Thoughts on gimbaled stoves

[Mindi Carver]

My husband and I (novice sailors...we've just started ASA courses) are refitting a 1976 Bristol 24 and, as we're designing the new galley, we're wondering how necessary a gimbaled stove/ oven is. While I want the ship to be bluewater worthy, I hate losing the little galley space we have to a stove/oven. Furthermore, if you feel that the gimbled stove/oven combo is necessary, where's the most economical place to pick one up?
Thanks in advance!

 

[woodster]

welcome to the forum Mindi.....as for the stove i have a alcohol two burner cook top that is gimbaled but i am on mobile bay in a 30 ft boat ...i see you are on douglas lake ...if you plan to stay on that lake you may not need one ...there are some books on sailing a small boat by Lin and Larry Pardey that may give you some insite on what equipment you will need on a boat that size for the open ocean...that's about all that comes to mind from me ...good luck on fixing up your boat ......

 

[jssailem]

Mindi, the question is do you want to cook while you are sailing? A gimbaled stove means you can light the stove and boil water while the boat is healed 20 degrees. Trying that on a fixed stove top means the water will not stay in the pot and the flame will rise at an angle not directly under the pot.

Finding one in a boat consignment shop or from a boat yard who is dismantling a parts boat may save some bucks. Space on a 26ft boat may not permit your ambition. It is a compromise.

 

[Bill Murray]

Here is a great article on small single burner "stoves". Personally, I have used all these types at different times. http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/12/howto/stoves/index2.html
My favorite and the one I use now is the original Fore-spar mini-galley with Butane canister. it is harder to find the canisters than it used to be but this is safe and reliable and best of all, it works. They aren't made any more but you may be able to find one used.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

Sailing down Mississippi Sound while the ex made pancakes, eggs and coffee. IF you intend to cruise, rather than weekend, YES, it's needed. This is on a 25 footer

 

[BlowMeAway]

Hi Mindi, if you're planning on putting your 24 footer in the blue water and need to make early morning coffee as the captain puts the bow into the wind while coffee is brewing...the answer is yes, you need gimbaled stove and coffee pot clamps. If not, the pot flies off the stove and your nearly ready coffee ends up on the cabin floor, tricking into the bilge though the cabin sole. Bilge coffee seems to me to be unsatisfying. We're on a sweet water lake and only cook when in the slip, however we do have a two burner alcohol stove that is gimbaled in case our venue someday changes over the years, pulling us to ocean adventures.

 

[Alan Gomes]

My husband and I (novice sailors...we've just started ASA courses) are refitting a 1976 Bristol 24 and, as we're designing the new galley, we're wondering how necessary a gimbaled stove/ oven is. While I want the ship to be bluewater worthy, I hate losing the little galley space we have to a stove/oven. Furthermore, if you feel that the gimbled stove/oven combo is necessary, where's the most economical place to pick one up?
Thanks in advance!

As you've no doubt surmised from some of the responses you have already received, the answer depends entirely upon whether you will be cooking while under way. And that is something only you can answer. You may wish to consider your boat usage or cruising aspirations and make a realistic assessment of that if you can.

As for me, my previous boat (a Catalina 30) had a gimballed stove/oven and my present boat (an Ericson 26) has a non-gimballed two burner stove. In the nearly 10 years I owned the Catalina 30, I found that I really only needed the gimbals on one significant trip, which was a 28 hour straight run from Los Angeles Harbor (San Pedro) to Ensenada. On all of my other trips, including also ~75 nm. overnight trips to the Channel Islands, I was able to wait until I was at anchor or on a mooring to fire up the stove, and gimbals were not needed at that point. So far, on the roughly 25 separate trips I've made on my Ericson 26 to and from Catalina Island and the mainland, I've not once had a need for gimbals.

The gimbals were probably not strictly necessary even on that one trip to Ensenada where I put them to use. For coffee you can store boiled water in a vacuum pump thermos and brew a fresh cup by pumping the hot water through a Melita-style cone filter. This also gives you hot water for tea, hot chocolate, instant oat meal, etc. The vacuum thermos keeps the water hot for many hours. Then, for food on these relatively short trips, sandwiches or something that does not need to be cooked under way will often do the trick, saving the cooking for when you arrive.

If you are going to be at sea for days at a time then gimbals are a must. Otherwise, probably not.

 

[centerline]

I cannot agree that they are necessary at all... I will agree the gimble feature is convenient some times, but definitely not necessary.
what IS necessary is pot fiddles or sometimes called pot holders for the stove. these are different than a fiddle rail around the stove.
a tea kettle and/or a high sided pot (preferably a pressure cooker) held with pot fiddles will do as much or more than a gimbaled stove will.
the problem is most stoves dont gimbal far enough, or they arent balanced correctly because the gimbal point is either too high or too low.

our 3 burner range is gimbaled and it can either swing free, or it can be locked either in the middle, which is level when the boat is standing still, or locked to port or starboard... and we have found it to be just as convenient to leave it locked in the middle as we dont like it swinging free when we are using it, and its not necessary to lock it level when heeled.... just place the pot on it and strike a flame to the burner.

 

[Mindi Carver]

Thanks to everyone for the insight! I think we're definitely going to go with just a range as opposed to a stove top/oven combo AND after all the responses think we'll do something gimbaled as it is difficult to know what this boat's future holds. We are using Marguerite as our "learning" boat...we have 6 kids (so help me God, 6! Lol), so this will likely not be our forever boat. Once she's appropriately restored, we're considering Charleston SC for our home port and will go from there. Thanks again for all the prompt responses!

 

[Benny17441]

It just depends on your needs and your likes. If you like to cook and bake and consider you will be spending some time in offshore or inshore passages or at anchor then it would be justified. There is also the alternative of just getting a gimbaled two burner stove top. From my observations most people that use their ovens onboard are usually full time cruisers or liveaboards. In the past I have made do with a fixed (non gimbaled) stove top and yes on a few occasions had to eat sandwiches but for the most part it was adequate. The difference is that having a gimbaled stove will likely assure you getting a hot meal when underway or when the weather kicks up a bit. Equip the boat for the anticipated needs for 80% of the time and the other 20% of the time just make do.

 

[centerline]

I think we're definitely going to go with just a range as opposed to a stove top/oven combo

a range IS a stove top/oven combo.... like the range in your house only for a boat

as Benny17441 alluded to, the gimbal feature is only really necessary if you are trying to use the oven for baking when heeled... and only then if it is something that has a liquid batter like a cake, because bread, oven fried chicken and other oven dishes dont care if thay have a bit of list to them

 

[Benny17441]

the problem is most stoves dont gimbal far enough, or they arent balanced correctly because the gimbal point is either too high or too low
.

This is something to take into account, especially when fitting a gimbaled stove/oven into a small boat. If the stove is not allowed enough room to gimbal properly it defeats the whole purpose of the installation.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

I might mention here. A pressure cooker makes a pretty decent oven. Bread, potatoes, biscuit's, cakes all work.

Mine came aboard because of the locking lid-once had a power boat wake toss a pot of spaghetti sauce off the stove (I was anchored). Then I learned to use it as an oven

 

[Kermit]

Hey Mindi, rather than hijack this thread too much I'm gonna either send you a private message or start a thread on Douglss Lake. We've kayaked there but have never sailed on it.

 

[HMT2]

Mindy,

The Forespar mini galley might be just the thing to add for making coffee ot heating things underway. I have one and have used it several times underway. It is easy to stow away when not in use.
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=14122

 

[Alan Gomes]

Mindy,

The Forespar mini galley might be just the thing to add for making coffee ot heating things underway. I have one and have used it several times underway. It is easy to stow away when not in use.
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=14122

Do they still make it? I see that Jamestown shows it as no longer available and West Marine doesn't seem to carry it either.

 

[HMT2]

Do they still make it? I see that Jamestown shows it as no longer available and West Marine doesn't seem to carry it either.

Not sure. I bought mine two years ago. I did see one on eBay. WM can special order if they still make it

 

[MitchM]

we have both a gimbaled Eno propane stove / oven combo and a SeaCook gimbaled one-burner . the eno takes a lot of space, and even though it's gimbaled you need pot holders affixed onto on the stove to keep pots from flying off. the seacock is also gimbaled, is very small, holding only 1 small pot, but is an excellent addition to any galley. we have 2 attachments for the SeaCook so it can be moved onto the rv picnic table to cook there , too.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

we have both a gimbaled Eno propane stove / oven combo and a SeaCook gimbaled one-burner . the eno takes a lot of space, and even though it's gimbaled you need pot holders affixed onto on the stove to keep pots from flying off. the seacock is also gimbaled, is very small, holding only 1 small pot, but is an excellent addition to any galley. we have 2 attachments for the SeaCook so it can be moved onto the rv picnic table to cook there , too.

I also have a Sea Cook, which I modified to use a Kerosene burner. Sadly, they are no longer built. They were a much better design than the Sea Swing, both in mounting, and in the design of the pot holder. It will hold my 4 qt pressure cooker easily.


This has been my only stove, through several years of full time cruising

 

[odaydokay]

My 2 cents: Cooking while underway is fraught with issues. Don't do it unless you must. Years ago we removed the troublesome OE alcohol stove and kept the gimbled part of it to mount a two burner Origo and have never looked back. I guess the gimbal is a good at anchor for that jackass that does not observe the no wake zone, but that is about it for us.