Do stoves need to be gimballed on a mono

[markpierce]

Stoves aren't normally gimballed in all needed directions, particularly when bashing to windward. Consider having foods aboard not needing to be cooked/heated. ... Do not omit devices holding pots/pans over the heating surface. Don't rely totally on gravity, and do not deep-fry.

[JPA Cate]

Just to add a note: if in rough waters for a number of days, you can still make fresh bread, in the pressure cooker, without the gasket, of course. Or you can substitute cabin bisquits, for a bread substitute. We did this on one crossing from Mexico to the Marquesas. Canned butter, raspberry jam or compote. Substitute for toast. But, if you sail somewhere cold, I agree with Dockhead, a hot brekkie, even if only oatmeal, warms you right up before you go out on watch.....and a hot supper makes falling asleep even easier! if you're the off watch, as I am, at that time of evening.

Ann

[elandra65]

I have had boats with both. Seriously though putting a non gimballed stove on a monohull that intends to be more than a day at sea is stupidity. If you want to live on sandwiches for days at a time go for it. Personally I like my food and the occasional hot drink.

There are people out there using non gimballed stoves and the Pardeys did not use a gimballed stove, at least on Serrafyn but it doesn't work for me. The only boat I had with a non gimballed stove started life as a performance cruiser and the previous owners morphed it into a motor boat over the years.

BTW I have crossed the Pacific and many other voyages and not once was I unable to cook a meal on my gimballed stove in all conditions.

Andrew

[Sojourner]

I vote gimbals. When not cooking, the top is great for a stable surface to make sandwiches on, hold my french press while I'm filling it, bowls of food blah blah.... But again, it depends on if the boat is gonna be a marina queen or actually go places. I wouldn't be without it. Heck, my SM came with a set of gimballed soup bowls you can clamp onto the salon table! I must say I don't look forward to the day I have to break those puppies out, but they're in the cabinet just in case.... maybe for a 20 day south pacific trade wind crossing? Rollin' rollin' rollin'.....

[KiwiKen]

"MO, gimballing does make life easier. That said, a fixed installation CAN work; friends who circumnavigated had one such in a 34 footer. You will accommodate, and make it work. Now, Jim and I have always had gimballed ones, and I think I prefer that. In either case, a pressure cooker is your friend."

Definitely recommend a Pressure Cooker
No spillage while cooking,
In really heavy weather it can be chained down to the stove (no joking-with light chain) so the cooker stays put.
Saves on gas & cooks quicker
Not fashionable in those nauseating reality cooking shows with prima donna wannabe chefs, but very useful on a yacht

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Sure, but can anyone be sure that his cruising plans won't change over the period he owns the boat?

By this logic, if you sail on a small inland lake, you better have a boat that will easily take you round cape horn...because you cruising plans might change some day.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

By this logic, if you sail on a small inland lake, you better have a boat that will easily take you round cape horn...because you cruising plans might change some day.

That's an unrealistic extreme. You would change boats if you had this radical a change of plan.

But it is very typical for some people to start out day sailing around a coast and then later to start to venture out to further destinations and start to do some longer passages. If the boat is otherwise a capable offshore boat, it would in my opinion be a mistake to fit the stove in a way which is only suitable for day sailing.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

That's an unrealistic extreme. You would change boats if you had this radical a change of plan.

But it is very typical for some people to start out day sailing around a coast and then later to start to venture out to further destinations and start to do some longer passages. If the boat is otherwise a capable offshore boat, it would in my opinion be a mistake to fit the stove in a way which is only suitable for day sailing.

Cape horn may be an extreme but weekend coastal cruiser doing day hops to atlantic crossings results in the same analysis and results.

Of course the vast majority of cruisers never even do an overnight let alone a multi-day offshore trip, so if you are playing the odds, it's silly to outfit for offshore if it's not in the plans.

Again, we haven't heard what the OP is planning. People are just assuming he is or will do a lot of cooking under way and statistically for most cruisers (inclusive of weekend and coastal cruisers), it will be a rare event.

Now if he does plan on offshore, then gimbling makes sense.

[tmason]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

You had a different POS from my POS - mine has knobs on top and no igniters.

To the guy who has trouble with opening the oven door - LOCK the gimbal before opening the oven Problem solved ; no sliding counterweight required

Like Ping, I usually lock the gimbal at an angle rather than letting the cooker swing, unless I'm sailing downwind with a big roll going on (which I usually avoid anyway).

Point taken on the oven door, but our lock only works in the zero heel position; I think I shall make a lock plate that has several holes so that it can be locked at various angles of heel, thanks for the tip. I still like the idea of the sliding weight, if only to see if I can do it. Cheers.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by tmason

Point taken on the oven door, but our lock only works in the zero heel position; I think I shall make a lock plate that has several holes so that it can be locked at various angles of heel, thanks for the tip. I still like the idea of the sliding weight, if only to see if I can do it. Cheers.

The sliding weight is cool! But I think you will find the variable gimbal lock to be more practical, and useful for a lot of different purposes besides dealing with the oven door.

[Just Awesome]

Originally Posted by svHyLyte

Frankly old son, if you don't know enough that your would ask such a question, you don't yet know enough to attempt living on a boat, in a marina to say nothing of at sea. Get a few tens of miles at sea under your belt and then come back and ask questions. This won't be one of them....

The foregoing isn't "kind". It is so, however....

Hi old son with a comment like yours I feel it's time you stopped being on this type of forum. As it is my belief that this was set up so people like me can ask this kind of question.
As for sea time I have got plenty after 10 years in the navy. We didn't have gambled stoves. We also had sandwiches in rough weather.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Just Awesome

Hi old son with a comment like yours I feel it's time you stopped being on this type of forum. As it is my belief that this was set up so people like me can ask this kind of question.
As for sea time I have got plenty after 10 years in the navy. We didn't have gambled stoves. We also had sandwiches in rough weather.

To be clear : wise men say there are no stupid questions. And certainly not this one. Even very experienced sailors have different views, as we've seen in this thread.

It has been an interesting thread and we've all learned something from it. I haven't changed my view that gimbals are really needed on a mono at sea, but I know more about the subject thanks to this thread. Thanks for starting it.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

.......
What about a smart gimbaled stove? It would have a microprocessor and gyroscopes and motor. The motor would be actively driven to ensure water is least likely to slosh out of the pot. Maybe it can it work better than a gimbal? Does it need any other sensors, like a video camera to see the water in the pot to help it learn?

You could try and pick up a Sperry Mk 14 and modify the sensitive element so as to put a cooktop on top.....

Mind you the mercury ballistics may be an issue these days....


https://maritime.org/doc/gyromk14/index.htm

Seriously... sort of... modern gyro compasses are far smaller ( the Mk 14 was like a Tardis on steroids ) and every ship that goes to the breakers has one....

I wonder where they all go?
Probably into ISIS drones.......

[jtsailjt]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

The sliding weight is cool! But I think you will find the variable gimbal lock to be more practical, and useful for a lot of different purposes besides dealing with the oven door.

I think the.variable gimbal lock could be useful for holding the tilt constant when sliding something heavy out of the oven just as we do when anchored, but I don’t understand what a sliding weight will do for you.

Since the goal is always the same, keeping the stove level, wouldn’t simply adding additional weight bolted beneath the bottom of the oven be a lot simpler and about as useful? The problem with adding a moving part is that it has the potential to move in the wrong direction at the wrong time, giving you the opposite effect from what you were hoping for, but additional fixed weight can only increase stability in all conditions and requires no thinking or adjustment. I have some of the old type hard scuba weights that might work this. My stove seems pretty stable but when boiling a large pot of water on top, 10 extra pounds or so down low would help keep the stoves cg where I want it to be.

Maybe I’m misunderstanding the sliding weight concept? Can someone explain?

[Fuss]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I use the built-in microwave in my boat a lot on long passages. It is rather awkward on a heel, sometimes requiring me to take out the rotating plate. It would be brilliant to have one on a gimbal.

it's possible to cook on a boat with gimbals and also without... but a microwave with rotating plate almost never works unless the sea is flat calm.

This device is desiged to work in a flat, non moving kitchen and definitely not on a boat.

It does not work on a heel, not at all. food to hot, frozen cold all in the same mouthful.

The only sort of microwave that works at sea is a flatbed inverter style such as a Panasonic NN-CF model.

Take the microwave out....Its absolutely not suitable, get yourself a flatbed one.

no wonder you're going on about gimbals!