Galley boxes

[Graham W]

Galley boxes for the smaller boats like the BR20 and BRe are mentioned every now and then.  Most recently by Reg on the stoves thread https://www.swallowyachtsassociation.org/smf/index.php/topic,1305.msg14057.html#msg14057.  Dinghy Cruising Association president Roger Barnes has posted a self-described “geeky short video” on the subject https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkjzXbbn1fA.

I think that if you are going to spend any time cruising on your BR, this is an important subject that deserves its own thread.  Please show us your galley box, with photos.

I’m currently investigating the use of bits of bankrupt airline galley equipment, particularly the aluminium trays that slide into Atlas galley boxes.  Light, robust, fireproof, not too big for our lockers and with built-in handles.  And if it says Air Berlin or flybe on the front, it will be a talking point at onboard dinner parties.

[jonno]

Graham

No galley box on Ella, a BR20.  We've done (as you know!) a number of one-week voyages with two people aboard.  We find we're always short of space (the two lockers are tightly packed; likewise under the foredeck; and there's additional paraphernalia on the cockpit sole).

Provisions, utensils and tiny gas cooker are packed in a range of (differently sized) plastic boxes.  These are painstakingly arranged to make maximum use of space in one of the cockpit lockers.

John

[Graham W]

John,

So far, like you, I don’t have a galley box.  On our one week cruise around Mull the catering department’s inventory was distributed in various buckets and plastic boxes.  Things were frequently misplaced.  Based on that experience, the somewhat haphazard cooking arrangements in the attached photo will be improved.  Trangia equipment will be semi-permanently installed in much safer Atlas aluminium aircraft drawers.  Catering stores too, probably.  I’m still working out where to stow the drawers but it will almost certainly involve galley box-type structures inside the locker.

Here’s another geeky galley box video https://en-gb.facebook.com/822335396/videos/pcb.4123626624331540/10164437055390397/

[Graham W]

A few interesting ideas on galley boxes here https://www.pinterest.co.uk/sherwood01384/classic-wooden-dinghys/galley-boxes/.

[Matthew P]

A few interesting ideas on galley boxes here https://www.pinterest.co.uk/sherwood01384/classic-wooden-dinghys/galley-boxes/.

Thanks Graham, I now have Galley Box envy. 

https://youtu.be/Jiv0k7AMprs  suggests equipment and routine for preparing tea and a hot breakfast on an open boat using an Alpkit Brukit in minimum time with minimum space.  Editing videos is outside my skill set but viewing time can be speeded up without loss of meaning by using Youtube settings to increase the replay speed.

If space permits and there is a good supply of suitable cylindrical gas canisters I favour the inexpensive square stoves. Some people also prefer a nice solid saucepan to aluminium mess tins, although they take up more space.

Matthew
Gladys BR20



 

[Graham W]

I’ve now got a couple of aluminium galley boxes that previously belonged to Primera Air.  Apparently they were a Danish charter airline that went bust a while back, before it started to become really fashionable. My poor woodworking skills are thus successfully sidestepped.

Having watched Matthew’s porridge video, I’m wondering if his method with a thermos would work with pinhead oatmeal, which at home is cooked at a low(ish) temperature overnight.  Is boiling water poured into a thermos at night still piping hot the next morning?

[Matthew P]

I’ve now got a couple of aluminium galley boxes

Hi Graham - can you provide some dimensions?  And do they have lids? They might be handy for my workshop.

Thanks

Matthew

[Graham W]

Matthew,

They’re 410 x 293 x 279 (about twice the volume of your 9 litre storage boxes) and have a front door.  If you’ve ever queued for the loo on a plane, you will have spent time staring at them in the galley.  I’d say that they may be overspecified and overpriced for workshop purposes.  Photo of a pristine and brand new example below.

[Graham W]

Having watched Matthew’s porridge video, I’m wondering if his method with a thermos would work with pinhead oatmeal, which at home is cooked at a low(ish) temperature overnight.  Is boiling water poured into a thermos at night still piping hot the next morning?

Answering my own question, it’s a no.  So it will be muesli for me.

[MarkDarley]

I just got lucky and found an Origo 1500 here in California at a reasonable price.  It will be flying with me to Devon this summer so that I can jettison my butane powered stove which works well but is a bomb, and is rusting which makes it that much more dangerous! 

Roger Barnes excellent video inspired me to go this route, and I will be building a galley box for it.  So far my galley has resided in a (previously flexible) oblong plastic laundry basket in the bow.  However now that I have replaced my engine and fuel tank with an Epropulsion Spirit, I may move it to a locker.  So far the longest I have camped on the boat has been 5 nights, but now I look forward to longer expeditions.

[Graham W]

Me too!  I recently bought an unused Origo 1500 with fiddles and gimbals off eBay.  Mine’s going into the starboard locker, gimballed and held in a plywood frame, a bit like Reg’s setup over on the stoves thread https://www.swallowyachtsassociation.org/smf/index.php/topic,1305.msg14057.html#msg14057.

[Graham W]

There’s a brand new Origo 1500 for sale in Switzerland, with a ‘buy it now’ price of CHF300 (£245). I think that’s about twice what they used to retail for when they were still in production. See https://www.ricardo.ch/fr/a/1157338290. 

[MarkDarley]

I was lucky, I paid $125 for mine and it is in like new condition but had the wrong fiddles. However I had no trouble buying the right fiddles.

[Graham W]

Mark,

That’s a very good price.  An ‘as new’ one on eBay without fiddles or gimbals has just sold for a bonkers £301.

[Reg Barker]

Hi
Seeing these prices for Origo, I rake out my old invoice. 21-Nov-14 the List price £149.17 extra for the Gimbles List Price £62.49. I paid For the Stove 1500 £119.96 + Gimble £56.24 new!
They were quite pricey. I fine it a good stove.