Cooking On Your Boat

Cruising on a pontoon boat down the river or over the lake can be a fun and relaxing way to spend an afternoon or evening. At some point, though, unless you get seasick, you’re likely to get peckish. There are ways to cook on a boat whether or not you have facilities to do so. Your local pontoon boat dealer, New Jersey Outboards of Bayville, has provided this list of suggestions for cooking on your boat to help you out. We’re here to serve all your boating needs, whether you’re on a center console or a pontoon boat.

Grilling On Deck

Your small pontoon boat or center console boat likely lacks a galley -- the term for a kitchen on a boat. This means that your food preparation will probably take place on a grill on the deck of your boat. Many options for boat grills exist, including styles with square clips that will mount to the side of a pontoon boat for convenience and stability. Other styles can be fitted to a pedestal seat, while still others can be used on a heat-safe table or other surface. A device called a VertiGrille, with skewers that transfer heat up through vegetables or cuts of meat, saves horizontal space on your grill for more food. Grilling is quick and easy and lets you cook that fresh-caught fish right away. It also doesn’t generate too much heat.

Efficient Use Of Storage

Your smaller boat’s storage space is limited so you’ll want to condense your stores as much as you can. Canned food can be a great quick food source when the fish aren’t biting and, provided it doesn’t rust, lasts a long time. Buy goods in small packages and use single-serving items where you can since you probably don’t have a way to store leftover food, which will quickly go bad or develop a bug infestation on a boat. Cooking simple, one-dish meals also lets you conserve space and not use too many dishes that you then need to wash. Mugs can be a great option for serving food in because they’re insulated and will prevent food from spilling.

Preparing food in advance for a compact center console or pontoon boat journey is another great option, particularly if you have a small fridge on board to store meals in. You can prepare dishes that can be eaten cold, like pasta salad, or meals that will reheat in a microwave if you have one.

Safety Considerations

Make sure that your grill is anchored down well when you’re cooking, since rocky waves can easily send it and its hot contents flying. If you use propane to fuel your stove, be careful that you don’t store it close to anything flammable. Propane can be explosive so keep it somewhere cool and keep the tank turned off when you’re not using it. You’ll also want to have a first aid kit and a fire extinguisher on board your boat so you can deal with minor injuries and fires.

Serve food in bite-sized pieces since using a knife on a moving boat is risky, which means you’ll also want to pre-cut up your food on shore or at the dock while you’re stable. Use spoons instead of forks for safety. Don’t serve very hot food because of the high risk it will spill and burn someone. Thicken up soups and stews with flour or potato flakes so they’re easier to eat on a moving boat.

Ready to get out on the water in a boat of your own? Visit our Bayville showroom to see our wide array of new and used boats in many styles, including pontoon boats and center console boats. New Jersey Outboards serves the whole state of New Jersey, as well as the states of New York and Connecticut and the nearby metropolis of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.