Outfitting a yacht galley is something that happens over time as you discover what works for your boat and crew. Having lived aboard our Leopard 45 for over a year now we've taken a look at what's in our galley and have picked 12 things we love having and would recommend you consider getting for yours.
Getting straight to the point, here's a quick summary of what we picked.
Clip containers with rubber gasket
Expresso machine and coffee bean grinder
Oil spray bottle
All in one air fryer, pressure cooker & slow cooker
Vacuum insulated cups
Countertop ice maker
Silicone covers
Portable fridge-freezer
Modular spice storage
Icy-pole moulds
Non-skid plates
Microwave steaming container
Getting more specific, these are the brands and styles we've used aboard Liger, with a bit of feedback based on our experiences.
1. SISTEMA KLIP IT
When looking at which container system to have in our galley I decided to go with the Sistema KLIP IT collection. Made in New Zealand, the containers come in a range of sizes, are stackable, BPA free and freezer, dishwasher and microwave safe. My favourite part is that each lid has a rubber gasket that air seals the container, offering protection from bugs and moisture. The main types we have are the cereal container, water jug and rectangular containers in various sizes. So far the only issue I've had is that because they're air tight and sealed, the larger containers keep going missing from the galley and turning up with boat parts inside...
Ours came from Coles Australia but you can buy a range of different sizes on Amazon.
2. BREVILLE DUAL BOILER ESPRESSO MACHINE
We EXIST on good coffee so having a high quality coffee machine aboard was important to us. This espresso machine is easy to use and produces coffee that tastes as good or better than a café. We paired it with the Breville Smart Pro Grinder to try and minimise the number of things that could malfunction in the main machine - a broken down coffee machine would be a disaster aboard Liger! We've had it for 3 years, shipped it across the world, put it on the yacht and have never had a problem. Keep in mind that some countries market Breville machines under the Sage brand.
We also have 3 shot group head and bottomless basket that's compatible with the Breville machine because triple shot coffees are as important to our boat as diesel and wind!
3. OIL SPRAY BOTTLE
It is such a simple thing but we use our oil spray bottle daily and if it broke I'd replace it in an instant. Ours is filled with olive oil and we use it almost anytime something is being cooked in the air fryer or fry pan. You can easily get a light layer of oil on something without getting your hands dirty and there's no need to carry around aerosol spray cans that often start to rust in the sea air.
We got ours from the local Woolworths in Australia but the same style is available on Amazon.
4. INSTANT POT DUE CRISP + AIR FRYER
SV Liger has a serious amount of solar energy which really benefits the galley. One of our most used appliances is the Instant Pot Duo Crisp + Air Fryer. The cooker comes with three lids that allow you to slow cook, pressure cook and air fry. It can also sauté and cook rice. I often vent the hot air and steam outside to keep the saloon cooler and the pressure cook function makes precooking meals for passage a breeze. The only issue is storing the three lids can be a pain, but it's worth it to have such a versatile appliance aboard. Ours came from Amazon.
5. INSULATED CUPS
Most of the cups and water bottles aboard Liger are double walled metal with rubber on the base. We use them for their superior ability to keep liquid hot/cold for hours at a time and the fact that they don't break if they fall. Most of our insulated drinkware come from two brands, Avanti and Brumate.
Avanti - 1.5L Fluid Vacuum Bottles & Go Cup 473mL Double Wall Insulated Cup
Brumate - Imperial Pint cup & Shaker Pint
It can be tricky to find Avanti outside of Australia; I bought ours on sale from House in Perth. Brumate is easily ordered online, either directly or through a third party. The Imperial Pint cup is Telicia and Tynan's favourite while Trent prefers the Shaker Pint.
6. POLAR ICE MAKER
When choosing an ice maker we wanted something that was countertop but could handle the consumption of three people who love iced drinks. After looking at lots of reviews, we chose to go for the Polar C-Series Countertop Machine G620. It has a stainless steel exterior, three sizes of ice cube and can produce 17kg of ice in 24 hours. So far it's been fantastic and the power draw is easily offset by our solar panels. We purchased ours from Amazon while we were Europe and got a great deal since it was on sale at the time.
7. SILICONE FOOD COVERS
I was introduced to these silicone covers by another cruiser and have no regrets about buying them. If you choose the right size the cover fits snuggly around circular objects including bowls, pots, cans and half used fruit and vegetables, helping to keep food fresh. They're also great at preventing half full cups and cans spilling drink in the fridge and making a mess. I bought some of the rectangular shaped covers as well but haven't found much of a use for them on the boat.
8. ENGEL MD80
Under the helm Liger originally had a single compartment Vitrifrigo fridge that came with the boat. The performance and energy efficiency were very poor so we sold it and bought an Engel MD80 instead. We chose Engel over Dometic because we've all grown up with our families owning them and in our experience they're incredibly durable.
Since buying it we've found that the performance is significantly better than the original fridge; it can maintain around -15°C while using far less power than Vitrifrigo did, which struggled to keep drinks cool. Ours is the 220v version but the US equivalent is available on Amazon.
9. MODULAR SPICE CONTAINERS
Back when we lived on land a lady in our suburb was clearing out her kitchen and gave us a set of 8 large and 8 small Tupperware spice shakers which we now have on the boat. What we like about the design is they stack well in the spice draw, have the dual lids and the lids are interchangeable.
If we were buying them ourselves we would consider an alternative brand like the Signore Ware version on Amazon, as Tupperware can get very expensive depending on how much you need.
10. ICY POLE MOULDS
I bought these on a whim and am surprised by how often we use them. The moulds are great for turning fruit juice and soft drink into icy poles and they're easy to wash and reuse. As we discovered on our Atlantic crossing, they're also an easy way to make ice when the boat is rocking and a normal ice tray or ice maker won't work. Ours came from Kitchen Warehouse in Australia but the same style is available on Amazon.
11. PALM NON-SKID PLATES
I found these plates in a chandlery back in Australia and bought them without realise just how useful they'd be on the yacht. While at anchor and in marinas we use a normal ceramic dinner set but when under sail we use Palm Non-slip Forever Unbreakable Plates. Made by Palm Outdoors Australia, these plates have a rubber base and lipped edge so that when the boat moves your plate and food don't go flying across the saloon. The only draw back is sharp knives can mark the plastic, but that doesn't bother us given how handy they are when the boat is moving.
The full collection is available through their Australian and American websites or on Amazon.
12. DECOR MICROWAVE CONTAINERS
One of the few containers in our galley that isn't Sistema is our Australian made Décor microwave safe container. Having had them in Australia for years I knew I wanted one on the boat. The lid fits perfectly after hundreds of heat cycles and the container doesn't warp over time - some that my parents have are 15+ years old. We use it to heat leftovers, steam vegetables (ours came with the plastic rack), boil potato, cook rice and make "cake in a cup".
In Australia you can get them from places like Coles and Woolworths, otherwise Amazon is an option.
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