Is a gimballed stove really necessary?

[geem]

Lol and I'm 100% with you on this and find it hard to imagine life without gimbals on say a long blowy beat!

Then again captainsensible is an ocean wanderer and it doesn't seem to bother him in the slightest.

One other option not mentioned above for those with decent inverters, batteries, and charging setups is microwaves. One can bang some really quite good ready meals straight from the freezer into the microwave and just nuc them for a few mins. If it's really blowy, people are always shocked to be given a menu and these meals are especially convenient if someone wants to eat something before crashing out, etc.

Haha, we stripped our microwave out when we got the boat! We dont eat ready meals. We try to eat healthily so tend to prepare meals from scratch. We try to eat lots of fresh food. We just didnt have a need for a microwave. We do have a single induction hob as well that we use on the rare occasion we are on shore power. Its also a back up if we were to have a problem with the gas since we can run the induction hob from the genset

 

[noelex]

Gimballed is better, significantly better in some circumstances, such as a monohull regularly sailing long passages. The only caution is the angle of maximum gimballing does need to be reasonably wide. A gimballed stove that suddenly hits a hard stop can be dangerous.

Even today at anchor the gimballing of the cooktop was a help. This is not a common experience at anchor, but systems on a cruising yacht should be designed to make life as easy and as safe as possible.

Induction cooking is great, but make sure you can generate enough power. In my view, running a generator to power induction cooking is by far the worst option in terms of reliability, simplicity, noise, heat, etc. A combination of propane/butane and induction works well in some circumstances.

Gimballing is not a difficult mechanism to engineer and can be retrofitted to induction cooking gear relatively easily. Some cruising boats even have gimballed work surfaces in the galley. Gimballed dining tables or navigation stations are occasionally used on custom yachts that anticipate long passages. These multiple gimbled surfaces are overkill for most owners, but the first step of gimbled cooktop is not difficult to achieve even if this means adapting non marine kitchen equipment.

I think gimballing the cooktop is a worthwhile goal if contemplating regular offshore passages in a monohull.

 

[Zing]

Gimballed has my vote. Emphatically so.

 

[lustyd]

One could always heave to like a gentleman while the staff prepare the meal. It would give a more stable platform, reducing the need for gimbals. If the staff spill the sauce throw them to the sharks and get better staff!

It is fun to say gimbal though, wouldn't you miss it?

 

[Gary Fox]

Even today at anchor the gimballing of the cooktop was a help....
I think gimballing the cooktop is a worthwhile goal if contemplating regular offshore passages in a monohull.

Chichester agrees with you..
As a kid, being local, I often used to visit the original Gipsy Moth when she was in drydock by the Cutty Sark in Greenwich, and Sir Francis had a gimballed combined seat and worktop. A stainless fabrication with red pvc cushion.
I sat in it many times..
(The yacht still had a strong aroma, it smelled like it had been round the world..)

 

[Kukri]

Depends a bit on the boat. After all, “Jolie Brise” is said to carry a Rayburn, presumably not gimballed?.

I did a lot of cooking for a crew of five on a pilot cutter which had a two burner, non gimballed, Taylor’s and a single stand alone Primus in “Mol-Con” two way cast iron gimbals. That was once a “normal set up”, which many, perhaps most boats, had - go back before WW2 and the place of the two burner Taylor’s would have been taken by a Rippingille wick stove - certainly not gimballed. But the gimballed single burner Primus would have been there for use under way in bouncy conditions.

And what do the Vendée Globe competitors have in their IMOCAs? A fully gimballed single burner gas stove.

I think the gimballed big stove, like the built in chart table, came in with the development of offshore racing. Large crews had to be fed in all conditions.

So - unless you carry a large crew on open water passages, you don’t need a gimballed stove but I’d recommend a gimballed single burner if the cooking stove is not gimballed.

 

[prv]

Sir Francis had a gimballed combined seat and worktop. A stainless fabrication with red pvc cushion.

If I remember rightly it also had a pressurised beer-dispensing nozzle attached.

Pete

 

[Poignard]

If I remember rightly it also had a pressurised beer-dispensing nozzle attached.

Pete

Watneys Red Barrel?

 

[Arcady]

Lol and I'm 100% with you on this and find it hard to imagine life without gimbals on say a long blowy beat!

Then again captainsensible is an ocean wanderer and it doesn't seem to bother him in the slightest.

One other option not mentioned above for those with decent inverters, batteries, and charging setups is microwaves. One can bang some really quite good ready meals straight from the freezer into the microwave and just nuc them for a few mins. If it's really blowy, people are always shocked to be given a menu and these meals are especially convenient if someone wants to eat something before crashing out, etc.

Yep - I plan to supplement the induction hob with a microwave for exactly that reason!. Techimex do actually offer a proper marine induction/microwave stove, but it runs to £ thousands Cucina nautica

 

[NotBirdseye]

Haha, we stripped our microwave out when we got the boat! We dont eat ready meals. We try to eat healthily so tend to prepare meals from scratch. We try to eat lots of fresh food. We just didnt have a need for a microwave. We do have a single induction hob as well that we use on the rare occasion we are on shore power. Its also a back up if we were to have a problem with the gas since we can run the induction hob from the genset

Protip: Learn how to self can. The process is actually pretty simple and you don't have to modify the recipes all that much, certainly not with all the usual preservatives and additives. You can then use the microwave to warm up home cooked meals 4 months later. Microwaves are very efficient at cooking. Some vitamins naturally degrade through the cooking process but you can get those another way if necessary.

For long passages away from shore, ensure a healthy stock of complete vitamin supplements just to top up really. Fresh food doesn't last all that long.

Unless growing your own... (whole different thread)

 

[geem]

Protip: Learn how to self can. The process is actually pretty simple and you don't have to modify the recipes all that much, certainly not with all the usual preservatives and additives. You can then use the microwave to warm up home cooked meals 4 months later. Microwaves are very efficient at cooking. Some vitamins naturally degrade through the cooking process but you can get those another way if necessary.

For long passages away from shore, ensure a healthy stock of complete vitamin supplements just to top up really. Fresh food doesn't last all that long.

Unless growing your own... (whole different thread)

We do can stuff occasionally. Crossing the Atlantic we take plenty of fresh stuff but we also have a freezer. Carrots and cabbage last ages. Its the fresh stuff you have left at the end?. We have a separate ‘warm’ fridge for fruit and veg that keeps stuff far longer. Since we spend 99% of our time at anchor we rarely plug in to shore power and we cook with gas.
We sprout mung beans on passage routinely. One cup of mung beans has more vit C than orange juice ?. Squash last ages as well

 

[dom]

Yep - I plan to supplement the induction hob with a microwave for exactly that reason!. Techimex do actually offer a proper marine induction/microwave stove, but it runs to £ thousands Cucina nautica

Just quickly, I'd personally be careful of those induction/microwave combos on a boat, for the simple reason that I find the longevity of microwaves a good bit less than cookers, pretty much irrespective of quality. The same applies domestically whether its Gaggenau or Samsung, I think. Well Gaggenaus last longer but for the price of a callout one could buy a brace of Samsungs

Re fresh food, with good storage across the pond is fine; but if you've got the power budget - and it sounds like you have - I'd certainly consider a well-insulated freezer. My favourites are top loaded for rough weather but others disagree!

Let us know how you get on

 

[NotBirdseye]

We do can stuff occasionally. Crossing the Atlantic we take plenty of fresh stuff but we also have a freezer. Carrots and cabbage last ages. Its the fresh stuff you have left at the end?. We have a separate ‘warm’ fridge for fruit and veg that keeps stuff far longer. Since we spend 99% of our time at anchor we rarely plug in to shore power and we cook with gas.
We sprout mung beans on passage routinely. One cup of mung beans has more vit C than orange juice ?. Squash last ages as well

You can pickle cabbage, I hear 'kimchi' is really nice .

 

[Gary Fox]

i

You can pickle cabbage, I hear 'kimchi' is really nice .

Negative it is disgusting, like sauerkraut mixed with dog muck. Jolly nutritious though!

 

[Stemar]

Having said that, our previous boat was a cat. No need for gimbals on that boat

Nor on a mobo, but I'd still want fiddles. I've memories of sailing on a cat and while it stayed fairly level, the wrong wavelength could give a jerky movement that could pick up your bangers and throw them to the dog as soon as your back was turned. Same when a mobo catches a wave wrong. I know planing steam irons aren't supposed to be out in that sort of weather, but that's one reason why my mobo, if I'm ever rich enough to own one, will be a displacement or semi-displacement job. I don't want something that gets frightened by the weather before I do.

 

[Gary Fox]

We did an ocean delivery on a big cat, 55', she had a stupid non-gimballed cooker with no fiddles or pot clamps. She really needed them as well! Also no handholds or leecloths, ditto.

 

[capnsensible]

Interesting how this thread has....panned out. ?

Those that have used non gimballed cookers don't find it a problem. Those that haven't, think it's gonna be a problem. ?

Been a useful sharing of opinions though.

Re. Fresh veg. I've always found that stuff you buy from market stalls rather than from a supermarket where it's been chilled can last many weeks. Best we have found are potatoes or any similar root crop like dashee, yuca, etc. Carrots and onions. Kept in a ventilated space and def. not in plastic bags. ?

 

[capnsensible]

We did an ocean delivery on a big cat, 55', she had a stupid non-gimballed cooker with no fiddles or pot clamps. She really needed them as well! Also no handholds or leecloths, ditto.

Should have got a smart one rather than a stupid one.

 

[RupertW]

Interesting how this thread has....panned out. ?

Those that have used non gimballed cookers don't find it a problem. Those that haven't, think it's gonna be a problem. ?

Been a useful sharing of opinions though.

Re. Fresh veg. I've always found that stuff you buy from market stalls rather than from a supermarket where it's been chilled can last many weeks. Best we have found are potatoes or any similar root crop like dashee, yuca, etc. Carrots and onions. Kept in a ventilated space and def. not in plastic bags. ?

I‘ve cooked on both but it’s been a very long time since I sailed regularly on the non gimballed boat. I remember thinking the change to gimballed was hugely improving at the time, so very interesting to see that (like everything else in sailing) people first cope with what they inherit then think it’s the best thing ever - either way round.

 

[Kukri]

Interesting how this thread has....panned out. ?

Those that have used non gimballed cookers don't find it a problem. Those that haven't, think it's gonna be a problem. ?

Been a useful sharing of opinions though.

Re. Fresh veg. I've always found that stuff you buy from market stalls rather than from a supermarket where it's been chilled can last many weeks. Best we have found are potatoes or any similar root crop like dashee, yuca, etc. Carrots and onions. Kept in a ventilated space and def. not in plastic bags. ?

I’ve found that potatoes, hard white cabbages, onions, even some apples, if bought before they have seen a chiller, and then kept in a ventilated deck locker, out of the light, keep very well. You do have to pick through them regularly or one going soft will spoil the lot. Have had less luck with carrots