Securing the propane locker lids on an E38

[Spirit Moon]

I have a E38 with the two propane lockers built into either side of the helm seat. There is a fiberglass piece that sits over each locker. The lids are not secured in any manner so if you get knocked down or happen to set them somewhere they have a good chance of being lost over the side. Of course being boat gear they will sink. Has anyone come up with a good way of securing these?

 

[Loren Beach]

This solution looks possible...

Check out this prior thread -- might be a possibility for your lids...

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?t=3390&referrerid=28

I found this with a couple of searches on this site, which has a well-written and powerful search engine. If you have not yet done so, do give it a try.

Best Fishes,

Loren

 

[Cory B]

Propane Lockers

On our E35-3 the round-ish propane locker lids are "secured" via shock cord via a hook on the underside of the lid and another hook inside. You can pretty easily pull it up 4-5 inches and reach inside to pull the shockcord of the lid to lift the lid completely off. This is fine for casual sailing, but I think I would find a different method if we were to sail around the world.

- Cory

 

[Kim Schoedel]

We too have the handy dandy hooks and shock cord tethers for our boat.
BTW we moved from a Catalina 30 to the Ericson and glad we did.

 

[footrope]

Hi SilverMoon,

So, you (and Cory) are saying that there aren't even hinges on your propane locker lids? The lids on my E38 are connected at the outboard edge with a piano hinge. There are no latches to keep them closed, and there are no retaining mechanisms for the bottles, either. I wonder which is the standard configuration? The hinge installation is adequate but the wood screws have to be tightened carefully every season to prevent loss and to avoid stripping the holes.

Interesting. I should secure the port bottle as it just sits in there with no hose attached. I use it to run my BBQ on the pulpit and normally stow the hose & regulator below and I put the grill in the aft lazarette. The starboard bottle is connected to the galley stove.

 

[rwthomas1]

This is an interesting post. My propane locker lids are not secured at all! They look to be made of Starboard and have some white non-skid strips on them but no retaining mechanism at all. The starboard locker has a cockpit shower installed in it and the port side I store the dingy fuel and camping propane bottles to run the BBQ. My galley stove is CNG.... I have thought that there should be something holding the lids on but its just a lower priority now. RT

 

[Cory B]

Pic

Not a very good pic, but it hopefully gets the idea across. There is no hinge. Looking at a few neighbors boats I think they changed this design in the mid-to-late 80's.

Looking at this, it reminds me that I need to replace the schockcord and find a way to tie down the propane tank. I think if the tank were securely tied down the shockcord should be adequate for anything we ever plan sailing into.

- Cory

 

[treilley]

My '85 35-3 has the plywood encapsulated in fiberglass with the nonskid on top. Hole in the middle with the tie down loop like Cory's. I use one for my coil of washdown hose and the other holds my BBQ propane canisters. My stove is CNG.