PDQ OWNERS FORUM

While there are certainly many places you can stash food, having a better pantry area at hand when preparing meals would be nice. The cabinets in the galley are generally full of pans and small stuff, and they don't lend themselves to big items. The cabinet under the fridge is huge, but a) it is generally blocked by a cooler on the floor, since the fridge takes 12 hours to cool down and is not much use on over-nights, and b) my wife has a replaced knee (arthritis) and doesn't like to get down, which of course encourages bringing the cooler (she doesn't naturally think of the space under the fridge). We put some stuff under the beds, but that is a bit of a hassle. Same with under the settees.

So, some other ideas for discussion.

Under the floor. Seems like a great area for beer and cans. However, the galley floor is a pain to lift. Has anyone modified the floor, for easier removal? The starboard floor is not so bad, but same thought.

The space under the settees SHOULD be accessible from the galley cabinets, but they don't quite line up and PDQ didn't work this out. That could be GREAT pantry space.

I did put removable canvas shelves in the under-fridge cabinet, and when we use those, that's great.

We converted the hanging locker in the port berth to a "pantry." Not all of our food is stored there but much of the dry goods are.

mikeandrebecca wrote:We converted the hanging locker in the port berth to a "pantry." Not all of our food is stored there but much of the dry goods are.

Ah, but I still live where we use a hanging locker! I had to dig into it for some warm things a few days ago, while testing some rope water-proofing products in freezing conditions (up-coming Practical Sailor article on rope cleaning and rope treatments)! Sure enough, in spite of some nasty freezing spray, the furler did not freeze, nor did the sheets. The greatest challenge was simply getting out of the slip (ice).

Still, a good idea.

I have the same problem with not enough pantry space, but I've just moved aboard. I was thinking about redoing them completely. there are inches being wasted between the separate cabinets and I haven't even looked yet to see how much is wasted behind the wood back. Has anyone modified these for more space that has suggestions or pictures to share?