What do you carry in a cockpit locker?

[prv]

Being a smaller boat than I've ever sailed on before (apart from dinghies!) I'm having to think quite hard about stowage space on Kindred Spirit. She has one moderate-sized deck locker, which my instinct says will be a challenge to fit everything in, but then I try to get more concrete and find I can't think what "everything" there is - there's plenty of space for a few warps and smallish fenders. So to jog my memory of what I'll be trying to stuff in there, what do you all cart around in cockpit lockers?

The dinghy is a non-starter for the locker, and will live on the cabin top. The storm jib will live below, and there are no other extraneous sails. I can think of buckets (ordered one of Salty John's folding canvas ones) and dinghy oars and deck scrubber (will fit nicely down a long narrow space on top of the holding tank under the cockpit seat). For engine spares, oil cans, etc, I'm hoping to build in a sliding box in the aft end of the engine bay, accessed through the cockpit sole hatch. The boathooks are cunningly designed to double as cabin-top grab handles, which saves having to stow them. I'm unlikely to get an outboard (completely infeasible to stow) and hence no petrol cans (which would probably have gone in the unnecessarily capacious gas locker anyway). Tools I aim to stow below where it's marginally drier and they're more readily accessible.

Sail covers and washboards will probably end up in the locker while sailing.

What else have I forgotten?

Pete

 

[Ubergeekian]

...what do you all cart around in cockpit lockers?

When cruising, the stern locker of the Jouster contains

• Kedge (Danforth) anchor with 4 fathoms of chain
• Thomas Foulkes canvas bucket with "Anchor" buoy and 2m chain
• A couple of fenders
• Four 25m mooring lines (also kedge warps)
• Two hurricane lamps
• Handy-pump bilge pump for the dinghy
• Four gallons of petrol
• One gallon of paraffin
• A Seagull Forty Minus

Which is all a bit of a squeeze, but the Seagull has a pushpit bracket too which relieves the pressure a bit.

 

[Mandarin331]

Wow, I try not to think about it, but from memory here goes:

Cleaning materials (polish etc)
Paraffin
Riding light
Fuel can for outboard
1 gall diesel for emergencies
Fenders, when sailing (swopped with outboard)
Outboard - when locked up
Warps
Rubber boots
Kedge, chain & warp
Washboards, when sailing
Buckets
Funnnel - for fuel tank
Sail cover when sailing

there may be more !

 

[Babylon]

STBD locker: lead line, preventer line and snatch-block, rope boarding ladder (ready to deploy over midships cleat), bucket, stiff brush, heavy duty sponge, kedge anchor + 8m chain (50m 3-strand and shackle kept forward), spare engine oil, 2 spare 5litre diesel containers.

PORT locker: 4 medium fenders, 1 small fender, 4 shore-lines, 2 springs, 2 long nylon octoplait lines (old anchor cable cut in half), 2.3m inflatable dinghy

 

[prv]

Cheers for the lists - so far no forehead-slapping obvious omission

KS's kedge currently lashes down to the foredeck, although I'm going to try to partition off a section of the below-decks chain locker for it if there's room. I don't expect to use it all that often. The previous owner reckons the uprated engine (2GM20 instead of 1GM10) makes it a good idea to keep weight forward - not sure how big an issue it really is but hey ho.

Fuel cans and funnels might end up there, I guess, but ideally I'd like to keep oily stuff out of the general locker into either the gas locker or the aforementioned engine locker, depending on their sizes (still not sure how big an engine locker I can fit in, or how full the gas locker will look with bottles in it).

Cheers,

Pete

 

[Searush]

A truck load of junk basically;

Port Side
fenders; 6 cyylindrical + 4 spherical
warps (about 8-10)
danforth kedge & 5m of chain
dinghy grapnel anchor with 2m chain
bilge pump & handle
Calf feeding bucket (cheap, strong & durable)
Spare planks & blocks of wood
30m Hosepipe

Starboard side
2 Gas bottles & regulator
1 gall oil
3 tins of grease
1 gal 2/- mix
5 gall Deisel reserve
5 gall fresh water reserve
2 funnels
5 x plastic bottles of various cleaning & polishing goo

I'm sure there's more I can't remember, but I guess you have the picture.

 

[wooslehunter]

25l diesel - full most of the time.
Diesel funnel
5l petrol - not full as I can't be bothered to row.
5l meths / alcool a bruler - not full depending on how much tea I've drunk
Kedge + chain & warp x 2
Avon outboard bracket - new & cost more than the 2nd hand dinghy.
Kids buckets & spades (keeps the sand out of the boat).

 

[Bosun Higgs]

fenders, one bucket, mooring ropes and grab bag / flares. The rest increases weight and slows us down so its in the garage at home.

Makes a big difference. At 35 ft we can keep up with a 44 ft well sailed GibSea when racing - the difference being that he has everything but the kitchen sink on board as well as full water tanks etc.

In any case in the days when I sailed fully kitted out, I never had on board the one thing I needed for a repair etc. So dont think of what you can get it - think of what you can leave out.

 

[Piddy]

Hmmm… Port Side locker
Packed Zodiac 2.3 Airdeck
Mariner 4hp O/B
6 fenders
1 fender step
2 gallon O/B fuel (removed to deck when on board)
Washing up bowl full of cleaners & Polishes
6 medium length warps about 45’
2 medium warps >100’
2 long warps >150’
Accumulated short and light lines
Spinnaker – sometimes, if I pack it all well
2 Boat hooks
2 scrubbing brushes
2 clever things for passing lines through buoy rings
Folding Anchor ball
Folding Motoring triangle
Bosuns chair
Cockpit table & brackets
Under shelf mounted Eberspacher heater
Fishing nets
Face masks & snorkles
Flarepack when sailing
Ready to use flares on inside of lid

It’s quite a big locker!

 

[Kelpie]

This weekend I finally made it to the bottom of the lockers on my new boat, to see all the things I've 'inherited'. Some nice surprises and some junk too!
- cockpit tent
- fenders, warps
- folding fishermans + a complete chain/warp rode
- 25l diesel, funnel, syphon
- various oils for various engines existing and exitnct
- one-piece washboard with window
- two telescopic boathooks
- one wooden boathook (broken)
- one flagstaff (broken)
- one red ensign
- one saltire (frayed beyond use)
- rope boarding ladder
- bag for Bombard inflatable (hope it fits my Avon!)
- another large carrying sack of unknown purpose (says Plastimo on it)
- anchor ball
- hand bilge pump (now requisitioned and aboard the Wayfarer!)
- spares for a Volvo engine (my engine is a Beta)
- bucket
- sweeping brush
- spare sweeping brush (handle broken)

The lockers on my new boat are pretty huge- this stuff is mostly in one, leaving the other two empty. I love my vega already!

 

[Fantasie 19]

Sounds like I'm closer to Bosun Higgs than most but it's nothing to do with racing and everything to do with the minimal size of my lockers..

I have ropes (various/mooring etc.), a bucket, and the kedge anchor & chain in mine...

 

[johnalison]

One of my fire-extinguishers is in the cockpit-locker in an easily-accessed position.

Plus a bicycle occasionally, and at the bottom assorted screws and washers that I have dropped.

 

[Blue5]

Hmmm… Port Side locker

Folding Motoring triangle

Is that in case you break down in the shipping lanes.................

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Bodies, Bricks and Bags

Mother said be prepared because we never know when opportunity knocks.

 

[mcframe]

I'll claim:
(in addition to things mentioned already)

Webasto heater - Ok, it's up under the gunwale, but ...
Dinghy rudder, centreboard & sail ;-)
Liferaft
Charcoal beach bucket BBQ

Smaller transom locker has a day/night flare, cockpit speakers, MOB handy-billy and err, gas bottles.

 

[William_H]

Cockpit locker

It depends on your habits and styles of sailing. My boat is quite small 21ft very tender. I mostly use it for racing. So fenders if carried stay inside under the cockpit because they are seldom needed.
Tools ie screw drivers slip jaw pliers and knife I fit under elastic under the locker lid so always quickly available. spare shackles and screws float around the bottom. Bits of rope for reefing and sailing gloves. A can of WD type lubricant and a rag. When sailing a cooler bag of cold drinks easy to grab.

I have toyed with the idea of fitting the VHF radio in the locker as it is more accessible than inside.
Bucket always stays inside cabin for use as toilet. Alternative sails stay inside as they are too big for the locker.
When packed up the sheets and bag of spin sheets etc go into the cockpit locker to pretty much fill it.
When I carry a motor the fuel tank goes in the locker. really full then.
In a small boat you generally need to get weight to the front of the boat because of the weight of the crew in the cockpit so keep the weight down. Just let your experience dictate what you carry there. ie what you need in a hurry and nothing else. olewill