I was just going through some digital pictures and came across this project from over the summer. Our MkII didn't have a towel bar in the head. Also, in a seaway it was missing a grab bar. Due to limited space, me needing every inch of space I could get in the head, and a general frugality, I tried to nail both birds with one stone. The solution? An 18" long 1-12" diameter handicap bathroom grab bar from Lowe's for under $20. It is sturdy, stainless steel, and has a grip surface that stops towels from sliding off too. The only down side is that for true durability it had to be through-bolted. The the bolts show at the nav station, but even that came out fairly nice.
Here's some pics if anybody is interested:
http://users.erols.com/reedbr/temp/towel_bar_front.jpg
http://users.erols.com/reedbr/temp/towel_bar_rear.jpg
Nice job Brian. I am going to install one of those myself. What is the grille on the top of the hanging locker?
Jack
Thanks. That grille is my down-draft BBQ for grilling indoors.
OK, just kidding. It is one of 3 ducts for the heat/ac system which fills the locker directly below it. I've got two smaller ducts in the forward and aft cabins.
Kind of surprising to find the the newer boats don't have the teak "hand hold" like the MK1s. Guess that Catalina needed to save $$.
A nice place to put a towel bar is on the engine compartment side of the head above the alternator door. When it gets cold we open that door and let the engine heat dry out the towel. :wink:
Hmm...towel bars are nice. We installed three simple single teak handholds loops. One's above the alternator door. One's horizontal, below the mirror on the aft head bulkhead, and I added a "stand up" loop high on the aft bulkhead, almost parallel to the slope of the cabin roof. You have something to hold onto when you're standing up, and we don't do the "you must sit at all costs" routine.
Lou Berman, the new Fleet 12 Captain, once wrote and had published a great story with a picture in Mainsheet magazine, about the "inventive" door he had added to the starboard side bulkhead in the aft cabin between the entryway and the engine: to gain access to the oil dip stick! Just another "helpful, user-friendly" feature, on all previous boats, that the factory eliminated as time went by. Duh...
I'm surprised that with how poor engine access is to begin with, that Catalina eliminated both those doors! I wish the rear of the engine was more accessible from the aft cabin with a removeable "doghouse".
My 2 cents......
Craig Illman
That is a very nice job! I think I will also do the same but have waiting for a great idea, thats it.
Would you tell what heat /ac system you installed?