[Public-List] Refrigeration

Meredith Glacken meredith.glacken at gmail.com
Tue Dec 26 21:43:49 PST 2023


A few ideas here...

On the last few ocean races I've done (not in an Alberg...), our skipper
picked up DRY ice on the morning of departure and that was very effective
at keeping perishables fresh for 5+ days.  We also pre-made a few meals and
froze them. Then around noon each day, weather and wave state permitting,
we'd bring 'em up on deck to defrost in the sun until they were ready to be
heated up that night for dinner.

Alternatively, I know you said traditional ice wasn't an option but... when
I've gone out cruising (in the Alberg this time!) for a few days, I've used
a combination of the ice box, a hard shelled cooler, and a Yeti soft cooler
and actually had pretty decent success with regular old ice.  I've got a
liner boat, so it's different and it's a drop-in cooler, and to be
honest the ice usually melts there first after a day in the Florida sun.
The hard-shell is the best at keeping the ice alive the longest (2-2.5
days) and even after it melts, I've found that stuff still stays quite
cold.  I stick it up close to the V-berth so that it doubles as a step when
I want to climb into bed, and because of its weight and dimensions, it fits
snugly and doesn't slide all over the place when the boat heels.  A plug
for my soft-shell cooler too, I'm always surprised at how remarkably cold
the Yeti keeps stuff too.  I've also used a RTIC brand soft cooler offshore
with success.  Not sure all that is a great solution if you're planning to
be away from shore for longer than a few days, but figured I'd share anyway
just in case it's helpful!  Aside from more available cold spaces, the
added benefit to having multiple coolers is that you can separate your
meat, dairy, and boozies into separate vessels if avoiding
cross-contamination is your vibe!

If you're willing to do some surgery below deck, I'd refer you to the owner
of Kittiwake who also has a pre-liner boat and installed a DC cooler where
his ice box used to be that works really well underway - he's on this
listserv.  We've also got a few folks in this group who have done
transatlantic crossings and circumnavigations in their Albergs, so I'll
leave it to all those folks to chime in with their refrigeration solves as
well.

I've always been jealous of those pre-liner ice boxes with your on-deck
icebox access. SUCH a cool feature! Even if the ice does melt in a matter
of hours...

Have fun with your exciting 2024 cruising plans - depending on where you
are, maybe we'll see you out on the water!

-Meredith


On Tue, Dec 26, 2023 at 5:04 PM Greg via Public-List <
public-list at lists.alberg30.org> wrote:

> Hi Folks,I'm finally pulling the trigger and going cruising starting this
> next summer/fall. One of the last major items is a bit of refrigeration.
> I'm not looking for extensive capacity. I just need enough to handle a few
> basic supplies and allow me to cook for more than one meal at a time.Ayla
> is pre-liner and currently has a fairly large stainless steel ice box to
> port. I don't expect ice to be an option.Has anyone for a good solution for
> our boats?Regards,Greg
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