The designed propane locker for Bruadair is located in the cockpit, and only holds two 4 lb. bottles. As liveaboards, we go through a lot of propane, and decided we wanted to increase our capacity. Since many of the Hans Christians have teak deck boxes on the foredeck, we decided that adding one not only would allow us to have a place to put larger propane tanks, but it would also keep the traditional lines of the Hans Christian that we like so much.

The locker was designed by my self, and built by our good friend Capt. Dan. It was constructed out of solid teak planks, 7/8” thick 4” wide. The floor was built of 3/4” marine grade plywood. All joints were assembled with biscuits and epoxy, all the corners were also screwed together. The interior and bottom were coated with two coats of West Systems epoxy. There are three drain/vent holes in the bottom. The box was secured to the deck with 5” lag bolts driven from below deck, and sealed with Life Caulk. New propane hose and wiring for the solenoid were run, and the entire system was check for leaks (none found). Dan’s wife Pam made a beautiful canvas cover for the box.

The box now holds two 10 lb. bottles of propane. I also added a small divider between the bottles and the extra space, where we keep our jacklines, anchor snubber line, and hose for the deck wash down system. Thought the deck box does take up a fair amount of space on the foredeck, it is space we don’t use often. We still have plenty of room to work the windlass, and move from one side to the other. The old propane locker will keep one of the 4 lb. bottles for the BBQ, and the rest of the space will go for storage (not sure what yet). Overall we are excited about our new box. Thanks Dan, couldn’t  have done it without you!