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The Galley - Must Haves, Don't Needs & Wish List

27K views 106 replies 46 participants last post by  Rhapsody-NS27 
#1 ·
So we pulled the trigger and it's all working out (rather smoothly, which has us worried) that we'll be sailing our new (to us) liveaboard cruiser, a 1978 43' Gulfstar Mark II down to our marina this weekend! Over the next 3 weeks we'll be moving aboard and doing the purge of all of our land life possessions. We've already gotten rid of all the furniture and anything that for sure isn't going aboard but we haven't yet dealt with our kitchen. So I thought I'd get some advice from seasoned liveaboards...

  • What are the must-haves in the galley?
  • What did you move aboard that you ended up never needing/using?
  • If you had a wish list for your galley what would it be?
  • Do you really need to only use plastic plates, cups, etc?
  • Any refits to your storage/cabinetry that you did that was a gamechanger?
  • Moisture issues for cooking ingredients?

I really like to cook and can be pretty ambitious at times which I don't expect will stop once aboard, just change. I want to be sure we have what we need to cook up good, nutritious and hearty food to get through our first winter aboard in New Hampshire! :eek:

Any tips, lists, thoughts would be very appreciated!

Cheers!
 
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#2 ·
FWIW - maybe plastic plates and utensils made sense decades ago when the earth and its resources seemed limitless, but I think it is high time we did away with them. I don't think paper is much better.
Especially for a liveaboard, regular tableware seems like the way to go.
 
#50 ·
First thing we decided on when we moved aboard was that this was our home and we were not camping, so all the plastic stuff went away and we loaded up some rugged crockery and our flatwear. We also went with glass wine glasses, recognizing we occasionally break one, but they are easily replaced.
 
#33 ·
Donna,

I am not at all convinced about the respectable but wishing to be hip we ordered one yesterday. Should be interesting as we went for about the smallest we could find whereas most people seem to go for massive when they buy a PC.

Our choice was dictated by the fact that 90% of the time there is only the two of us on board so something that can handle two people's needs easily and four at a push seemed perfect. At only 22cm diameter it is also a perfect size for a two burner boat stove. We shall see how it pans out. Yes I am slightly concerned that it will turn out to be too small but I'm quietly confident.



It is coming from overseas so will be a few weeks before I see it and can test it but I'll report back.
 
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#5 · (Edited)
Congrats. I am good friends with the previous owners of Zephyr. Incredibly nice folks.

We live aboard in portland and are also members of CYC.

Answers to your question.

Need(for us at least):
- Home size galley sink and faucet with pullout sprayer. Many boat sinks are so small normal sized plates do not lie flat. Very difficult to wash and rinse cooking pans too.
- Under sink cold water filter.
- Folding dish rack
- Conventional SS cutlery and melamine dishes. No reason of plastic or paper.
- Can crusher

Not needed:
- Microwave

Previous owner added the shelf and microwave above the sink. We occasionally use the MW but mostly use it for storage.

http://www.tkronaboat.com/Projects/Caliber%2040%20projects/Galley%20Shelf%20Cabinet/slides/DSCN1351.html

Some other easy upgrades we did to make life easier. Pneumatic struts to hold up icebox lids. Built in dishwashing soap dispenser.
 
#6 ·
Wow! Thanks everyone, so helpful. Yes, I am definitely not considering using 'disposable' plastic - I am a VERY green person and would never consider that, it's against my "religion" :). I guess I meant melamine vs. our porcelain dinner plates - porcelain definitely doesn't sound like it would work, So it sounds like melamine is the way to go.

@treilley you're right the previous owners are wonderful people! We feel very lucky to have found Zephyr she is a gorgeous and well-cared for boat. Portland is a fantastic spot to liveaboard - if you ever come down to Portsmouth area you'll have to look us up!
So the undersink filter - is that a drinking water filter? What type? I saw you also have a Brita pitcher. I'd love to figure out how to use our water tanks for drinking water rather than the buying and dealing with the gallon jugs that I've done on other live aboards.
 
#7 ·
we do real plates and ss flatware. Glass glasses and bowls. The camp/expansion crap is useless for us. Much rather have a good pyrex than plastic.

we took the 20 space wine glass holder out

Other than popcorn and oatmeal, our microwave is seldom used, if at all.

We keep all the dry goods in small air tight containers, and we do throw some out more often than when at home...just too damp, or a forgotten top or loose lid.

We LOVE our small "crock pot" but noticed when we moved our kid out to grad school that the markets all have large or two/three crock units. small is hard to find.

like Donna, we are looking for a small burner sized pressure cooker, but most are large or huge and with only two of us, not sure how that will work.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Dinks, buy the Melamine plates from a chandlery and ensure they have the rubber nonskid on the bottoms.

The under sink filter is a drinking water filter only on the cold supply. I believe it is a Kenmore model.

The pitcher is redundant filtering. We use the pitcher to save on water when waiting for the hot water to come up. We simply fill the pitcher until the water is hot.

Another tip I just thought of. Throw out all your round storage containers and buy square. Much more efficient use of limited storage.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Home depot/Lowe's etc all have filter kits for under sink.....u want the .5 micro combo carbon ceramic ones. buy a couple extra filters and your good for years.
And camping sux after 2 weeks so just Use the plates/glasses etc u have.
bead of silcon on bottom helps with non skid.
Correlle is nicer than melamine imo if your going to buy new.
Don't buy anything in a marine store.
 
#14 ·
Well, we have been LA on/off since about 1999, and spending very long weekends aboard since 1995. I will give you my opinions. First, a few disclosures:

1) We are cruisers. We like getting out of the slip and going places, so this is not all pure LA.

2) Most of our experience is with kids.

3) We are in the south (S Fl now, then further south where it may be even hotter...)

Flatware, plates, knives, etc...​

So, lets see. We started off with the camping gear business. After all I grew up camping. DIdn't take long before it felt like I was camping in my home. We then went to Corelle, then the non-skid plastic kind of stuff you get at West Marine or The Galleyware Company, and finally nice china.

I came to hate the Corelle for the boat. It is cheap. That is true. But it always liked to scratch up and inevitably cracked or chipped. It has no place on our boat now. The best thing we have had for long term is the Plastic (Melamine???? I have no idea what it is made of) stuff from the West Marine or Galleyware Company. It looks nautical and has lasted and works in a microwave. It does not stain and has nonskid. It clean up easy and stacks well. The cost sucks, but it is good everday stuff and we have a set here.

We also have a nice set of China. We use this depending on where we are and who is coming over. When the kids are having cereal outside, well, its the non-skid stuff. When we are having friends over, it is china or when we are at a good anchorage when we think it will not have an accident.

I would keep a small pack of paper plates on board. We use them a bit. They are especially nice on dock parties or when cleaning up after dishes is not desirable. Remember, everything gets hand washed now. Its also a lot easier to dispose of paper plates than plastic. We get rid of all plastic on our boat where we can.

We use nice SS silverware. I detest cheap silverware that is not balanced and falls off your plate. Now I sound like a snob, but that is a pet peeve (esp with kids).

We have pretty much eliminated all (ALL) glass off the boat. Instead, we only use crystal glasses for wine and mixed drinks (or when having friends over). Crystal doesn't seem to explode when it drops into millions of little shards like glass. Glass (and even crystal to a point) is dangerous on a boat. However, it makes drinking wine more enjoyable and makes for nicer evenings with friends when entertaining.

We also carry nice plastic cups that are good for everday and a couple of plastic wine glasses.

We are fans of good knives. I personally use Shuns for the most part, with a few Wuhstoffs and Hinkels (sp??). Shuns are by and far the best knife I have ever owned... but that is another subject.

Microwaves​

I am a HUGE fan of microwaves on boats... especially if you have a large inverter. It gets more use than probably anything on our boat. We can heat up food with minimum energy and heat into the cabin. THings that might tae an hour (baked potatoe) now takes 5 minutes. Soups are a snap, as is bacon, leftovers, etc. And most of all, fresh popped popcorn on a long nights watch at 2am has a way of keeping my crew from a mutiny. Now again, we live where it gets really hot and cooking a huge meal down below (including all the steam and moisture and fumes) is very undesirable at times. That may not be the case for others up north where you dont mind the heat or moisture. But down here, if my microwave crapped out, I would be at the store in no time to get a new one. THey are super cheap and very reliable and use very little power. they are also a backup for if you run out propane (errhmm.... which always seems to happen right in the middle of a nice meal).

Pressure Cooker​

We didn't use it a lot before recently but have begun using it at Wing-N-Wings suggestion (I owed her for the grill, anyways). Suprisingly, we are growing accustomed to it. What we like is that it cooks quickly and uses less energy (ie heat in the cabin) than not using it. I would suggest it if you have room. Issue with the pressure cooker is it takes a lot of room.

Propane​

Get a spare cylinder of propane.

Grills​

I am a huge fan of grills on boats (everyone hre makes fun of me). 90% of the meals we do is on the grill for our meats. Again, it keeps the heat and fumes out of the cabin and quite candidly, it gives room for two to work. If you are not much of a griller at home though, I suspect you wouldn't be on the boat either. But when you have to go below at an anchorage and it is 90-100 degrees outside, and the thought of starting up the oven makes you nauseus, that grill sure will look appealing!!!

Vacuseal​

Those things are AWESOME! They will save you money and probably one of the best things we have put on board. Instead of shopping at your local grocery store, you can load up (esp before taking off cruising) at Sams/Costco and save a lot of money and keep everything much fresher. Also reduces the room they take up and takes the scent out of things (ie, roaches and ants and mice). Worth its weight in gold.

Other tidbits:​

Collapsible strainer. Cheese grinder (we buy our cheese in blocks and grind on demand... cheaper and lasts longer and takes up less space). Nesting cookware is awesome and I would sure find the money for that. We carry two nice Caphalon non-skid skillets. Toaster. Can opener. Wine opener. Two good paris of scissors (one for utility and one for food). Electric knife for filleting fresh catch. We use a Brita water filter (large one) and keep lots of extra filters. We finally got used to the aluminum standup ice trays and use a meat pounder to crack up the ice ($2/bag at most marinas... if they are nice). We brought a bread maker for years and used it twice. It is no longer on my boat. 2 good roasting pans that fits in your over (better measure). 2 aim-a-flames (the type that dont blow out). A fan pointing at galley. Nice non-breakable platter. Essential Galley Companion by Amanda Swan-Neal (though we don't agree on the bread maker).

Brian
 
#16 · (Edited)
Hey, welcome to SN and to living aboard!

What to bring in your galley is rather individual - how do you like to cook, what do you eat, where will you cruise, all affect your choices.

We use Corelle dishes - just nice enough to not feel like camping, just sturdy enough to get knocked about a bit. Never worried about the nonskid bottoms; in our application, if its bouncy enough to worry about dishes sliding off the table, we're probably not going to be doing a sit-down dinner. Also get deeper bowls than you would normally and only fill them half full (we use the serving bowls instead of the cereal-size shallow bowls) its also likely that the contents are going to slosh a bit. Unbreakable wine glasses or Tervis tumblers.

We have a marine 4-pot nesting cookware set with removable handles, Fagor, that works wonderfully and stows in 1 cubic foot. A 5 or 6 liter pressure cooker works quite well for 2 people and is super-efficient in both water and power on the boat, (and is very hip ;) ) a good website for learning to use it is here: hip pressure cooking - pressure cooker recipes & tips! Collapsible silicon strainer and mixing bowls from Target. A good set of knives and we built a strap to hold them in a locker - they'd get knocked around too much in a drawer. (This was the only gamechanger storage wise. Everything else is just stowed where it won't rattle.)

We pretty much got rid of all electric appliances, ESPECIALLY anything that uses electricity to make heat - very inefficient. For coffee, heat the water on the stove and use a melitta drip or GSI (http://www.gsioutdoors.com/products/pdp/30_oz_java_drip/); The closest we come to an electric appliance is a battery-operated immersion blender. You don't say whether you'll be living in a marina or on the hook after this first winter; if power will be an issue, like living on the hook, Home - Lehmans.com is an interesting source of non-electric appliances.

Save the containers from anything your family buys regularly to use for storage of dry foods - we have a nice set of widemouth gallon plastic jars from protein powder that now hold all our bulk oatmeal, flour, pasta, etc and smaller ones from specialty rice and dried beans; another friend collects peanut jars from Costco.

You'll think about stowage differently than you would on land. Instead of grouping like things together, like all foods and dishes and pots and pans near the galley, where you would logically think of them; you will now store things based on which locker is very dry and which tends to moisture, or which is below the waterline (nice consistent temperature for your wine) and which above, and the size and shape of the locker, and so on. Don't sweat the "logic" of your system, things will get stored where they make sense to YOU.

Here's something to try while you're still at home. Take everything - every.single.thing - from your kitchen cabinets and put it in the basement. Now, live your normal life. When you need something to cook dinner, go to the basement and get it, use it, and put it away in the cabinets. At the end of a month you'll have a kitchen full of things you actually use, and a basement full of things to give away.

For water, we use a Seagull undercounter water filter and drink directly from the water tanks. For other drinks, I refuse to buy the bulk of canned or bottled drinks, most of which are plain water. We use some kind of juice concentrate or powder like CrystalLight and dilute it ourselves (saves space and weight) and for tonic water or club soda, use a SodaStream machine.

I'm sure Brian (CruisingDad) will be along soon to tell you how wonderful life is with a grill or two on the stern rail.
 
#17 ·
Ha! I knew it! CruisingDad was posting while I was composing! Great minds, and all that...

Glad to hear you're enjoying your pressure cooker. Someday, we'll both be in the same harbor at the same time, and we will most assuredly have a potluck - and cookoff - your grilled fish vs my pressure-cooker curried fish stew. And beer. Lots of beer.
 
#22 ·
Add to Brian's list a Baking Stone for your oven. One can by an over-sized pizza stone and have it cut to fit at a local tile shop. It's great for baking French bread and rolls in the oven and, set on the lowest shelf, will stabilize the heat distribution in the oven. The weigh also acts as a counter-weight to items place on the burners (assuming a gimbled stove of course). With a pattern of small holes drilled in it, one can use matching sized bolts, stood on end through the holes, to stabilize pans in the oven (if cooking in a seaway).

FWIW...
 
#23 ·
Ooh, totally forgot the vacuseal! THAT was the gamechanger for longer cruises. And not just for food - we sealed spare parts, Q-tips, medicines. Anything that would be affected by moisture - it just increased the places those things could be stored, in addition to decreasing the space needed. But beware it can work TOO well; I recently found a pound of dried lentils dated 9/09. Still firmly sealed.
 
#24 ·
I second the seagully filter....we have it dispensed to the sink and drink the water from the tank that filters through it....better than bottled water IMHO. I bought a bag of 25 microfiber towels at Sam.s and they are great for all sorts of cleaning jobs ....save on paper towels. Cut them in quarters for dish cloths.
Make polar fleece bags for your pots and pans so you can stack them without them banging underway.
We bought a carafe to put the coffee in....keeps it hot longer. Stacking plastic bowls with lids - easy to store and can be used for multiple purposes like serving, mixing and storing food, etc.
We use nice porcelain dishes, plastic insulated glasses ( don't sweat) and good quality SS cutlery.
After I get back from shopping before I unload the trunk I "depack" the overpacked foods And stuff like cereal and cracker boxes, clothing tags, plastic blister packs etc. keep a pair of good household scissors in the trunk for this.....then toss it all in the Marina dumpster before you carry stuff on board in your reusable cotton duck shopping bags. Saves so much garbage form having to be hauled off the boat.
 
#25 ·
Thank you, Brian and Jaye. I have a stimulus list all ready. I just spent some time at Galleyware.com. Not only do they have several items I want to buy and/or replace, the company is local-ish. Our boat came with what I see is the least expensive line of flatware that they sell. That's one thing I'm getting rid of as the forks are SHARP and more than once I've drawn blood. Hopefully if I upgrade they won't be lethal.

I agree about the grill. We bought a Magma grill for $5 at our sail club auction. It was well used but still works and for $5 can't be beat.

The baking stone idea is great, too. Although I do personal pizzas on the grill, I use a stone in the oven for large pies. I have a smallish stone I bought from Pampered Chef that would work perfectly in the boat oven.
 
#27 ·
Here's our experience, for what it is worth.
1.Our galley is less than 6 square feet, yet we regularly serve 6-8 covers at a time.
We have even done a well recieved thanksgiving dinner. Eating on a boat buys you a whole ton of forgiveness from otherwise picky guests.
2. We don't buy anything from a chandlery. go to your nearest dollar store and buy melamine plates, and non-skid placemats, and a packaged set of flatware. for $20, you should be able to get a dinner service for 6-8, and while it aint;' fancy, the atmosphere more than makes up for it. For a further $75, you can even get a usable set of nesting cookware from any number of online retailers. So, for under $120, you can have a fully outfitted galley, including cheap but serviceable stemware, for those picky guests who don't like to drink their pinot out of solo cups.
(not that there is a difference between "guest" and "crew'- crew will happily drink whatever you have out of whatever you got, while guests are more high maintenance. in other words, crew get invited back, guests get a one-time pass.)

3. Get a crapload of 1/2 pint and 1 pint sealable reusable containers. You will always dice too many onions, too many peppers, too much garlic, etc., save it and reuse, or, if you have the time and forethought to prep, dice extra for meals the next day.
4. We don't use a pressure cooker. we don;t have room for it. if you've got room go for it.
5. Non-pressure alcohol stoves will cook damn near anything, no matter what anyone says. We have used ours for 5 seasons, and have used our PITA Kuuuma BBQ twice.
The key is to keep the alcohol burners topped up- fuel is heat, and heat is your friend. Light the burner, lay on the pan, then let the pan get hot. Go chop cilantro, or more garlic. You can always turn the heat down, but it is damn hard to coax a full pan to get hotter. And nothing has ever been ruined by more cilantro or garlic. except a vamp[re's grand entrance. and dessert.

Filet mignon and asparagus risotto on an alcohol stove? Done it

Pork souvlaki with pan-toasted vietnamese style baguette, fried peppers and onions, tzatziki and hummus? done it.



6. Spices are like sex toys- try 'em you'll like 'em! experiment, have fun, with tarragon, cumin, thyme, rosemary, oregano,, keep a bunch on board. Hell, with the right spice profile, a pouch of ramen noodles and slices of fried bologna in boiling water will make guests swoon.
7. Worcestershire, Siracha sauce, Soya sauce, tabasco, hoisin sauce, maple syrup, oyster sauce, extra virgin olive oil balsamic vinegar and a bottle of yellow mustard don't take up much space but can make damn near any damn sauce or marinade you may require.
8. get at least three pairs of tongs.
9. all of those keychain floaties you get at boat shows? attach them to your tongs. trust me.
10. The money you have saved on flatware, dinnerware, expensive pots and pans, spend on a good set of knives.
 
#42 ·
great post B! Dont agree with some of it, but others will and others wont. And if you even so much as snicker towards a bbq again, you can consider yourself banned. Dont forget what I will do!!! In all seriousness, I see a discrepancy between northern and southern sailors. THats a good thing a great feedback. Just tells you its not all the same everywhere,

B
 
#28 ·
On the filtering side of things we quite like our faucet mounted filter.. it allows us to selectively filter just the water we drink.. not all cold water we use. Easy change out too, and we generally run through only a couple of filters per season.

We've never missed a microwave, would probably ditch it if we bought a boat with one.

Melamine plates and cups here too, acrylic glasses.

The readily available non-skid matting for place mats, locker surfaces, table tops etc have proven invaluable. Buy it in rolls and cut to fit.

We also use a plastic tub that just fits in the sink for washing... saves water (volume-wise) and doesn't rely on the sink drain plug. Also a handy place to put dirty dishes in until you're ready to tackle the chore.
 
#29 ·
9. all of those keychain floaties you get at boat shows? attach them to your tongs. trust me.

GREAT idea! My brother was grilling corn on our boat grill. The (round) corn did not roll off the grill but the tongs were overboard almost immediately. Next set of tongs will be tethered to the boat.
 
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