Few things are more frustrating than a sticky drawer. More than just a frustration, a sticky drawer eventually becomes a major repair project. Tugging and jerking the drawer open strains the joints holding the front piece to the rest of the box. In time, the front piece comes adrift and the drawer spills its contents to the cabin sole. There's no reason to let things get that bad. Fixing a sticky drawer is seldom difficult.

Finding the exact spot where the drawer is sticking can take a bit of detective work. It's often hidden from view by the box of the drawer itself. Removing the drawer immediately above or below the sticky one may give enough access to see the problem. Moisture causes wood to swell, particularly boats where the atmosphere is always damp compared to the average home. Swollen wooden guides and runners are a major cause of sticky drawers.

The easiest fix is to plane, file or sand down the offending wood until the drawer moves easily once again. A 6-inch block plane gets the job done quickly, but requires some woodworking skill. Much less skill is needed to use a wood rasp for rough cutting and then sandpaper to smooth things out until the drawer move smoothly again. The only disadvantage of filing and sanding is that it takes longer than a block plane. Work slowly and stop often to check the fit. Taking off too much wood can create bigger problems than the original sticky drawer.

Drawer Lubrication

Swollen wood is not always the problem. Friction between the guides and the drawer itself can cause sticking. This is common with all-wood construction. Any lubricant from kitchen fat to winch grease could be used to reduce friction, but these might stain clothing stored in the drawer. Beeswax, candle wax or even a child's wax crayon rubbed on the sticky wood usually provides enough slipperyness without creating a mess.

Expect a waxed drawer to move easily for a while and then begin to stick again. Opening and closing the drawer wears away the thin coat of wax lubrication. It may take several rubbings to thoroughly saturate the sliding surfaces with wax. Once saturation is reached, the drawer should work for years without further attention.

Molded plastic drawers are common today. These seldom stick because they don't change size with changes in the humidity. Powdered Teflon (r) spray lubricant is a good way to handle the odd case of a sticky plastic drawer. If that doesn't work, check the alignment of the guides on which the drawer slides. Chances are, there's a mechanical alignment problem when a plastic drawer does not slide easily.

Metal guides with ball bearing rollers are seldom used on boats because of obvious problems with rust. This type of drawer guide can be kept relatively free moving with regular application of a moisture-displacing spray lubricant such as Boeshield T-9 (r), WD-40 (r) or CRC (r). Don't use conventional grease. Aside from being messy, grease tends to collect dirt which eventually leads to hard opening or closing of the drawer.