Cooking on Board Part III

Cooking on Board Part III - by Mary Maskal, The Yachting Gourmet

In the past two articles, we have discussed outfitting the galley and now we are going to take a look at an actual galley redo! SmarterSail is a 1996 Hunter 295 owned and operated by the St Petersburg based sailing school by the same name. The boat had just recently been relocated from their Annapolis, MD location to Florida. It is used for ASA certification instruction as well as charter, so the galley serves for quick food preparation during instruction and as a full galley while under charter. The school operates a maximum class size of 4 people, plus the instructor, and the boat sleeps 6 so we outfitted the galley for 6 people.

Starting out, we found there was a mix of utensils, cookware, dishes, drinkware, etc., primarily in the class of “kitchen castoffs”. Many of the items were not seaworthy materials and there were items on board that were never used. Dishes, cookware, utensils and food were stowed together in any available space. So, we set about to organize the galley and make it more user friendly and efficient, with the goal of making it a pleasurable place to prepare meals.

In looking at the variety of ways the galley is used, it was decided to start with a basic complement of items allowing charter customers to prepare meals easily as well as provide for food preparation during class instruction. Since there is such a wide variety of use in this galley, we outfitted it with the basic essentials sort of a “Galley in a Box”, which provides essential gadgets, mixing bowls and utensils, cooking and serving pieces, cookware, dishes, flatware and drinkware. For privately owned galleys, we would customize this to the particular owner’s cooking preferences, starting with the “Galley in a Box” and tweaking it to the galley captain’s needs.

All of The Yachting Gourmet’s items are carefully selected to function well,(many providing multiple functions), stow easily, and to stand up to the boating environment We specialize in silicone collapsible items, multi-functional tools and Galleyware dinnerware.

So, let’s take a look at the galley on SmarterSail and how, with just a little organizing and a small budget, we were able to transform the galley to one anyone would enjoy using.


The area under the sink provides the largest storage space for bigger items. In the “before” picture, you can see it is full of many unrelated items. In the “after” picture you see the nesting cookware set (containing a skillet, Dutch oven, 3 saucepans, universal lid, two handles and 4 plastic storage lids) neatly stowed and easily accessible. (The shelf also contains the coffee maker.) Below it, are items such as a pasta cooker (the Fasta Pasta), microwaveable plates and food cover, collapsible salad spinner and a large collapsible colander.



The area above the sink is designed to store the dishes, utilizing stabilizing pegs to hold the items securely in their place. The space had become a collection point for many different items, as seen in the “before” picture. In the “after” picture you can see how easily and attractively the service for 6 stows in the provided space. The owner selected the Calypso pattern with the multi-colored mugs option.



The upper storage cabinets were filled to the brim with various items including some food staples, glasses, coffee mugs, spices and bowls. After redoing them and providing the right items for the galley, two of the upper cabinets were freed up for food storage and the one shown in the after picture contains Polycarbonate stemmed wine glasses and tumblers. We picked Polycarb because of its unbreakable and virtually indestructible qualities. It stays crystal clear without etching or clouding like acrylic and looks like glass. The stemmed glasses are also sporting silicone sleeves in an assortment of colors on their base. These sleeves (Ring-Its) give the glasses a non-skid quality and serve as identifiers so people can keep track of their own glass. The tumblers are a versatile 16 ounce size, perfect for juice in the morning, a soda in the afternoon, etc.



The two drawers below the stove were serving as a combination utensil and flatware storage area. Many of the utensils found in the drawers were coroding and there were several that had never been used. So, we reorganized and made one a utensil drawer and one a flatware drawer. The utensil drawer contains the essentials such as spatulas and a spoon/spatula for stirring, a can opener, SeaScissors for cutting absolutely anything, silicone and stainless tongs, a whisk, peeler, measuring cups and spoons. The flatware drawer contains service for 6 of the Rivet in blue, including serving pieces.



Just below the utensil drawer we found some of the pans and some other miscellaneous items. Since we placed a set of nesting cookware in the galley, this area became space for storing mixing bowls, a vegetable steamer, a multi-purpose silicone square cake pan and a silicone steamer. By using the collapsible bowls, we are able to get a total of 5 bowls in various sizes in this space in addition to the other items. Although this is the hardest to get to storage area, all items are easily accessible.



The area behind and around the cook surface was cleaned and reorganized, adding additional space for food storage. We added a Chop2Pot cutting board and hot mitt set, both of which stow easily when underway. By organizing and eliminating unnecessary items, the storage areas behind the stove and refrigerator are free for food storage. The coffee maker shown to the left in the “before” photo now fits easily under the sink with the cookware set.



With all the great cooking going on in this galley, we needed to address cleanup! We added a suitcase dish drainer and a colorful but functional loofah scrubber. The dish drainer folds and stores compactly either under the sink, or in the sink while underway while providing ample space for drying the clean dishes. The Loofah Art scrubbers come in many shapes (the sailboat shown here) and are a green product, naturally resistant to mildew, very durable and easy to rinse clean.

In this galley makeover, we did keep a few items that were already on board such as chef’s knives, the coffeemaker and a few gadgets. The entire makeover was accomplished for less than $650. Not bad when you consider all the improvements we made and it included dishes, flatware, and cookware! The galley looks great and functions beautifully for all types of cooking on board.

The Yachting Gourmet
St. Pete Beach, FL
727 360-COOK (2665)
www.yachtinggourmetstore.com

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Cooking on Board Part II

Cooking on Board Part II - by Mary Maskal, The Yachting Gourmet

Whether you are outfitting a brand new galley or just updating an existing, there are a few considerations you will want to keep in mind. As we discussed in the previous article, outfitting your galley can be a fun challenge if you approach it the right way. This article will take you through a few of the things you want to think about and then we will begin to outfit an actual galley on a Hunter 29.5.

Cooking on board can be different than cooking in your home kitchen. The first step in analyzing your galley and what you need is to think about how you will be cooking on board. Here are some questions to get you started. Consider each and make some notes on your answers.

1. Will you be doing most of your food preparation on casual boating trips such as a weekend or a few days or are you doing extended cruising?

2. What types of things do you enjoy eating most and do you think you will be, or have you been preparing on board?

3. What equipment does your galley have for cooking? Do you have an oven, microwave, cook top, stern rail grill, and good refrigeration?

4. How many people will you typically have on board? What is the maximum number you expect to have on an occasional basis?

5. If you have been using your galley, take an inventory of the items you have on board currently and whether or not you use them on a regular basis.

6. What would you most like to change about your galley and they way you use it?

Once you have answered these questions, you will have a good start on outfitting your galley to best suit your needs. And, you are ready to begin a process of revamping or outfitting your galley to best suit your particular needs, likes and desires. Our galley outfitting service can help you make selections on new items to add and to determine what you have on board that will continue to serve you. Just call us with your answers and we will take it from there.

Now, let’s take a look at an existing galley that I have just recently redone on a Hunter 29.5. This particular vessel is owned and operated by an ASA sailing school, SmarterSail, operating out of Florida and Annapolis, MD. The galley has a two-burner cook top, a refrigerator, and a microwave oven. There is also a stern rail grill on board.

My first visit to the galley finds it chock full of items. Every space is full of stuff. So, my task is to determine what the best complement of items is for this particular Hunter. This boat is used both for ASA classes and is available for charter, making the use of the galley diverse. When it is under sail for a class, there is a need for quick snacks, lunches, etc. When it is chartered, it is used more for meal preparation Both while underway and at anchor.

As is so often the case, I found that most of the items on board are not really galley friendly, consisting of kitchen cast-offs, non-boater-friendly materials, and disposable items. And there is very little organization, with items stowed haphazardly. So, we begin our process of transforming this galley into one that will serve the people on board.

In our next article, see how I go about the process of reviewing the items on board and setting up the galley in a logical and efficient way that will serve all who spend time on board.

For More information please contact Mary Maskal, The Yachting Gourmet, 727 360-COOK (2665) www.yachtinggourmetstore.com
371 Corey Ave.
St. Pete Beach, FL 33706

~~~Do you have a story you would like to share with Knotline? Please email them HERE and send pictures!!! Thanks!

Cooking on Board – Do You Have a Love/Hate Relationship with Your Galley?

Guest Writer: Mary Maskal from The Yachting Gourmet


How do you feel about cooking on board? Even those that love to cook often don’t enjoy it in the confines of a small galley. The good news is you can make it fun, easy and delicious with a little help from The Yachting Gourmet.

The biggest issue with the galley is space. Very few boaters have a galley the size of their home kitchen and avoid preparing meals on board except those that are extremely simple. However, you CAN prepare gourmet meals in the galley and we are going to explore how.

My business, The Yachting Gourmet, started with a cookbook by the same title. It is a collection of 400 recipes for easy on board preparation. It came to be after many years of boating and working with the challenges of preparing meals on board. After much trial and error, the two-part recipe format found in The Yachting Gourmet was developed and the cookbook published in 2007. By being a little organized, planning ahead, and doing some of the preparation at home, you can turn out great meals for your friends and family. Publishing the cookbook was step one in making cooking on board easy, fun and delicious for boaters.

Step two came one day at a local marine supply store. Having gone there to purchase a piece of equipment needed to do a cooking demo at a yacht club, I found myself standing in the galley section of the store. My reaction was, “this is awful!” There were scant usable tools and most were not stainless steel or other boating friendly materials. After checking a few more marine suppliers, I realized their focus was on other things than the galley, opening up an opportunity to supply a much needed service to the boating community. So, that began a process of seeking out and assembling useful, boater friendly galley tools, equipment and table top items. Combined with the cookbook, we provide a single source for virtually anything you need to make cooking (and eating!) on board a pleasure.

So, let’s spend a little time outfitting the galley. There are certain basics pieces you will need to make your galley functional - essentially a core set of equipment from which you can customize the galley to your specific likes and needs. Newer materials such as Silicone, Melamine, Polycarbonate, etc. have opened up a wide variety of tools and equipment for your galley. And, there are so many multi-functional tools available that reduce storage space considerably. We specialize in collapsible items, tools that serve multiple purposes, silicone bake ware, nesting cookware, etc. Our Galley Outfitting Service is customized to your specific needs, helping you make your galley a pleasure to use, whether you are starting from scratch or simply enhancing your existing equipment. By starting with the core pieces, then expanding to meet your specific needs and desires, we can make yours a great galley.

The tendency is to outfit your galley with castoffs from your home kitchen. Instead, look at outfitting your galley with the RIGHT tools to make it efficient and a pleasure to use. With our Galley Outfitting Service, we will look at what you have at home (or already on board) and build from there by adding just the right pieces for your galley. For example, mixing bowls are a challenge on board. They take up a lot of space and are hard to stow. So instead of using those home kitchen castoffs, the collapsible silicone and nylon bowls we carry store in 1/3 the space, clean up easily and are multi-functional. You can explore these and other great tools on our website, www.yachtinggourmetstore.com.

In our next installment, we will begin the process of outfitting the galley on a Hunter 295. SmarterSail, an ASA sailing school based in St. Petersburg, FL, runs a fleet of Hunters based in Florida and Annapolis, MD. Join us while we go through the Galley Outfitting process on one of their 295s. In our next article, we will take a look at the “before” of the galley and review the process of considering the needs and wants of this particular owner.

For More Information Contact: Mary Maskal at The Yachting Gourmet
371 Corey Ave., St. Pete Beach, FL 33706
727 360-COOK (2665)
www.yachtinggourmetstore.com