10 Things to Know about Cooking on a Sailboat

When we first moved onto Pelagia, cooking on a sailboat felt like a challenge—where would I store my favorite gadgets, how would I manage with a much smaller fridge and freezer, and how would I cook heeled over? 

If you’re like me and wonder how you’ll keep meals exciting with limited space and supplies and a moving galley, you’re not alone! 

After 3.5 years of full-time sailing, I’ve found a few tricks that make cooking onboard and storing food on a sailboat a breeze. In this guide, I’ll share my top 10 tips to help you create a space-efficient galley and enjoy every meal, even when cooking at sea.

1. Optimizing your Limited Space

The galley in our 1998 Hunter 450 Passage does have a good deal of space. We have a separate refrigerator and freezer, along with boat galley cabinets and drawers to store food and dishes in.

However, it was still a drastic downsizing from a house in all ways – fridge and freeze size, storage space, and counter space.

If possible, you can also take note of how the previous owners stored items. Our previous owner owned the boat for approximately 15 years, and they had some things figured out. 

For example, they used the space in the ottoman for storing pots, pans, and baking sheets, which works out great. There is also space in the hull near the galley where we store larger containers of olive oil and drinks.

We have some larger, less used items, such as a Vitamix blender, hand mixer, and waffle maker, (all requiring shore power or generator power) that we store under the starboard settee.

Consider adding plastic containers in both the fridge and freezer to help keep them both organized, as the top-loading freezer can be a bit of a challenge to get items in and out of.

Over the last 2 years of sailing full-time, we have learned that our need for clothing space got less, and food storage space got greater. Yep, that means I lost some clothing storage space for food storage.

2. Food Storage Tips

With the limited size of our refrigerator, we quickly learned that not all items we used to store in the fridge can stay in the fridge.  For example, apples, oranges, limes, and onions now get stored in a hanging hammock.

There is also a strategy to where we store what food in the fridge and freezer. We have DC-powered evaporator plates,  one of our boat projects we completed before we took off sailing, that tend to freeze food immediately next to them.

I have learned the hard way not to store a head of lettuce next to the evaporator plates! 

We’ve also noticed that items on the top shelf stay a bit warmer than items on the middle and bottom of the fridge. Therefore, meats and other items we don’t want to spoil quickly do not get stored on the top shelf.

We also added a small fan to the refrigerator to help circulate the air inside.

A positive of the evaporator plates is that they provide a great place to store ice cube trays with lids, like these, in the freezer. Our plates are in the shape of a rounded rectangle, allowing the perfect, and extra cold place, to store ice cubes.

For canned goods, pasta and other shelf-stable items we stock up on, we use most of the drawers located under the forward bed. 

Using drawers, or top loading storage spaces work good for canned goods so you can easily see the top of the cans if you write on them and remove the labels.

3. Helpful Boat Cooking Gadgets

When we first moved aboard from our house, we didn’t know what we would need, but we knew what we used the most when cooking at the house.

So, we brought our most used items aboard and didn’t buy any special cooking equipment at first. 

Items From Home that we Use Frequently:

1. We love our two cast iron skillets, a 12-inch and an 8-inch, that we store inside the oven when it’s not in use. We use them so frequently, we have not had any issues with rusting.
2. 10-inch nonstick pan and 3-quart pot
3. Cupcake tin 
4. Small baking sheet
5. Nestled mixing bowls
6. Toaster oven (where a microwave used to be)
7. Tervis Tumblers and Hydro Flask coffee cups, with lids
8. Cutting Board with non-skid back

Several of these items are stored in the ottoman which helps add weight to the ottoman and keeps it from sliding around when out sailing.

Items we Bought after Sailing Awhile:

1. Pressure Cooker
2. Soda Stream
3. French Press Coffee Maker
4. Silicone Placemats
5. Hydro Flask wine tumblers (with lids!)

After our first trip to the Bahamas, we added to our equipment with the purchase of a pressure cooker and a soda stream. 

The pressure cooker allows us to buy beans in bulk, reducing the amount of trash and space taken up by cans. 

The soda stream greatly gives us more space by not having to buy cases of coke, sprite, etc.

Another favorite item is our French press coffee maker. It’s my personal favorite coffee maker on the 10 coffee makers we reviewed for boats. This does not require any electricity and is essential when we are at anchor or on a mooring ball.

There are several more galley items in the galley section of this list we put together for practical gift ideas for sailors.

4. Sailboat Provisioning Tips

Some of the biggest challenges I have found living on a sailboat, especially when trying to prepare for long trips, is where to store all the food, and what do I need to stock up on?!? 

I actually paired down some of my clothes from the forward stateroom to make more room for food provisions.

I wanted to store as much food as possible because we don’t know when and where we will get to a grocery store next, or how expensive the food will be when we get there (for example, when in the Bahamas and the Caribbean).

Here are some top provisioning tips I’ve learned along the way sailing the US East Coast, Bahamas, and the Caribbean:

1. Fully stocked grocery stores were fairly easy to find when cruising down the coast in the United States.
2. When getting ready for a trip to the Bahamas, you will want to provision and bring as much food as possible. Food is VERY expensive there and finding grocery stores like you are used to in the United States are few and far between. Maxwell’s in the Abacos is a great stop if you need to stock up.
3. Grocery stores are pretty plentiful in the Caribbean, although what they have in stock can vary day to day. Two good grocery stores in Grenada are Real Value IGA and Ram’s Supermarket. The prices are not as good as the United States, but not nearly as expensive as the Bahamas.
4. If space is an issue, stock up on dried beans. They are much cheaper than their canned alternatives, and take up much less space.
5. Our SodaStream has saved us tons of space too. Buying and storing the containers of syrup takes up much less space than buying and storing cases of Coke, Sprite, etc.

5. Cooking on a Boat with Limited Resources

As you are out cruising and sailing along, your food supplies obviously diminish.

The fresh food needs to get eaten first as they will only last for so long. This is very true in the Bahamas and Caribbean as vegetables not grown there have to get shipped in, and are usually needing to be eaten within 1-2 days.

Make sure to stock up on a lot of non-perishable foods, such as beans, rice, pasta and a variety of spices.  

You can make so many meals for passages with a combination of these staples, using different spices and add-ins from canned or frozen vegetables and meats.

Also, getting used to cooking on a small stove, ours has three burners, is an adjustment. Oftentimes, we can only use 2 of the 3 burners at a time because any more pots and pans simply don’t fit at once.

6. Ideas for Sea-Friendly Meals

When planning your passages, whether it’s for the day, a multi-day passage, or an overnight passage like we took when we went across the Mona Passage, it is helpful to make some meals ahead of time for sailing. 

You never know what lies ahead on a passage. The weather could take a turn for the worse, or something could break on the boat that requires your time and attention.

Having meals ready to go ensures you don’t end up with a hungry captain and crew!

Hot Weather Meals:

My favorite sailing food that I prep ahead of time in summer weather are:

• Pasta salads
• Quinoa salads
• Bean salads
• Tacones (mix of black beans, corn, tomato, avocado, shredded cheese and sour cream served in a tortilla shell wrapped like a cone!)
• Wraps
• Snackle Boxes (cut up apples, oranges, tomato, meats, cheeses, nuts, olives and anything else you love to snack on)

Cold Weather Meals

If you’re in colder weather, here are some good make ahead meals for boating:

• Chili
• Stew
• Curries
• Lasagna
• Pasta Noodles

These are all always winners. These only require some re-heating, then you have a nice hot meal while underway.

Pasta noodles are especially good on rougher passages. I don’t know about you, but when the seas get rough, not much food appeals to me. Pasta noodles with a little butter always hit the spot for a quick easy meal when sailing at night.

7. Minimize your Waste

As with everything else on a boat, our garbage bin is limited in space too.

When we do a grocery shopping trip, I remove all cardboard packaging and remove it from the boat as soon as possible. Not only does it help with storage space, but cockroaches like to eat cardboard, especially if it gets wet! 

All food scraps get thrown overboard when we are at anchor. This helps your garbage bin from filling up fast, and cuts down on the sticky smells and bugs it attracts.

Another good reason to minimize your waste is that sometimes, it can be hard to find a place to throw your trash away. The more remote the places are that you go, the harder it is to find trash disposal.

8. Use Local Ingredients

I love trying out new local foods! Not only does it add variety to your meals, you can usually buy local ingredients for much cheaper than food that must be imported in. 

While in the Bahamas, we caught a blue runner and a mutton snapper while sailing on the Bahama Banks. They both made great meals and were free (well, included in the cost of our cruising permit which also includes the fishing permit).

Another local food of the Bahamas is conch. While conch is hard to harvest if you haven’t done it before, it is very prevalent at restaurants in the form of conch salad, conch in da bag, or conch fritters, to name a few.

9. Provisioning Tips for Guests Onboard

Whether you are chartering a boat with friends and family, or you live on your boat and are welcoming guests or crew, it is important to understand their dietary restrictions. 

You will want to be able to properly provision before they get on the boat to make sure everyone has plenty to eat. 

Good practice is to ask everyone what they like to eat, and what they can’t or aren’t able to eat, before the trip starts. If your friends are fellow boaters, you can jot this down on their boat card to help you remember for future sundowners and appetizers.

This will help you with your provisioning. Keep in mind that adding people on your boat will increase how fast you go through food, and how much food you need for provisioning. 

I know this sounds like a no brainer, but I am always amazed how much food a teenage boy or man can eat!

10. Safety Tips for the Galley

Last, but certainly not least, are safety tips!

Many accidents can happen while trying to cook underway. The boat is always moving around, and quite possibly heeling over. This can add to the challenge of sailboat cooking in the galley with limited space.

Many sailboats put mitigating measures in place in the galley to help you cook while underway. 

For example, our countertops have a beveled edge to prevent things from sliding off the end and for hanging on to. 

Our stove is a gimbaled stove, which means it will remain level when the boat is heeled over. We also have brackets that fasten onto the top of the stove that secure the pots to prevent them from sliding around.

Here are a few of tips to help with safely cooking on a sailboat:

1. Make sure all of the chopping and slicing is done before getting underway. Not much is more dangerous than knives sliding around the galley when you are heeled over.
2. Better yet, prep the entire meal and have the dishes cleaned and put away before getting underway.
3. Eliminate or reduce the amount of glass. Stow away all coffee mugs and secure any liquor bottles or other glass on the boat.
4. Make sure all items in your galley are secure to prevent them from falling on you when cooking. During one particularly rough passage, we had items in the galley fly clear across the boat to the other side. 
5. Check the drawers in your galley (and rest of the boat) to make sure they can’t open while underway. Many sailboats have buttons on our drawers that push in to lock them in place and push out to unlock and open.

FAQs about Cooking on a Sailboat

Enjoy your Delicious Meals Cooking on a Sailboat

While it is a little more challenging cooking on a sailboat with limited space and sometimes resources, you can’t beat dining in different places with beautiful views in the comfort of your boat. 

Provisioning and organizing gets easier with time. You will figure out the foods you like to keep on hand and the galley gadgets you use most often. Just don’t forget to make safety a priority when cooking underway.

What are some of your favorite meals to cook aboard? Have you had any funny mishaps? We would love to hear from you. Visit us at Facebook or Instagram.

Read More Posts Related to Cooking on a Sailboat

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