Alternative to a sport locker sailbox

does anyone know of an alternative to the extemely high priced fiberglass storage lockers? Of course I've seen the large diameter PVC tubing, but would prefer to go a rectangular, easier to access type box. I've even considered building my own, but feel that there is something out there commercial made that would be light weight and work great. I just don't know where to look. Any ideas??

I've got a huge plywood box that could litterally fit two adults inside on my trailer.



A box isn't THAT hard to build really. Turn it into a weekend project with the guys over a case of beer.

So that's why they call those things coffins!



I must say, it's making me nervous that you know how many adults can fit in your sailbox!!!!



Tim J.

how did you get plywood long enough to hold the sail and boom? My boom on the Hobie 16 is something like 9 feet long and can not find any plywood at the store really long enough to make a box out of to hold it.

Thanks for the info



Jody Abrams

H16 58467 (new Smyth sails)

There is a new scientific brealthrough on wood extension, you just rub it on your wood and your wood gets longer like majic!

I still working on the magic.



I've built a box that will easlily hold 2+adults. (you should see who I put in there)



It's overall dimensions are 12ft long, by 4ft wide, by about 13in tall. The rear section is 4x8, which is hindged so the top opens from one side. The front section is 4x4 and is hinged to the front. The whole box is about 13-14 in. tall, and my dolphin striker clears it easily when putting the boat on. YOu have to measure everything BEFORE you build the box.



The sections are continuous inside, so that as stated, items longer than 8ft. fit easily- duh! YOu can fit everything, and still room left over, I mean EVERYTHING.



I made the frame of the box from treated 2x2's and 2x4's. The skin, or walls and sides, is T-111 treated exterior panels, come already primed. No painting or priming needed. For fasteners, my drill w/ a deck d=screw bit(comes with the screws). That way, the deck screws are specially treated, and never rust, much cheaper than SS also. The hindges are brass, again, no rust.



All the materials, for about $110, about four hours work, start to fininsh.



Larger, Cheaper, Better.



**I'LL HAVE IT AT ROUND THE ISLAND 9/27 IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT.



E-mail me if you or anyone would like more info.



Todd Bouton

Eric,



Just noticed that you started this thread.



You've seen my box, I guess you might not want a homemade box on the trailer of your new f-18! I can at least say I've sailed with you though, now that you won't be associating with us guys with the old 6.0's! J/K



Todd

I had some made out of galvanized sheet metal for around 110.00 each. I put on the SS hasp and weatherstriping myself. I have been using these boxes for2 years and they are holding up great. If you can't find a local sheet metal shop to make them I can have one made and deliver to a regatta on the east coast. Attached is a picture of one under boat.



David

Hey Dave -



That's a hell of a deal - I tried to have some like that made here in the Pensacola area and couldn't get the cost below $600 - you should go into business, my friend!



I wound up buying a used box, but there don't seem to be a lot of those around.



John

28-inch piece of spare sewar-line pvc. Site mgr. gave it to me for free if I would haul it off. Cut off two, 18-inch pieces and cut them in half to make the hull cradles. The endcaps are thick plexiglass from Home Depot with rubber sealing, hasps, and pad locks.

Eric

After living with PVC Pipes, fiberglass boxes, wooden boxes and metal boxes I really prefer the metal ones. They are light, they don't leak and don't break when you sit on them. The best overall setup I have seen was an aluminum box with 2 tubes for sails. Moore Plumbing carries the PVC pipe



Carl

Oh yea,



The box I desribed above is not that heavy, the T-111 siding is aobut 3/8 inch, with some gooves in it.



I've built the frame such as to allow me, or a number of people to stand anywhere on the top without a problem. It's great for standing on it when rigging, stepping/ de-stepping the mast, etc. At races, or pleasure sailing, many people can sit, lay, etc. It's a 8' x 12' table top when closed.

Hobie Cat sells the original Toybox (again).

It's $364 Plus shipping + tax, and can be seen on page 31 of the Hobie catalog.(http://www.hobiecat.com/cats/partset.html) It's roughly 10'4" Long x 20" wide x 12" tall and weighs 39 lbs. That's about the best there is in man-made materials. I've looked extensively into chepaer alternatives (ski lockers, etc) with no luck.

My local dealer has one in stock. Maybe they would sell it and ship it to you cheaper because they are kind of stuck with it now (They ordered it by mistake). Contact me directly if you want more info.

If you insist on making your own, only use plywood for the bottom and bend a piece of 1/8" thick gray PVC sheet ($50 for a 4'x8' from McMaster.com) over it. This forms a nearly semi-circular (actually more like catenary arc) waterproof cover. You can make removeable semicircular end caps out of plywood too.



Steve

How about instead of using wood boards..You make your own "boards" out of fiberglass.Lay the glass out on a smooth flat surface covered with wax paper or pva(a parting compound) trim to size.Use aluminum angle for the frame.Through bolt the glass to that. Maybe a little sealer between the glass-alum,paint. Just a idea I've been kicking around.



Have Fun

Mike

See you at the RTI

Mystere 6.0,2112 + Chute

Todd,

I hope my association with the 6.0 guys isn't over. Just because my boat might be newer (and maybe faster). doesn't mean I'm going to snubb everyone. lol

I still need to flip the trailer over to lower the boat and give me a usable surface to deck. Then begin on a box of some sorts. Have you checked out the price of the glass ones from Murrays? Holy Smoke!! they must be lined with gold .

Carl, Where can I get the aluminum box? I actually need it to be 12 ft. long. I've considered having one made, but a "one Off" made it extremely expensive. I've aslo thought of an aluminum frame then covering it with HDPE. the plastic isn't too expensive but would be hell to seal. ANy more Thoughts??

How heavy is that box?



I think I would be very interested in having such a box if it isn't too heavy.



Jonathan

Eric



Doug Graf made the aluminum sailbox on my trailer, for himself. It was extremly expensive. It would be difficult to make one any bigger(mine is about 10'x1') because of finding

a big enough sheet of aluminium.





I would suggest using 1 or 2 PVC sail tubes. That way your sails are always stored seperatly and don't get damaged by having something heavy and pointed put on top of them.



Plus an aluminum toolbox for all the other junk. Everybody from Walmarts on carries truck mounted aluminum tool boxes. Look around, there are deals to be had on them

Eric,



Careful on flipping the trailer to lower the boat, not a good idea, I raised my boat 4" up from the trailer!



Unless, maybe your new F18 is like a supercat 17, no dolphin striker?



You need clearance under your dophin striker to git a box of any size under it.



Whew, lowering your boat on the trailer, next you'll be adding an air damn and ground effects. How fast you gonna pull that trailer anyway? The slightly higher center of gravity isn't a problem with rolling the trailer on the road, it's not that heavy. A wooden box like mine also puts a moderate amount of weight down low, the usefullness of the box, both inside and outside(tabletop, sun deck, etc.) far outweighs the weight. Pun there, huh. HOw do you outweigh the weight?

Carl, nothing sits on top of my sails in my rather large box!

If you want to stick with plywood, there are some plans and narrative at Damon's site:

http://www.thebeachcats.com/



I built a box out of 8' sheets of plywood and it has plenty of space for everything.



Sheldon

P-18

Well people, I've finished my cat box. It turn out great. All the parts and materials cost about $60. I made it 12' x 22" w x 12"t. It's totally corrosion proof and should be weather proof. I had to make it long to fit the bowsprit pole. I ended up using Polyethylene barrels. You know, The big 55 gal. blue or white ones. I split them in two, cut the ends off, then sleeved them together and rivoted. I used 3.5 barrels to get 12'. the forward end is intact, and I put a hatch on top. The aft end opens for a door like a reg catbox. All this is screwed to treated plywood. Hope this gives other ideas for box projects.

Also note that the white barrels let light in sort of like a skylight. It's great for seeing up in there.

All barrels are UV resistant. Most can be found for pretty cheap.

Great Idea, and thanks for posting it.

Light in the box is also excellent, when I made an end for my tube, I put in a piece of plexiglas.

The pic looks great. Where do you find such barrels, how did you cut them cleanly in half, how did you sleeve them together, and how did you attach them to the plywood?



Jonathan

I couldn't tell you where to buy them. Here I had several places to chose from. I guess you could make a few calls.

To cut them in two. I basicaly used a 24" level to get the barrels as true as possible, then marked verticle lines down both sides. I used a little geometry to find the intersection for the true centerline. If I remember it is pi x dia. =circumference. Then divide by 2. This will tell you where to place your marks for the verticle lines. After cutting, use a good jig saw, lay them out and cut off the ends. Leave one end on for the forward most barrel. Once you start to overlap the barrels, you will have to trim down one edge about a 1/4 " to allow it to slide under the barrel forward and aft of it. So basically , you will end up with one ontop,one under,one ontop,one under,etc.etc. until you get your desired length. I overlaped about 5".

I mounted this to 1/2" treated ply that I put treated 1x2 as a rail that runs full length. The barrels were attatched to the wood using sheet metal scews and washers. Once I started, I rivoted the next one to the first. I placed caulk between the overlaps. It won't stick, but I hoped it would at least form a gasket. Once the whole assembly is finished, I went back over the seams with a GOOD COMMERCIAL hot glue gun. Go slowly and allow it to soften the plastic surfaces as it glues. So far it's holding well.

You can find the barrels at your local soft drink distributor. When you get them make sure you soak the inside of the barrels with tons of bleach before using. The smell of Coke syrup will surely make you blow chunks, and I don't think you want that on your sails...

Hi, I am currently working on a construction of used billboards. (2mm polyester 6 mm Styrofoam 2mm polyester).

You take a used billboard ( I did get mine for free from a advertising company when they were changing a big Supermarket’s house style).

A aluminum L profile and some locks and stuff.

Total amount of money spend around USD 75,00

Low cost, light weight end product.

As soon as it’s ready I will post a picture on the forum.

Eric,



Nice box, but I can lay on mine, with friends, use it as a table, stand on it when rigging, and stepping the mast, use it as a work bench (course my boat never needs worked on), it's been a bleacher at skipper meetings, etc.

Todd, You forgot to mention,,,outhouse, doghouse, camphouse,weightroom,sauna, and anything else your imagination can come up with. If yours was a little bigger, you could put the boat in there too. j/k