Cooker - 2 or 3 burner?

[Hermit]

Looking at a new cooker for the boat. Intend to stay with gas and actually have enough space for a 3-burner.

Whilst that seems sensible, is it worth it (about £300 extra)? Are the 3 burners actually big enough to be of use or just a gimmick? Nothing the oven is slightly bigger too...

Any thoughts appreciated.

 

[Rappey]

I have a 3 burner dometic. Bit wasted on me as my cooking skills couldn't cope with more than one burner, but it has oven lights, electronic ignition ,a glass top and looks pretty ?.
It has one small burner, one standard size and one that is very large.
Is it worth it? I've no idea.

 

[Sandy]

Looking at a new cooker for the boat. Intend to stay with gas and actually have enough space for a 3-burner.

How many pots do you normally use to make a meal a) at home and b) on the boat.

 

[Hermit]

How many pots do you normally use to make a meal a) at home and b) on the boat.

Can use as many as there are burners but not if there is not really enough room on the hob to fit 3 pans (unless they are the size of a can of soup..)

 

[pvb]

Go with 2 burners and spend the extra on a microwave. That's what I did.

 

[JumbleDuck]

How many pots do you normally use to make a meal a) at home and b) on the boat.

Based on my experience on the boat, I fitted the kitchen at home with a two-ring induction hob. We don't find it particularly limiting, and it saves a lot of space. Mind you, there is a Rayburn beside it which I fire up for really big meals.

 

[doris]

I had a three burner on my last boat and never once used all three. QED IMHO

 

[Gary Fox]

My ideal: Two burners, one smallish one big, plenty of room for decent size pots and pans, and strong pot clamps.

 

[Stemar]

Can you get a properly gimballed, fiddled 3-burner stove? Gimballed won't matter on a cat or a mobo, but fiddled might, if you cook at sea. If you can, or it doesn't matter to you, my choice would depend on whether the space the 3rd burner is useful worktop, and how badly I'd miss that space,

 

[pyrojames]

I have a 3 burner, and use all three maybe twice a year.....

 

[Gary Fox]

Can you get a properly gimballed, fiddled 3-burner stove? Gimballed won't matter on a cat or a mobo, but fiddled might, if you cook at sea. If you can, or it doesn't matter to you, my choice would depend on whether the space the 3rd burner is useful worktop, and how badly I'd miss that space,

Force 10

 

[Neeves]

As mentioned it depends on whether you enjoy cooking or whether you are nostalgic for 1960s camping. We would suggest a 3 burner stove, with grill and oven (rotisserie are also nice (in the oven). as it gives you flexibility - you only need to use 2 burners (if you want) but if you need 3 burners and only have 2......

We have a 4 burner stove - and took the time to find cookware that fits. We found a company making square saucepans, Smartspace (SmartSpace Cookware ), and a rectangular frypan with detachable handle. You only get one handle in a 3 saucepan + 1 frypan (+ lids) kit. This is good quality and all the saucepans fit one inside the other. You can buy extra handles

We have also found that cookware shops don't sell their small round saucepans, as they are too small for domestic usage, and sell them off cheap, often top of the range stuff. These obviously don't stack too well as they are all from different manufacturers.

Japanese chefs use rectangular frypans, they come in different sizes, to make tamagoyaki (a rectangular omelette used in sushi).

Smartspace are based in NZ and claim to sell worldwide. They are the brain child of Graham Dalton, whose brother is Grant Dalton (whom you might have heard of ). You might find Smartspace in caravan stores - but I'd send them an email and ask for retailers.

I looked them up and they are sold through eBay - but that might only be relevant for Oz.

Tefal made a couple of sets of nesting saucepans in their Ingenio ranges, one was called Cocoon and comprised a largish saucepan and lid (that was also a frypan) with a small saucepan inside, with one handle and also made a set of conventional pans again nesting, but no frypan - but this latter set was on the small size, perfect to fit on 'our' stoves. Being Tefal this is quality stuff.

We have found the detachable handles take some running in - you need to use them a bit, initially they are a bit sticky (and lock) but ours are now ---- perfect!

We have not found a space saving kettle yet

Good luck,

Jonathan

The idea that catamarans might not need pot holders is a phurphy - we get knocked around by waves as any yacht does and a pot of freshly made coffee goes everywhere, given the chance. Pot holders, clamps, on stoves and non slip silicone mats are essential bits of kit - if you eat on passage.

 

[Gary Fox]

 

[Neeves]

Gary,

Very neat.

Thanks,

Jonathan

 

[TernVI]

We've done a few big meals cooked afloat.
When we need more than two burners, we take another yacht with us.
HTHBIDI.

We do have a big stainless pot with pyrex lid which can go in the oven once things are simmering, which frees up a ring.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Japanese chefs use rectangular frypans, they come in different sizes, to make tamagoyaki (a rectangular omelette used in sushi).

I have a "Boatie's Frying Pan" which is an excellent piece of kit. It's deep enough that it sees more use as a saucepan than as a frying pan. The only downside is that the metal part of the handle is mild steel and has rusted. But not very much, and it's still good after ten seasons.

 

[lustyd]

I have a 4 burner hob on board and can't realistically use more than two due to space. I cooked a full roast dinner on board in November and only used two burners for that so I'd say stick with two and a pocket full of cash.

To answer Stemar, yes it's fully gimballed and a proper boat cooker.

 

[capnsensible]

We lived aboard our yacht for 21 years and didn't ever need three burners. That includes doing roast dinners at sea. But that was mostly just the two of us. I can, via an inverter, use the microwave at sea..but it can get very messy in any kind of sea. But we are well.

I also had a Jenneau 36.2 as my school yacht. I had to fit a three burner cooker....coz it was the only one in the shop. The cooker was used at least twice a week to cook onboard. In several years, didn't ever use that third burner.

Hope this helps.

 

[DJE]

We also have a four burner stove it came with the boat and I can't remember what make it is. I was using three at once for breakfast yesterday but to use all four you would be limited to very small pans. But at sea the extra pan clamps are great for holding the mugs while you make the coffee.

 

[Laminar Flow]

I have a 3 burner dometic. Bit wasted on me as my cooking skills couldn't cope with more than one burner, but it has oven lights, electronic ignition ,a glass top and looks pretty ?.
It has one small burner, one standard size and one that is very large.
Is it worth it? I've no idea.

We spend 3-4 months cruising every year and as I like cooking I insist on the same culinary level as I enjoy at home. We switched from a two burner with oven to the same Dometic 3 burner that you have. No regrets whatsoever.
Cruising with my father when I was young, the height of culinary sophistication was having a utensil with your baked beans. We used a two burner alcohol back then - one for the beans, the other for the kettle. I have moved on from there.