ski locker.

has anyone done this before Dontknow.gif? does anyone have a few photos of how it was built? i'm thinking some type melamine box with rigid insulation and a drain plug? we tried this a few weekends ago (just using the ski locker full of ice) and i've never seen colder water being pumped out of the bilge!

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My Echelon has a cooler built into the area under the observers seat.... it seems to be just a cut out of the fiberglass, all sanded, pretty, with a small drain in the corner that runs to the bilge. i have had ice stay in there in excess of 3 or 4 days when the boats covered and out of direct sunlight.....not bad for 90 degree weather. Maybe this is yet another reason the Echelon was top dog for malibu in it's day... I love the attention to detail..... Not bad for 94

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i've got an older ski boat and would like to convert the ski locker into a properly insulated beer cooler... Thumbup.gif

seems to me there is a time in the day when the ski(s), or other gear should come out of the locker and this space would be more useful as a beer cooler. this time of the day (+/- 10 a.m.) Crazy.gif may be earlier or later depending upon how rough your day/week has been going. anyway, at this time it would be really useful to pull out the storage gear and simply install an insulated box which has been custom fit to the exact size and shape of the ski locker.

has anyone done this before Dontknow.gif? does anyone have a few photos of how it was built? i'm thinking some type melamine box with rigid insulation and a drain plug? we tried this a few weekends ago (just using the ski locker full of ice) and i've never seen colder water being pumped out of the bilge!

That seems like it would be a really big cooler, I'm not sure how many people would want one that big but I would think under one of the seats would be a more likely place for one. I have a cool bag that we fill with ice and put in our rear seat, it's perfect because you can take it out if you needed too.

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Agreed with everyone, just put it under one of your seats. You'd be surprised how many beers you can get out of a cooler under the seat.

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I agree with others and under a seat. I had a '99 SLXI that I put a 64 qt "Igloo marine" cooler in just behind the driver's seat next to the motor. It worked as a step getting into the boat and also a spare observer's seat. I could keep stuff cold for days without adding ice.

....and about design of a locker cooler... I would not use melamine on anything below the floor. It will be mush real quick. I'd use plastic of some sort. (starboard, etc...)

good luck. Pat

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I hope you don't frequent a choppy lake.

Why would that matter?

Do you really want to store your beer at the point of the boat that takes the brunt of chop ? Dontknow.gif

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i understand your commitment to the integrity of our drinks! Thumbup.gif but we're talking about an afternoon booze cruise on lakes which are less than 1000 acres...we're not exactly heading out in water that resembles the footage from 'deadliest catch' Surprised.gif. if the water was really that rough, we'd probably have some other issues on our hands...

FWIW the ski locker will hold about 3 cases and change (water, juice for the kids, soda, etc.) w/ about 15 pounds of ice (i guess that is fairly big). IMHO that isn't really much for 10 people over the course of a day?! Rockon.gif i have used a regular Coleman cooler behind the drivers seat, but it's just nice to have less 'stuff' on the floor of the boat when we are out cruising, thus the thought of having some type of drop-in for the ski locker...i think i'll take others advice and just use a few of those flexible cooler bags with zippers and stash them down below....I just thought someone else had already been down this road and would have built something similar... Dontknow.gif

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I prefer to bungy the cooler down to the swim deck. It is out of the way, its a good spot for the exta 40lbs of ballast, and people can sit on it to put their boards on and I don't have to worry about them banging up the transom.

Is there a liner already in the ski locker or is it just the fiberglass of the hull?

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i understand your commitment to the integrity of our drinks! Thumbup.gifbut we're talking about an afternoon booze cruise

In this case, may I suggest Bacardi and Coke or Diet Coke (only 60 calories). You'll only need a small cooler with limited space then. Rockon.gif

Seriously though I would suggest a soft sided cooler. You can get them in any size. Here is a link to a 24 pack plus 2 8lb bags of ice soft cooler that might fit......

http://theicebear.com/24pack

They have a bunch of other sizes on there as well.

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check out some of the coolers in this thread!

And which one of those will fit in a ski locker? Dontknow.gif

none

Lame.gif Either you have A.D.D. or your just looking to add Plus1.gif to your count..... :lol:

Edited by stewart
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[url24 check out some of the coolers in this thread!

And which one of those will fit in a ski locker? Dontknow.gif

none

Lame.gif Either you have A.D.D. or your just looking to add Plus1.gif to you count..... :lol:

neither (I think), I just thought those were some cool cooler (no pun intended)

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i understand your commitment to the integrity of our drinks! Thumbup.gifbut we're talking about an afternoon booze cruise

In this case, may I suggest Bacardi and Coke or Diet Coke (only 60 calories). You'll only need a small cooler with limited space then. Rockon.gif

Plus1.gif

Except I've been cheatin lately with Capt'n Morgan

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