‘Minnow’s’ Galley

 

 

What galley? Does ‘Minnow’ have a galley? The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines a galley as, ‘The kitchen in a ship or an aircraft’. Strictly speaking ‘Minnow’ does not have one, but what she does have is the equivalent of a kitchen on a very small scale. The essential item in a kitchen is a cooker, perhaps an oven with a hob and grill.

My little boat has a removable single burner stove that slots into fold-down gimbals. I can boil, fry or even bake small things placed in an unsealed pressure cooker, although I doubt I would actually bake anything. Fresh bread and scones would be nice, however. Pots and pans are stored in the lazarette, as indeed is the crockery. Cutlery happily fits into a plastic bin that can be hooked to the side lockers.  Food and drinks are stored in containers, both under the floor and in the lazarette. ‘Minnow’s’ sink is a plastic bowl that can conveniently be placed on the floor between my feet when I’m sat on the seat, which makes washing up easy. The drying rack is the wooden slatted lid of the anchor locker. Her waste bin can be secured to side lockers in several different places.

A great advantage of ‘Minnow’ is that her ‘chef’ can perform his culinary tasks while sitting down. He does not have to move from his seat, nor does he have to spend a great deal of energy. Everything is to hand.

Who would want a bigger, but less secure galley? Not me. I have been there and know of the pitfalls. I’ve had to strap myself in to prevent being thrown to the other side of the galley, especially when beating and the cooker is to windward. Sometimes working surfaces and hobs have been too high, so that when the yacht heeled, the contents of saucepans, bowls etc have been thrown onto the cook and the floor. Scalding water, hot fat, scrambled or fried eggs are not the friendliest of projectiles.

Give me a small boat with a compact galley any time!