Modifying Medusa Making a Navigation Cabinet Andrew Powell shows us how
The box is 77cms wide by 29cm tall by 13cm deep, not including various things that stick out, like the carrying handle and retaining clips. It sits on the front of the aft storage-box, out of the way, under the tiller. I don’t have a full-frontal picture of the cabinet in position on Medusa, but here you can see the top bit poking out as we get ready to set sail at Portland.
One thing that appealed to me about the Wanderer, was its adaptability. My previous boat, a Laser 2000, was excellent in many ways, but offered little scope for modification. In short, I wanted a boat I could drill holes in. My 1993 Anglo Marine Wanderer W1138 (named Medusa by her first owner) has proven an ideal test bed for several projects, and one of the first has been to make a cabinet to store equipment for cruising.
It has a lockable and removable front lid. It hangs on two heavy-duty mirror brackets.
As a former cadet-officer and an instructor, I have acquired quite a bit of kit that I like to take out on cruises. I want things to hand in the boat, but not under my feet. I also wanted to be able to store all these things tidily on a shelf in my garage when not in use, and to be readily transportable to and from the boat. Here is my solution: a Nav Cab
Rear view showing mirror clips
All that is permanently attached to the boat are the two corresponding parts of mirror clips on two one centimetre deep pads made of 4cm square pieces of white nylon chopping board, and two loops of elastic shock-cord which hold the locker in place in case of a capsize. The cabinet is finished with three coats of Wilko’s yacht varnish. The handle was saved from an old case which once held a laptop. My Nav. Cab with the door open, equipment stowed
I made my Nav Cab from a 4ft square piece of 4mm plywood and various other off-cuts and bits and bobs I had in my shed. I am not going to offer step-by-step instructions on how to make your own, but here are some tips in what I hope is a fairly logical order: 1. Check the measurements of the cabinet in your own boat, remembering to allow space for the water to get to the aft bung, if you have one. (I needed to modify how the toe strap attached to the floor of the boat, but it was a quick job with a piece of luggage strap). I made my cabinet small enough to fit conveniently inside my (lockable) aft storage box if I need to leave the boat unattended.
Nav Cab with the door closed - neat and tidy and easy to transport
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2. Assemble all the bits and pieces you want to store in the your Nav. Cabinet, and arrange them on a piece of scrap board or cardboard.
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