Grill suggestions?

[Steadfast]

Hi everyone. We just bought our first Ranger Tug, a 25c, and are very excited to join the Ranger/Tugnuts community! We have limited boating experience, having owned a ski boat for a few years back in the 90s. That was exclusively used in lakes and ponds whereas we now will be boating off the New England shore. So I am sure this is only the first of many questions.

Our model has a microwave and single burner stovetop. We like to cook and it's hard to imagine feeding ourselves with those limitations. It will be an adventure for sure.

Any recommendations on a grill that we can add on? I've seem some that attach to the hull with a swing arm type of apparatus and it seems like that would be extremely useful. Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences and suggestions.

 

[BradOwens]

Welcome aboard the Ranger Tugs family!

Magma grills seem to be the most popular, but we bought a Kuuma. The quality seems as good as Magmas, and they are a bit less expensive. We ordered it from Amazon.com. Both brands have many mounting options. Ours mounts to the stern rail, and also has folding legs that can be used ashore on a picnic table or other flat surface. The Kuuma carrying case doubles as a cover when the grill is mounted. They make propane and charcoal models. Ours is propane, as we thought it would be cleaner to use aboard.

Hope this helps.

Brad Owens

 

[bradcarolR29S]

On our previous R25 we found that a toaster oven was a nice addition, provided you have an inverter.
Brad

 

[nzfisher]

I have the non stick coated griddle that goes with the Magma. While it is expensive it is great for pancakes and eggs and saves a lot of time by not having to clean the grill. Probably one of our better buys for our boat. It also enables using the magma as an oven. We use it to make a parmesan encrusted ling cod dish when we are in the San Juan's using fresh caught fish.

 

[1Harrison]

When we bought our 2014 R-25SC we looked at grills a lot. Most are expensive not including the mounting fixtures. At first taught just get a cheap propane canister grill to use at marinas to be disposed of at end of season That worked well. Then had some scrap maple in the garage. I made a stand with a couple of c-clamps and wingnuts that attached to the rail for when on the hook. It was a one season plan that will now move to our new R-29S. The best discovery is that the entire assembly (grill and stand) is easily stored and out of the way when not in use. Regardless of how much you spend for the grill it is always in the way and in a short time does not look so good.

The cruising thing is expensive as we all know. Ask us about our outboard mount and our stern tie reel.

 

[Bel Canto]

We also added a single burner induction cooker. It can be moved anywhere and doesn't get hot to touch. You can't use aluminum cookware, but they are amazingly controllable for cook temp.

 

[pugtug613]

I bought a rectangular Magma (on sale $100). They sell a clamp for the rail. If you have rails on the swim platform, it's perfect. The propane tanks are right there and you can't set the boat on fire! You can't leave it on the rail, under way it will go bye-bye. I have a canvas bag that it fits in.

 

[Lenny and Louise]

Two essential appliances for our R25SC are our crockpot and our Omnia Stove Top Oven. A word of caution about the crock pot: make sure you get one with manual controls (low, high, warm on a selector switch.) The digital controlled one never worked right ( did not get hot enough). We invested in a 2 qt one from Target and the book Crock Pot Cooking For Two (from Amazon), so that we did not have to deal with leftovers. We like the smell of dinner cooking as we cruise. The Omnia Stove Top Oven is available from Sea Dog Boating Solutions. It looks like a multi-layer angel food cake pan with a lid and it sits on top of the propane burner. It comes with a recipe book, which has helped us adapt our own for this method of cooking. We use it for breakfast breads and casseroles. Items don't brown, but are fully cooked. Running it on the burner's lowest setting seems to be equivalent to 350 degrees. It also makes the cabin smell great, especially when we are having poppy seed bread for breakfast (made from a box, not scratch). We're looking to replace our Magma grill.

 

[Steadfast]

So many great ideas to ponder, thanks very much everyone!

 

[Scuffy]

We have used a Dickinson Spitfire 180 grill since 2009. We bought it from Defender. Can be used on both land and on a rod holder type mount. I made a special mount which is a little more sturdy. See our album if interested. They are a little pricey but are a little more resistant to the wind blowing them out. We have used it a lot and never had to replace anything. They offer an optional grill plate for one side so you can do eggs bacon or pancakes. The other thing we like is one of those induction hot plate like cookers like seen on TV. Make sure to get the Magna nestled cookware rated for the induction cooker deal regular pans might not work. We use Magma nestled cookware on both the propane stove and the induction cooker gizmo and have been very happy with it. I have not tried the induction cooker with the inverter but the generator seems to handle it ok or if you have shore power. The bonus is they don't put off a lot of heat in the cabin which the propane stove and oven seem to. In the winter that could be a plus. Between using the induction cooker and the grill the cabin stays cool and so does my baby momma. :mrgreen: