Hobie Cat Forums

Anyone know what cooler/ice chest will best fit behind the rear seat of a TI? Mine hasn't arrived yet and I was hoping someone has already found the perfect fit so I don't have to keep buying and returning them till I find one that does fit.

Hi Madwand!

I bought Igloo Marine 36 behind the rear seat of my TI, the bungee cord needed ca 8 inch extensions to secure it on it´s place - but then it really fits securely.

The sheet (rope that adjusts sail) will touch the upper rear edge of the cool box, but it still moves nicely and have not jammed to the edge/corners of the cool box.

Will send a picture when I go sailing next time (probably next weekend)

I'm not sure if you are looking for maximum "overnight" capacity or daysailing convenience. If it's the latter, I'd recommend this soft-side with an easy-open velcro "door" built into the top.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... 6004101686

We have used a similar Thermos-branded unit, and I find it very convenient to be able to reach behind and "tear open" the velcro door to get drinks or food out, and not have to fuss with a zipper. It's also a lot more comfortable to lean back against than a hard-sided cooler. As you can see, there's still storage room behind it [in our case, for a telescoping paddle].



I recommend the Sears unit because it is a few inches taller and seems to have higher-performance insulation.

I'm looking for one for weekend camping, so I'm interested if this one will fit the same area. It has longer cold holding, but smaller capacity. I don't know if the footprint is the same.
http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-36QT-Xtreme-Cooler/dp/B0055QGM9C/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1RHTSQJ6YI6OO&colid=2Y12CJGMWQQ60

That Coleman Xtreme is an excellent cooler. It's footprint is 25" x 13" -- maybe a 1/4" less on each dimension because it has rounded corners. It fits perfectly in the cargo area of an AI; don't know about the TI (seems like the TI has a smaller rear cargo space.)

Keith

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I sail: S FL, Key Largo, Everglades to Cape Romano, Ft Desoto, Cedar Key

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"I'm looking for one for weekend camping, so I'm interested if this one will fit the same area. It has longer cold holding, but smaller capacity. I don't know if the footprint is the same.
http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-36QT-Xtre ... 2CJGMWQQ60"

I have one of those, but have never used it on my AI. It's a big ass cooler and needs to be filled to the max with ice to stay cool. Because of it's weight and size, I rarely use it, even on my hard shelled boats. For Keith's week long Everglades trips, it probably is a good fit. No wonder his boats take on water:)

Last full time year, Keith! Next year I'm joining you on the Everglades trip.

Ted

Hi Ted,

Looking forward to doing the FLM-Chok w/ you next year. Maybe we could get a really big group together. We would definitely need a Coleman Xtreme cooler!

Keith

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I sail: S FL, Key Largo, Everglades to Cape Romano, Ft Desoto, Cedar Key

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

The TI has a shorter storage well at around 19'' long by 13" wide. The AI's well is around 24" by 13" so a cooler that fits the AI won't fit the TI.
The other problem is that the TI sheetblock is only 33" back from the front of the well whereas on the AI it is 48" back from the rear crossbar that the cooler sits up against.
We use a small cooler 15" long by about 13" deep and high on the TI but even it catches the mainsheet:


I'm thinking of adding a wide bar on top of the cooler to stop this.

I don't think that this topic has been discussed in any great detail recently. So it's good to recap on what others are doing in this area.

For day trips I use this 10L Willow brand cooler. As you can see it's easy to access and leaves plenty to room for other gear. Downside is that if I turn turtle ( upside down ) the lid doesn't have a catch so the contents feed the fish.



For longer trips I do the following. Pack an ice block in a dry bag (green bag) and food to be cooled in another dry bag (red bag). Downfall is that there is condensation (so what) and the insulating properties of a dry bag isn't the greatest, but a 4L ice block should last 2 days and after the food and ice are gone the cooler packs down to nothing. ( Hint: If you have a deep freeze, you can put 4L of water in the green bag and semi-suspend it in the deep freeze. The water then conforms to the circular shape of the dry bag as it freezes. )

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

Slaughter - for day trips I use a similar hard cooler with a locking top. It doubles as a seat for sailing or beaching. I plan on drilling it to attach a small seatpad on top.

You could certainly add a velcro or buckle closure to that cooler of yours.

I like your drybag idea. I may borrow that for use with my homemade fishbag.

Cheers.

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"You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."
- Ayn Rand

You'd need a much bigger drybag for the monster fish you blokes catch.

Yeah, the lid catch has never really worried me but a simple velcro catch sounds like a good idea. I do the same in using the cooler to double as a seat. I kinda like items that have duel purposes. Like the Hobie front hatch lid that unclips and doubles as a salad bowl.

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

After I put my Trax 2 cart in place, I realized there is very little room for an ice chest there. The largest outside dimensions that will fit are 13"L X 13"W.

Sorry Madwand, I may have mislead you. My photos above are of my AI not TI. I didn't realise that the rear cargo area is that much smaller on the TI. The drybag in a drybag may be a good option.

On the weekend I tried a different way of doing it by puting the ice in the red outer bag and the food in the green inner bag. I think it worked better, as dry bags keep water out a little better than they hold water in. Also the condensation on the red bag drips to the outside rather than dripping inside the bag. Bit confusing but I hope you get the picture.

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

This is what I got, it fits perfectly (I had the cart out).
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-36-Can-Cooler-with-Removable-Hardliner-Black/16523748

For some reason, it was $30 at the store though...

Looks good. Do you know how waterproof yet ?

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.