Grilling off the bow????

[kb3pwc]

We enjoyed a pleasant weekend out on the Choptank an I saw something that was new to me. Thought this crowd could help me understand.

While anchored off the sand spit on La Trappe Creek, we had a surprising comfortable August evening. Nice mild breeze, no bugs, few wakes. A number of boats also decided to enjoy this pretty spot. As the wonderful smells of dinner started to float around the anchorage, I was surprised to see a gentlemen messing about with his gas grill on a mount....on the bow pulpit or off the lifeline on his bow????

Now maybe I am just stupid but I was ready to grab my fire extinguisher and start rowing should flames lick out of that grill and start to blow around things like roller furling equipment? Wind Scoop? Small Children?

Is this a normal practice? Does anyone do this on a regular basis? My boat at anchor usually sits with the bow into the wind unless the wind is light and the current overpowers the boat's position against our full keel. I do not know how flame proof the items that frequently sit on the front of vessels...never tried to light them, but we never light fires aboard while at a dock or anywhere that is not the transom of the boat or on the stove in the galley.

I welcome your comments to the safety of this practice. Maybe it is safe if it is gas vs charcoal?

Leslie kb3pwc
"Tango" Cabo Rico 34
Oxford, MD

[DoctorK]

I couldn't imagine it being too safe. I'm just trying to figure out how it is more practical to grill off the bow as opposed to the stern, where I, and I imagine, everyone else does it. It seems like a lot of extra work to take everything up there to grill.

[deniseO30]

The grille can be mounted anywhere so why not. assuming he's not totally stupid, he may like to keep it away from the cockpit because of it being crowded. I've mounted mine on the companion way ladder to see it could work there. I could but I won't cook inside the boat with that much heat.

[sailingdog]

If the grill is propane, it really isn't too much of an issue IMHO. Charcoal, with the risk of hot ashes and cinders would be more risky. However, grilling with the grill upwind of the rest of the boat means that smoke, grease, etc., is far more likely to get on the sails and such... so I wouldn't personally recommend doing it that way.

If the boat has a really small cockpit, grilling on the bow might make a bit of sense, since the cockpit may be too crowded for the grill to be safe back there.

[PalmettoSailor]

I've never seen a grill mounted on the pushpit, but I did see a boat that had mounted a fold up table there that served as the fish cleaning station. I thought that was pretty neat. They cleaned up with the anchor washdown hose.

[mccary]

I have done a lot of grilling on the boat. The only time this makes any sense to me is while in a slip and the wind is coming the wrong direction. Using a grill off the bow while at anchor seems to be unsafe to me; any fire has the wind blowing toward the boat, and is as far as possible from fire extinguishers, etc. And bout smoke from gas grills, there can be plenty of smoke from a gas grill.

[deniseO30]

It seems to work best on my boat with the boarding ladder down and hanging out over the water/transom PITA getting around the wheel though.

[T37SOLARE]

Darwin Awards are awarded annually...

[SVAuspicious]

Just speculation on my part, but perhaps he was tired of scrubbing drippings off the transom and thought it would be a better idea.

Guessing ...