Got to thinking

-- Last Updated: Jun-26-13 2:15 PM EST --

We just went on our first overnight two day trip in our kayaks and loved it. Weather was great, had several couples with us, just had a ball. As I sat on the shore of the lake watching the sun go down I started to think about what I had learned so far in our journey. One thing that we struggled with was the coolers. Trying to find coolers that fit in the kayaks that carried enough for cold beverages and food storage. Then it hit me. We are hoping to build a Tandem Osprey this winter for ourselves. I had originally thought I would build a center storage compartment between the front and rear cockpits. I will loose a lil area between my legs but why waste the space was my thought. My original thought was it would be the ideal place to carry our water and beverages. I got to thinking why could I not sandwich foam insulation between the fiberglass covering the wood then cover the foam with more fiberglass and resin? Then I could carry ice and frozen water bottles, to keep the other beverages and food dry. I know, the purist out there are probably about ready to fall off their chairs. But we enjoy paddles on lazy rivers and calm lakes then we enjoy setting up camp and having a nice meal with a cold beverage. My thought is that I can recess the actual opening under the wood hatch cover. I can use a large Old Town deck hatch cover to cover the opening to the cooler area. I would probably just bailout the water from the melted ice instead of installing a drain. I think once everything is coated in resin it would not create any issue for the wood of the boat. Plus it is only going to be used a fraction of the time. My girlfriend loved the idea and can't wait till we order our kit and get started. We had no issues with carrying all the gear we needed other than the coolers. So my thought is that if I can do this and we have a large tandem with plenty of storage room it would open up many more possible trips to us which means we would get to kayak more. Once I mentioned it to our friends who were with us, who had the same problem, they were ready to place orders for an identical kayak LOL.

Sam in IN

Cold is nice, but white wines and
hoppy beers actually taste better at river temperature. And red wines, of course, needn’t be chilled, though they may taste better if briefly cooled. Soda? Kool Aid? Just give 'em up.



Can’t speak to the idea of an ice chamber in the middle of a S&G tandem. Just don’t overload the boat.

Go for it
Don’t see any reason to not.



In fact, there’s probably no need for glass between the wood and foam. Just glue the foam to the wood and glass over everything.



For that matter, there’s probably no functional reason for wood. Just use foam. It might be ugly though.


day hatch conversion
I know a few people who have converted the day hatches on their touring boats to cold storage, just by lining the compartment with foam. In the case of foam bulkheads, it’s a simple wrap-around the hull and under deck with foam sheet.