POST 1: Best underway COFFEE maker

O

Ono

RT31CB 2015
Joined
Jul 28, 2026
Messages
3
Fluid Motion Model
R-31 CB
Vessel Name
SHANTI
POST 1: All right then. Our first confession is that high-quality coffee is part of what it takes to start a good day. (KT won’t let me share the rest of the short list). We use a DeLonghi espresso maker at home. We enlisted it on our first Tug adventure on a circumnavigation of Catalina Island and found it a bit beamy to use as our underway Personal Rocket Fuel Generation System. We wrestled with several excellent ideas, such as discarding the lifejackets to make room for the DeLonghi Autonomous Barista or tearing out the Garmin navigation system and mounting the coffee maker conveniently in front of the helm. If any of you are serious about your personal rocket fuel (coffee) quality and want to share your ideas on how to achieve that underway without requiring a full galley remodel or a new load-line certificate, we’d love to hear it. Yes, we have a generator.
DD098A81-FBC8-40CE-939B-C08351847171.jpegThank you kindly. Ono and Kt on RT 31CB SHANTI.
 
I love the simplicity of this. It's what I use on our boat. I wouldn't recommend using it underway though!
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Oh, i forgot! This unit comes sometimes too. Same about using it underway!
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Ono said:
POST 1: All right then. Our first confession is that high-quality coffee is part of what it takes to start a good day. (KT won’t let me share the rest of the short list). We use a DeLonghi espresso maker at home. We enlisted it on our first Tug adventure on a circumnavigation of Catalina Island and found it a bit beamy to use as our underway Personal Rocket Fuel Generation System. We wrestled with several excellent ideas, such as discarding the lifejackets to make room for the DeLonghi Autonomous Barista or tearing out the Garmin navigation system and mounting the coffee maker conveniently in front of the helm. If any of you are serious about your personal rocket fuel (coffee) quality and want to share your ideas on how to achieve that underway without requiring a full galley remodel or a new load-line certificate, we’d love to hear it. Yes, we have a generator.
View attachment 28298Thank you kindly. Ono and Kt on RT 31CB SHANTI.
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We have the original version of this. $40. It makes great coffee. We have also used a Nespresso Virtuo machine in our travel trailer. It makes fantastic espresso and is quite compact. There are a couple of them on sale at Costco now. We had a gizmo to refill the pods with our own ground coffee. If you need more info let me know.
 
I have the Melitta but went with the Krupp drip coffee maker a couple of years ago. Good coffee. Uses about 700 watts, so no problem for the inverter while underway or at anchor. It makes 4 cups so I can make coffee for guests. About 50 dollars on amazon.

-martin610
coffee maker.png
 
We use a Nespresso Vertuo Next. You can get the coffee maker for ~$130 usually. They get you on the pods, but the coffee is excellent and you can’t beat the ease of use, besides the pods are recyclable. We attached ours with a piece of Velcro tape attached to the bottom of the coffee maker and the matching piece on the counter. It’s been fine in even the roughest seas. It’s also nice that it makes just a cup at a time so you don’t have a full pot of coffee sloshing around.
 
We're OK with drip coffee, which may be a sacrilege to you all. We have a Cuisinart with the thermal pot so no glass to break. If we're in really rough water we unplug and put it in the sink. Coffee stays hot in the thermal pot.
 
Wow! What a robust community reply! I’ll dig through this varied list of completely different suggestions and let you know where we land. Glad to see such support. And glad to know our caffeine addiction isn’t solely ours to bear.
 
I have a R-31cb... and I love ("need" as in addicted) an espresso based coffee every morning.
Buying the right espresso machine was the first thing I purchased after I bought the boat. The machine I settled on is a "Nespresso mini"... it has a super low profile and fits directly under the shelf on the starboard side counter. It is a pod machine so easy to make, easy to clean. Coffee quality is B+ but on the boat it tastes AAA+... weighs almost nuthin'. Really happy with it. $180 on Amazon.
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Jesperjo said:
We use a Nespresso Vertuo Next. You can get the coffee maker for ~$130 usually. They get you on the pods, but the coffee is excellent and you can’t beat the ease of use, besides the pods are recyclable. We attached ours with a piece of Velcro tape attached to the bottom of the coffee maker and the matching piece on the counter. It’s been fine in even the roughest seas. It’s also nice that it makes just a cup at a time so you don’t have a full pot of coffee sloshing around.
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We had the early model Nespresso years ago and it was convenient for mediocre coffee and created so much unrecyclable plastic. The Admiral convinced me to try this and I didn’t want it. If it doesn’t take a number of steps and a mess and a huge machine it’s not espresso. Then I tasted the coffee. This thing is awesome.
 
Submariner said:
This would always be my first choice. (There's a business opportunity for someone here).

View attachment 28312
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Great idea! Avalon would be a bull market for a coffee delivery service. But not where we intend to go. Side note…l hold you somewhat responsible for my new project of owning a Ranger! I’ve watched most of your content and found it excellent and practical and encouraging. Thank you.
 
I have been using the original Aeropress for a year and really like it. I prefer it over the Bialetti or French press.

But I put a little sugar and cream even in coffee shop espresso, so I know I'm not the connoisseur that some are.

At home I use the Vertuo Plus. It's easy to refill the pods by the way, you can get new foil caps on Amazon. The crema is pretty nice, so if you don't mind the overall size that might be the closest to having a true espresso machine. IMHO.

This conversation is bringing back memories from the early 80s of being on my family's Tanzer 28 in the Pamlico, my parents making perc coffee on the alcohol stove...
 
gswearin said:
We're OK with drip coffee, which may be a sacrilege to you all. We have a Cuisinart with the thermal pot so no glass to break. If we're in really rough water we unplug and put it in the sink. Coffee stays hot in the thermal pot.
Click to expand...
Been using the same thing for almost 20yrs. Love the thermal carafe.
 
I went with the Nespresso machine. Didn’t want a mess to clean up. Simplicity and great coffee, were the aim. Really great coffee. I fill my own pods .

 
I use the aeropressXL while camping and at work. I find it consistently gives excellent coffee and is very easy to use, clean and store. Only issue is you still need a source of boiling water. It will fill a 500ml yeti easily.
 
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