Are Grills Worth The Trouble?

[bcboomer]

We had 1 of the old barrel style Force 10 grills for 25 years that was incredibly good but too small so we bought the Dickinson large Sea-B-Que. It isn't affected much by the wind but the plate design doesn't give as much flavour as the old Force 10.
The Dickinson gets a lot better reviews on the docks around here than any of the Magmas.
To the OP, I guess it depends on how you like to cook. If you enjoy barbequing then find a good one.

[purplesunrise]

Back when stainless was not priced like gold, we bought a Magma Catalina II Infrared gas grill and thought we might use it now and then. Boy were we wrong. We are using it several times a week especially when it is too hot to fire up the oven. We cook everything from veggies and burgers to pizza. It has been a great grill and has no problem with high winds (30-35 knots). To get a marvelous cookout flavor, we add a few apple chips on top of the infrared plates. That is probably not something Magma would recommend but it sure adds a lot of favor to the food.

[JasonS]

We have the Magma Catalina II (no infrared) and have been very happy with it. Wind has not been a problem and it cooks well. Some variation in different parts of the grill, but not bad. We use it at least several times a week. At anchor, often more so we don't heat up the interior of the boat. We've done all sorts of cooking...from fish, meat, veggies, eggs, bread/pizza. A Favorite is cedar planked salmon!

[Cpt Mark]

I have a Kuuna? Something like that. Way better than a magma but nowhere near as good as a weber. Getting rid of it as I'm going all electric. No propane. You can mount the grill where you like so no reason to not have one and davits.

Where grilling comes into it's own is when it's hot inside the boat and you don't want to add more heat inside the boat, when your grilling fish and want the smell outside etc..

[Moontide]

Wouldn't be without one. We use the grill probably 6 out of 7 nights. It pretty protected so works unless we have a beam wind over 15kts.



Big benefit of not heating up the cabin when in the tropics, and using it allows me to rationalize that I helped fix dinner.



Have a separate 10lb tank that just runs the grill. Its a Magma Newport. Don't think I would get a round one due to the limited surface area.



I would not get a charcoal one - too messy and takes longer to get hot.

[evm1024]

Originally Posted by bcboomer

We had 1 of the old barrel style Force 10 grills for 25 years that was incredibly good but too small so we bought the Dickinson large Sea-B-Que. It isn't affected much by the wind but the plate design doesn't give as much flavour as the old Force 10.
The Dickinson gets a lot better reviews on the docks around here than any of the Magmas.
To the OP, I guess it depends on how you like to cook. If you enjoy barbequing then find a good one.

+ 1 here. We have a Sea-B-Que and it works better in the wind than any other I've used.

Another plus is that Dickinson is a very responsive company.

[Pelagic]

I've been very happy with my girl, even if she is often too hot to handle

[gpridgen]

I have a Magma charcoal grill (rail mount) I used on 2 boats over 25 years. The biggest problem with them I found was the failure of the non-stainless parts.
Mine ws stored for several years, and when we had to relocate during IRMA, I dusted it off and attached the "feet" that let it be used as a stand-alone grill.
The fasteners that held it together were corroded into one piece.
After soaking with "Blaster" I got them apart and replaced with stainless steel.
It now works well. I wish I had done the replacement years ago.
Note this is avery old unit, the current specs may be differrent, but you can always be sure that any non-stainless components will corrode

[rabbi]

Wait until you are anchored downwind from someone doing a nice BBQ.

[Lionshooter]

I've been grilling on the boat for over 40 years. Wouldn't want to be without.

[Pelagic]

Seriously, I had the same Magma kettle grill hanging off the stern when I first bought the boat and hated it.

Thought about the issues, rain/wind/preparation space and redesigned the stern to accommodate a Weber Q1200 on a table, which we use at least 3 times a week, rain or shine.

It actually does run hot but I found if you put a grill plate on one half and two grills on the other side, it's perfect for all kinds of cooking.

With induction stove inside, this perfectly complements our live aboard life-style



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[bobnlesley]

Originally Posted by Don C L

I love the magma my buddy has on his boat. When we are anchored up, he barbecues, I get to eat what he cooks.

That reminds me of an evening in Greece many years ago:
We'd decided on a barbecue when soon after a boat that we knew sailed in, so we invited them to join us. Half an hour later a second set of friends sailed in and Lesley advised that: "We can't invite X and not Y" so despite our having only a 27' boat, I dinghied across and invited them too. I'd only been back for five minutes when a third couple whom we knew well arrived, so it was back into the dinghy and over to their catamaran, inviting them to the party. The invitation was accepted and the question 'what time?' asked, to which I replied: "Well, you'd best choose as yours is the only boat big enough for all eight of us, so the barbecue's going to have to move here."

[boatman1]

Memories of grilling small squid (lulas) and fresh caught sardines on my stainless steel rail mounted kettle, using charcoal and serving the delightful result to Portugese friends, are some of the sweetest (memories) that I’ve got. A larger bar-b-que with better draft control makes the grill masters’ job easier, but at times one has to make do.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by bobnlesley

That reminds me of an evening in Greece many years ago:
We'd decided on a barbecue when soon after a boat that we knew sailed in, so we invited them to join us. Half an hour later a second set of friends sailed in and Lesley advised that: "We can't invite X and not Y" so despite our having only a 27' boat, I dinghied across and invited them too. I'd only been back for five minutes when a third couple whom we knew well arrived, so it was back into the dinghy and over to their catamaran, inviting them to the party. The invitation was accepted and the question 'what time?' asked, to which I replied: "Well, you'd best choose as yours is the only boat big enough for all eight of us, so the barbecue's going to have to move here."

I know the feeling. "Take a number for your hamburger"

[mnh]

So far, every comment is related to a gas grill. There is an alternative though. Bought one of these years ago. Very nicely designed and well made. Runs off charcoal, corn cobbs, buffalo dung etc. They were designed for back packing with limited resources. Small package, and not expensive. I agree with all the downsides of a gas grill listed above. This unit sits low to the deck, has a nice cover for wind protection, and can be used to grill, fry, bake etc.


Yes, I love it! Stores easily too.


https://www.cobbgrillamerica.com/


mnh