Black Hull and Block Ice

LazyGuy · Post by **LazyGuy** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 5:04 pm

My wife was bemoaning how quickly we go through block ice with our 42 year old black hulled boat and one of our sailing friends told us that they use a space blanket over the top of everything in the cooler and it helps to conserve ice. Also, take out the daily drinks and keep them in a separate cooler with cubes to be pulled out during the day and not opening the big cooler half a dozen times. I just so happened to have one of those foil survival blankets on board from the PO. So we folded it up to 4 layers about the sized of the cooler and WOW! it made a huge difference in 1) consumption of ice and 2) how cold our food stayed while we had ice. The blanket was certainly not designed as a repeated use type of blanket so my question is:

Does anyone else use a heat barrier of some sort in the top of their coolers and if so, what do you use? As of right now, I plan on getting some of that foil over plastic insulation available at places like Lowes but if anyone has a better idea....

Tim Mertinooke · Post by **Tim Mertinooke** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 5:59 pm

I use a vest life jacket over the top of the food covered by a space blanket and it works well. It can be a process to remove food, but worth it.

CharlieJ · Post by **CharlieJ** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 9:05 am

We use a piece of the foil covered roof insulation. The kind used under metal roofs. It's about 1/4 inch thick. We cut it to fit the top of the ice box and have it in two pieces so when we reach in we only lift the side needed. Makes a HUGE difference.

We started with a space blanket, but they get crinkled and wear out really fast- this foam stuff is several years old now.

LazyGuy · Post by **LazyGuy** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:49 pm

Thanks guys,

Looks like a trip to the hardware store rather than the the army navy store.

s/v Groovy · Post by **s/v Groovy** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 1:45 pm

These people make a finished product, that we use, if I did it again I might add 3/16" to my measurements, to ensure a snug fit, Works well though...

“SUPER Q” ICE SAVER BLANKET (1101 series)

http://www.standoutyachtfittings.com/in ... ,2,0,0,1,0