Microwave

[Clay Greene]

I am having difficulty finding a microwave that fits in the bow-end dish compartment in the galley in a Mark I boat.  I know from looking at the project pages that there are (or at least were) microwaves that fit in the space.  The problem is not in the width or the depth but in the height of the microwave.  The smallest I can find is about an inch too tall to get through the opening.  It does not appear that the trim piece on the cabinet comes off, which would be one way to solve the problem because there is additional top to bottom space behind this trim piece.  Any ideas?  Thanks.   

[Stu Jackson]

There was a Mainsheet article a few years ago about a skipper who removed all that woodwork to redo his ash battens.  Look in the Tech Notes, or use the Knowledgebase to find it.  The Knowledgebase is an XLS file on the C34 Tech Notes page.

Try May 2008.

[Ted Pounds]

The PO of my boat cut off some of wood on the front of the compartment to fit a microwave in. 

[efhughes3]

Mines on the locker on the s'board side of the v-berth. I figure the galley is pretty compact as it is...

[Chuck.Philips]

Not sure of the height restriction on your Mark I but I am in the process of replacing the one for my Mark II.  However, after much research on the Internet, the closest one I could find in size and wattage to the one I am replacing later this week is a Haier .06 cu ft. model.  It has a height of 10 1/8" as compared to the one I removed which was 9 7/8"--I'm hopeful I will have the necessary clearance.  The other dimensions of this new one are smaller than the old one while the wattage is the same.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will fit--I'm planning on installing it this coming Wednesday.  I ordered mine online through Lowe's for about $80.

Just got back from trying to install the Haier model--still about 1/8" too tall too fit!

[Ron Hill]

Clay : If you look in the old Mainsheet tech notes you'll see and article (with picture) that I wrote about the "best microwave installation" that I've come across.

It is hung above the galley sink from the overhead.  It's out of the way, eye level and pretty neat.    A thought

[Clay Greene]

Thanks for all of the good ideas.  I'm not giving up on fitting it in the galley compartment yet.  The height of the opening is 9.75 inches and the smallest microwave I can find is 10.1 inches.  We just have to get it past the lip.  So close yet so far. . . .

[Jim Hardesty]

Does the microwave have the rubber bumper feet?  May be removing them it would fit.  Then you can drill holes in the shelf to match and screw the microwave in place.

[Clay Greene]

Yes, good idea - we're investigating that today. 

[Bobg]

mine is on the shelf above the chart table, works for us

[Stephen Butler]

This has been an ongoing project since we purchased the boat.  The height of the opening, above the reefer is just too small to initially get a new unit into place, with or without rubber feet.  We have looked at dozens of small microwaves over the years and carry the diminisions with us.  We have come to the conclusion that the only wave to get a modern unit into the space is to us a router and cut the opening a bit heigher.  Has anyone done this?

[Ken Juul]

Rather than cut the wood. Can you remove the sliders, then remove the plugs and unscrew it from the frame?  Possibily just the top or the bottom to get enough clearance to get the microwave into place?

[Clay Greene]

I am reluctant to remove the plugs because doing so always seems to take some of the surrounding wood with it and these plugs are in a very visible location. 

[Stu Jackson]

This is what my PO did.  We think it's a great location.  Originally we didn't, 'cuz it's not right at eye level like you'd expect at home.  But it works just great, we use it quite a bit but not as much as the stove.  Sit on the bottom step of the companionway, and it's at "eye level!"   

I sure hope it lasts, since finding a small one like it seems to be impossible from the feedback in this topic.

[Roc]

Have you tried an on-line search for "small microwaves"?  Or maybe a search of all the brands that make microwaves.  Several years ago, I bought a small one in KMart, a Sanyo, for about $40 back then.