Grilled curry shrimp

[Figment]

As much as I love bbq-ing on board, I must admit that it is a bit of a pain in the rump. Perhaps this is why I rarely bother setting up the grill and firing the coals just for a measly hot dog. Looking back on our two seasons with Figment, I've realized that the vast majority of the grilling has been for these shrimp:

The bigger the shrimp, the easier they are to manage on a BBQ, but my wallet usually makes my selection for me. The following should be enough to marinate (marinade?) 1-1/2lbs of extra large shrimp. I use a mortar and pestle, but a small food processor would work as well.

three thumbs of coarse salt
two or three good shakes of coarse black pepper, or two or three peppercorns.
pinch of rosemary
Pinch of coriander

Grind the above until the salt is mostly fine and has combined with the other flavors. Add 2 round tablespoons curry powder.
Add 2 or 3 cloves of rough-chopped garlic. Grind some more. This should now be a messy paste.

Give two good shots of tobasco, and splash in about 1/4 cup of white vinegar and mix the paste to distribute the goodness. Combine with a cup or two of good olive oil. In a big ziploc bag, I prefer to let the shrimp soak in this overnight, but I'm told that anything beyond 20 minutes is unnecessary.

Grill over medium heat until they're pinkish. It's a messy meal, have a bowl handy for the shells and plenty of paper towels for the curry fingers.
Guaranteed to please!

[dasein668]

Mmmmmmm. Curry. Mmmmmmm.

marinate (marinade?)

marinate is the verb. marinade is what you marinate in!

[Tim]

Mmm, that sounds good. Must try soon.

[Tim]

As much as I love bbq-ing on board, I must admit that it is a bit of a pain in the rump. Perhaps this is why I rarely bother setting up the grill and firing the coals just for a measly hot dog.

You know, it wasn't too long ago in my life that the thought of leaving a grill hanging out there attached to the pulpit all the time would have kept me awake at night, probably huddled in a corner quietly rocking and whispering to myself in horror.

However, I have to say that it makes all the difference in the world to just install the grill on a good pulpit bracket and leave it there. It's a cinch to sew up a more-or-less attractive Sunbrella cover for the thing, and then, when you want to use it, it's ready to go. If one is inclined to do a fair bit of cruising and other events that include meals aboard, I just can't think of a good argument against doing this.


I'm no fan of overly-cluttered decks, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. The cover really makes all the difference, as greasy, blackened grills are certainly less than attractive. At some point, convenience wins out over vanity. This is something many of us have struggled with. I certainly did: read about it here.

If you're using charcoal, I believe it's worth it to switch to gas for the convenience of it. Of course, some people are opposed to LPG for safety reasons. I guess one must choose their poison.

I know that the thought of using gas to grill over probably sends many people into a state similar to that which I described above...but it sure makes the user-friendliness ascend to a whole new level.

We grill often on the boat while cruising, so for us it makes sense to have the thing ready to go. I find it so unobtrusive that I leave the grill there all season, often even installing it at home in the spring before the boat is launched. It's hardly even noticeable back there.

[Figment]

I hear ya, but I think I must still be in that huddled in the corner quietly rocking and whispering to myself time of life.
I view the Lifesling as a necessary evil.
I seriously yearn for a better place to stow fenders.
Don't get me started on the doggie safety netting.
The only part of the BBQ that's permanently mounted to the rail is the little 2" bracket-clamp thingy, and I must admit that it bugs me to no end.
It's a compulsion. Perhaps it's Daysailor Envy. ;)

Really though, mounting and dismounting the BBQ is a non-issue. It takes all of twelve seconds. The charcoal is the time consuming part. I considered going propane when we went BBQ shopping, but I landed on the (less expensive) charcoal model by reminding myself that half the point of going sailing is to slow the frantic pace of life for a bit. Something akin to "Never take with you what you're trying to leave behind".

I'm sure that someday I'll grow up and graduate to a propane unit. Still, it's nice to know that I'm not alone in my disturbed mental state!

Straying from the topic..... Tim, with all of that gear stowed on your stern rail, have you considered mounting your stern light up on your radar pole?

[Tim]

There's no doubt that if one is going for the "clean" look, that no deck storage is acceptable. I can understand and appreciate that desire.

Actually, I think the lone bracket with no attachment might bug me more, on an otherwise clean and unburdened deck, than having the grill proper up there! Somehow incomplete...but you all know that I'm weird.

That said, at some point it's inevitable that the amount of gear desired will exceed the hidden storage capacity, particularly on a Triton, where the lockers are tiny as a result of the shapely, slack-bilged hull. I struggled for months with storing bulky items like fenders, etc., back when I was trying to hide everything. Eventually, it was simply impossible. It was a choice between leaving gear ashore (not valid in my case), or storing on deck. Over time, reshuffling gear through the various lockers has improved the situation somewhat, but certain items simply can never be stored out of sight. When unneeded, though, I remove them.

The solutions, when eventually faced with this unchangeable equipment overload, are limited to buying a bigger boat simply for the storage (and then resisting the nearly irresistable urge to overfill those lockers), or, as I did, to sacrifice and store some of the junk abovedecks. I'm a firm believer (and practicioner) of "everything in its place", particularly on a boat, but sometimes that "place" has to end up being the pulpit, or wherever. What's a guy to do?

On the stern light: well, if I ever truly begin to undertake regular night sailing or some such, the whole running light issue needs to be dealt with anyway. As it stands, I've only had the lights on once or twice, each time in daylight with fog. If I were going offshore, I think I'd take Hal Roth's advice and mount a big strobe light at the masthead. When at sea, the lights are there purely to ensure you are seen, which is unlikely given the location and lack of strength of all standard sailboat running lights, and the well-documented fact that small boats are nearly impossible to see at sea from a large ship, day or night. Roth's opinion is that with the strobe up high, and extremely visible when turned on, there's no doubt you would be seen. In that situation, who really cares if it's "proper" or not? It's likely to be a life or death situation, so anything goes.

Until then, I'm not too worried about it.

[Tim]

I seriously yearn for a better place to stow fenders

Have you considered cutting a hatch into the poop deck, a'la Glissando and Dasein? The increase in the utility of that lazarette space is exponential when the access is improved with a top hatch.

[Figment]

As silly as it sounds, fender stowage just might be my primary motivation to modify my cockpit seats as hinged lazarette hatches. Of course, as soon as I do this I'll think of a thousand other ways to fill this space and the fenders will go back to the rail. Such is life.

I'd love to do a hatch in the poop deck similar to yours, but (go ahead and laugh) that's Grover's favorite spot on the boat, and I don't think I could bring myself to displace him.


Over Grover's shoulder you can see the little bracket for the BBQ.

[Tim]

that's Grover's favorite spot on the boat

Well, now, of course there's no way you could ever displace someone who's that happy and comfortable!

Interestingly enough, the only reason we would truly ever consider a larger boat is to make room for dogs on board. We don't like leaving the dogs for long periods of time (like cruising). So I understand the need (and desire) to accommodate our canine friends!

Fenders disappear much more if covered with a neutral-colored fabric. We have these great fleece covers in dark gray, and the stored fenders definitely stand out less than the stark vinyl white.

[windrose]

Tim, I swoon when I see photos of your boat. You are helping the rest of us see the light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks.