Boat Provisioning List – 3 Incredible Tips for Sailing Cruisers

Do you know there are various ways to make provisioning and cooking on a boat easy? Check out my boat provisioning list. Watch the video or read the article below to make your boating life far more fulfilling.

Boat Provisioning List Video

Surely, you already know that, as a cruiser, getting food isn’t straightforward. That’s why you need a boat provisioning list. You have to get in your dinghy, head to shore, walk or take a bus to a grocery store, shop, and then head back to the boat. It’s usually a 1/2 day event and a real kicker when you forget something important, like your bread or milk! Make sure you have a RUX 70L gear hauler – it’s a must-have for sailing cruisers.

And finding the foods that you want is a massive hit-or-miss situation.

I’ve spent months in foreign countries not being able to get basic things like tomatoes, celery, fresh milk, or any modern convenience foods like ready-made pizzas or the condiments that you love. Or I’ll want to make a special dish knowing that I saw a certain product the week before, but when I return, I never see it again. 

Of course, there are also the actual difficulties of cooking. Boats only have so much cooking fuel, so you don’t want to spend too much time using the oven. The stovetop and oven are much smaller than what we’re accustomed to—only one pot fits at the top. And it’s already hot on a boat, so adding more heat isn’t ideal.

So, what can turn the labor-intensive task of provisioning and cooking into a breeze aside from a boat provisioning list? 

First, you must realize that provisioning and cooking on a boat differs from how things work on land and in a house. Second, you need to create a system that makes life easier and then work that system. 

I’m going to share with you three tips for sailboat provisioning.

You might be thinking that cooking on a boat is similar to camping. You crack open a can of beans and heat hot dogs. But if you’re going to become a cruiser, you can’t live on camping foods, nor do you need to. 

You might also think that you’re going to live on salads all the time because it’s too hot to eat anything heavier. Well…that will last for a couple of weeks, and then you’ll want something more substantial. 

So, not only am I going to explain how to make provisioning and cooking easy, but I’m also going to show you how to make proper meals that are healthy, taste great, and are easy to cook.

1. The first tip is to think of all the meals you like to eat regularly. 

For dinner, we love turkey chili, spaghetti Bolognese, pulled pork, chicken curry, any kind of tacos, steak, BBQs, and loads of local vegetables. For lunch, we enjoy every kind of salad possible in addition to soups and sandwiches. For breakfast, we eat breakfast burritos, eggs on toast, pancakes, yogurt, and granola. 

Based on what you know and love to eat, you can create a list of ingredients that make up your staple list. I separate my list into fresh, frozen, and canned foods. These all get added to my boat provisioning list.

Due to the very limited space on a boat, you’ll learn how to balance what you keep fresh, what you freeze, and what canned items work really well. 

With your list, you can either keep it updated as and when you use ingredients or update it before you head out to the store so that you can bring your ‘core’ list every time you shop. I often update ours and give it to my husband, Simon, who can do the grocery shopping. 

I just write any extras needed or wanted at the bottom of the list. In most cases, you won’t get everything on the list, but when you find something you’ve been missing for a while, you know to buy several. Over time, you will have a stock of your core items. 

The critical concept for your boat provisioning list is starting with what you already know and love.

If you’re going to live the dream, that means living the dream – not living off of dried chickpeas and powdered eggs!

2. The second thing that makes provisioning and cooking on a boat fun and easy is to spend a few hours after shopping preparing meals and meal kits.

When you’re actively sailing, moving from one anchorage to another, even a short two-hour sail will tire you out. And a long, all-day sail can take it out of you. The last thing you want to do is cook.

Another thing that happens as a cruiser is all the sundowner and cruiser events. If you want to meet people on the beach or invite them over, there’s always someone around – or even a group of boaters – ready and willing to have a few drinks while watching the sunset. 

These events are important, but I get back to the boat and don’t want to cook. 

Furthermore…in the not-so-distant past, I got seasick all the time. I would prepare all our meals in advance so that anyone could just grab a burrito and heat it up or pull out a lasagna and put it in the oven. Knowing that I was out of commission for the trip and that I got to eat good food reduced my stress —yes, when I get seasick, I just want to eat!

So, let me give you an idea of what I make in advance and freeze. Just this week, I put a pork loin in our slow cooker, creating a BBQ pulled pork meal to freeze. While that was cooking, I made lasagna cups that are also made to freeze. I then made a chicken fajita soft taco kit and a beef barley stew kit—the kits are not cooked, but the whole idea is that you just pour out the contents and cook. 

Having pre-made freezer meals and kits makes cooking on a boat so much easier. When we’re anchored in a bay and haven’t done much all day other than swimming and exploring, I’m usually in the mood to cook, so I use my fresh ingredients and make something fun. But when I’m tired, I usually ask Simon to heat one of our pre-made meals or cook a kit. All the meals and kits are routinely listed on my boat provisioning list.

Depending on my freezer space, I sometimes make double batches, too. 

The main thing to understand here is that a few hours spent concentrating on meal planning will seriously pay off later in the week when you don’t want to cook. 

This means that meal planning and cooking truly become a breeze. 

3. The third tip about a boat provisioning list is to learn about substitutions and using frozen or canned goods. 

I will tell you a story about this one. One of my favorite lunchtime meals is a chicken salad in an avocado or over a bed of lettuce. For years, I would make this meal when I found a place that sold rotisserie chicken. Never did I think that there was any other way.

When COVID hit, we went to the grocery store to stock up on items, and I noticed that canned chicken had a four-can limit. I thought, ‘Who the heck eats chicken from a can?’ So, I bought four cans just to see what all the fuss was about. 

I then decided to make my chicken salad mixture—mayo, cranberries, celery, seasoning, and chicken from the can. I couldn’t believe how easy it was and how good it tasted. I now keep a stock of around five cans of chicken on board. It’s so quick, easy, and tastes great. 

I’ve also discovered that canned spinach works great in recipes, and you can get hummus, babaganoush, and all sorts of amazing things in cans.

We’re in St Martin when writing this, and they have duck in a can, scalloped potatoes, and all sorts of unexpected options – it’s fantastic—more things to add to my boat provisioning list.

The same goes for frozen foods. I always have a bag of frozen broccoli, peas, corn, and brussel sprouts because the chances of getting them fresh are very low, and these veggies go into our core meals. 

The main thing to understand here is that if you balance your fresh, frozen, and shelf-stable items, you can often create your favorite meals, stocking the ingredients in the space you have—and in some cases, it’s even easier!

This is key because there’s only so much space on board, and you often can’t get the fresh ingredients you want.

Now, you might think that you’ll make a list of what you want, go to the grocery store, get what you can, and improvise. And that you don’t get seasick or tired, so you are happy to cook up something after a long sail. 

And that’s when I would look at you and say, ‘You haven’t been sailing for very long, have you?’ 

Each anchorage and country you visit may or may not have something on your boat provisioning list. I’ve had times when I wanted to make something specific and couldn’t get six out of the eight ingredients—there’s no improvising on a recipe there! 

I’ve also had times where I made a list and forgot to put something essential. That was before I had my staple list that I use. 

And feeling in the mood to cook during or even after a long passage is not common. 

It might seem like these three tips about a boat provisioning list aren’t very groundbreaking. Still, I assure you that creating ingredient lists, being proactive with your meal preparation, understanding what substitutes you can use, provisioning, and cooking on a boat will become easy. 

But if you want to go one step further, follow our more comprehensive ‘Meal Provisioning Grouping checklist.’ 

I created a guide called Checklists for Sailors, where you can discover more ways to create systems, checklists, and routines that make your entire boating life easier. There is a section on provisioning, including a boat provisioning list, and digital downloads for sailors provision. You can also use it for provision on a bareboat charter,

The guide has food-related checklists as well as cleaning lists, a passage planning structure, sailboat maintenance routines, safety systems, medical information, and more. 

Our checklists are unique because we’ve spent over a decade testing, modifying, and perfecting them so that you don’t have to endure the pain and expense we have. 

Our checklists will help you have a less complicated and more enjoyable boat life. They will also help you to save loads of money by being proactive rather than reactive. 

Click the link here for more information on our Checklists For Sailors guide. You can also read my husband’s perspective about our guides! For a limited time, we’re currently offering the option to get the guide in Word format so that you can customize the checklists specific to your needs, so make sure you get your copy now!

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