Leaning post tackle cabinet

[striperon]

I would like to add a tackle cabinet under my leaning post. My question is for the experienced marine carpenters. I expect I will use marine plywood since King Starboard is so expensive and I don't want to buy a Starboard welder for one simple project. Should I machine out the cabinet components and then cover them on both sides and end grain with epoxy before construction? Or, can I build the cabinet and then apply the epoxy? I will cover the outside with epoxy paint.

Thanks.

 

[99Parker2520]

cover all surfaces with epoxy paint and ride out the 5 to 7 years on the cabinet....hopefully more! Keep it ventilated ( off the deck) and painted all around. Post a pic of your project!

 

[warthog5]

Want It to last? Want it to look good down the road?

3/8in Plywood with a 6oz covering of fiberglass and fill the weave. Why add the fiberglass?

Because plywood will "Check". What is checking? Checking is when the grain of the plywood open up from heat, Cold and weathering.

Coating will just epoxy will not prevent this....Especially on Fir plywood. [Which is the Standard for marine plywood.]

Here is a experiment that I did many..many years ago.

At first look it appears the the paint is failing....It did not, but the exterior ply of the A-B Marine fir plywood did. Wooden boats have this same problem.

The framing is Lodge Pole...2 X 4 ripped down and dado for the plywood....All surfaces were covered with epoxy resign....Then primed with Awlgrip 545. it was top coated with PPG Concept.

It's been put in the weather for Years....without any attention.

I'd suggest that you cut all your panels.. Then glass them with either 4oz or 6oz glass....Easy to do when they are laying flat. [both sides] Then assemble the box....good time to practice [Stitch & Glue] technique.



Here's some examples.


These were the seat box's in my mako.

Yes it is all covered with glass. The holes predrilled larger and backfilled with epoxy/cabisol. No chance of water ever coming in contact with the wood.

Attached to deck with alum angle

Finished.

These were painted with Awlgrip and looked as good the day the boat was sold, as they did the day they were completed.

 

[striperon]

Warthog,

Very instructive, helpful, and I thank you. Two questions come to mind. One, when you attached the aluminum angle iron to the deck, how did you seal the holes for the fasteners in the deck itself? Did you use one of the adhesive sealants around the outside edge of the seat box at the intersection with the deck?

I was trying to figure out how to attach it to the deck. You answered with the angle iron. Great solution.

 

[striperon]

My available space is within the structure of the leaning post, 27" wide, 21" high above the 7 5/8" high crossbar.

A 1/4" x 1 1/2" lath would make a slim ledge for the ends of the 3700 Plano boxes to rest on. Ledges would reduce weight compared to full width shelves. A dado on the structural members at each end of the boxes would hold them in place. Do you think they also need some support underneath? The support would mean using up some space that I am trying to maximize. I put two pieces of lath at the ends of the boxes in the pictures to see what they could look like.

I will actually maximize the space by orienting the 3700s forward and aft. That would get me two boxes across plus a drawer about 4" wide.

 

[striperon]

This cabinet would fit in my space, but at $935 it won't fit my budget. The left side of this cabinet is what I want to model my project from. The ledges for the stowaway boxes look like 1/2" material. I will make my cabinet deeper, and orient the boxes in the other direction. This will allow me two columns of boxes plus room for narrow drawers. I don't quite get the extra space in the center, maybe just extra height.

Spacing the doors a couple of inches out from the boxes could allow for some additional storage on the doors like the leader spools, some tools, fillet knife, large plugs, whatever, if I build it correctly.

There are 5 2" deep boxes and 2 3" deep boxes in the picture, which holds quite a lot of tackle. I would double that with two columns of boxes, plus the narrow drawers on the side. Geez, I have a lot of "stuff."

 

[warthog5]

Warthog,

Very instructive, helpful, and I thank you. Two questions come to mind. One, when you attached the aluminum angle iron to the deck, how did you seal the holes for the fasteners in the deck itself? Did you use one of the adhesive sealants around the outside edge of the seat box at the intersection with the deck?

I was trying to figure out how to attach it to the deck. You answered with the angle iron. Great solution.

Ron The alum was beded with 4200. Use 4000UV for a seal around the permiter. It will not yellow

 

[striperon]

After researching hardware I see the reason for the extra space in the center, it is to allow for the door latch mechanism on the inside.

 

[Reelysalty]

This cabinet would fit in my space, but at $935 it won't fit my budget. The left side of this cabinet is what I want to model my project from. The ledges for the stowaway boxes look like 1/2" material. I will make my cabinet deeper, and orient the boxes in the other direction. This will allow me two columns of boxes plus room for narrow drawers. I don't quite get the extra space in the center, maybe just extra height.

Spacing the doors a couple of inches out from the boxes could allow for some additional storage on the doors like the leader spools, some tools, fillet knife, large plugs, whatever, if I build it correctly.

There are 5 2" deep boxes and 2 3" deep boxes in the picture, which holds quite a lot of tackle. I would double that with two columns of boxes, plus the narrow drawers on the side. Geez, I have a lot of "stuff."

I would avoid the "plano tray holders" and opt for drawers instead.

These folks have an excellent reputation and will build to your specs....they
do many NC Custom Sportfishermen.

http://www.mcssl.com/store/fin-addictma ... log/search

 

[striperon]

My reason for the plano "tray holders" is to allow for easy swap outs depending on the targeted fish and tactics. I have a set of Plano boxes for stripers/blues trolling, another set for stripers/blues/mackerel casting, and another set for tuna. Down the line I might want another set for ground fishing. I think I would find it harder to swap out if I had to lift out each plug/lure/terminal tackle item from a drawer. Swapping out Plano trays would be much easier, which means I would be more likely to do it. I suppose I could make separate drawer sets and swap them out.

There are lots of trade-offs in this project. Building drawers with drawer slides requires wood/plastic of sufficient dimension for structural integrity. This integrity takes up precious space. Meanwhile, Plano boxes have structural integrity using little in the way of material. Walls are not thick, bottoms are not thick, dividers are not thick. I haven't taken the time to calculate the best use of space between the two alternatives, so I may be missing the boat. On the other hand, the "barnyard" calculator in my head says the end result is not a lot different between the two.

I like to do lots of things, that includes fishing. boating, travel, hunting, dog shows, antiques, John Deere L&G tractors, woodworking, and many more. I have to stretch my income to cover all my likes, hiring a firm to fabricate this project is not included in the list. I have built furniture in the past, so I have familiarity with woodworking techniques. I own the tools needed, acquiring them while doing other projects. And there is something very satisfying about creating something useful that floats my boat.

I don't mind being challenged. Keep it up. It stimulates thought processes and I learn more.

"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young."
Henry Ford