So, in other words, I'm highly motivated to make mealtime as easy and functional as possible. We do have a propane grill mounted on the starboard rail that we use a lot already. But we need a good way to cook below-decks too. This past summer on Flathead Lake, we used a little portable camping stove. Works great, but difficult to unstow it, hook up the 1lb propane bottle, keep the pans from sliding around the top, then take it apart when done, etc. Functional, but surely not convenient.
New Girl has (had) a pressurized Princess Stove fueled by alcohol. For those of you who've used one of these. . . . well, let's just say it's way exciting and way more frustrating than it should be. SOME (strange) people I know actually like these things (pressurized alcohol stove), but I surely do NOT!
The forum on Sailnet has been extremely helpful to me - lots of great advice that's practical and freely given.
After much research, I decided to install a non-pressurized alcohol stove. This has all of the safety advantages that alcohol has over propane, is much easier to hook up and install, and cooks "almost" as fast as propane.
The difficulty with propane is that it is heavier than air. So any leaks (or even an unlit burner) and the propane fills up the boat. The heavy explosive vapor can't escape out of the bottom of the boat because it's, obviously, water tight. It just continues to fill up until you are asphyxiated or a stray spark (usually from something electronic) causes an explosion. In order for propane to be used safely on a boat, it requires an outside locker for the propane tank that is vented out the bottom of the locker to the atmosphere and electric solenoids to shut off the fuel line when not used. A good system, but quite complicated. I am a big believe in keeping things simple (if possible).
Well . . . here we go on eBay and Craigslist to find a non-pressurized alcohol stove. Bingo! Got it. It is a two burner Origo stove and appears to be barely used. Excellent deal.
And, the best news yet is that the old Princess stove is easily removed from the stainless steel enclosure on board . . . AND the new stove fits almost exactly in the same spot. It also still allows us to use the same adjustable pot holders as well. These are a very handy feature when cooking in a rolly anchorage or when underway.
This was ONE project that actually went better, cost less, and was quicker than anticipated.
Oh . . . and we sold the old (hated) pressurized Princess stove on eBay for 1/3 of what the Origo cost. Super cool!!!!
Cap'n Mark
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| Thiswas the old pressurized Princess stove |
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| Origo Stove top |
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| These are the canisters that hold the denatured alcohol. |
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| Stove enclosure - sliding cuttingboard top |
