How I built a galley box for my boat

Ben Russell adds basic cooking facilities to his motorboat

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Having recently finished building Athena, my 18ft motorboat, I’ve been using the boat for day trips around the Firth of Clyde, writes Ben Russell.

As we ventured further, I wanted to have the ability to make a hot drink, heat soup etc on board.

The simplest and cheapest way to achieve this would be with a portable gas camping stove, but several reports in recent years of fires on boats using these appliances means this wasn’t an option for me, plus the fact my insurers will not provide cover for any incidents arising from the use of a portable gas stove on board.

The alternative of a fixed gas installation with a cylinder in a locker which drains overboard isn’t a feasible option in a small boat like mine.

So, using a spirit stove looked to be the safest option and would still provide reasonable performance.

I found a supplier in Europe who stocked a single-burner spirit stove that would be adequate for my needs.

I really wanted a place to mount the stove, with dedicated storage for a 1lt bottle of fuel and a couple of compartments for supplies, plates, cups and basic utensils.

Galley boxes vary in size/shape/design to suit the boat and the crew’s needs and wants.

They can be made in a very basic style, or you can go to town and display your joinery skills.

A galley box for a boat under construction

Try to finish as much as you can before the final assembly. Ben Russell

I had some 9mm plywood and lengths of timber left over from my boat build, so mine would be a simple plywood box glued and screwed to timber cleats.

You could use epoxy/glass tape to hold it together if you prefer and some galley boxes have been built with small angle brackets.

Once I’d made the outer box, I rounded the edges on a router table.

I made the inner partitions and the shelf for the stove as one piece, but didn’t fit it to the carcass yet – it’s much easier to do as much finishing as you can on the bench, before you permanently fit them into place on the boat.

I debated whether to hinge the front opening horizontally or vertically.

The advantage of hinging horizontally is that you have another fold-out surface, but on my boat the galley box will be used while it is sat on the cockpit side benches.

If I’d hinged it this way, I think it’d be more likely to get knocked. It would also have made accessing the small storage space underneath more awkward.

For the lift-off lid, I used some 20x45mm meranti to trim the edges of the ply.

After the usual, tedious rounds of filling and sanding, I painted the galley box and varnished some trim pieces.

To protect the galley box from heat, I used an adhesive-backed, aluminium-faced, glassfibre cloth which was recommended by a specialist textile supplier to be suitable for the job.

One square metre was enough to line the stove area, the inside of the door and the space under the stove.

I’ve lined the underside of the lid too, so it can be used as a tray for hot pans, cups etc.

The adhesive is very sticky, and I found it best to peel off an edge of the backing paper from the fabric, line up the exposed sticky edge with the surface to be covered, and press down the fabric.

I continued to work like this, rather than expose the whole sticky surface all at once.

A homebuilt galley box for a boat

The finished galley box, painted
and varnished. Credit: Ben Russell

You do get a chance to peel it back and re-apply, but if you get it right the first time, so much the better.

I fitted angle brackets to the stove shelf to keep the stove in place.

For re-fuelling, the stove easily lifts out. I fitted a rubber foot on each corner of the base of the galley box and a silicone pad on the corners on both sides of the lid to prevent slipping.

I’ve fitted a deck eye and a short piece of rope on each side to the back of the box, about 200mm from the bottom, so it can be tied to the boat to hold it in place if necessary.

The aluminium pan clamps needed a single hole drilled through the stove top at a corner, and there is plenty of room underneath for a nut and washer to hold it tight.

The pans sit supported by the pan clamps and don’t roll around when underway.

Wooden carry handles on the sides of the galley box work fine and look good.

I’m very pleased with the finished article.

It’s light enough for me to move around the boat and can be placed on the cockpit seat and tied to the grab rails to keep it still.

The size of the galley box works well for my boat, and the spirit stove works well for my needs.

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