BBQ at Sea

[lorenzo b]

Has anyone figured out how to pull off a forth of July type BBQ on a boat?
Every time I try to barbie dinner the wind is howling and the charcoal is so damp it won't light. I see these cute little gas jobs out of stainless steel that sell for $500, but that's not a barbie, dude.
When I travel we eat at beach restaurants that have a good sized fire going with driftwood and that seems to work out fine. Is that the solution? I do like a big fires.

[iiii]

You do know that damp charcoal can self ignite don't you?
We carried charcoal on our boat until a friend had a bag ignite on it's own in the North Channel.

[Roaring Girl]

Buy a Cobb BBQ - can use it in the cockpit if you must! - Cobb Portable Grill from Cobb America - The Ultimate Cobb portable grill, BBQ, Smoker and Cooker.. Burns briquettes and things, or wood if you only have that.

[rover88]

We have the Kuma gas barbie. Yeah, I know.... It ain't a real barbi and no charcol does affect the taste. However, as they always say - boating is about compromises. Even with the Kuma it can be a challenge when the winds are up, but the square model we have does a better job that the round one staying lit.

Then there is the safety issue - IMHO hot charcol, wind, waves and fiberglass (or worse, wood) boats are not the best match.

Charcol aside, at anchor on a nice summer evening we could grill on old Sperry Topsider on the boat and it would taste like heaven. Compromise really isn't that bad.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by rover88

Charcol aside, at anchor on a nice summer evening we could grill on old Sperry Topsider on the boat and it would taste like heaven. Compromise really isn't that bad.

...do you marinade the Topsider first?

[Canibul]

That cobb looks good! But it says it diverts the drippings away from the burning briquets...

I might be a dumb-A old East Texan, but doesn't the fat dripping on the burning charcoal give it the taste?

I am thinking a simple, stainless folding grate, take it ashore, and build a fire on the beach.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by iiii

You do know that damp charcoal can self ignite don't you?
We carried charcoal on our boat until a friend had a bag ignite on it's own in the North Channel.

Bullroar !!!
The Spontaneous Combustion of Wet Charcoal is a Myth.

There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that wet charcoal, in the amounts stored and used by boaters and/or homeowners, can spontaneously ignite!

According to one technical paper, from the 7th International Symposium on Fire Safety Science*:

The data show that the largest commercially-available bag of charcoal briquets, 9 kg (20 lb.), cannot self ignite at an ambient temperature below 394 K (121 C or 250 F). All tested variations: size, different formulations, addition of water or dry wood, aging, and different bag configurations, raised this critical temperature even higher. At ambient temperatures (approximately 25 C ) these data show a bag of charcoal briquets would have to exceed the volume of a typical house to self ignite.

* "Size Constraints on Self Ignition of Charcoal Briquets" ~ by P.J. Pagni, B.R. Cuzzillo, , F.C. Wolters, and T.R. Frost,7th International Symposium on Fire Safety Science, June 16-21, 2002, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.

[zeehag]

i usea weber ketttle--lol--havent the rail for a railmount one that will not stay lit during a good breeze--is cheeeep--only 2 dollars - 20 dependfing on age and amount of use--LOL---new being 20--and i can use my mesquite coals i get --awesomest way tp bbq...LOL....and..stowage isnt a problem on m,y boat.....

[ConradG]

Any report on how that Cobb works in a blow? Sure seems like a great unit! Yes the drippings are diverted, but I see that as a good thing, too much cancer and heart problems going around these days and probably shouldn't ignore the research.

[Canibul]

yeah, but if you are not using the drippings to produce the flavor, then it ain't bbq and you might as well forget the briquets and use propane. And if you are going to use propane....you don't need the Cobb.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by ConradG

Any report on how that Cobb works in a blow? Sure seems like a great unit! Yes the drippings are diverted, but I see that as a good thing, too much cancer and heart problems going around these days and probably shouldn't ignore the research.

Seems more like a portable oven.

Cancer and heat worries - just boil your meat then.

Thanks, but I am going to grill for real.

[forsailbyowner]

I have a grill on the stern quarter. Most of the time I use wood in small quantities and let the wind kick it up like a blast furnace. I put a steak on frozen and by the time the outside is scorched the inside is rare, just how I like it.

[ConradG]

Each to his own. I made a grill that drained the drippings so I could collect them and use them for flavorfilled marinades and it was great. Enough will drip through for flavoring the smoke in my opinion. I like hardwood and gas doesn't do it. Charcoal does when wood isn't available and on a boat that little thing looks perfect to me. Just would love some firsthand accounts.
As I said, each to his own. I can't pull the blinders up so high anymore. Getting older. The reasearch is pretty solid about the health effects concerning the carcinogenic compounds in the smoke from burned meat drippings. A unit that minimizes those, allows cooking with solid fuels extremely eficiently, bbq and more, and appears to be good for the wind while allowing easy cleanup and a means of collecting the drippings for use in flavoring seem pretty darn good for a boat to me!
Although a little expensive, tell me more!

[Canibul]

Okay...I have an idea for a design. A charcoal/wood grill that would not let sparks fall or get blown downwind. . thats the main issue for one clamped overboard, right?

For us redneck bbq freaks...if I build them out of stainless would you buy one?

I'll build a proto for my own boat.

[ConradG]

Worried about lighting the ocean on fire?
(Pull the dink alongside)
Looks like that cobb could come on inside if it's nasty out..... once going...