New Galley

[Mike36c]

My 3 year old 12/120v X-brand refrigerator bit the dust and the thought of putting ANOTHER $1000 POS unit in was more than I could bear. After searching the internet for days trying to find an apartment size house fridge to fit the hole, no luck so I went a little extreme. Armed with a screw gun and a sawzall the whole galley ended up in a front yard trash pile. The old galley had water damage and was in bad shape plus the princess stove was on its last leg, the dead fridge got me motivated.

I'm now in the process of finding a cabinet maker to replace the galley. I've decided (but haven't purchased yet) to go with separate undercounter fridge and freezer. They are 5cf each, front swing door units, and should work out ok, I priced a pair of sub-z's but can get into the swing door units for 1/6 the price. The cooktop will be a 3 burner Origo, plus a convection/micro.

I'm looking for any input before I get into the project (S. FL cabinet maker?, ideas, do's & don'ts, etc.) Thanks


Oh, the boat is a series one 36 galley UP configuration which will leave 106"s of countertop, should be nice.

 

[Banshee36]

Mike,
Gotta love a man with a sawsall. As far as refrigerators, I know the brand x POS refefer you are talking about, those things have to breath. I have huge holes cut in my bulkheads to get the thing to move air. They have gotten better, with lots of fans on the back to cool the parts off. If mine ever dies, I will put in a Tundra, It has lights, very nice interior, and the compressor and parts are on the bottom of the machine and they are close in price to Brand X.They make them in many different sizes.
I took my princess out a few years ago and just made a cabinet front for the old space occupopied by the stove for a microwave. There are plenty of boats at the marina with stoves, plus I can melt butter for seafood with my coffee maker. If I had to do it again, I would put my Microwave above the sink in the galley.
I do plan on putting in some corian counters this spring, Galley and head.
I am a galley down rig.
Good luck,
JW

 

[REBrueckner]

How you upgrade may be dependent on how you plan to use the boat. If you are mostly dockside, 120 volt appliances make sense. But if you anchor out a lot you can greatly reduce noise and genny wear and tear via propane cooking and 12 volt refigeration. Propane also gives you the option for moderate central heat via an RV heater such Surburban brand. Remote compressors give you more galley space, but require running of some refrigeration tubing between evaporator and compressor. Decide if you want air or water cooled compressors.

You can also decide to make individual custom undercounter frig /freezer BOXES to make maximum use of available space, heavily insulated, and install either 120 volt or 12 volt compressors/evaporators. Top door access is most energy efficient, but not always so convenient as front door. Also consider home style under counter lights, either 12 or 120 volt, which really light up dim corners and look great at night. Rope light is another variation. I use 12v individual Halogen lamps from Home Depot.
You can easily do a new floor with Home Depot or Lowes style prefinished flooring, the 1/4" variety which floats...fast, easy and looks great. If your boat interior is dark wood, consider a light decor and colors for the galley as it will brighten up the area. I used blond flooring to offset my dark aformosia color cabinets and a cream colored counter top. But you can also choose a monochrome approach.
Look at as many other boats as you canto get ideas.

Have fun!

 

[SeaEric]

FWIW, I replaced 2 undercounter refrig/freezers in my boat last season. I went with SUMMIT stainless steel units, one is all refrig, the other is all freezer. They have opposite swing doors and built-in locks to keep them closed under way. They are AC only. http://www.summitappliance.com/ is the company website. They will sell direct, but curiously we got a better deal from an independent appliance store that is their dealer. I went together with a friend who needed the same set-up. We bought 2 of each- refrig and freezers for $2500. total. That price was delivered to the 2 boats, in 2 different marinas. The dealer we used is Middletown Appliance in Middletown Delaware (no sales tax) The SUMMIT units are very high quality. I'm very happy with them.

In a previous boat, I purchased a unit from another place on the web which was a good experience. www.compactappliance.com has a unique selection of equipment that will work and fit well in a boat. Their prices are not cheap, but the selection of stuff is wide and their website is helpful, if only for research. I bought a combo refrigerator/icemaker from them. They shipped direct to me, and were nice to do business with.

In all boat re-do projects, its alays a challenge to find stuff that fits the darned space and fits through the door it needs to come through to get to the darned space!

 

[jim rosenthal]

I have seen the installation on Eric's boat and the Summit units are first-class. If I ever get a built-in refrigerator it will be one of theirs if the space will fit it. No question, they are top quality. The price was better than SubZero and they look at least as good.
Have you looked at Corian countertops? They are very durable, and can be made in any shape. I had one made for the head in Blue Note and if I do the galley counter over again, I will use that. I am with you on the old appliances, except that mine are in good shape and work, so I have left them alone. I have hardly used the stove and oven, though- when I took the old GE fridge out (it still worked, I just wanted the space) I finished that area and put a small apt size fridge from HD in there. The boat's trim was better and I still have enough cold space.

 

[Passages]

When we bought Passages, the previous owner had just redone (as in gutted) the galley and head. I have new cream corian countertops in both rooms, Westinghouse fridge, Force 10 SS oven & Range and Microwave over the sink. Came out nice. I recommend Corian over formica, it's indestructible but pricey. As far as the cooktop, I wish it was a smooth top instead conventional elements. Oven, well if I was single it never would get used but to my surprise the admiral uses it all the time. (More than at home which makes no sense )

If your budget is tight, forgo corian and the conventional oven. A microwave will do anything you need.

 

[Maynard Rupp]

I have done lots of Corian work myself. The trick is to find a dealer that will sell the sheets and colored epoxy glue directly to you. If you can get the material it couldn't cost more than $300.00 for a boat. It works like wood, sands, saws, planes etc. The stuff comes 1/2" thick and either 30" or 3' wide I think. Sheets are 8' long. You cut 2 strips to make the nose, sand the surfaces to be bonded with 80 grit, mix and spread the goop, then clamp with spring clamps. Don't use C-clamps as they force the glue out. 10 minutes later it is ready to sand, rout, or whatever. When you are done just put 2" dia. gobs of silicone caulk every 8" and lay the top on. You can use a 320 grit wet sand finish or keep going finer to 2000 and polish like good paint. Most don't polish as it shows water marks..Good luck.

 

[Mike36c]

Thanks for input guys. Summit is the brand I'm looking, nice to hear its a quality product and at $1000 to 1200 a pair vs. $6K for sub z's it makes sense. Here in FL we rarely spend extended time without either the genny or shore power, A/C only should work fine and I could always install an inverter in a pinch. I also may have a source (friend of a friend) of surplus corian. I'll post pics as the project moves along. Mike

Ps. Eric, can you post the model #'s on your pair of summits?

 

[Fanfare]

We're on our third galley redo, all keeping the original Hatteras layout. First was just countertops, and so we used Formica. Good, servicable and priced right. However it chips at the corner and can burn. It's just a layer of colored paper under a thermoplastic covering, and really can't be repaired except by replacement.

About four years ago replaced the stove with separate self-cleaning oven and smooth cooktop, Corian counter and dinette. It's the same plastic all the way through, so if it's scratched it can be polished out with a green 3-M pad. Same for burns, but Corian is hard to burn. 10+ years at home, no burns. I have gotten cracks at home, which were repaired by Du Pont under warranty. Unfortunately this has cracked again, pretty much same place. This time they will cut a pie-shaped wedge out and replace this. (Last time they used a router and cut out a half inch slice.) We kept a slab of the original Corian for a cutting board and they are using this for the replacement piece. I kept a lot of Corian for the boat!

Corian has two disadvantages. It's harder than Formica, so have to be a little more careful with glassware. For example, at home we have a Corian double sink. It was so hard on my wineglasses that I quit and put them in the dishwasher--I now break fewer! Because of this I kept the original stainless double sink on Fanfare. Had it professionally polished and set under the Corian countertop. It's more resilient for glassware and smaller, so we don't use as much water as at home. The other disadvantage of Corian is that oily black fingermarks persist on our matte finish white. Actually we have more of these on board than glass because I grab the counter when coming up from the generator. These scrub off, but it takes detergent and several swipes.

I installed a microwave oven which is OK, but now wish I had used a microwave/convection oven for more versatility. The only problem is that these are not self-cleaning, which was important for our main oven.

We do a lot more cooking on board than we do at home now, with our kids gone. Partly because we have more time and partly because so many Bahamian restaurants are fry joints. With all that fresh fish it's a shame not to prepare it in different ways. I treasure the time last year when a friend brought us some just-caught fish which my wife sauteed in olive oil. We had bought vine-ripened tomatos, fresh basil and lettuce from a local farmer that morning, and I had some caviar left over from her birthday a week before. Had some frozen Stoli in the freezer to go with it. I said to my lovely wife "I don't think we could eat a better meal in the finest restaurant in the world. Life doesn't get any better than this!" That's the great part of boating.

 

[Genesis]

I still have my original stove/oven combo and I like it.

You cannot broil lobster tail in a microwave!

 

[Mike36c]

Yep, Some of the best meals & memories happen out on our boat, especially in the Bahamas. There's nothing like fresh caught yellowfin tuna, rubbed with olive oil, garlic, and rosemary grilled medium rare and some wasabi and soy sauce on the side with great company. We would be happy to share if we run into any members while Island hopping. Can't wait till May!

 

[Fanfare]

There's a sad story about my original stove. It worked so well that, at about age 25 or so, I decided to rebuild it. I had the GE man come out to replace everything--elements, rheostats, everything that might wear. The GE guy said I didn't need to do all this, that GE still made this stove, and that it would be cheaper to just buy the new one. So I did. And the old one was long gone when I discovered that the new one was c**p. (IMHO) So many "safety" devices that it was frequently inoperative. And right in the middle of trying to cook dinner! Example: have to broil with the oven door closed. Won't work in partly opened position as it should be for electric stove. In the middle of my lobster tails the safety overheat switch would shut off the broiler until it cooled below 200 degrees. Not the oven--the whole stove. Had to pack the switch with ice in baggies to cool it. Replaced the switch several times--safety was integral. Worse if I used the front two burners, since reflected heat shut the oven off sooner. New stove was far more cheaply made. No electric socket on front, very light gauge metal. Totally unsatisfactory!

So hang on to your old stoves. Do what I intended to do. Fix it up now while you can still get parts!

 

[jeffrow]

include me in the happy Summit family.... replaced 2 sub-z's with them. Decent units, more space than the usual
'dorm'' style fridge.

 

[SeaEric]

Ps. Eric, can you post the model #'s on your pair of summits?

Mike, The units I have are: Refrigerator- FF6L-CSSTB Freezer- FS62L-BISSTB. The key elements of these models are: They lock (the L in the model #) to keep them closed underway. They are each orderable in left or right hand door. Mine open opposing. Stainless steel finish wrapped door, not just a panel. And the door handle for both units is like a towel bar. I particularly like the light in the refrigerator which many others do not offer.

Good luck with your project!