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Why you NEED a 26' Benny: All the Stuff in put in my 26LX - Storage!!!

LaurencetheAdventurer

LaurencetheAdventurer

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Hello! Ok, I finally got this done - Why you need a 26' Benny: We drive about 5 hours to the lake, which is then docked a few hundred yards from our little RV ( we just sleep there - the other 18 hours is on the Benny) during the summer. So we stuffed our boat full of supplies. Attached is a diagram, summary and pictures of how we utilized all the storage and created some unique solutions including modifying the Privacy Curtain with folding brackets that freed up a huge amount of space in the SB and customizing racks (using Railblaza mounts) to hold the ISup, Wakeboards and Zup.

Ok, Ok, - stop laughing...... Havasu Summer Starts in April!
 

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LaurencetheAdventurer said:
Hello! Ok, I finally got this done - Why you need a 26' Benny: We drive about 5 hours to the lake, which is then docked a few hundred yards from our little RV ( we just sleep there - the other 18 hours is on the Benny) during the summer. So we stuffed our boat full of supplies. Attached is a diagram, summary and pictures of how we utilized all the storage and created some unique solutions including modifying the Privacy Curtain with folding brackets that freed up a huge amount of space in the SB and customizing racks (using Railblaza mounts) to hold the ISup, Wakeboards and Zup.

Ok, Ok, - stop laughing...... Havasu Summer Starts in April!
Click to expand...
On our old Benny we had some serious storage compartments and we filled it up! That's when we used to keep our boat on the trailer at the marina and launched it and retrieved it every time we went out. We took everything with us for a full day on the water! But over the years we realized that we didn't need all of that stuff every time we went out. So we went through and streamlined what we really needed onboard! We thought of brackets for our SUP but we ended up getting a high quality inflatable SUP instead. But in your case you did a great job of maximizing all of that storage space! Really impressive!!!
 
Amazing. Thanks for posting the diagram and photos.
 
Thanks so much for all this detail and these photos. What a great use of space for all these items.

Might you have any additional details on the folding shelf bracket modification? Did you basically remove the whole black frame and were able to replace it with those flip up brackets? It looks like the new brackets were installed further to the outside of the original brackets? Did you use the longest ones you could find? Such a great idea! I don't have a swing back, but even with the changing station in the lounger up front, that mechanism takes up so much of the space under the seat, not to mention the weight of all that metal.

Also, any chance for some close-ups of the Railblaza mounts and racks?
 
tothetrail said:
Thanks so much for all this detail and these photos. What a great use of space for all these items.

Might you have any additional details on the folding shelf bracket modification? Did you basically remove the whole black frame and were able to replace it with those flip up brackets? It looks like the new brackets were installed further to the outside of the original brackets? Did you use the longest ones you could find? Such a great idea! I don't have a swing back, but even with the changing station in the lounger up front, that mechanism takes up so much of the space under the seat, not to mention the weight of all that metal.

Also, any chance for some close-ups of the Railblaza mounts and racks?
Click to expand...
Privacy: Hello - sorry, the "as building" pictures of the custom privacy curtain are missing. Picture attached of the 24" bracket and finished product. I mounted the bracket to the underside of the SB. I could not drill through the SS bracket rails, so I mounted the square wood trim and used that to install the snaps. Next trip I will get some new pictures. Yes, the brackets are outside the original brackets (thus wider) and had to shorten the length, but still works great and can snap all the bottoms with no issue. Trick was to spend the extra time with helping hands to have the bottom snaps all in place then customize the installation spot for the new brackets. I went from being able to store almost nothing in the SB, to a LOT. I only had to add a few snaps at the top to get a snug fit. Only used it about 4 times all summer.
 
tothetrail said:
Thanks so much for all this detail and these photos. What a great use of space for all these items.

Might you have any additional details on the folding shelf bracket modification? Did you basically remove the whole black frame and were able to replace it with those flip up brackets? It looks like the new brackets were installed further to the outside of the original brackets? Did you use the longest ones you could find? Such a great idea! I don't have a swing back, but even with the changing station in the lounger up front, that mechanism takes up so much of the space under the seat, not to mention the weight of all that metal.

Also, any chance for some close-ups of the Railblaza mounts and racks?
Click to expand...
Railblaza: If you search the posts I did post a few pictures pictures. That was a project! I spent the 5 months waiting for the boat to figure this out....LOL. I had to sand the mounts to make them thinner with table sander, The key was to use a sharp punch to dent the railing before trying to drill. I then created a jig to match the top hole with the bottom hole. I tried two different "bendy drill adaptors" - both broke after the 1st hole. If you want more details, reply to the original post and will dig them out.
 
LaurencetheAdventurer said:
Privacy: Hello - sorry, the "as building" pictures of the custom privacy curtain are missing. Picture attached of the 24" bracket and finished product. I mounted the bracket to the underside of the SB. I could not drill through the SS bracket rails, so I mounted the square wood trim and used that to install the snaps. Next trip I will get some new pictures. Yes, the brackets are outside the original brackets (thus wider) and had to shorten the length, but still works great and can snap all the bottoms with no issue. Trick was to spend the extra time with helping hands to have the bottom snaps all in place then customize the installation spot for the new brackets. I went from being able to store almost nothing in the SB, to a LOT. I only had to add a few snaps at the top to get a snug fit. Only used it about 4 times all summer.
Click to expand...
Exactly what I needed, I see now. Thanks again.
 
LaurencetheAdventurer said:
Railblaza: If you search the posts I did post a few pictures pictures. That was a project! I spent the 5 months waiting for the boat to figure this out....LOL. I had to sand the mounts to make them thinner with table sander, The key was to use a sharp punch to dent the railing before trying to drill. I then created a jig to match the top hole with the bottom hole. I tried two different "bendy drill adaptors" - both broke after the 1st hole. If you want more details, reply to the original post and will dig them out.
Click to expand...
Will do, thanks!
 
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