Has anyone installed a propane locker on their J-30? I am planning to put one in mine and am looking for ideas that have worked (or not worked). Thanks for your help as always.

S/V Quicksilver #344

Rosebud, Hull 201, already had a propane locker installed when I bought her in 1985. Given that everything on a boat is a compromise, the arrangement has worked okay for racing and very well for cruising. The locker is at the aft end of the cockpit between the cockpit drains where the engine control panel is normally. The locker is made of teak and extends from the cockpit sole to the height of the stern gunwale. It has a piano=hinges lid and locks with a padlock hasp. There are large drain holes at the aft end of each side panel adjacent to the cockpit drains.

The engine control panel was relocated to the starboard side of the cockpit forward of the cockpit locker hatch such that the backside of the panel is accessible inside the locker. The wiring is rerouted to the back of the panel inside the locker. The kill knob is relocated to inside the locker at the aft (deep) end.

Thanks for the info. Did anyone else have another solution? I hate to clutter up the deck. I am thinking along the lines of the port lazerette.

I have seen one other configuration and looked into some others while considering my various options.

Another J30 locally mounted the propane tank on the deck directly below the boomvang. I personally did not like this idea but it would and did work for these guys. The boat was sold before I had a chance to look at the details of the installation.

Another idea is to hang the tank off the stern. Its ugly but does not require the modifications necessary to install a locker in the boat. You can set it up so it can be removed when not in use.

A third option is to go with one of those adapters that allow you to use the little one pound Coleman propane tanks. The Newport heater I was looking at included this option. It was pretty slick. The little tank would last up to 7 hours. You just have to carry lots of spares.

If you are dead set on a locker, consider purchasing one of the premade lockers and installing it in place of the anchor locker. The premade lockers basically look like a bucket with a sealed toilet seat on top.

I ended up installing kerosene heat. Propane was just too much of a pain.

Thanks again for all the ideas. The anchor locker was something I had never thought of. I don't think it would be very practical, but it has me thinking about other options. We currently have a kerosene heater in Quicksilver. Although it does work, it takes a very long time to start, blows a lot of cold air around when it is shutting down and is a down right ugly installation. It also doesn't have the tank vented overboard and has a tendency to leak at times. I have purchased one of the Dickinson Marine heaters knowing I would be able to set up the propane somehow. I am the eternal optimist. I am just looking for the cleanest and safest installation I can come up with and do it right the first time. Again, thanks for the ideas.

Steve #344

If you're open to alternatives, you might want to consider a diesel heater. Mondial was originally delivered to the the Pacific Northwest where heaters are almost a required option, apparently. In our case, it was mounted on the bulkhead just to the left of the door. They chimney goes up through a fitting in the coach roof, and it about midway between the mast partners and the shroud base. This heater did not have a fan, so the previous owner replaced the port bulkhead light with a 12 volt fan. We found that this setup could turn the boat into a sauna, if that's what we wanted!

I installed a propane tank, two burner force ten cook top and heater a couple of years ago. Seaward makes a small, plastic locker that has a 4lb tank, regulator and fittings. It fit, with minor modification, in the port lazerette locker. I then plumbed the vent out the stern and ran hose to the stove and heater. I would always recommend a sniffer with automatic shutoff. It is a very clean and neat installation and the tank is large enough that my wife and I have gone on a two week cruise, cooking and running the heater at night without running out. While I added about 25 lb of weight to the boat it definitely extended our cruising season.

Thanks again for the help/advice. I have purchased a Dickinson Marine P9000 cabin heater. I am still waiting for the Trident propane locker and the rest of the "stuff" to connect it all together to arrive. It sounds like you installed your's much the same way I have in mind to do mine. I opted for a 10 lb. bottle to cut down on the refilling and maybe extend our range a bit.