For most guys shopping, particularly for ‘boring stuff’ like bedding and kitchen utensils, is a form of torture but when its for your new boat its amazing how they can get onboard (no pun intended!)
We were on a mission with a deadline, all our equipment and goods needed to be packed up and at the shipping company by early April. So what better time to buy what we needed than the Christmas-January sales in Australia. While we already had a range of items at home ear marked for shipment, we decided that there were other items that we would replace and buy new, and with list in hand we hit the shops to grab as many bargains as possible.
Key buys:
Bedding & Bathroom – bamboo sheet sets from Aldi; plastic mattress protectors from Big W, regular mattress protectors from Big W and Target, pillows and towels from Myer, quilt cover sets from Bed, Bath & Table. NB We purchased 4 queen size sheet sets, one for each cabin and one spare. In hindsight it would have been better to buy the ‘double’ size for the forward port side cabin as the bed here is smaller on the Lagoon 42. We intend to replace the QB set for this cabin on our return to Australia.
Just a quick note about quilts. We shipped three summer weight QS quilts (from Myer), one single quilt and a sleeping bag (the latter two for contingency), and can honestly say they have hardly been used. Most nights its a top sheet only, and the quilts have been repacked and stored in a forward bow locker. (Vacuum bags are ideal for this).
WeberQ – In place of a marine grade barbeque, we purchased a Weber Q2000 and a range of accessories from a specialist BBQ store on the Sunshine Coast at a great price. In our view the marine grade barbeques were ridiculously priced and were quite small (we use our bbq a lot). We know that the surfaces of the WeberQ will eventually be affected by salt and corrosion but we anticipate this will happen overtime and expect to get at least three or more years good use out of the bbq. And for the price difference it really was a no brainer. We also purchased a Magma Bait Tray and rail mounts from Whitworths to place the WeberQ on when in use. So all good until we hit two major glitches. The ‘bait tray’ was too narrow and the Australian bbq gas connection was not compatible with European and American gas connections, and we couldn’t find connectors anywhere that would fit. So our WeberQ stayed clean and dry for the duration of the trip in the port bow locker. Top Tip – think beyond just the bbq purchase. Consider how will it be mounted, where will it be mounted/placed on the boat (particularly important if you are ocean sailing and/or sailing for long periods of time), availability of gas (a number of marinas/towns do not have refill facilities), types of gas – butane or propane, as well as gas connectors and regulators.
Galley Stuff – some of this we already had, some we replaced or bought. Acrylic glasses including stemless wine glasses, Melamine plates, bowls, two salad bowls and two platters we purchased from Bed, Bath & Table. Melamine mugs were purchased from Whitwoths and BFC (three of the BFC mugs cracked within a few weeks and had to be thrown out). Cooking utensils – large spoons, ladle, egg flip, wooden spoons, cutting boards and the like we bought from House, Aldi, Myer and Woolworths. We also purchased a variety of airlock sealing vacuum bags with pump online for storing fruit and vegetables and we had moderate success with storage in this way. We predominantly sourced fresh fruit and vegies from markets and supermarkets when in port and supplemented these with canned fruit and vegies during longer voyages. At around $100 for the pump and bags, we probably didn’t get our money’s worth out of the purchased kit.
A new set of kitchen knives from House were a worthwhile buy. However our storage solution for the knives, a chef’s zippered canvas carry case with slots for each knife, proved to be cumbersome. We considered and rejected installing a magnetic strip that can be placed on the galley wall for safety reasons, we’ll research knife storage options when we get home and let you know what we have come up with. Whistling gas kettle from Aldi – great buy and still going strong, at $20.00 an absolute bargain. We bought two heavy based Teflon coated frypans (one large and one medium) as well as a large round Teflon pan with handles and glass lid from Myer, all of which can be placed in the oven, and we have used these extensively.
Lessons Learned – Whilst we had some plastic containers in our shipment, we needed more smaller containers to freeze left overs and single serves of food (often crew will eat at different times). So a quick trip to IKEA in A Coruna, and that was sorted. Another rookie mistake, we left all our large saucepans in storage and only shipped a couple of pots, one small and one medium with steamer, and found we needed at least one large pot with high sides to cook bulk stews, curries etc. We managed to find what we needed in Cape Verde, in one of those stores that has everything from birthday cards to gardening pots – 22Euros, another bargain.
Decor – As the boat will be our home we decided not to go overboard with a nautical theme, rather giving a nod to our environment by incorporating various tones of blue, cream and off white. For the saloon we shipped over a number of our cushions in creams and blue tones, quilt covers are again in blue and off white tones. Melamine plates, mugs etc are in blue, teal or white. We also shipped over the cushions from the outdoor setting we had at home, and these have been well used in the cockpit.
Apart from those noted above, things we regret not buying/bringing:
– A stick and/or hand held vacuum cleaner.
– Toaster (the supplied oven does have a griller function but it doesn’t toast just makes the bread hard as a rock).
Apart from those noted above, other things we purchased along the way and used consistently:
– Clothes airer;
– Dust pan and small brush;
– Sweeping brush with telescopic pole;
– Toilet brushes for each head, and a
– Toaster.