Live Aboard

[David A]

My wife and I are about to retire and live aboard. We are considering getting a convection microwave oven. I dont know how moch we are going to be in slip and how much on ancor yet. We would appreciate any advice or suggestions we can get. We have a 1980 33' Morgan OI Pilothouse.
Thanks,
David

[btrayfors]

What cha lookin' for? Advice on retirement? On living aboard? On microwave ovens? On how much time to spend at anchor? On systems to power your microwave oven?

Give us just a hint....

[Idiens]

How much do you use a microwave at home? It won't change much.

[Freesail99]

How big is your inverter ?

[sailingdog]

How big is your house battery bank? Also, what charging sources do you have on the boat? Microwave ovens tend to draw a fair amount of juice..

[uspirate]

how big is your Bank?

[camaraderie]

David...there is no problem with a micro/convection at the dock and indeed it is an excellent way to cook since you can get excellent results without heating up the boat as much.
Convection is pretty much out of the question on the hook but you can use the microwave only option to heat veggies and stuff briefly if you have a good inverter and battery bank.

[David A]

It was a question on regular microwave or convection microwave oven ?

David:

[sailingdog]

Originally Posted by David A

It was a question on regular microwave or convection microwave oven ?

David:

Kind of depends on how much time you'll be at a dock with shorepower, and how much time you spend on the hook. If you're mostly at a dock, get the convection/microwave... if on the hook, get the microwave only oven.

You'll still need a fairly hefty battery bank and inverter to run it though. Also, you will need to have some non-engine-based way of charging your batteries—either wind or solar.

[GentleBreeze]

Worked for Sharp Electronics many years up to '98 and worked in the consumer electronics area which covered microwaves.

Be aware that a convection M/W must be vented. Manufacturers make vent kits for each of their convection units. It would be unsafe to operate a convection M/W in the confinds used by regular microwaves as the heat would be too great and pose a fire hazard. Consult the installation specs with your oven before purchasing it to make sure you have room to install and meed space requirements.