storage place

i notices that in the cockpit there is very little storage space. what is your recommendation on how to store the fuel tank, ropes, fenders, anchor, etc. wet things or others, that you don't want to store in the cabin? did anyone has an experience with building a storage compartment under the seats in the cockpit?

It's time for you to post some photographs or tell us which of the options shown at:
https://www.seahawk17.org.uk/boat-description-abovedecks.php#lockers
are most like your boat.

If yours is a Reedcraft boat, then I'd expect them to be similar to the second picture in the group, unless you have a four-berth then I'd expect it to have lockers like the third example.

You can't really create locker space further forward in the cockpit unless you abandon the ability to sleep aboard. One solution, that you'll gather I was not keen on is described at:
https://www.seahawk17.org.uk/owners-custom-cockpits.php#hawkeye
The trouble with using the space that way is that it is effectively part of the cabin and it wouldn't stop the fumes from a petrol tank reaching you while sleeping.

Being a Broads sailor I did not have an anchor. I used a mudweight instead. That was stored in the locker in the bows and deployed from the forehatch. There are pictures showing me and the mudweight at:
https://forum.seahawk17.org.uk/Forehatch-Access-td4024460.html

My rond anchors (L-shaped hooks for mooring to river banks), mooring lines and fenders - all I ever needed to have in the cockpit - were stored in the cockpit lockers, both of which had plywood covered hinged at the bottom. Don't make the mistake of hinging locker lids at the top as it then takes one hand to hold the lid open while you put stuff in or take it out.
You can see a report of what happened when I emptied my lockers in February 2012 at:
https://blog.gregafloat.org.uk/More-is-Cleared-from-Just-17-td3729756.html
(The site desperately needs an overhaul as it's not mobile-friendly currently!)

I avoided the problem of where to store a petrol tank by using an electric outboard. That's probably not an acceptable solution for you. Had I ever needed extra storage I did consider constructing something that used the space aft under the sweep of the tlller.

On my boat that would have been awkward because the way the locker lids hinge down. But if your lockers have no lids, it might be possible to build a tray a little off the sole (so any rain in the cockpit can still drain through the holes in the transom) or fit a bar a few centimetres off the sole that would stop a petrol tank from moving around.

My father also had a SeaHawk:
http://www.seahawk17.org.uk/boat-gallery-uk-jemima.php
From what I remember, the fuel tank used to go in the engine locker during the day, and because, like the Hawk-eye locker, it was not separated from the cabin, I put the tank in the cockpit overnight.

I'd like to hear what others do with their petrol tanks!

GregSeaHawk wrote

My rond anchors (L-shaped hooks for mooring to river banks), mooring lines and fenders - all I ever needed to have in the cockpit

I lied!
I also kept a plastic box in one of the cockpit lockers in which I stored a part-used and spare gas cartridges for the cooker.

Hi Greg 

Here’s a photo of one of our lockers.  The opposite side is the same.  We can get two 5-litre petrol cans and the outboard oil into one locker, and the one opposite has two batteries and the power switches.  They originally had varnished plywood hinged down doors but we managed to find something more easily maintainable at Mr Plastic in Norwich.  You’ll see there’s also a round plastic cover under my sister’s right leg.  It came with the boat and goes through into the under-seat sleeping area, but we’ve never managed to open it in almost 40 years!  We have a large plastic box in the cabin under the seat for nautical oddments.

sure. i will post photos when the boat arrives here.
thanks for your help. building a small box just under the tiller, seems like a good solution for the fuel tank. i will look into it.
how does it go with your el-motor? how much power does it have? are you using it only to go in and out the marina? does it have enough power to drive the boat against a strong wind?

nice!! what about the fenders? do you just leave them hanging while sailing? or it is a big no-no like in Denmark (something about sea elegance or manners)

Hi Yoram,

It's the same convention over here. We snobs on the Norfolk Broads always turn our noses up at the folks in hire cruisers who run with them dangling over the sides! :-)

(Hope there's not too much idiom that that last sentence for you!)

Incidentally, those cockpit lockers in Marsh Marigold are typical of Reedcraft four-berth boats.

I have just realised that a few years ago Victoria sent me, long requested, pictures of the cabin fittings in her boat. Perry, one of the regulars here, once commented that photos of the cabin of my boat was an inspiration to him, but I suspect that Victoria's will beat it.

Hers is the only example I know that is built to take the four-berth cabin moulding (the cockpit lockers and mast bracing) yet lacks it. Instead it has a unique hand-built cabin fit-out that has a run of seating/berths from the bow to cabin door to starboard and to port, an impressive galley fitting that includes a swinging shelf on which a cooker can be mounted.

I'll try to make time to get the pictures on the site before the end of the week!

GregSeaHawk wrote

Hi Yoram,

It's the same convention over here. We snobs on the Norfolk Broads always turn our noses up at the folks in hire cruisers who run with them dangling over the sides! :-)

i agree. this is one of the first things i did when trying to integrate in another culture  

I like the locker, but how do you get at the drainage hole corks?