Joy Smith's Blog

Kitchen Afloat: Galley Management and Meal Preparation, was released October 2002 by Sheridan House Publishers. Written from a boating cook’s perspective, Kitchen Afloat takes you through the intricacies of your galley, helps you choose supplies and provisions that fit your style and needs, and teaches you to plan and execute workable menus, both at dock and underway. It includes valuable, up-to-date information about every aspect of dining on the water, from nutrition to menu planning to meal preparation, with a special chapter devoted to recipe development, featuring an assortment of original recipes. Retails $19.50 at bookstores. If you'd like a signed copy, send me an email.

Chapter 11: SPACEMAKING
Can we ever have enough galley storage on a boat? I doubt it. The ultimate convenience is to have everything needed to prepare a meal within arm’s reach. Before you buy a boat, explore all the lockers and drawers in the galley area to be certain that they are the correct shape and size to accommodate frequently used pans, dinnerware, and food supplies. A friend complained to me that the pan locker in her new 41-foot sailboat was too narrow to hold anything larger than a small saucepot, so settle these types of issues before you sign on the dotted line for that expensive yacht

One of our earlier galleys had so few lockers that I was forced to stash pans and bowls in a locker under the V-berth; it was such a nuisance to unearth the bedding that most of the time these sat stacked atop the berth. On that same boat, the only place that would accommodate canned, boxed, and bagged foods was under a salon seat. This made it embarrassing to ask a guest to move when I needed to dig out the salsa and chips for hors d’oeuvres. If you have such a situation, the only way to combat it is to plan ahead and remove the items you might need in advance, or to create convenient storage space by bargaining with the captain for use of the lockers closest to the galley workspace.

Technology Has Its Price
Keep in mind that on a boat there will always be a trade-off. Amenities eat up space you might otherwise have enjoyed for handy storage. I gave up having a dinnerware cupboard in my galley to install a microwave oven. To accommodate the workings of a refrigeration/freezer system, I surrendered a great towel cabinet in the head. Now we’re talking about putting in a watermaker. I wonder what I’ll need to give up for that nicety? So it goes…

Launch a Space Hunt
If a sardine can makes your galley look like a mansion, take a look around you. Every open and closed area on the boat has potential for increased space. It’s there. Look behind and underneath cabinets and lockers. Can you make an area larger by removing an interior board? Open lockers that are screwed shut and maybe you’ll be surprised. After owning her boat for many years, a friend squealed in delight when she found a locker meant to hold a water tank totally empty and available.

Steal Ideas
When you go to boat shows, snoop about for storage ideas. Where is there shelving? What types of doors are on the cabinets? How is space divided within the dry locker, icebox, wine cupboard, and other galley cabinets? Talk to other boaters, particularly those that own your same make and model boat, to find out how they solved issues you are struggling with. You can offer them ideas, as well. Years ago we met live-aboard cruisers who owned our exact style boat. I was amazed at the ingenuity they used in redesigning the interior of cabinets, adding custom lockers and external shelving. We copied many of their innovations and, as a result, have greatly increased the amount of useable storage on our boat.

Create Workspace
Scan your galley countertop-- the ends, front, and sides--for a spot to accommodate a counter extension. On a former boat, we installed a hinged, fold down counter that added an extra foot to the galley. By boating standards, being able to summon up this much uncluttered space at will is found gold.

Seek Mobility
Commonly, many of us resort to the tops of the stove, icebox, cooler, sink, or any open surface for food preparation. The problem is that our workspace disappears as soon as a lid must be opened, a burner ought to be lit, or running water is needed from the sink. Thus, preparation in progress is constantly disrupted unless it can be easily picked up and relocated elsewhere. The solution is to create a mobile workstation. You can do this in a couple of ways. Have a wooden boards made to set snuggly over the wells of the sink or stove. Be certain these can stow away easily and that you don’t make the mistake of attaching them with hinges. A less expensive way to accomplish the same goal is to place a simple tray or cookie sheet over the open areas. If necessary, glue rubberized matting to the underside keep your “cover” from sliding about.

Think beyond the galley. The salon table, the captain’s chart table, the top of the cooler, or the seat of the cockpit are dandy spots to spread out and make sandwiches or do some mixing--and you can sit down to work. Or, simply set a basket, baking pan, or platter on your lap and use that.

Maximize Interior Space
Analyze each locker and cabinet within galley jurisdiction and decide on its best use. After owning the same boat for several years, I decided to relocate my dishes from the dinnerware cabinet situated underneath our salon table up into a small, square locker in the galley. I no longer have to stoop, dig, and groan to obtain a plate or two and the freed cabinet has created a long sought spot for less needed items.

If a drawer is too short, you may lack a place to store serving utensils. You can’t make a locker bigger or change its shape without serious reconstruction, but often you can make it more useable by expanding access to it or reworking the interior. Our liquor cabinet was large but sorely inefficient. It was double the height of the tallest bottle and the openings in the plastic insert, which held the bottles intact, were the wrong shapes and sizes. Our giant bottle of Mount Gay Rum was homeless until the local yard carpenter came to its rescue by recutting and enlarging the holes in the insert. While we were at it, we realized there was dead space at the top of the locker and added a shelf with dividers and a lip to retain stemware and drink glasses. This was inexpensive to do, and has paid for itself in convenience.

Examine cabinet doors to see if there is space to add a row of skinny storage shelves inside the door, perhaps to hold spices. Often, changing the way a door or locker opens or enlarging the access to a locker can turn useless into useable. Sliding doors require less swing room, but also limit access to items within. Our present boat, a Freedom Yacht, has nifty hinged doors on the strip of cabinets above the icebox/stove that drop down individually to form eight-inch lipped work shelves above the appliances. Perhaps your doors can be reshaped in this manner.

One of our underberth lockers had a very small opening to it. By redoing the cover, we gained access to the entire locker and can now store in it bulky items that previously wouldn’t fit, like the extra sail.

What About the Bilge?
There is no way I would use the bilge on our boat for storage as long as there is enough murky water sitting in it to show my reflection. Yet, I am told that some boats have a dry bilge and that this is an excellent spot to house ponderous items like canned foods, beer, and soda. If your bilge has possibilities as a storage area, monitor its wetness quotient by checking it repeatedly to determine if it ever gets an accumulation of water; even a small amount will create enough for a bath when the boat heels. If your bilge gets only slightly damp, encase goods that can’t tolerate moisture in plastic for their incarceration there. Set items up and off the bottom by lining the area with Dri Dek or a similar non-rusting grate. Ensure all items are bilge-ready. A chunk of soggy paper can evoke an emergency, should it clog up the bilge pump’s intake and burn out its impeller. Never stow cardboard boxes where bilge water could possibly wet them. Over time, moisture can cause paper labels to loosen and peel or become moldy, so remove labels from cans and mark their contents clearly with permanent black marker.

Space Organizers
Ordinary kitchen and bath organizers can help divide and conquer exterior cabin space by maximizing drawers, lockers, and cabinets. Keep your space-saver eyeglasses on wherever you shop. You’ll find items that will simplify storage abound at bed & bath stores or in houseware aisles. Seek ideas from catalogs for camping and recreational vehicles and from storage and gadget houses, like Hold Everything, Get Organized, and others.

Divide and Conquer
Make your own mobile shelf dividers by using square plastic or wicker baskets to store small items like spices, teas bags, and sugar packets. The folding style plastic milk crates work well in lower or underberth lockers to square curved spaces in lockers and keep canned and boxed foods up off the sole of the locker. Avoid using cardboard boxes for storage, particularly in southern climates, as cardboard attracts insects. Thanks to a friend who provided us block Styrofoam with cutouts for bottles, we can now safely store two cases of wine in a lower locker. Vinyl coated metal can stackers and stand-alone shelving help organize tall spaces inside lockers without the need to wield a screwdriver or saw. These are inexpensive and, unless they nick, will hold up in a salty, moist environment.

Mount It to Surmount It
String up mesh hammocks to hold snack bags, breads, paper goods, and other lightweight supplies. A set of nesting baskets hung overhead holds fruits, vegetables, or small items; and the gimbaling effect will keep them safe underway. Hanging “shoe” organizers are available with ventilated web pockets. These will hold dozens of small items and can be mounted on a cabinet door. A fabric or plastic organizer can be cut down to fit any upright locker or wall area. If you use screw-in cup hooks or glue-on, marine-grade Velcro to affix the holder, you’ll be able to remove it whenever you wish. Plastic hooks that slip over a door rim also make potential holders for organizers or shelving.

Why dig around for supplies, like disposable cups, paper towel holders, and wraps when you can mount holders for them right where you’ll use them. For cups or mugs, install (cup) hooks or look for an under-shelf mug holder. I’ve seen advertised a plastic holder that accommodates several mugs and clips over the shelf and requires no tools to install. Stemmed glasses and cups with handles often cannot be stacked. By keeping these up and away from the base of the cabinet, you will gain useable space. If you have an overhead area ripe for mounting, install a slotted wineglass holder. Most will store close to a dozen glasses out of the way and in a convenient “drying rack.”

Suction-cup-backed holders are particularly effective and can help corral small items inside a cabinet or out. These are intended to adhere to odd spots, like the inside of a sink, and to hold lightweight supplies—sponges, sink brushes, steel wool pads—and have the advantage of being easy to remove or relocate. However, I have found some are strong enough to hold some weight—oddly enough, the cheap ones work as well as or better than most costly, substantial holders. I keep that bottle of dish detergent from dancing behind the sink by popping it into a suction holder, and also use several in the head to hold toothpaste, toothbrushes, and soap.

Use screw-in or suction-backed hooks to convert open wall space near the galley into open storage. Hang up a favorite saucepot or strainer, and even a small basket to hold matches, keys, and other elusive items. Install a spice rack, or a utensil holder.
Tame the cluttered of piles of paper plates with a plastic holder. The version I saw will hold about 125 paper plates. It is meant to go under a counter, but you might mount almost anywhere there is space; inside a cabinet, overhead, or even in a vertical position over the sink.

Looking for a place to stuff all those annoying, but reusable, plastic supermarket bags? Purchase or make a cloth tube with an elasticized stuffer hole on one side and a loop for hanging at the top. These will neatly hold quite a few bags, while allowing easy one-at-a-time removal. I’ve also seen large plastic soda bottles converted to plastic bag holders, a bulkier but easy to do solution. Use a length of cord to make a loop around the cap of the bottle for hanging; and then, with a sharp utility knife, cut a hole at the base of the bottle large enough to allow easy insertion and removal of the bags.

Take a few minutes and cruise through the catalogs that I’m sure flood your home daily. You may find the just the thing to solve a storage problem in your galley. There is always something new or handy being devised. Remember, if it’s easier to reach it will be a joy to cook with.