What''s needed on 1st boat?

[welch]

The discussion has come up between my wife and I just what sort of "stuff" we''ll need to set up a working gally? What type, make, and model of pots, pans, utinsal, dishes, glasses, cups, etc? Is one type better suited for cruising(boatlife) than other? Also is there a good list of staple foods that perform well in tropics to have aboard? Also there''s many cook books out there. Well, you get the idea. We aren''t planning on sailing til summer 2004, but no time like the present to learn all we can. Any help or ideas would be most helpful. Thank you. Dave

[paulk]

Every cook has his or her own ideas about what works best in their galley. Lin and Larry Pardy, the Dashews, and many other authors cover different aspects of this topic in their books, where you are likely to find a deeper depth of discussion and reasoning than might occur on line.

[DonFoley]

Dave,
We have a set of pots that fit into each other with separate handles, the lids are skillets. Kind of like camp-ware, but much higher quality and much thicker. I can''t remember the brand. They provide all the pots and pans we need and stow into the oven. With that I also store a larger skillet and a six-cup muffin tray (we always use paper cup liners).
Other than that, it''s normal kitchen stuff, cooking spoons and spatulas, silverware. Can openers, bottle openers, measuring cups and the normal stuff.
For staples I keep around a lot of pasta, flour, sugar, microwave popcorn, muffin mix (just add water type) cereal, hot chocolate, oatmeal and oodles of crackers. All are individually sealed (vacuum seal or zip-lock) and non of the original cardboard is kept. Everything is re-packed. I run a bug-free boat, so I''m fanatical about that. Roaches will even eat the glue that holds boxes together.
I also keep a good range of spices aboard, and try to rotate them with my home stock so they don''t loose flavor.
There''s more, I''m sure, but that gives you a feel of our operation.

Don

[CARIBSAILOR]

TOTALLY AGREE WITH ABOVE. JUST REMEMBER IF YOU USE IT AT HOME YOU''LL WANT IT ON THE BOAT. WE HAVE BEEN LIVING ABOARD FOR YEARS PRESENTLY IN TRINIDAD FOR HURRICANE SEASON. I COULD''N''T LIVE WITHOUT MY KITCHENAIDE MIXER AND MY MANDOLIN AND GOOD SET OF KNIVES. I ALSO FOUND THAT I AM AN A-1 PROVISONER AND ALSO STORE LIKE ABOVE- NO BUGS FOR ME EITHER. FAVORITE COOK BOOKS THE SHIP TO SHORE ONES. FAVORITE PART OF CRUISING DIFFERENT SPICES AND VEGTABLES T COOK WITH.

[welch]

Thanks very much for the help. Dave

[JeffC_]

You sound as if you''re open to any advice, so I''ll throw in something obvious:

Real glass and ceramincs are suseptable to breakage on a pitching and rolling boat. Stainless cups and acrylic (or any other sort of synthetic) tumblers and dishes are lighter and unbreakable. You can get some great ideas in a boat store or camping store.

[jklewissf]

I have always equipped the galley with stuff from target. It is basically the same cooking gear you can pay a lot for at west marine.

One of the most useful ideas I ever picked up was the storage of most types of galley stuff in plastic dish pans.. Get the rectangular ones and choose sizes that fit in your lockers. Use one for pots and pans, one for dishes, one for cooking utensils, one for spices and other raw materials...You can use the same kinds of dish pans for stacking in deep lockers with canned food and other packaged stuff. It is much easier to sort through a locker if you can remove major groups of stuff in one plastic dishpan. Its also nice to be able to take the whole shooting match home and run it through the diswasher once in a while.

The caution mentioned in an earlier message about roaches eating the glue on boxes is something to pay attention to.... I grew up in Florida and one night the roaches in the garage ate the tempra paint off my social studies poster...That was a much more creative excuse that "the dog ate my homework"

The cautioniary remarks about glass are worth noting to, but plastic containers are not effective vapor barriers...water sensitive things should be stored in glass with tight fitting metal lids. Photographic film is a prime example.

Dont take any pots and pans that are not teflon coated...This not only reduces the work at cleanup time, it reduces water consumption as well.

After 30 plus years of boating Im a big fan of buying cheap teflon coated pots and pans and replacing them at the first sign of the teflon wearing off.

[halyardz]

In your spice rack add some "adobo" if you haven''t already. Its the single most-used item in our meager onboard pantry. Other small pantry additions you might consider.
--lemon juice concentrate
--fresh ground red pepper,chili & garlic powder
--curry (if you like it) and cumin
--multiple bags of trail mix--mix your own
--almonds (kinda make meals special)
--olive oil versus cooking oil..we do this for health reasons but have to adjust the cooking temps


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[eryka32]

Heavy-duty Ziploc bags! Leave the tupperwares and other storage cannisters ashore. We use them for repackaging all sorts of things that originally were purchased in cardboard boxes. Double-bagged, they hold all sorts of leftovers well, even soups. When empty or partially empty, storing the containers isn''t a problem as it would be with hard tupperware, etc. And if one gets especially grungy, throw it away instead of spending the water to clean it.

[Nereus32]

If you like to cook, I suggest you buy a decent set of non-stick pans. We have a good set on our boat (from target also) and the dinners aboard rival meals at home. Better pans heat more evenly, cook better, and last longer. With the non-stick, clean up is a cinch. It all depends on your space aboard and your style of boat food. For us, eating well makes the whole boating experience much more enjoyable.