Hanging Storage in Aft Cabin

[Stephen Butler]

We retire in June (again) and will be spending a lot more time aboard and doing some longer voyages.  As such, we are considering adding some more hanging storage in the aft cabin for coats, shirts, etc.  We have looked at various solutions for adding a long hanger pole without drilling too many holes in the boat, but are wondering if someone in the IA has already done this and can make a recommendation.  Many thanks.

[Mike and Joanne Stimmler]

How about simply installing a closet type rod across the area where your feet would normally be when sleeping? It would be exposed but would it matter?

[Stu Jackson]

Steve and Nancy,

This could well have been titled "Installing Hanging Rods Without Drilling Holes."  

Mike's idea has merit, although I can't think of anywhere that would be a short enough distance to provide enough support other than between the hull and starboard side of the cockpit seats, right above where your heads would be if you slept back there.  You could install multiple rods along that length.

That said, from what I've read about long term cruising, hanging stuff doesn't work.  One story: "I kept my tuxedo in the hanging locker, when I went to get it a year later there was nothing left but the shirt collar.  The constant rubbing had worn all the fabric away."

You may want to reconsider hanging clothes anywhere.  IIRC, it might have been John Langford who had come up with some clever storage ideas for a series of larger size plastic containers in both the V berth and the aft berth for storage.  Others have made suggestions along those lines, too.  I did some searching but couldn't find the one I had in mind with pictures, sorry.

As previously reported, we converted both our nav station lockers to drawers (for food) and the locker in the V berth to shelves (for clothes and odds and ends).  Our mirror door locker in the aft cabin is stuffed with coats and foul weather gear (it's so tight that NOTHING will move around in there, but we rarely access it  )  We have two extended plastic hangers installed by the PO (glued not screwed) on the aft side of the bulkhead between the galley and the aft cabin (holds four hangers but protrudes into the door space a bit) and on the forward side of the folding door to the V berth (when opened the hanger is to the starboard side).  Each holds four to six hangers.  We keep my foul weather gear in the aft, a bunch of coats/jackets/shirts in the V berth.  The V berth ones are great for daysails, out of the way but handy, but are a PITA when overnighting and wanting to get into the starboard shelves in the V berth.  When we go out for more than one or two nights, I move the stuff in the V berth to the aft hanger.

My conclusion would be to avoid having hanging stuff 'cuz of the potential damage.  You may also want to reread Steve Dolling's 1500 and 5000 mile reports about what they did.  The niftiest one I recall was the storage from netting above the black sliding doors - a great way to use a relatively tremendous volume of storage.  Then I'd go for the plastic storage containers - only have to get into them once a day or two.

PS - photo of Foster copyright Steve and Tracey Dolling.  No children were harmed in the making of this picture.

[waterdog]

Stu,

I have to say that picture is now a bit out of date.  Not the netting - that is still exactly the same.  The charming boy who swam in your pool?  His size eight feet are now size twelve.  Hes still four months away from being a teenager.  A head taller than most of his peers, he plays center on the basketball team. And i believe he may be able to grip a basketball with one hand...

[Stu Jackson]

...and that's no stretch...

[Ralph Masters]

Some where in here is two articles on storage, one about putting in a shelf above the foot area of the aft berth, that looked very doable and provided lots of storage, the other was the locker doors on the shelf above the foot of the V-berth.  I'm adding both of these to our boat in the near future.

Ralph
Ciao Bella

[Ken Juul]

It is not as elegant as enclosing the shelf in the Vee berth, we have 4 rectangular rubbermaid dishwashing tubs on the shelf. Can separate things a number of ways...his/hers...tee shirts/swim wear...etc.  Easy to remove to load or unload.  Stay in place, have yet to have one fall down even in the worst of weather/seas.

[pablosgirl]

Hi Ralph,

I added a wiki entry about a year ago (Feb 2010) in response to a message board thread about v-berth and aft cabin storage.  see wiki->Interior->Additional storage in v-berth and wiki->storage->Aft berth storage shelf.  We also have doors that replaced the sliding black plastic ones in the main salon that enclose the shelves and adds more usable storage.  We also find that plastic tubs with lids (and labels!) are a great way to organize and store things on the boat.

http://www.c34.org/wiki/index.php?title=V-Berth_Cabinet
http://www.c34.org/wiki/index.php?title=Aft_Berth_Storage_shelf
http://www.c34.org/wiki/index.php?title=Replacing_Sliding_Doors

Fair Winds,
Paul

[pablosgirl]

Ralph,

I just found the message board thread on v-berth storage that sparked the writing of the wiki articles.  See bellow.

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5390.0.html

Paul