charcoal bbq's on yachts

I know this is probably a big no no, but i love the weber go anywhere charcoal bbq. on my bluebird i had my bbq stowed on the rear rail, and when at anchor, id unstow and take it up to the foredeck, light it with my thick wooden chopping board underneath to protect the deck. I cooked legs of lamb etc on this thing on the foredeck. i know it sounds dangerous, but if you keep an eye on it and the lid on once the coals are ready, its really safe and cooks amazing food. It also negates the need for gas bottles on board that you need with a bbq. I have the coals already in the bbq, and when im done, you close the holes and the bbq goes out.
I guess im tryna make do with what i have. I love charcoal bbqs. i dont own a gas one nor intend to. just got a massive weber kettle for home, so im thinking of putting the weber go anywhere on the tophat. i had 2 but gave the other weber to the bluebird buyer last year, leaving us just with the 1 for home. now theres 2 for home, so 1s going on the boat!
Please someone tell me this is stupid, or irresponsible etc!!! I dunno. You guys here do alot of cruising etc with sound boats. im a bit of a pikey so its good to hear thoughts from rational, responsible , experienced, older people!

THe other great thing about the weber is you can take it on the beach and have bbqs there, or anywhere. Thats why its called the "go anywhere!"

thanks!

I have one and love it when in a sheltered spot. No use at sea but a lot of time is spent at anchor/moored.
Mine is on the pushpit to try and keep the ash downwind.

i start with a layer of charcoal on the bottom, with a few of those fire-lighter blocks on top. then you arrange charcoal around and on top of the fire-lighters, making sure you leave enough gaps for decent airflow (otherwise the fire-lighters will go out). light with the lid off and wait until you start to see some white ash. at that point you can rearrange the charcoal so that hotter ashy ones are underneath.

at this point you can speed things up by fanning the charcoal, which will make it red hot with a few flames...

don't forget that not all charcoal is safe for cooking.

Select to expand quote

sirgallivant said..
Got a Kettle charcoal BBQ from a friend for twenty bucks the other day with all the trimmings.
My trouble is, how to make it go?
How could one fire it up efficiently. Tried bbq bricks and charcoal but neither of them l was able to lite.
Mucking around with an accelerant could be dangerous and it would taint the taste of the food to boot. I guess.

Could l have some advice from the BBQ experts, please?

mate im a bloody expert at these. heat beads are ok but a bit toxic and really hard to start. Go to bbqs galore and get some indonesian or whatever charcoal. Next best thing is red heads from the supermarket. the hex shaped coals. NOT the big HEX logs by redheads, theyre crap. its just real wood/charcoal.Use Firelighters. make a lil teepee of charcoal. light firelighters. put say, 2 or 3 under the teepee.. open up all vents on the bbq, underneath etc. dont put lid on. prob 20 min til its ready to cook on depending on how much charcoal you use. If you ever wanna make the heat less, lid on, close vents slightly. to stop the bbq, lid on close everything. My new bbq from weber has a thermometer on it. For roasts, i get the charcoal going on either side of the bbq, so 1 pile each side so you dont have direct heat on the lamb or whatever.
Whack lamb in. lid on. close vents about half way to cool it a bit and slow the burning of the charcoals down. leave lamb for an hour and a half, there abouts. If youve got a dodgy bbq, these can be tricky. , but the theory is the same. it should work well. They cook the best meat in my opinion. I use them for pizzas too.

I started using a bbq starter to fire up the briquettes at home.

www.bunnings.com.au/heat-beads-bbq-chimney_p3170712

Definitely an improvement over my bbq starting skills. Then the wife bought us a 3 burner ziggy for Christmas (so I'd cook more meals). I love the smell of a Weber cooking, but haven't had a bad meal out of the ziggy yet - even with me on the controls.

If you use charcoal (wood charred in a retort) instead of briquettes (compressed product), I thought it's supposed to light from a match without needing a starter fuel. Never tried it though.

went ta a mates bbq an old kettle knockoff which he couldnt get started. I joked have you got a leaf blower, well he did and we tried it. Phwoar in a couple of minutes. The bbq was great but he got rid of the kettle...

It was a little bit like this but not quite.

Select to expand quote

sirgallivant said..
Heat beads. Firelighters. Charcoal. Bugger.
Not being a bbq person l find it rather cumbersome. To cook for one, waiting for hours to get a hot bite? It is definitely not a quick meal.

I rather swap it for a gas bbq.
Does anyone have a gas Kettle to swap for a charcoal Kettle out there?

its not hours!! you start cooking in less than 20 min. yes its not instant like gas...tell you waht though. on the bluebird up the hawkesburry with a few mates over night, lamb should on the bbq. everyones cooking snags, on their flash yacths and we were the envy of america bay!! i Everyone wanted what we were having! nothing like a lamb roast, and on a crappy lil boat it makes it a superyacht!

im gonna make a video and post it tomorrow ok! its soooo simple. As simple as a gas bbq seriously. probably more economical too. you can use the same coals for ages.
lately ive been getting whole fish from the markets and bbqing them. Un real! stay tuned!!!

Select to expand quote

Sectorsteve said..

sirgallivant said..
Heat beads. Firelighters. Charcoal. Bugger.
Not being a bbq person l find it rather cumbersome. To cook for one, waiting for hours to get a hot bite? It is definitely not a quick meal.

I rather swap it for a gas bbq.
Does anyone have a gas Kettle to swap for a charcoal Kettle out there?

its not hours!! you start cooking in less than 20 min. yes its not instant like gas...tell you waht though. on the bluebird up the hawkesburry with a few mates over night, lamb should on the bbq. everyones cooking snags, on their flash yacths and we were the envy of america bay!! i Everyone wanted what we were having! nothing like a lamb roast, and on a crappy lil boat it makes it a superyacht!

Exactly

I cook a leg off lamb every week.
The lamb legs last 3 to 4 days and I do lamb/gravy and rice or lamb curry stir fry veg the following days.
I now use all gas but in the old days up the Hawkesbury I would swear by the charcoal Webber although coal was not so cheap and a prick to light sometimes.

I have heard great things about the COB onboard boats.

Select to expand quote

Bruski068 said..
As requested This is Stupid and Irresponsible, well not really, not if you are careful, as you seem to be, it should not be any more "Stupid or Irresponsible" than using any other type of BBQ.

im pretty careful...have started a few out of control fires though..accidently... not with the bbq...Ill elaborate. Meth stove on my boat is tricky to fill. been siphoning to fill. 1 night recently spilled some meths. access not god around the stove. i thought i got most of the spill...lit stove to cook dinner...remnants of meths started to burn. didnt worry me at the time because it just burns off. BUT. the speakers and light wiring is right there too. This caught alight. escalated to electrical fire. Dry powder. big mess. took an extra hour to get dinner ready....lesson learned....gotta cover that wiring and not fill stove this way..

While Charcoal BBQ has the best flavor....it does have have the inconvenience factor and danger factor.

A good alternative is a hot rock gas BBQ, the layer of rock gives a good even heat layer, plus the dripping marinade/fat burns, and gives the good smoky flavor to the meat.

Select to expand quote

Trek said..


Gidday Steve, We've used a charcoal BBQ mounted on the back rail of Trek for the last 5 years and no problems at all. Its cooked hundreds of sausages and odd fish.

I'd be scared to have LPG on a boat. One time having lunch at a sailing club years back there was a "boom" outside and rushing to the window we saw a a cruiser in a fireball thanks to LPG. It burnt to the waterline in 10 minutes flat. Once a fibreglass boat ignites I dont know if you can stop it.

The only problem is they are slow to start especially if theres a breeze so we take BBQ starters. Also the beads are messy to store. That part of the lazarette is always a bit dusty and black.

yes theyre messy to store indeed. i always just leave the coals in bbq. the only extra time is the lighting. its 20 min on top of cooking time with charcoal. Im not a fan of heat beads. they take ages to start and are toxic.