The truth about the ice box.

[eric (deceased)]

I took the lid off,ground flat the vertical exterior retaining ridges,filled in the rectangular remaining void in the cockpit area,put a nice ceramic tile in the interior floor if the former icebox,and thats where I kept enuff pasta to get across the ocean {and back}.thass'whuh' ahll doo ness'time too.{ness'time cometh} :Done more thing----what would it cost to build an ariel today----just as they did it before the last ice age???I mean all the same chromed fittings---hand lay-up hull---EVERYTHING

[tha3rdman]

Where can I find the post ont he conversion from icebox to reefer, I tried searching to no avail.

[c_amos]

Eric,
 

 

what would it cost to build an ariel today----just as they did it before the last ice age???I mean all the same chromed fittings---hand lay-up hull---EVERYTHING

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I believe it is about 90K. They call it the Alerion 28. Not quite as pretty though. IMHO
 

 
Third Man,
 
Search for Sirocco (Steve Arling's wonderful Ariel). He had not modified the original ice box, but built a top loader. (as a front loader, it was not efferent enough if I remember correctly.)

On Edit:



Found them:



Here is the link on Sirocco's Refrigeration;



http://www.pearsonariel.org/discussion/showthread.php?t=73



Here is where you can drool over the rest of the work Steve did;



[font='Times New Roman']http://www.pearsonariel.org/discussion/showthread.php?t=433[/font]

[frank durant]

Here's to Steve and Sirocco !!!  I got many of my ideas looking at his fine boat ! He did a GREAT job...Much more 'attention to detail' than my project'...just a beautiful boat.

[xroyal]

Here's to Steve and Sirocco !!!  I got many of my ideas looking at his fine boat ! He did a GREAT job...Much more 'attention to detail' than my project'...just a beautiful boat.

Amen! Except, his in Annapolis, and yours is in Paradise.  

[Hull376]

Well, another IceBox bites the dust!  I took a Milwaukee Sawzall and went after the dang thing---- not being at all bashfull about it.  Took it on like I was breaking out of jail.  Chewed, chopped, gnawed (as in previous posts), sliced, yanked, butchered!  Yep, it all came out in about an hour and a half.  I took the base piece of plywood and cut out a new one, put it in with a new front piece of teak trim, and presto! A big empty space.

Wired in a new 12V and 110v outlet at the back and then, put in a new Engel freezer/refigerator after reading up on building reefers, what the market offers, and then which one to buy for lowest energy draw.  I got the Engel MT17, not really big, but lots of room considering you don't feed it any ice. Not cheap, but will last longer than I will.  Battery draw is way low. The latest compressor design has one moving part-- quiet and much more efficient than the previous model. I set mine on about 36 degrees and I'm averaging about 1.2 amps on 12volts.  You can switch to ac when plugged in at the dock.  This reefer is not a toy. Built tough, sturdy, real quality.

I've got 300 amp hr battery bank, so I can run it here in the Texas heat for several days and not take the bank down very far. I'm still using a 60 watt solar panel for charging. I typically use the boat for two or three day cruises, then it sits at the dock for a week, so the panel has the bank back to 100% no matter what I drained out of the bank on the last trip.  

As you can tell, I am thrilled to death that I had the guts to saw out that old piece of ballast that Pearson called an Icebox.

[tsprat]

I have checked through the old post. what are people doing with the ice box. (keeping the ice box or removing it )
Tim

[josh#74]

I plan on rebuilding mine.  just big enough for two gallon size containers on the bottom with access from the cabin, and a six pack on the upper shelf for quick access from the cockpit.

[kendall]

I just ripped mine out, fiberglass was all crazed, the wood was rotted and delaminated, so I figured I may as well tear into it. Planned to just replace it with a slide out shelf for a regular cooler, but then I decided I didn't like where the sink was, so the simple cooler shelf idea grew.
 
 On mine it looked very good, and it wasn't untill I tried to mount something under it that I found out the wood was history.
 I know from my triton that the factory iceboxes are only good for a day or so at the most.
 
 Was hoping to have it done by this spring, but got sidetracked in clearing out and rebuilding the garage cabinets so I had a place to work, so far I have it laid out and  most materials gathered, but nothing cut yet so unless I really make a hard drive at it, I may not get her in the water this year.

Ken.

[SkipperJer]

you're not alone. I didn't make it in last year after discovering rot in the cockpit floor around the tiller.  Then my job exploded and so it went.  She's in now after 16 months.

[tsprat]

I am toying with the idea, of taking out the ice box, but you have that outside access and I was thinking of keeping that and glassing it in

[Bill]

Search on chart table, refrigeration and icebox.

[c_amos]

FWIW,

  I do not regret removing the icebox.  It is MUCH nicer to have the chart table.

(2 cents couple years after the fact)

[Hull376]

Some shots of Ice Box after removal and installing an Engel MT 17 refer.  The cockpit cover has a screw epoxied to it and it fits through an inside wood cover that is tightened in place with a wing nut.  Can be opened for natural light, ventilation.

[Hull376]

Refer in place