Mini Fridge in a 232 Gulfstream?

julesar

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Has anyone put a mini fridge (AC or DC or both) in a 2006 or later 232 Gulfstream? If so, what size and where did you place the darned thing? If you did, any pics would be helpful. Thanks!
 

Beyond A Wake

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Remember a fridge is not getting cold in a flash when turned on. If the boat is not tied up to shore power you cannot keep it on except when out on the boat. That said you are better off with a good cooler that also usually would be roomier.
This is a real issue for me keeping boat at a marina in a rack, the fridge is just another storage place. When I go out for a loner period and can be tied to shore power or keep generator running when engines are off then it is a different story.
Just to keep in mind.

H
 

magicalbill

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To add to what Beyond A Wake said:

I owned a Gulfstream for 10 years. It does not have shore power, therefore without a generator you can't get A/C Power to it, and I don't know where you'd put a generator on a Gulfstream.

Some fridges run off D/C, but then you have battery drain, although I don't know whether the drain would be significant, since my Marlin fridge runs off A/C.

Besides, there's no place in that cabin to put it where it won't be in the way. there's little enough room down there anyway, and I never used the stove or sink on the port side.

I second the idea of just keeping a cooler on deck. That's what I did for the ten years I owned mine.
 

Belting1313

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Agreed with the above. I have a 2007 232 Gulfstream and I don’t know where you could put a fridge unless you completely modified the area down below. Mine is set up for shore power with a complete AC panel and system but depending on what my plans are I repurpose the live well and fill it with ice. Works good and keeps me from having a cooler on the deck.
 

julesar

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thanks everyone! I installed shore power and an AC panel on the 232 and wired outlets in the cabin, at the helm and under the gunnel on the port side.. I would only use the fridge to keep drinks/snacks cold while the boat is connected to shore power...that way Id have them available if I just wanted to go sit on her at the marina. But as you all have said, there is just no darned room in that cabin. Perhaps one of those small cooler type fridges that I can move around as needed.
 
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SkunkBoat

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I was gonna say get a plug in cooler.

I removed the refrige from my 265 Express. Waste of space. Its in my shed next to the microwave.
Fishboxes & Livewells are insulated. Hold ice better than in Igloo.

What are you gonna keep cold? For how long? You gonna keep a 12 pack of beer? You'll drink it before it gets cold.
You gonna keep some ketchup and mayonaise and pickles?? make a tray of ice cubes?
Its sounds silly when you think about it.:rolleyes: And they cost $700

Realistically, refriges are for 30' + boats with an actual cabin. I don't even consider my 265 as a cabin...its a big cuddy for taking a nap and storing fishing gear.

There is a couple at my marina with a 22 walkaround. They stay on it all weekend. Ice in a cooler lasts a weekend.


What you need is a freezer in your garage. Buy cheap ice at Costco. Take it back & forth to the boat in a cooler.


Sorry. I'm saying all this in a light-hearted tone...:cool:
 
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Mustang65fbk

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While I'm admittedly not the most familiar with the 232 Gulfstream models, I think that just from looking at pictures and depending on what size of a fridge you want, that it could be easily done. I saw the very bottom linked picture on the GW website, which shows there being an insulated ice box underneath the sink, does your boat have this on it as well? If so, you could put your drinks and snacks in there. Or, in the picture included below there is a small area to the right of the sink which has a lid or a latch over it, could you remove that and find a small fridge to put in its place? If you Google "what is the smallest refrigerator you can buy?", it'll come up with a ton of different options with different sizes. Ones small enough to where you can only put a few cans of soda in them or ones that are slightly bigger and to where you can put a few different things in them. You could make a bracket to hold the fridge in place in that spot to the right of the sink so that it doesn't move or so on, but those would be the ideas that I have just looking at a couple of pictures. If you wanted something bigger than that space to the right of the sink in the cabin, as mentioned above your boat has the rather large ice chest/bait box in the stern of the boat that you could load up with ice. Though, if you're just looking for something small that will hold a 6 pack then that would be rather overkill. You could also get a fridge like the one linked below that is charged by a cigarette lighter and have it on the passenger seat or somewhere else near the helm area. I think you should grab a few dimensions and figure out what size of fridge you'll want as there are more than a couple of options from what I can see. The biggest one I linked is about 20" tall, 19" deep and 18" wide. Good luck!




 

magicalbill

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thanks everyone! I installed shore power and an AC panel on the 232 and wired outlets in the cabin, at the helm and under the gunnel on the port side.. I would only use the fridge to keep drinks/snacks cold while the boat is connected to shore power...that way Id have them available if I just wanted to go sit on her at the marina. But as you all have said, there is just no darned room in that cabin. Perhaps one of those small cooler type fridges that I can move around as needed.
At The End Of The Day, it's more trouble than it's worth to try to put a fridge in a cabin that has a useless stove & sink as well.

Agree on the cooler, and you can fill the port livewell with ice. It kept ice for a surprisingly long time, even in hot weather. That worked for me when I owned my 2007.

Just don't ask Skunk to go fishing with you if you have a cooler on board.....
 
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julesar

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I love this forum....great input. I thank you all for taking the time to respond. much to think about!