Cooking Aboard with Propane

Capt'n Pauley covers this hot topic

In my recent book, Cooking Aboard a Small Boat, I cover a wide variety of cooking stoves and fuels. The following is an excerpt from the book along with a practical example from a Small Craft Advisor reader:

Propane is probably one of the most popular cooking fuels used aboard boats. It is relatively cheap, easy to find and produces a lot of heat. There are also a wide variety of propane stoves available, from permanent marine installations to modest backpacker models and everything in between. Propane does have its problems. It is a gas that is heavier than air and will sink to the lowest sections of the bilge. If sufficient vapors accumulate and reach an ignition source, an explosion will result. For that reason permanent marine propane installations are tightly governed by ABYC (American Boat and Yacht Council) and National Fire Protection Association regulations.

Propane stoves can be grouped into two categories: permanent installations and portable units.

Permanently Installed Propane Stoves

As mentioned above, the installation of these stoves is strictly regulated. A dedicated propane locker is required, with an overboard drain for any propane fumes. A regulator is required to reduce the high pressure propane from the tank down to the low pressure required by the stove. An electric gas shut off solenoid is also required.

Both of these items must be installed inside the propane locker. A continuous propane line must run from inside the propane locker to the stove with no connections in between. The line must be protected from chafe where it passes through a bulkhead and the line should be supported at least every 18". There needs to be a switch to remotely activate the shut off solenoid located next to the stove. Propane “sniffers” should be installed to warn of any accumulation of propane gas in the bilge and sound an alarm if necessary.

The common, gimbaled propane marine stove will be a little over 20" wide, 20"+ high, and almost as deep—a hefty space requirement. For that amount of space, you’ll get two or three burners, an oven and often a broiler to boot. It is also a significant investment, running anywhere from $900 up, some to over $4,000. This is for the stove only, not counting installation labor and materials. For most of us, such an installation is out of the question unless it came with the boat.

Portable Propane Stoves

A portable propane stove is a much more viable option for most of our boats. The popularity of camping and RVing has produced a number of good, inexpensive stoves using the small, portable propane cylinders. In fact, many of us have switched from the “white gas” fueled Coleman two-burner stoves we used when camping, to its propane powered brothers.

For safety’s sake, these stoves should be used in an open cockpit. Using one below decks runs the risks of propane leaks and carbon monoxide buildup. Likewise, propane cylinders should only be stored outside in a propane bag or storage device (see next section on how to build your own).

The most common two-burner style propane stove is light, compact and has a stable, low center of gravity. You can find these in the camping section of most discount stores, from around $50. At these prices, they aren’t made from marine grade materials; most are stamped sheet metal. I can tell you that my Coleman has been going on for over thirty years with no problems.

There are also many designs of single burner back-packing and camping stoves. These are great for one-pot meals on a stable, flat surface. Most are too tall for stable use aboard a moving, rocking boat. The one exception is the Forespar “Hot Spot Mini Galley.” This single-burner stove uses a small propane cylinder and has a three-way gimbal mounting. It is designed to be attached to a vertical bulkhead and will gimbal with the motion of the boat. With a stainless steel coffee/cook pot and a removable mounting bracket, this stove will set you back about $130.

As I mentioned, I have used my two-burner Coleman stove aboard Ternabout for years. It heats quickly and cooks well, at times, too well. I found that the propane burners concentrate heat on a relatively small area of the pot or pan, resulting in uneven heating across the width of the pan. Luckily, others must have had the same problem as there is a ready solution. I purchased “flame tamers” for a camping stove and permanently wired them to the stove grate above the burner. These tamers are sheet metal disks that even out the heat from the burner and provide uniform heat to the bottom of my cooking pot or pan. Well worth the couple of bucks they cost. I used Monel safety wire to permanently fix them to the grate.

Fuel Safety

As I discussed above, my preferred cook stove aboard Ternabout is an “experienced” Hillary propane stove by Coleman. We have used it in our camping van, at picnics and aboard all our boats. The downside is that is does use propane as fuel.

As a result, I store all my propane bottles outside in the cockpit, in a holder attached to the stern rail. There are two different styles of holders, a flexible Sunbrella fabric one and one made from PVC. The fabric unit is made by Magma (the grill people) and lists for about $25. It is suspended from a horizontal member of the stern rail.

The PVC unit I have on Ternabout was made by Stuart Swan Marine Corp. and was called a Propane Holster. It is designed to mount on a vertical stern rail support. I can’t find a current listing for them so I don’t know if they are still in business. It is a good candidate for home building in any case.

Both units allow leaking propane to safely vent over the side, preventing propane buildup in the bilge. Don’t leave the dock without proper propane storage! •SCA•

---

A Practical Example

Don Boyko, (Capt. Don, self-commissioned) sails his Catalina 22, Y-Knot?, out of San Diego, California. Don sent me the following write-up and photos in hopes I could use them in my recent book, Cooking Aboard a Small Boat. Unfortunately, it arrived too late to be included but I thought it was too good not to pass on to Small Craft Advisor readers.

Here in Don’s own words:

We have three ways we can cook aboard our Catalina-22. We have the factory slide-out galley with a single burner butane stove. We also have a Magma propane grill we can mount on the stern pulpit. But the one we use the most is our Forespar “Mini-Galley.”

We first learned about the Mini-Galley when we had our Capri-18. These small, single-burner stoves are fully gimbaled, so you can cook even while cruising and don’t have to worry about spilling while on the hook if some waves pass on by. The older versions used a simple needle valve to control the burner. The newer versions have a regulator built into the gas valve, so once you reach your desired heat setting, the regulator keeps it steady.

On our Capri-18, I fabricated a lower hatch board where the unit mount was located. This allowed us to cook either in the cabin (where the Mini-Galley could also be used to take the chill out of the cabin), or simply turn it around and cook in the cockpit. This method would not work when we got our Catalina-22.

There are four versions of the Catalina-22, and the first and second generation boats, (1970-1994), had wooden compression posts, so installing the Mini-Galley mount would be fairly easy. We have the MK-II version which, like the Catalina-22 Sport, uses a stainless steel pipe for the compression post. I made my mount out of some left over fiberglass flat stock that I epoxied together. It could just as easily been made from a block of oak or other wood, and would probably have look nicer. I mounted it so with the propane canister attached, it sits just about an inch above the salon table. This allows it to swing in any direction.

The Mini-Galley comes with a very nice stainless steel pot, perfect for heating up some chili, stew or soup for two. We also purchased the optional coffee pot, and hardly a morning goes by that we don’t brew a pot or two of fresh coffee when we’re on the boat. We’ve found the coffee pouches are the best and easiest way to brew a pot. No loose grounds to worry about, and for that second pot, we simply throw one new bag in with the old ones and fill the pot back up with water.

It’s sure nice to brew a pot while underway, set the auto-pilot, and sit back and enjoy a fresh cup of coffee.

Don Boyko

C-22 Y-Knot?

San Diego, CA

---

First appeared in issue #75