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Wednesday 31 October 2018

Trinidad Update from Grenada - Part 2


Just to finish off the work done on Larus, welcome to the galley.  :)

Exciting for me was upgrading our battered and lifting Formica counter top with the a white granite coloured Corian work surface.  We replaced our two bowl sink with a single deeper under counter hung sink.  We have a beautiful new stainless steel tap with a hose for filling the laundry bucket in the cockpit.  The new tap fits between the tap for the freshwater foot pump (left) and the saltwater foot pump (left).

    

We have a small low wattage kettle, which we use on a good charging day - sunny for the 4 solar panels, windy for the wind generator or when there is neither, running the engine or diesel generator.

On super duper charging days we should be able to use our new induction hotplate. So far we have only used it on the hard or in the marina where we were plugged into shore power, and we haven't tried it using only the battery via the inverter.

Another of the perks of a lithium battery is that, 'the battery voltage remains constant regardless of how much we are drawing from it', said Tim. This means we can use appliances that would have damaged our lead acid batteries.

To go with our induction hotplate, we needed to replaced our old pots and pans. We had first used in our flat before moving them onto Larus in 1998 when we first bought her.  With their mismatched/damaged lids and wobbly handles, I was very excited to get a set of Magma  induction cookware with Ceramica non-stick interior.

I had used the stainless steel version of Magma pots working a charter on another yacht, and was really impressed with them.  I had no experience of the Ceramica interior and was a little apprehensive, but not anymore.  I love it and this is despite having to buy, or be gifted, in the case of the potato masher from Leslie on Ocean Blue, non-scratch utensils.

Even the cheese from my faux Ruben Sandwich  (pastrami, sauerkraut, the mild cheddar that is often all you can get down here, mustard, bread buttered on the outside and fried until the cheese oozes out) did not stick to the pan.  Omelettes just slide out and I find that the frying pan and smallest pot meet most of my needs.

The pots are very heavy, which is great for retaining heat and cooking evenly.  The pan surfaces heats uniformly using induction or propane.  The removable handles allow them to be used in the oven.

  

My first try with it was making my breakfast of steel cut oats, sliced almonds, pumpkin, flax and sunflower seeds, raisins, cinnamon, turmeric and a grate of black pepper as that is reputed to increase turmeric's anti-inflammatory properties.  Yum.  Its good cold too.

We think we have worked out a method of using the pots with the induction hob while underway in reasonable conditions thanks to plastic trays I bought from a fruit and veg vendor in Gibraltar way back in 2012.  The tray would keep the hob on the cooker but there was still a danger of the heavy pots to sliding around on the glass surface.  We hadn't figured that one out until Derek and Leslie told us they used silicon matts.  I use them for making galley surfaces non-slip, but the induction hob heats straight through my silicon baking sheet and the pot doesn't budge at all.

We hope to have the right conditions eventually to see how our setup works.

Maybe it will be over the next three days as we are heading to Curacao tomorrow.  We will leave about noon tomorrow and arrive on Sunday.  We have a good forecast and are raring to go.  We will meet up with the Suzy 2 Rally which starts mid November and which starts in Curacao and visits Aruba, Columbia, the San Blas Islands, Panama and Belize.  A number of boats, of which we are one, will leave the rally in Panama to head through the canal into the Pacific.

So its all go here and we'll keep you posted.




2 comments:

  1. Nice kitchen ... nice cafatiere !!!! All the best Kirsty and Lee

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  2. Galley looks great, and also think Sprayhood looks good. Nothing but admiration!
    All best wishes to you both and Larus.I so enjoy the blogs.
    Elaine x

    ReplyDelete