Boat Grill Questions

When you say "boat grill" are you just referring to transport or are you actually grilling with it on a boat?

The only boat grills I am familiar with are on gimbals so they stay level while the boat rolls with ocean waves.

Weber Jumbo Joe.

Pit BarrellJunior!

Without making a little UDS with short legs, a jumbo joe might be the best option but I did find this, maybe? It is smaller.

Or: www.evasolo.com/en/house-and-garden/grill/charcoal-grill/ maybe this is better. I have none yet.

How about this.

https://www.amazon.com/Weber-121020-Go-Anywhere-Charcoal-Grill/dp/B00004RALJ

And these.

https://www.grillgrate.com/grillgrates-for-the-weber-go-anywhere-grill/

I have one of those 'Firesense' Hibachi grills and it does cook nice but, no way would I want it on a boat. Charcoal grilling on boat is a real fire hazard unless you have the correct grill.

A small Weber kettle is the obvious answer, except for on boat grilling, for most people. The Weber Go Anywhere is another good choice for use 'off boat'. Both are small and lightweight for easy transport. The WGA would pack up a little easier so, it might be the best choice for you.

I run charcoal on my pontoon. Magma grill. All stainless. Old style with removable lid, rather than the newer styles which have the lids hinged.

Lives on the boat, but has a second mount for storage and trailering off the stern. Mounted for use off the front of my fenced area, and is accessed and utilized from the foredeck. Mount is an expandable screw style with large wing-nut handle, designed to fit in a standard recessed deck mount rod holder socket.
It is only used on the foredeck, which is about 18' away from my fuel tanks, batteries, and motor, with full open air in-between. No worry about fire onboard, but there is a marine extinguisher mounted within arms reach of the grill. Extinguisher is visible in picture 2 and 3.

I made mounts out of aluminum pipe, and can swivel the grill inboard when needed, and then move outboard over the water for use. When the handle is snugged down the grill is solid mounted and will not move until mount is released. Have only dropped a couple of things to the fishes:tape:

Grate screws down and adjusts via a center 1/2" threaded post. Has about 4" of travel. Lid is tethered to base, so no chance of dropping it overboard. Plenty of vent adjustment via the center lifting knob on lid.

Screaming hot to dampered down for low and slow. One load of charcoal will run for almost 4 hours when vents are closed, as it is not capable of complete closure on bottom vents, but lid vents can be 100% closed. It takes a bit of getting used to, but we have done ABT's, kabobs, steaks, chops, chicken, burgers, brats, etc.
Love it.

Sorry about the sideways pictures. Not smart enough to figure that out.

That looks pretty nice on a calm lake. My limited experience is with sailboats so, I'm a bit shy of charcoal due to some rough water and can't see using a swing away grill.

I would be afraid of stray embers with a charcoal grill. Even a small ember, could get you some ugly burns on your carpet. Not to mention you do have fuel on board. Plus you would have to carry charcoal, and a way to start it. If I were going to go pellet, I would look into the rectec bullseye, or the green mountain davy crocket. I don't like gas.

Personally I wouldn't grill on my boat. If there are places you can dock, and go to shore, and gather wood. I would go with something like this.
http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/prod...WT.z_btnclk=YMAL-727842&WT.z_pg_ref=prd713910. Less to carry with you, and you get to play with fire.

Sid Post said:

That looks pretty nice on a calm lake. My limited experience is with sailboats so, I'm a bit shy of charcoal due to some rough water and can't see using a swing away grill.

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I also sail. International Jet, Thistle, and Islander 23. My toon is 28' and bridges 2-3's without spilling a drink, and is still comfortable in solid 4's.
But I am smart enough to not fire up the grill in rough water.

Pstores said:

Been gone for awhile. I am looking for a portable, storable grill for about 5-6 people. Thought about the Trager PTB but think the grilling area is alittle small. Burgers, brat, dogs and such. Like charcoal and pellets over gas. Ideas? Also be nice to put a cast iron flat top on it for Breakfest.

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The Traeger PTG is compact and portable but will only feed 2 or 3 people. It'll hold about 6 burgers at one time with no room left for anything else.

Option. . . . . buy 2 :caked:

All of it sounds like quite a bit of trouble- but if I just had to do something like this, I'd go with a small clamshell type of Propane cooker. Fab up some sort of brace that would get it to a good working height and hang over side on the railing.

With 50 years of boating and grilling experience, a charcoal magma, 2 propane magmas, several weber joes other various grills I would recommend a WeberQ 1200 or 2200.

Yes, they are propane. Charcoal and boats do not get along really well. Even if you grill on the beach you still have to clean it out and stow afterwards. The WeberQ heats evenly, gives great grill marks, does not blow out in the wind, the cast aluminum body cools quickly and the price is nice.

You can find them in assorted colors and they make covers for them. Check them out at Lowes. Not sure if Home Depot carries them.

Our first year here at the lake on July 4th they always put on quite a fireworks show so we decided to set up early and tailgate... portable table top propane filled with brats and burgers. Apparently not done here and everyone was asking if we needed help on account of the smoke rising from the deck of the pontoon....
We haven't done it since.
I do have a thought of anchoring in the middle of the lake grilling and selling dogs and burgers during the weekend. Lots of hungry beer drinkers.
Ed

riverratdave said:

With 50 years of boating and grilling experience, a charcoal magma, 2 propane magmas, several weber joes other various grills I would recommend a WeberQ 1200 or 2200.

Yes, they are propane. Charcoal and boats do not get along really well. Even if you grill on the beach you still have to clean it out and stow afterwards. The WeberQ heats evenly, gives great grill marks, does not blow out in the wind, the cast aluminum body cools quickly and the price is nice.

You can find them in assorted colors and they make covers for them. Check them out at Lowes. Not sure if Home Depot carries them.

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I'll second this vote. A weber Q is hard to beat for price, safety and ease of use. I personally would rather not have to deal with charcoal, pellets, etc. when I'm on the boat. The weber Q will be safe, cook great, be low maintenance, and let you spend your time enjoying your day on the water.

happyappy said:

I'll second this vote. A weber Q is hard to beat for price, safety and ease of use. I personally would rather not have to deal with charcoal, pellets, etc. when I'm on the boat. The weber Q will be safe, cook great, be low maintenance, and let you spend your time enjoying your day on the water.

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Not a boater but tend to agree. The cleanup (and waiting for coals to fully cool) make charcoal a pain when you can’t just close things up and walk away. Pellets would be my choice if I wanted to do some smoking too as it is easier to delay cleanup. If it’s mostly grilling the Weber is a great option

Boat fires are very real...and they are typically hard to retreat from. Use caution with coals or embers of any kind.