Skerry Gear Organizing Divider Mod

I recently made yet another modification to my already heavily modified CLC Skerry. Between the forward bulkhead and the thwart boxes mid-ship, I have been using straps and some lines to organize gear bags and anchor systems in bags.

Well, on my trip to Sucia I realized I really did not like that solution. I dislike trying to feed anchor lines into bags, and both the wet anchor systems, and the gear bags were pushing into my foot sleeping area.

So a week before the Pocket Yacht Palooza boat show in Port Townsend I came up with a plan to fix the issue.

I decided to install some dividers, with drains at the bottoms, and holes for running lines through at the top. This would make it much easier to strap in everything in case of a capsize, and also make it easier to feed in anchor lines.

First I stripped away the paint with a heat gun and scraper, and then sanded the paint edges. After a bit of measuring, and thinking about what spacing I wanted I started cutting up some thin marine grade plywood I had.

For the more complex shapes I used a heat gun and scrap material to quickly find the shapes. It all got filleted in with thickened epoxy.

I then capped it with a thin piece of hard maple, to prevent wear and tear from bags and anchors on the top edge of the plywood.

Three coats of paint drying at the last minute before the boat show and they were done.

I used them on a three day cruise directly after, and was very pleased with how it all turned out. All the gear is much easier to tie down. It stays clear of my sleeping zone. And it makes it much easier to feed in anchor line. It does add a small amount of weight to the boat, but it seems worth it. They are also structural, but that benefit was not really needed.

Currently I have two anchor systems on the starboard side, and a 2.5 gallon water bottle. On the other side a cooler bag, and a drybag with my drysuit and other safety gear.

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