270 fv vee berth removal

99270fv

i want to remove the vee berth top plates in order to cut larger access holes in them. I am having trouble locating the fasteners that hold them. anyone ever done this or know how they are fastened?   

TikiHut2

Need some clarity on that one...... Vee berth top plates?

Babyboomer

?????? Had a 270 for 16 years V Plates? Take a Picture

Britinusa

Maybe he is refering to the storage area under the seat cushions?

Babyboomer

That part of the boat is part of the mold

MarkB

He says he wants to cut "larger" access holes, implying there are access holes already there.  What access holes do you have in your FV's??

Babyboomer

There is one on both sides but I wouldn't want to cut into the structure

MarkB

What do they access at the moment?

TikiHut2

Agreed with Boomer. imho, EVERYTHING in the walls of the bow (lateral or vertical) act as structure and any holes cut into it will compromise what the engineer wanted to accomplish for rigidity in the hull, bow and adjoining seating area. Stowage compartments have minimally sized cutouts to give you some access but not enough to compromise a lateral support (aka, the V-berth seat structure).

 Really, it's all just a guess of what the intention of the OP was. we'll know when he shows back up with relevant info.

Mike

Britinusa

mine has a storage in the v part of the seating area as well as under the seats on the side.

99270fv

yes the top plate that I am talking about is the top of the vee berth storage area under the vee cushions. they currently have a opening of 12" x 18" located closer to the back of the storage area. this restricts access to the forward area of this storage compartment. I want to cut the hole out and make this opening run the entire length oh the top plate and line the storage compartment with vinyl and cut a starboard cap to place in the opening.    storage on our rinkers are limited with a lot of voids that can be utilized. I agree that you can and should not diminish the structural integrity. lateral integrity in the bow (vee berth) area is provided by the glassed in floor.     

TikiHut2

The largest unused space to be found on our '04 270 is under the cockpit sink, and it's also amidsip where you want to try and keep most weight. I found the stowage under the V-berth seats to be so inconvenient to access that I rarely used them but good luck and post some pics of your mod.

Here's a shot of my simple mod to easily stow a huge cooler(my Gott 60 slides all the way in for a perfect fit), tools, shore power cord AND tackle boxes. All out of the way but still readily accessible right where the action is. I do recall that I used to stow my disco light under the V-berth seats for dance nights at anchor. A good sailor is always ready for the dancing girls.   Sadly, it died a slow death in there.....
Mike

Babyboomer

On the 99 there is great swim noodle storage behind the seat just lift the garbage bin lid and look great long tunnel there

Dream_Inn

 Tiki, that disco light took one too many bounces being so far forward in the boat.  Need to keep those necessities a bit further aft in the boat.     I used to keep that area under the sink in my 310 for a big inflatable island...now I keep it underneath my platform seat.

99270fv

yes babyboom I found that area for the swim noodles that you are talking about. I cut a 8 1/2" x 24" opening behind my passenger seat back and lined that area with vinyl and have my camper enclosure stored there. in fact a used a swim noodle wrapped  in terry cloth the length of the isinglass to roll them up on. I still have room for a lot of other stuff. will probably move my life jackets there as well. 

I am going to investigate further the idea of enlarging the vee berth openings. I will be at the Atlanta boat show this wkend getting ideas. trying to get ready for boating season. hvac installed, elec head installed, custom made bow sun pads installed, thru hulls changed to stainless steel, individual volume controls installed on each speaker, have led underwater lights not installed maybe this wkend. looking to change all lights to led.  

MarkB

Pool noodles to help roll up eisssenglass, now that's a good idea.

TikiHut2

Now that's a project guy after my own heart. Pimping out an older 270 has my respect. Don't bypass the big stuff (motor/OD) for the bling. She'll return the favor I'm sure.

LED bulbs are super simple plug-n-play and will save you an enormous amount of house power when at anchor. Here's what I used everywhere in the cabin. Only pennies for each on Ebay. I also replaced the anchor lite bulb with LED but the link evades me.
Good luck and fair winds.
Mike

99270fv

installed led light strip under the vee berth back rest today. tiki you say that you used the above bulbs every where in the cabin. does that mean the overhead lights and the wall and step courtesy lights? I tried a 192 led replacement bulb in the courtesy lights but it is too tall and will not allow the lens to be put back on. 

MarkB

Tina are those LED bulbs directly compatible with the cabin light sockets. I see the pins are off the side, but I believe the incandescent bulb pins are at the back?

TikiHut2

They were direct plug in fit to replace my cabin ceiling fixt bulbs in our 04 270.

Cost like .50c e from the far east. ;D

99270fv

good hit with the bulbs Tiki direct plug and play for the overhead lights!! found a ge194 led bulb at oreilys  for the step and courtesy lights! transom and stern light bulbs replaced with led, also the fluorescent bulb in head replaced with led. bow navigation lights to be replaced this wkend. still investigating vee berth storage improvement.  also looking to install a countertop extension to the galley. trying to find one to match the existing counter.

99270fv

vee berth bow storage impovement