Bow cooler for '11 Z1?

[johnny]

Is it possible to add the bow cooler to an '11 Z1? Didn't come with it, but would love to have a built in cooler.

Thanks

Ron

[johnny]

Looked on-line, but no luck finding a cooler. No comments from the pros here?

Thanks,
Ron

[konajay]

Did you contact your closest dealer? There are pros & cons to the coolers. Have you read any of the past threads?

[NICKYPOO]

I doubt you could just put one in. They are molded into the deck side of the hull if I'm not mistaken. You could fabricate one.

[Travism]

Did you contact your closest dealer? There are pros & cons to the coolers. Have you read any of the past threads?

What are the pros/cons ? Any links to the threads ?

[chadsanchez]

I had a problem with my carpet being super cold and wet (which I thought was from the cooler leaking) but "apparently" my cooler is fine ... said my local dealer.

[chpthril]

Looked on-line, but no luck finding a cooler. No comments from the pros here?

Thanks,
Ron

I'm not sure I understand your question. I do not recall the Z1 having a walk-way cooler, but rather the walk-way was open as it had been from 08 when the Z1 was rolled out. IIRC, I thought it was behind the driver's seat or under the observers seat. Been awhile since I have been in a Z1, so I may be mistaken. From my understanding, the 2013 Z1 is now like the Z3, and has a built in cooler in the walk-way.

IMO, I would keep the walk-way open and just use portable cooler. Most never seem to use the cooler as a cooler, but rather a storage box. For most, its too small and doesnt keep ice long. If you are handy with fiber glass, I suppose you could pull the bow carlet and glass it in with a cooler like the new model, or if you are willing to pay for it.

[johnny]

Thanks for the insight fellas. I had a portable cooler that I slid in up towards the bow, but it slides back into the main cabin and scuffs up the plastic/fiberglass walls. A friend of mine has an R20 and its nice having the cooler built in. Just my opinion. I was thinking of fabbing a cooler out of fiberglass on my own if they are not available. Thanks again for the thoughts.

Ron

[konajay]

Chp laid it all out. I have a cooler and everything chp says is true. It does not keep ice very well, it's so bad I have to keep the plug in the drain just to keep everything cold with the ice water. Then what happens is every time you get the bow up more than normal, the water leaks out and gets your carpet wet. Some people store their shoes or wet ropes in them. Since most of our guests bring coolers of their own, we use ours just to save room.

[dingleberry]

Insulated softside cooler by American Outdoor does a great job keeping things cold and won't slide around. And it is a perfect fit under the bow filler cushion on my RZ4. Tige sells them (although can be found for much cheaper without the Tige logo): http://store.tige.com/products/tige-insulated-cooler

[skippabcool]

When you say portable and scuffs I am guessing it is a hard plastic one, correct? If so I would get a soft side like Dingle mentioned. We use a softside that came from Costco for about $30 and is huge. It doesn't move and if we need extra room we can put it under the helm.

As for my built in cooler, as has also been mentioned it is where I keep my tool bag and the spray to wipe the boat down after boating.

[johnny]

I'll have to check out one of the soft side coolers. Yes, the one I had was the hard sided cooler. Thanks again for the replies.

Ron

[rensink]

I'll have to check out one of the soft side coolers. Yes, the one I had was the hard sided cooler. Thanks again for the replies.

Ron

You mentioned your cooler kept sliding back from the bow to the cabin you could get the floor mounts from other boats (SeaRay, Mastercraft, Whaler etc.) for the coolers from Igloo to mount the cooler up under the bow seat..

[Nilara]

Let me start out by stating, "I am not a rep. I have no affiliation. Just happy I found something that works."

My brothers '08 x45 had a bow filler cushion which I really liked, along with the front storage compartment that you could put a plug in and use as an extra cooler. So I thought one day that a cooler as a bow filler would be great for those long days when you need to keep extra drinks cool.

I tried my yeti 45 and rtic 45 which has triangle tabs for the latch that stick out. These tabs put way to much stress on the seat vinyl, I was fearful of tearing it while opening the bow seats.

I searched the internet hi and low looking at dimensions of coolers, contacted a couple companies about custom molding one, that's a lot of money.

A friend told me about his buddies cooler company he just started, I looked at the dimensions and thought it would work. Turns out another friend had just ordered there 60qt one that I could try before buying which was perfect.

I set it in, was comfortable with the fit, barely rubs when lifting the seats, I knew it would work so I ordered one myself.

I'm not at home for a couple more days but I'm 99% sure I got the 60qt. 27.9x16.1x17.1"
This cooler holds ice as well as my yeti and rtic coolers.
https://under-the-open-sky.com/best-small-coolers/

The first picture you can see it sitting up in the bow, with some seadeck that I ordered I think from amazon to make it slip resistant. I used cardboard as a template then cut it out, stuck it on and took a razor blade to cut out the drink holders.

33yge2q.jpg

Here it is in the boat, not the best picture of all angles, but it's the only one I have at the time.

I removed the latches which were some screws and remounted them to the end of the cooler. Removed the 1/4" hinging rod and added some stainless hinges to the end to make it open lengthwise.

2ce43k5.jpg
x2ouo9.jpg


I've now been using this setup for 2 seasons and been very happy with the extra cooler space. I have not had any issues with the seat vinyl, have not had the cooler rubbing against the gel coat, and can still close the wind jammer door.

Another friend seen this for the first time the other weekend and said I should pass it along, so here it is. Not sure what other boats this will fit in, but I have been very happy.