Cooler option and preferred location.

[Babin Farms]

What kind of foods? We usually grill at the beach or sandbar and put it all in the AO.

 

[Quad]

We picked up an Engel HD30 soft-side cooler this spring. This thing keeps contents colder than any other cooler I've owned, and it stows very well in the bench seat behind the pilot's chair. I could easily fit 3 in there, and we've deliberated picking up a 2nd for longer trips or when we have more people on board.

Instead of ice, we have 6 Tundra Large Purple series ice packs. We use 3 at a time and that will thoroughly chill a cooler full of room-temperature beverages in short order and keep them cold all day.

 

[Troy JK]

I called AO today and they are out of stock on all of the Stow-And-Go coolers. :-/

looks like they have some on Amazon. They want $141 for them tho.

 

[kgower]

What kind of foods? We usually grill at the beach or sandbar and put it all in the AO.

Have gone back and forth regarding a grill, probably on off season project. We usually pick up sub sandwiches chips maybe a small container of fruit et cetera.

 

[SantaFeTrailer]

The AO fits under there nicely as well.

For the guys/gals with bench seats. Grab a Coleman Stackable cooler. The slide right under the benches and are super easy to deal with. Love mine in our little AR190. Holds enough drinks for a family of four all day on the water. Not Yeti efficient, but we usually still have ice at the end of the day, and the drinks are still cold.

We keep two of these onboard most every day. They're $30/ea too !
View attachment 159616

 

[2kwik4u]

The AO fits under there nicely as well.

I was really close to getting an AO for that spot. Found these Colemans, and I'm pretty cheap, so I gave them a try first.

Only real advantage to the colemans is how they stack in the back of the SUV

 

[2kwik4u]

What kind of foods? We usually grill at the beach or sandbar and put it all in the AO.

Side question. What's your grill setup?

 

[SantaFeTrailer]

I'm cheap too. And I own a boat. It's an uneasy fit at best!

I was really close to getting an AO for that spot. Found these Colemans, and I'm pretty cheap, so I gave them a try first.

Only real advantage to the colemans is how they stack in the back of the SUV

 

[Babin Farms]

Side question. What's your grill setup?

I just took you standard mini grill, made a bracket for the bottom of it to fit a square pipe. Got 2 pieces of pipe that slide into one another and pound one into the sand with a rubber mallet and slide the other into and set grill on top. If we’re in deep water I put a towel on the swim deck and just set it on its legs, sit next to it with feet in the water & grill.

If I get a chance I’ll pull it all out of the boat and take pics of it

 

[steve0617]

I have a port side bench (AR195) so we have two Coleman Stackers. Works great

Amazon.com : Coleman 24 Can Party Stacker Cooler : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com : Coleman 24 Can Party Stacker Cooler : Sports & Outdoors

www.amazon.com

 

[212s]

Thanks...I just threw it in there to take a picture. Did yours come with a shoulder strap? My wife likes the AO....that's her initials...lol

Yes but we don't use the strap...we load up the boat at the ramp and the cooler goes right behind the seat and stays there all day.

 

[212s]

The AO looks like a nice option for beverages. We usually put in between 1-2, take a short ride then anchor and have lunch. For those that take food on the boat are you using two coolers one big cooler?

Two coolers - one for drinks and one for food. The main reasons we bought these were easy to store and since they're fabric they don't slide around which is critical when driving aggressive for tubing or fun. A regular plastic cooler will slide around when you hit the throttles.

 

[212s]

What kind of foods? We usually grill at the beach or sandbar and put it all in the AO.

I'd like to grill, but my wife doesn't want to risk grease spilling on the seadek mats or carpet in the storage areas. So we either pack lunches or plan a stop at a restaurant if we want grilled food.

 

[InmyElement]

Trying out the AO Cooler..Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[Babin Farms]

 

[Hathaway.andrew]

Ive been seriously considering removing my co-captain chair and getting as big of a cooler as I can that will fit in that space. Maybe add some cushions to the top of it for when we are underway. Most of the time when we would need to be in that cooler we will be anchored and on sandbars so I’m not so worried about asking people to get up off it all the time…

Did you ever end up trying this? I measured and my Rtic 65 looks like it would fit perfectly in the space.

 

[BigT51]

Amazon has the AO Cooler that fits under the passenger seat of the older 230/240's on sale for $64.83 - really good price.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0030J017U?tag=camelalertsizer-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&language=en_US

Looks like it's back to regular price.

 

[HangOutdoors]

I purchased two of those AO coolers for our trip to Florida. They worked out fantastic on the boat. The hard cooler that came with it is sitting in the garage now. Also we use one in the back of the SUV now when we need a cooler. Amazed how long they keep stuff cold for. Easy access to items, and in my case they both go under the bench seat.

 

[RobbieO]

I purchased two of those AO coolers for our trip to Florida. They worked out fantastic on the boat. The hard cooler that came with it is sitting in the garage now. Also we use one in the back of the SUV now when we need a cooler. Amazed how long they keep stuff cold for. Easy access to items, and in my case they both go under the bench seat.

I agree, they work great. I have the carbon black one. I didn’t use it much last season because I couldn’t find the strap. We had a long walk to the slip at the marina because the water was so low. Too heavy without the strap. I’m going to get a collapsible wagon to carry all our gear down to the slip. (Now that I’m keeping it?

 

[Tex72]

I bought a pair of AO Coolers Stow-N-Go soft sides - they fit nicely behind each seat out of the way and easy to zip open the top for access to drinks without pulling them out. Food containers requires pulling one out to open it more, but that's only when we're stopped to eat anyway. No more coolers in the way of traffic. Thanks to @Babin Farms for the idea:

View attachment 157883

Thanks for this.