How to replace a refrigerator in 1000 easy steps

This post is mainly for fellow Gemini owners (105MC specifically) who have been told that the only way to get the fridge out of the boat is to remove a window and the instrument panel then carefully lift it over your head and out into the cockpit.

We were first introduced to this myth after we bought a replacement fridge and pulled out the old one.  When we tried to get it out the door, we realized the opening was at least 2" too narrow.  A search on the Gemini owner's forum lead us to believe we would need to do major work to get it out. 

The recommended technique would involve:

Removing this panel which means removing the main teak trim piece that spans the whole cabin.

Removing the panel that holds all the instruments and possibly removing the wheel also.

x

That should have left us with a hole that is just big enough to fit the fridge through.  But after we measured everything we weren't convinced that even this would work. We decided to dismantle the old fridge to get it out and see if we could return the new one for something slimmer. While taking apart the old one we discovered that with the removal of only 12 screws the entire cooling unit from the back of the fridge comes off allowing for the fridge to slide neatly out the door.  The same procedure on the new fridge got it in place.

Remove the 5 screws that hold the cooling plate in the fridge

Remove these three screws in the freezer

Remove the 4 bolts from the corners of the cooling unit comes right off.

Now we are back in business with cold beer on hand!