Charter Freezer and Fridge Management

Freezers are typically top-loading and very deep. Take from home 4 -5 fabric shopping bags to stow similar items in the freezer. In doing this you can pull out each bag and get to what you want in seconds rather than digging to the bottom. Invariably you’ll lose stuff to the bottom of the pit only to find it at the end of the week when you’re checking off the boat.

Many refrigeration systems require that you run the engine twice per day to get the freezer and fridge cold. You’ll need to do this for about 45 minutes at 1500 rpm. Keep in mind that if you do 45 minutes of motoring in a day then you can miss one of these. Running the engine while at anchor is a bit of a hassle to your crew who want to swim or quiet time early in the morning so just be aware of picking the most opportune times for everyone to have the engine on.

Many other modern refrigeration systems don’t require the engine, they run off electricity from the battery banks – which require charging – guess how – yup from the engine – so there’s not too much getting away from running the engine. In any case, try to make the best use of the engine while motor sailing rather than in a beautiful quiet and tranquil bay.

Side note: In the NauticEd Skipper Course we learned not to run the engine whilst the boat is heeling. The water intake can rise out of the water and prevent cooling water from getting to the engine.

Speaking of keeping things cold, onboard you will find that the ice in the freezer usually turns into a block. Smashing it back to pieces on the fiberglass boat or trying to break it up with a knife is just a bad idea. Check out our fun video here on how to fix the ice – we shot this while on our flotilla in Croatia.