Ally

Sorry, only just seen this, so probably far too late to be helpful. If I can remember how here, I'll upload a photo. We constructed our own, hinged lids with stays, made up of the wood flooring that would have been there, with framing. Wooden box with vents under. In one case we did a steel box as the customer wanted one by the stove for solid fuel. They only need the depth of veg, or, more likely , wine or beer bottles (eggs etc if sensible!!) Very very useful cold storage, wouldn't be without my own.

Well, no need for me to add photos of the ones we used to do, as this photo was the first set we did, on n/b Merryweather. Every boat after that, we were asked for them, and I have them in my own boat. We put vent into the sides of them after the first, to keep them fresher and cooler, just a simple routed out gap, with mesh over on the outer side of the box (my addition as I'm spider paranoid!) My experience is they keep things cooler, the space is well worth it. I wouldn't keep meat in it, but keep things like eggs, sauces that are supposed to be refrigerated, chocolate (drat, given away our stash place!) Onions, that kind of thing, oh, bottles/cans of beer and wine too. One boat had us put one near their stove, steel lined, for coal or wood! They can go anywhere. Handy in the galley area, or engine room if you have one.

Thanks for that! I was beginning to wonder if anyone had actually managed to successfully install these! Good to know. Still waiting on response from the manufacturer about it.

We just put a bead on that edge, to meet the window tape in the hope it would help. We got desperate! (It didn't help) Using grab adhesive elsewhere for the blocks we tried etc. Engine oil? As if! 2 pack blacking sir! ?

It certainly used to be. Possibly still is. I must look...whilst I'm not girly enough to paint my finger nails, I do do my toe nails through the summer....black! ?

Good point, I'm going to blame predictive text! Now I have to buy and eat fish paste! ? actually, that might stick them!!

I am suspecting the release agent is what is causing us so many problems now. Never having used fibre glass before like this, it hadn't popped into my head. *goes off to find some acetate *

I had wondered if expanding foam might work. Knowing how well it sticks, if we braced it again it might just hold it?

No! So sort of like this? Tried that, fell off! (See photo below) Yes, we currently have it sort of free floating by the cut out, to allow that, but the liner just won't fix tight to the port or line out. Perhaps I'm being too pernickety? Might try velcro though! Thanks!

Thanks so far, i will definitely give them a clean up to check there is no release agent left on, thanks for that advice! dmr, they aren't a tube, just a thin liner with a curved edge that goes to the line out, and obviously one to the port. 3d but only a single very thin layer. They seem to damage easily, both were damaged on the edge when delivered but luckily once cut to fit, we lost the damage. No way you could screw them. This is how thin they are. This was attempt how- ever- many, in this case using double sticky window tape, which we also put round the port to accept the neck, with a bit more adhesive for good luck. We left it strongly braced for 24 hours, and they are there but not neatly to the lining, not solid at all. Though the tape did grab them well. We have fixed wood within the line out around the port, to help, but still they ease away. So so far nobody has really successfully fitted them...hoping still for someone to nip by with a "oh! Simple! Just use ******"

You can't screw them, they are far too thin. Tried double sided sticky window tape, thick ish, nope, tried assorted adhesives, but they just don't want to stick. @dmr , could you ask your friend his solution please? I have searched topics here, blogs, and YouTube to no avail. Bloggers seem to end up getting wood ones later!

I am just getting to the end of fitting out a tiny 20ft narrowboat as a studio boat. I made the poor decision of buying fibreglass porthole liners, as the wait for wood ones, which is all I've fitted previously, was far too long, and I've been trying to keep costs down. Nightmare. I am sure I'm missing a trick here. Your thoughts please...especially if you have actually fitted them, on the best way to do so. I've tried a couple of ways with little success. I'm really wishing I had gone with wood now!

Glad you enjoyed it, sorry I missed you passing us, have kept a look out but we must have been away from the boat. Locks are amber/red today north of Leicester.

For all the rain yesterday, we haven't come up too much, a little though. Not near enough to a lock to check the board before we go out this morning though.

The soar is not currently high at all, though of course that can change quite quickly. Plan to do hops between more stable mooring places, so Kegworth, zouch, anywhere between bishops meadow lock and pillings flood lock, (Loughborough is a decent town for shops, pubs, laundrette and market on thursday/Saturday. Services at the basin but personally I would then go under chain Bridge and moor on the wide towpath stretch, rather than the basin. From there , there is a cut through to aodi, b&q etc. Nice very peaceful mooring just outside Loughborough, just before miloars Bridge. Above Barrow deep, above Mountsorrel lock (can flood), Sileby has a boatyard and services, but not a place to be in flood. Then above junction lock, another small boatyard and chandlery as you turn off the wreake towards syston. Moorings by watermead are fine , anywhere along that stretch to the weir. Birstall has moorings near the village, though I've heard there have been some hassles there, never experienced a problem myself, pubs shops, takeaways. Then off you head to Leicester with 2 secure mooring options. When the river comes up it soon drops again. Lived on it some 16 years, only ever had one major "eeeek" moment. Beautiful river.

At that stage, check the cooling tank is big enough for whichever engine you are having. The engine manufacturer will state a required area. Many aren't built big enough to be efficient. Check its right before they go further.

We did for a year but were mostly out cruising. It's not good as a winter mooring, floods get high there. The facilities are limited. Good if you want to put your boat on land to work on it though I guess! Plenty are in the "field of dreams".

Found a couple of photos from our Beacon builds. Generally the lockers for the BT were like this. We also did one where the BT locker was the same height as the side lockers, providing extra seat/side table space, as requested by the customer, always vented. At this sort of height as in the photos, you are much more aware of it, so it wasn't something you tripped on. Sorry not great photos.

An odd angle to see ours, but the only one I have to hand from very early days. Its a humongous locker, with double lid doors, BUT, we don't actually have a bow thruster, so actually it's just extraordinarily good storage! You could get a few children in it if you had a mind to....just to prove a point, obviously!

That was certainly correct when we moored there.

Definitely! We are solid on the bottom on the soar, even our tiny boat is, and she's not fully fitted yet! Water required please! (I wasn't saying that over winter!)