To what extent is a gimballed stove necessary?

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by hafa

A gimbaled stove is not only necessary for heating water while underway, but is very handy for pouring and preparing liquids. Even for overnight runs, I'd consider it a necessity. Then again, we have a wing keel and 14' seas and 25 knot winds constitute a mild day during the trades...

And when conditions are like that, when I have to put down my coffee cup I put it in a cool corner of the gimbaled stovetop. Anywhere else, it may fly even if on a rubber mat.

Catamaran folks are laughing at us - where are they?

[CassidyNZ]

Originally Posted by stormalong

It does not define me it educates me.

So you’re educated by one disaster report “from many years ago”? How many other single-event reports have contributed to your education? Because there are literally thousands of recorded one-event disasters that, if each contributed to our education to the extent that “I’m never doing that again”, no sane person would set foot on a sailing boat.

No, I think it defines you.

[stormalong]

Originally Posted by CassidyNZ

So you’re educated by one disaster report “from many years ago”? How many other single-event reports have contributed to your education? Because there are literally thousands of recorded one-event disasters that, if each contributed to our education to the extent that “I’m never doing that again”, no sane person would set foot on a sailing boat.

No, I think it defines you.

Fine, whatever.

[John Williams]

Both our boats over 20 years have had gimballed stoves. It has never crossed my mind not to have one. We can fix our stove if we want. And in the marina or at anchor we do. But we used it gimballed frequently. So it all depends on what you do. If you have a mono and sail any distance you are going to need a gimballed stove if you want to boil a kettle or heat meat pies in the oven for lunch. I guess we do a lot of open water sailing with seas and swell.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by stormalong

I used to have one of those straps. Many years ago there was a story about someone that was strapped in getting very badly burned. Hospitalization and skin grafts ensued. That strap got cut up and thrown away. YMMV but I was not going to accept that risk. My boat is stable enough in all but the worst weather to be able to stand and use both hands for cooking. If conditions are too rough to stand at the stove without holding on they are too rough to be cooking.

PS. Someone on the forum has a closing message something like: "Most people learn from there mistakes. I like to learn from other people's mistakes." I am in that camp. Pouring boiling water over one's lower half only has to happen once to ruin a life.

I have not circumnavigated and only have 20,000 miles or so at sea but several long passages in fairly rough weather. Always cooked at least one full, hot meal each day plus coffee and tea. Not once have I ever come close to losing a pot off a gimbaled stove but several times have fallen across the cabin when I wasn't using the belt in the galley.

I have heard second and third hand stories of burns from pots flying off stoves but never confirmed any of these nor did any say if the stove was gimbaled or not in the rumored incident. I would suspect not.

Based on my data point of one person I'll keep my belt.

[newhaul]

I have sailed all over the planet and never had a gimballed stove . How did i ever survive what with all the you need a gimballed stove to cook underway on a monohull sailboat .

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

@ Jammer,

I think it really depends on whether or not you will be doing overnight or longer sails. We like to have at least one hot meal a day, sometimes 3.

We have some friends who circumnavigated with a fixed stove. Its gimbals were around 5" high, and all their pots were deep. What happens is that the liquids stay parallel to the bottom of the sea, so there is a need for sloshing room.

We have always had gimballed stoves. I like them. We made do with just 2 burners for years, but now we have 3. We used a butt belt for years: two pad eyes, and a wide belt, like a seat belt, to brace against, and also had a strong 1" s/s tubing rail to keep one off the stove. Now I have a U shaped galley, and I don't need a butt belt anymore. If it is secure where you cook, you can cook whatever you want to eat, although we tend to go for one pot meals when traveling, ourselves, sometimes two. Something no one has mentioned, but is a factor, is that one can bake underway, with a gimballed stove/oven, and the bread looks normal, not all tipped to one side.

You can save energy by making your coffee or tea once a day and then putting it in a thermos for successive cups. We don't. We make it fresh each time. If you have a bigger boat sometime, and want to range further afield, you may want a gimballed stove at that time, though as gamayun says, some people get by okay with a sea swing setup. If you're content with what you are doing now, stay with it. One works it out as one goes along.

Ann

A close friend, one may say our best friend, locked the gimbals in port on her boat. In one Alaska anchorage she had heated a tea pot of water to boiling and was pouring it into a thermos on the stove top when a fishing boat steamed by.

The stove did not swing. The thermos fell off the stovetop and the boiling water poured into her sailing boot. She suffered horrible burns and had to be airlifted to a hospital. Luckily she did not lose the foot or leg.

We are pretty strict about leaving the stove gimbaled whenever we are not at the dock. I am pretty sure that if her stove was free to swing the accident would not have happened.

I'm not sure how someone without gimbals would protect themselves from that.

[Spot]

How much 'gimbal', as in angle each way, is actually needed or recommended?

[BillKny]

if you are going to actually COOK offshore on a stove top, in a seaway, on a monohull, gimbals are required. Any thing else is being cheap and silly. I mean, really, just think about it for a second... why would water stay in the pan if the stove wasn't gimbaled????

If you are not really cooking but just heating a can of soup gimbals would still be nice to have.

I have done lots of offshore miles and lots of cooking...

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by BillKny

if you are going to actually COOK offshore on a stove top, in a seaway, on a monohull, gimbals are required. Any thing else is being cheap and silly. I mean, really, just think about it for a second... why would water stay in the pan if the stove wasn't gimbaled????

If you are not really cooking but just heating a can of soup gimbals would still be nice to have.

I have done lots of offshore miles and lots of cooking...

I have sailed everywhere from the arctic to the southern ocean and likely well over 100k miles over the last 40+ years and even on the fishing boats i dont remember ever having a gimballed stove. You just have to plan things accordingly . Tall fiddles and when pouring hot liquids you place the vessel you are pouring into in the sink that contains any spills.

[hafa]

Originally Posted by newhaul

You just have to plan things accordingly . Tall fiddles and when pouring hot liquids you place the vessel you are pouring into in the sink that contains any spills.

Why not just set up a gimbaled stove and not worry about it? It's an inexpensive and simple thing to implement and makes life easier. I don't think that there's dishonor in gimbals nor glory in doing pours in the sink...

Originally Posted by stormalong

Many years ago there was a story about someone that was strapped in getting very badly burned. Hospitalization and skin grafts ensued. That strap got cut up and thrown away.

A proper strap simply provides something to lean against; it does not prevent one from moving out of the way. I'd imagine they either had (a) a restraint that was poorly designed and/or (b) were restrained whilst cooking on a non-gimbaled stove.

[stormalong]

Originally Posted by hafa

A proper strap simply provides something to lean against; it does not prevent one from moving out of the way. I'd imagine they either had (a) a restraint that was poorly designed and/or (b) were restrained whilst cooking on a non-gimbaled stove.

You are going to have to illustrate how to make a strap that both holds you in and can allow you to get away from a sudden spill.

The strap that was commonly sold by West Marine and others consisted of two snap hooks with a strap in between.

This thread started with small boats and gimbals. A small boat has more motion than a larger, heavier boat. The possibility of a motion that could throw/spill boiling water is more likely in a small boat than a large one.

I stand by my remarks and hope no one has an accident that proves me right.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by newhaul

I have sailed all over the planet and never had a gimballed stove . How did i ever survive what with all the you need a gimballed stove to cook underway on a monohull sailboat .

I don't recall anyone claiming you could not survive nor cook on a boat without a gimballed stove. But in my limited experience only sailing around the Caribbean and Atlantic it is easier, safer, and a lot less hassle to cook on a gimballed stove.

One example, when on the wind and heeled over for days trying to cook something like soup on a non gimbaled stove all the food and liquid is down in one corner of the pot leaving the other side of the pot bare. Makes it tricky to cook the food on one side without scorching the bare pot on the other.

To me it's like sailing a boat without a dodger or many other conveniences. Sure you can do it but having it makes life a little easier. Maybe I'm getting soft and lazy in my old age but making things a little easier and more convenient is nice. I've done my share of roughing it and enjoy a few little perks.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by stormalong

You are going to have to illustrate how to make a strap that both holds you in and can allow you to get away from a sudden spill.

The strap that was commonly sold by West Marine and others consisted of two snap hooks with a strap in between.

This thread started with small boats and gimbals. A small boat has more motion than a larger, heavier boat. The possibility of a motion that could throw/spill boiling water is more likely in a small boat than a large one.

I stand by my remarks and hope no one has an accident that proves me right.

Sorry but I have to go with the opinion that the risk of being burned by a pot launched off a stove is negligible. The worst trip I recall was a winter crossing of the Caribbean from Panama to the USVI. I don't think I saw less than 25 kts and 10-12' seas the whole trip and often a good bit more. Cooked well over a dozen full meals and coffee a couple of times a day on that trip and never spilled a drop. Most of the time we didn't even need to use the pot clamps on the stove.

By the way, that trip was on a 36' moderate displacement, shoal draft boat.

[mitiempo]

Originally Posted by Spot

How much 'gimbal', as in angle each way, is actually needed or recommended?

About 25 - 30 degrees