Unlike some of the talented members of the association, I am not much of a carpenter and thus my boat still has all of its original cabinetry. Lately, I am plagued by the fact that the drawers that are under the tv cabinet are very difficult to open. I was surprised to discover that the internal support for the drawers is marginal at best. On the right side the drawer slides on a wood surface that is poorly finished and on the left side, because the drawer is built at an angle, it does not have any support at all. I admit that I had filled the top drawer with some wrenches and tools that are relatively heavy but even removing them does not improve the situation.
Have others faced this problem and do you have recommendations?
Thanks,
Elliott
Elliott Milstein
Collaboration #1469
1995 C-36MkII
Port Annapolis Marina
We have drawers like that, but they are under our V berth. I have "been meaning to fix that one sticky drawer" for the past 14 years! In our case, it doesn't get as much use as yours does. I'm not a carpenter either, and failed wood shop! Thing to do is rebuild and/or reinforce the frame. My experience says the drawer construction is OK, but the frame is knackered.
Stu Jackson, C34IA Secretary, C34 #224, 1986, SR/FK, M25 engine, Rocna 10 (22#)
The drawer under my galley sink has become very difficult to open. The structure is fine, but the drawer wracks one way or the other and sticks. A good, cheap solution is bees wax, which is good for lots of things. I ordered a brick sized piece online somewhere; google will find it. Another option is canning wax, which you can buy at Ace Hardware stores (among other places I'm sure). That's a lot harder than beeswax, so takes some muscle to apply.
I also remember my Dad 'lubing' up the drawers in the kitchen cabinets in our shore house when I was a wee lad (when boats were made of wood:rolleyes:). He used good old Ivory Soap.
Gary and Cathy Price
1997 C36 Mk II Tall Rig/Wing Keel Imagine...
Hull # 1617
Worton Creek, Md.
Northern Chesapeake Bay
I finally got around to pulling out all of my sticky drawers to diagnose the problem. What I discovered was that the frame for the drawer unit is quite sub-standard (in my view) and that it had detached from the front of the cabinet on the left side. It seems to have been marginally attached with one screw that was being asked to do a lot of work. Perhaps it was also glued at some point but I didn't see evidence of that. So, even though I should be able to do the carpentry myself, I have arranged for the marina's carpenter to do the repair with a more craftsmen-like hand than I can bring to the job.
Elliott Milstein
Collaboration #1469
1995 C-36MkII
Port Annapolis Marina
The carpenter who fixed the problem of the loose frame for the drawer unit simply epoxied it back into place and all is well. No holes drilled. He believes that it the fix is permanent.
He didn't agree with me that it was shoddily constructed but instead thought that using the type of plywood that Catalina used was appropriate in order save weight.
Elliott Milstein
Collaboration #1469
1995 C-36MkII
Port Annapolis Marina
That may be true, but there is still no excuse for the crappy, painted, mild steel support brackets fitted to my boat
Paul and Heather Griffiths
Sarah Sue C36 Mk11 #2220
Mandurah, Western Australia
I have the same problem with the lower drawer under the galley sink, especially when I'm cooking or washing up and my hands are wet. I can't get a good grip on the little twist lock so I couldn't pull the drawer out. My solution was simply to buy a cabinet door handle (for about $2.50) and put it on below the twist lock.
I had the opposite problem with one of the drawers (I guess you'd call them that) under the v-berth - those ones that simply swing down and out. One of them always closed in too far and got stuck. So I just bot a cheap barrel bolt and fixed it to the top of the door with the bolt protruding so it couldn't go in past the frame. Easy fixes.
SF Bay
1998 C36