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Finally got my material in, and got the pieces cut for my gimbal. After spending a few quarentine hours over-thinking it, I decided to try a two-axis setup. Most of the places I cruise are choppy if there's enough wind to sail, and, the boat rocks a bit when people move about on deck. Lastly, it's raining almost every day, with lightning, so what else have I got to do?

The mounting plate and pin are stainless. The rest is aluminum. I'm going with the single burner Butane job from West Marine that has a burner rated around 9,500 btu/hr input. The square tube and intermediate pieces will be the base for the stove (the base frame pieces are upside down in the pic). The stove will be bolted to the base. My new stainless sink should be here tonight or tomorrow. Looks like I may have to build an entire galley unit to make it like I want it. But, this is as far as I've gotten today. Grandkids coming this weekend, so welding probably delayed till next week.

Thought I'd post some of the "making the sausage" pics, in case some folks are still quarantined at home. We've set new case records here several days running...



This way, if it goes horribly wrong, you guys can get a good laugh out of it!

The sink just arrived. Think I'm going to need the big hammer...

Really interested to see how you make sausage.

Big hammer indeed. That's a beautiful sink. But wowser, it's big.

I got this cheap bar sink at Lowes years ago. It's about the right size for the sliding galley. I also took out the cubbies and added doors.

Russ wrote: ↑Fri Jul 10, 2020 5:56 am Really interested to see how you make sausage.

Big hammer indeed. That's a beautiful sink. But wowser, it's big.

I got this cheap bar sink at Lowes years ago. It's about the right size for the sliding galley. I also took out the cubbies and added doors.

Yes. Your mod is one of the many that got me dissatisfied with my stock galley. (Gee thanks, dude).

Helped a buddy bend up some copper countertops yesterday. Mentioned here just in case anyone wanted to do something really different in their galley. My aluminum brake bent the copper roofing sheets easily. Harder to cut and much harder to manage without kinking than aluminum though. We could have used at least one more set of hands. It is a unique look and should patina into something remarkable.





A couple of honey-do days, then I'm back on my galley...

yup - those big square sinks are great - they do make smaller versions. I put a smaller version in 'boat's primary tow vehicle (our Sprinter 'bug out' van) and since we often can be in the van for weeks at a time the wife likes to prepare fancy meals and wanted lots of counter space so I added a lot of hidden counters:

BOAT wrote: ↑Tue Jul 14, 2020 9:33 am yup - those big square sinks are great - they do make smaller versions. I put a smaller version in 'boat's primary tow vehicle (our Sprinter 'bug out' van) and since we often can be in the van for weeks at a time the wife likes to prepare fancy meals and wanted lots of counter space so I added a lot of hidden counters:

Thanks for posting this BOAT! Very nice work (as always), and some great ideas to mull over!

Nicely done, BOAT!

Jimmyt wrote: ↑Tue Jul 14, 2020 7:18 am Helped a buddy bend up some copper countertops yesterday.

Wow, that is beautiful. Love the copper. We have a copper kitchen sink and one in the powder room.
It's pretty, but the patina gets funky. Drop a lemon in there and bye bye patina. It would be interesting to see how this ends up long term.

BOAT wrote: ↑Tue Jul 14, 2020 9:33 am yup - those big square sinks are great - they do make smaller versions. I put a smaller version in 'boat's primary tow vehicle (our Sprinter 'bug out' van) and since we often can be in the van for weeks at a time the wife likes to prepare fancy meals and wanted lots of counter space so I added a lot of hidden counters:

Did you do all that? WOW! You gots talent. LOVE the sliding galley top. I wish the Mac had something as pretty as that.

Russ wrote: ↑Wed Jul 15, 2020 6:16 am

BOAT wrote: ↑Tue Jul 14, 2020 9:33 am yup - those big square sinks are great - they do make smaller versions. I put a smaller version in 'boat's primary tow vehicle (our Sprinter 'bug out' van) and since we often can be in the van for weeks at a time the wife likes to prepare fancy meals and wanted lots of counter space so I added a lot of hidden counters:

Did you do all that? WOW! You gots talent. LOVE the sliding galley top. I wish the Mac had something as pretty as that.

I did make everything in the van and the galley specific as a unit for people who actually cook. Really, if you do not cook on your boat the galley is just fine the way it is. Now, I myself do not cook, in fact when I was a single guy I almost killed myself twice eating my own cooking. Lucky for me I have good doctors, yet I digress . . people who COOK; my wife, let me just say that people will pay money to eat what she cooks. It's that good. So, I made it a point to watch her cook a long time ago and figure out the best workstation. Really good cooks use a triangle motion in the kitchen - Cooler to Stove to Sink. Some chefs call it the 'working triangle' and the less your hands touch surfaces the better. That's why the waste container is built into the galley but opens with your knee and is right under the working counter. Stove, sink, counter to waste bucket. The reefer is right behind you - no walking. With the proper set up my wife can dish up a 5 star meal in nothing flat. After all these years I had a design that works for a real chef and does not take up space. The same can be done on the boat but the reefer needs to be inset - upright coolers are no good on boats. The cooler needs to be in the galley or right next to it. On the boat we have not been doing the cooking much but as retirement nears I will need to make changes to accommodate cooking. I already started work on an inset cooler under the seat that is just to the left of the galley. The biggest problem will be getting two burners. As for a gimbals I was going to gimbal the entire galley instead of just the stove. (You have to raise the galley about 3 inches to do that). Because I keep 4 gallons fresh inside the galley it's not top heavy so the gimbal will be very solid. Just like the van I will probably noodle the engineering in my head for a good six months before I actually start construction.

Russ wrote: ↑Wed Jul 15, 2020 6:15 am Wow, that is beautiful. Love the copper. We have a copper kitchen sink and one in the powder room.
It's pretty, but the patina gets funky. Drop a lemon in there and bye bye patina. It would be interesting to see how this ends up long term.

They are going for the "brand new parts, but looks like an old fishing cabin" vibe... I helped his wife build up two bath vanities out of furniture that I would have classified as fire wood. One sink was hammered copper with a green/brown patina. The other was a galvanized garden pot with copper handles. If you like the eclectic patina vibe (think nice rat rod), you'd love it. They are on an inlet just off the ICWW at wolf bay. The house is really nice, and the garage shop is around 2,000 sf (air conditioned).

All of that to say, the mottled green/brown "funky" look you are referring to is what they're after. He put a test piece out in the weather near the water edge to make sure it would get that "lemon" look. Different strokes...

Jimmyt wrote: ↑Wed Jul 15, 2020 7:53 am

Russ wrote: ↑Wed Jul 15, 2020 6:15 am Wow, that is beautiful. Love the copper. We have a copper kitchen sink and one in the powder room.
It's pretty, but the patina gets funky. Drop a lemon in there and bye bye patina. It would be interesting to see how this ends up long term.

They are going for the "brand new parts, but looks like an old fishing cabin" vibe... I helped his wife build up two bath vanities out of furniture that I would have classified as fire wood. One sink was hammered copper with a green/brown patina. The other was a galvanized garden pot with copper handles. If you like the eclectic patina vibe (think nice rat rod), you'd love it. They are on an inlet just off the ICWW at wolf bay. The house is really nice, and the garage shop is around 2,000 sf (air conditioned).

All of that to say, the mottled green/brown "funky" look you are referring to is what they're after. He put a test piece out in the weather near the water edge to make sure it would get that "lemon" look. Different strokes...

One of my relatives is really wealthy (like servants, numerous mansions, private planes and rail cars rich) yeah, pretty well off, and that relative offered to host my brothers and sisters at one of their residences for a sort of reunion and in the kitchen were numerous stoves, microwaves and four hammered copper sinks big enough to swim in. Everyone wanted my wife to cook the meal and she did. After dinner she went into the kitchen and scrubbed the sinks with cleanser and was so proud that she got the sink back to a shiny condition. When I explained to her that the cruddy green black red color was part of the style and that she cleaned away the reason they had copper she was mortified. She could not understand why anyone would want to use such a disgusting sink to clean dishes and she was worried our relative would be mad to lose their patina. I told her not to worry because the patina would return in a few months and copper will not be trendy anymore by then anyways and my relative will probably redo the entire kitchen with some other kind of sinks anyways when copper is out of fashion. My wife felt really bad for "cleaning" the sinks. I wonder what the next trend will be, rusty iron sinks?

One man's patina is another man's (or woman's) cleanup challenge...

Got a break in the honey do's this morning, and the weather cooperated long enough to run a few practice beads and stick the base together. Turns out that welding aluminum is a fickle beast. Total humiliation! Fortunately, none of these will show. I'll need to get it dialed in better before I do the stuff that will show. Base mount for stove first, then with uprights mocked up to show how the port starboard axis will work. Thunder and lightning now, so may be done for today.

Had some time today, so went after the rest of the gimbal mount. Changed to a really clean tungsten and got a larger filler rod. Also, backed off on the pedal and exercised a bit more patience (which aluminum demands). At any rate, welds were better than horrible today. It was really nice to get to weld the stainless pin to the mounting plate, though. A nice break after the aluminum debacle.

Now I've got to work out some pot clamps to keep pots and pans on the burner while the Mac dances a jig...








My concept has the stove mounted on the right side of the galley in a recess. The countertop over the cooking area will hinge up and have a metal liner. When I'm not cooking, the sink will be the only break in the countertop. Still evolving the finer points in my head...

Also, may have to add a bushing at the mount pivot pin. The load on the aluminum may be too high for the 3/16" thickness. But, that is something that I can put off awhile.