Does an oven make sense on a small boat?

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SoSound

SoSound

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Nov 21, 2007
673
Beneteau Oceanis 34 Kingston, WA
Upgrades, upgrades, upgrades... And while I'm upgrading the LPG system, I notice that the stove/oven combo on our boat is starting to show some rust and corrosion on one side. So, I start thinking of what I might replace next year. And that thought evolves into the question; does an oven make sense on a small boat with a small (5 lb.) propane tank? We've had the boat for about 5 years and have never used the oven. We were thinking about firing the sucker up just to see if it works, but in the longer term, would it make sense to install a new one or should I save the $ and use the space for something else?
 
petersea

petersea

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Sep 26, 2008
566
- - Noank CT.
You kind of answered your own question in that you have not used it in over five years. It is almost a owners option at that point if you have one or not. Certainly if you used it often I would upgrade otherwise put the space to other use. Save the original one to pass on to the next owner just in case it makes a difference at resale. just my thoughts............
 
Sailm8

Sailm8

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Feb 21, 2008
1,750
Hunter 29.5 Punta Gorda
We use ours. The cooks in our sailing group all use theirs to bake bread and cakes. Nothing better than a slice of warm homemade bread during cocktail hour.
 
luv2sail67

luv2sail67

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Jul 1, 2009
38
Hunter 38 Gore Bay
I agree with the other posts - if you haven't used it in 5 yrs - you may be better to use it for something else. I haven't found ours to cook reliably enough to bother using it.... we just use the BBQ. We use our oven now for some storage. Don't forget the oven is a great place for important electronics (handheld VHF, iPads, GPS) etc. in a thunderstorm... So you may want to bear this in mind as you consider your options.
 
tkanzler

tkanzler

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Sep 5, 2007
689
MacGregor 26X Rochester
I used the oven in my H340 continuously - to hold kitchen equipment. I think I fired it up once, just to see if it worked, but I never so much as warmed anything in it, ever.

What was nice about it, though, was that it was gimbaled, so someone could use the stove top under sail and not have pots trying to slide off (it did have adjustable 'clamps', also), but other than that, I could have replaced it with a storage cabinet with cooktop above and never known the difference. Probably more room in an uninsulated, non-gimbaled cabinet, for that matter.
 
WayneH

WayneH

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Jan 22, 2008
1,093
Tartan 37 287 Pensacola, FL
We pulled the old alcohol stove/oven out of our boat and replaced it with just a stovetop. The Admiral uses one of these to bake with.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Mir...-Pan-Breakfast-Skillet-Cookware-/141024322873

She has made cinnamon rolls, cakes and cornbread in it. A new use she has found for it is to fry foods on one side and use the other side as a cover to prevent splattering and setting off the smoke detector which is EXTREMELY sensitive. We have not missed the oven at all. And don't want one because it will just heat up the boat.

When we removed the oven, we put in a shelf and a set of sliding doors and made more storage in the galley. :)
 
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Old Skool Neil

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Jan 22, 2008
880
Fed up w/ personal attacks I'm done with SBO
Use it or lose it

If it's not useful to you the space can be put to better use.

However, I use mine particularly in the winter (our Southern California winters are mild). Meals that involve oven use cut the chill in the cabin nicely and there ain't nuthin' like fresh baked cookies.
 
BarryL

BarryL

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May 21, 2004
1,066
Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 409 Mt. Sinai, NY
Hey

As you have learned, you don't need it. I have one on my boat and we almost never use it. However, last year we were at an O'day gathering. During the pot luck social we made hot snacks - mozzarella sticks, potato skins, mini quiches and choc chip cookies. They were VERY popular but I was just showing off a little.

Lastly, if my stove / oven unit was just a little corroded I would spend a little bit of time cleaning and maybe painting it before I changed the whole unit.

Barry
 
rgranger

rgranger

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Jan 19, 2010
12,557
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
petersea said:
You kind of answered your own question in that you have not used it in over five years. ............
Click to expand
That is where I was going when I was reading your post. I think each sailor uses his boat differently. You adjust as you figure yourself out. Some people cook in their boats. Others go ashore and eat at restaurants... and others use a bbq mounted to a stern rail.

I use a camping stove out in the cockpit. And I even pulled the sink out of my galley since it just became a place my junk accumulated. The space is now used for other things. I wash my dishes in a bucket (also in the cockpit). But I usually only go on four day cruises...

If I was staying for several weeks at a time on my boat.... I might make different choices. ;)
 
tkanzler

tkanzler

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Sep 5, 2007
689
MacGregor 26X Rochester
If you pull it out, either sell it and take the cash now, or store it and sell it with the boat when you sell it. Do the cabinet work such that it can be undone and the range put back in. To some prospective buyer, it may be a negative that it doesn't have the range (only a cooktop, or not even that), but to others who wouldn't use it either, and who actually know that going in, it may be a selling feature that it only has a cooktop (or nothing) and additional storage.

Just a thought.
 
SoSound

SoSound

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Nov 21, 2007
673
Beneteau Oceanis 34 Kingston, WA
Great feedback! We do currently use the oven for storage of our cookware. The way that we cook on the boat is not that different from the way we cook at home, where the oven is used on occasion. One idea that I'd heard from a year-round sailor was to bake something like a frozen lasagna while under way, and have dinner ready and a nice warm boat when you arrived at your destination! ...We do all of our PNW sailing in the summer.

Since we only have a single 5 lb. propane tank, I was also wondering about how much gas is consumed by using the oven? I've only seen 'guidelines' with regard to propane usage and trip planning/provisioning. Most of our cooktop use is in quick bursts of heat, an oven would be on for much longer periods, but is it typically burning more or less fuel in that time?
 
med2463

med2463

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Nov 6, 2009
353
Hunter 37 FL
SoSound said:
Upgrades, upgrades, upgrades... And while I'm upgrading the LPG system, I notice that the stove/oven combo on our boat is starting to show some rust and corrosion on one side. So, I start thinking of what I might replace next year. And that thought evolves into the question; does an oven make sense on a small boat with a small (5 lb.) propane tank? We've had the boat for about 5 years and have never used the oven. We were thinking about firing the sucker up just to see if it works, but in the longer term, would it make sense to install a new one or should I save the $ and use the space for something else?
Click to expand
I use my oven a lot, so wasn't interested in this stove top oven from Carolyn of The Boat Galley. Might be worthwhile if you like to bake and don't have an oven. http://theboatgalley.com/omnia-stove-top-baking-oven/
 
B

Benny17441

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May 24, 2004
7,164
CC 30 South Florida
Not to mention that a stovetop is less expensive than a combo unit. I love it when people extract additional useful space out of their cabins.
 
M

MaryC

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Sep 30, 2008
27
Allmand 31 Grenada
I'd say it depends on how you use your boat. As a full-time cruiser I really enjoy having an oven. It's an important part of our day to day living. When we had a boat at the lake using it only on weekends an oven wasn't needed. We brought our homemade bread and cookies from the house.

Another thought is that if you plan on selling your boat someday, a stove with an oven is a good selling point.

Good luck

Mary
s/v Glass Slipper
www.glassslipper.weebly.com
 
jibes138

jibes138

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Jan 27, 2008
3,086
ODay 35 Beaufort, NC
I bet you would use a microwave a lot more than an oven. So maybe install a microwave where the oven was and an Origo on top?
 
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