Boat Cookery

[Auspicious]

I would like to point out that meals on delivery are different from meals when people are cruising. Delivery meals also vary greatly from skipper to skipper. Mine is different from @JohnT's.

 

I usually alternate cooked breakfasts (eggs, French Toast, oatmeal, pancakes, crepes, etc) and yogurt/fruit/cereal. Early in a trip lunches are mostly sandwiches and fruit; later they tend toward repurposed leftovers as bread and deli meats peter out. On longer trips we bake bread and freeze deli meats. Also on longer trips we make yogurt as John does and also grow sprouts as a counterpoint to longer lived produce like cabbage, carrots, and celery. Dinner is the main meal of the day but also repurposes leftovers. Roast chicken leftovers end up in a stirfry in a day or so.

 

Much of course depends on the boat. Some have no refrigeration, some have refrigeration but no freezer, and some have lots of cold storage. A delivery skipper has to be adaptable.

 

John appears to have a different watch system than I do. I use the conventional commercial and military 4-on/8-off system. No dog watch. Not ever. With me and three crew the crew stand watches and I do weather, navigation, and cooking. I eat better that way. *grin*

 

Menu planning depends greatly on gear on the boat and temperatures. Lasagna is great in cold weather and shoulder seasons, not so good in tropical summers.

 

I always manage a snack bag. This keeps folks entertained. A lot of eating is from boredom, not hunger. It also keeps people from rummaging about in my fridge. *grin*

 

I have delivered boats for charter before also. It's much the same as factory delivery for private owners. Tools become an issue. They can equally be an issue on private deliveries. "We have everything you need" is often not true. *grin*

[JoNorvelleWalker]

8 hours ago, JohnT said:

Dinner is always a hot meal!

 

I once enjoyed a better menu on an eastward crossing, Italian line prima classe.  But not by much.

 

[Auspicious]

7 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I once enjoyed a better menu on an eastward crossing, Italian line prima classe.  But not by much.

 

 

There are very few things that can't be made at sea on a small boat. A souffle comes to mind - it can be too bumpy. Other things may be too space confusing or messy to do by choice. I often make lasagna before departure and freeze it but it takes too long, uses too many dishes, and makes too much of a mess for me to willingly take on underway.

 

Shoreside techniques usually apply, sometimes with additional emphasis. Mise en place as I described early in this thread helps for all the same reasons it does ashore. In addition you get all your knife work done so you can clean and stow your knife. Putting your knife down, even for moments, is often not safe and putting it in the usually metal sink is hard on the knife. Get knife work done and store the knife.

 

Other techniques are more unique to boat cookery. You can usually identify who did the most cooking on a trip, at least in bathing suits, by the ring of bruises around his or her hips from wedging in while cooking. *grin* Mine are nearly permanent. On monohulls the cooker (cook top and oven) is gimballed so it swings with the motion of the boat. It can be disconcerting to see it swinging with abandon while the liquids in the pans stay level with the top of the pan. Unfortunately the balance changes significantly when you open the oven door so latching the gimbal while getting food in or out is well advised. This avoids ending up with a roast or casserole all over the floor or your lap. On catamarans and most power boats cookers are not gimballed although they really should be. Good quality cookers also have clamps on rails around the cooktop to hold pots in place so they don't slide.

[Auspicious]

Since few boaters cross oceans, which @JohnT and I focused on, I thought I'd talk about shorter trips on smaller boats for a bit.

 

Many smaller boats don't have refrigeration so a moment on coolers is appropriate. The "expensive" quality coolers are worth every penny. I bought a good-sized (80qt?) Igloo cooler on sale. Over the years I spent a lot of money on handls, latches, hinges, and hold-downs. When the case finally failed due to cumulative UV deterioration I had many hundreds of dollars into the cooler. I replaced it with a Yeti 72qt cooler. Six or seven years downstream I have not had to replace any parts at all. Maintenance is limited to a few minutes once each year wiping the rubber latches with ArmorAll. Add that the insulation is much better than the basic grade of consumer cooler and the high end coolers are worth their price.

 

Remember that there is nothing magic about ice. Cold is cold. If you're going out for a long weekend freeze what makes sense (casseroles, proteins, even bagged veg) as hard as you can and put that in the cooler on the sides and bottom to keep produce and other nominally refrigerated goods cool. A full cooler will be more thermally stable than a near empty one. Use gallon jugs of drinking water frozen solid at home to help fill space in your cooler.

 

As we've said on this thread you can make nearly anything on board. If you are a day or evening sailor dipping your toe into longer trips why bite off too much at once? Sure you can make eggs Benedict with fresh Hollandaise but why? Yogurt and fruit or hard-boiled eggs and pre-cooked bacon are fine. Pasta salad or a commercial bag-o-salad with sliced ham or turkey are fine for lunch. Burgers, steak, chicken or such with a veg foil packet on the grill are just fine.

 

It does help to have a basic plan, mostly so you pack the cooler with the things you'll use first on top. This reduces the amount of time the cooler lid is open and preserves the temperature.

 

[Smithy]

Back in my sailboat racing days I was rarely put in charge of the food, and it was interesting to see how the skipper dealt with the issue. Lake Superior is cold, year-round, and there's little as discouraging as spending 4 days choosing between cold sandwiches and instant ramen or soup in a styrofoam cup. (There may have been fruit also; I've put that particular Trans Superior Race more or less out of mind.) Other skippers I raced with were more interested in crew comfort, and over the years there have been frozen lasagna, heated in the (yes, gimbaled and yes, gimbals locked) oven as well as restaurant-quality boil-in-bag soups or dinners. Eggs and bacon for breakfast, in some cases, or hot or cold cereal. Sandwiches for lunch. On one much shorter race, when I was a novice cook but more interested in cooking than the other crew members, I cooked scrambled eggs with chunks of Jimmy Dean sausage mixed in. The skipper thought I was a gourmet cook!  Times and my cookery have changed since then.

 

Cruises are a different story than races, and probably more like the deliveries being discussed here. Last summer my husband, sister-in-law and I rented a 33' sloop for 4 days, and they let me take care of the food. We intended to spend every night docked somewhere on Lake Superior, but allowed for the possibility of its being too stormy or cold to want to use the barbeque grill latched to the stern rail. I purchased more food than we needed, due to that allowance, but we had plenty of choices and were never in danger of starving. As I recall the meals ran along these lines: Caprese salad with good fresh warm bread on the first night, with some of summer's finest tomatoes; pesto-stuffed boneless chicken thighs on the grill, with a fresh green salad and more bread on the second night; grilled kebabs that had by then thawed, over rice, for our final dinner. SIL and I preferred yogurt and fruit for breakfast; DH chose his usual cereal. I think we had scrambled eggs with cheese one day. Lunch tended to be sandwiches for DH and me and granola bars for SIL, which helps explain why she's much slimmer than I. We had fruit and pre-cut vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, celery sticks, etc.) for snacks.

 

Convenience foods that I brought along in case it was too miserable to cook were a selection of the aforementioned instant soups and ramens, and prepackaged ready-to-heat Indian foods: curries, saag paneer, precooked rice. That last was a surprise; Uncle Ben's actually offers some decent precooked, simply reheat, rice. Most of that stuff came home with us, and with the exception of the soups and ramens (which went to a food shelf) we've been enjoying them as quick dinners.

 

I think stir fries make a lot of sense, but didn't plan for them on that trip and certainly didn't expect a wok. I packed my own knives but trusted the charter company otherwise, and if I'd brought a wok I don't know where we'd have put it in that particular boat. The storage was pretty limited.

 

Here's a shot of the cooler, loaded for the trip:

 

For the short time we were cruising the eggs couldn't have gone off anyway, but I'm glad to read @JohnT's and @Auspicious' advice to store them in cardboard rather than styrofoam, and to rotate them every day or so. That's good to know for the longer haul.

Edited August 16, 2018 by Smithy
Speling (log)

[Smithy]

On 8/13/2018 at 4:58 AM, JohnT said:

The boat has now progressed into even warmer waters as we slowly inch towards the equator. Flying fish are abundant but not something that you really want to eat. Another seafood is also available on the leg between St Helena and The Brazil coast - and you do not have to catch them as they come to you! They are squid, which are attracted by the navigation lights onboard during the night. They get stranded on board during the night and just as first light came along you pick them up off the deck, wash them off and clean out the guts and ink sack. Remove the spine and the tentacles (and the beak in the centre of the tentacles) and then pull off the skin. Cut into rings or strips and cooked (with the tentacles), briefly, with a dash of white wine, some garlic and onion and a bit of chopped tomato and some herbs and then refrigerated, makes a brilliant calamari salad for lunch. The calamari are even more tender if you have a pressure cooker on board and cook them under pressure for around 20 minutes.

 

I am still getting my mind wrapped round the idea of squid coming up on deck at night. Does this happen only at a low speed, or can they snag a boat doing 10 knots or better? How high off the water is the deck, that they're clambering aboard? Please tell more about this when you get a chance. 

[Smithy]

7 hours ago, Auspicious said:

Many smaller boats don't have refrigeration so a moment on coolers is appropriate. The "expensive" quality coolers are worth every penny. I bought a good-sized (80qt?) Igloo cooler on sale. Over the years I spent a lot of money on handls, latches, hinges, and hold-downs. When the case finally failed due to cumulative UV deterioration I had many hundreds of dollars into the cooler. I replaced it with a Yeti 72qt cooler. Six or seven years downstream I have not had to replace any parts at all. Maintenance is limited to a few minutes once each year wiping the rubber latches with ArmorAll. Add that the insulation is much better than the basic grade of consumer cooler and the high end coolers are worth their price.

 

Thanks for this information about the Yeti cooler. I may have just worked out what to get my husband for Christmas.

[Shelby]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

 

Thanks for this information about the Yeti cooler. I may have just worked out what to get my husband for Christmas.

I bought Ronnie the smallest Yeti you can get a few years ago.  IT IS AMAZING.  You will not regret getting one.  

[Auspicious]

2 hours ago, Smithy said:

Back in my sailboat racing days

 

@Smithy

 

The first boat I raced I on after college spoiled me for other boats. I've never recovered. Lief's wife would make us these great meals. She kept track of likes and dislikes and packed us off with meals labeled for each crew. Good stuff also. Just wow.

Lots of race boats are BYO which I think is unfortunate. Yes owners have a lot of expenses. Crew are their best and biggest resource. These days I get invited aboard various boats as coach and tactician several times a year. When the owner catches up with me after the race they ALWAYS ask what they should be buy to be more competitive. My answer is always the same: lessons. Owners then start whining about the cost and I point out that it's cheaper than a sail. *grin* It's also a major retention and recruitment tool. "Hey did you hear Joe sent the whole crew to J/World for tactics?"

 

Back-up reserve food that you referred to is important. The sort of foods you note are important. You probably won't need them and when you don't you take them home and they go in the pantry. By golly if you need them having them on board is the difference between an inconvenience and a crisis.

 

You also mentioned convenience food. I keep a snack bag - not junk food, but easy hand food: fruit, crackers, cheese, hard-cooked eggs, cut-up veg, jerky, granola bars, .... People eat for many reasons beyond hunger, most especially including boredom, fear, and concern. The snack bag also keeps them from rummaging about in my fridge. *grin*

 

 

[Smithy]

10 minutes ago, Auspicious said:

Lots of race boats are BYO which I think is unfortunate. Yes owners have a lot of expenses. Crew are their best and biggest resource.

 

There is also the safety aspect of having a well-fed and -provisioned crew. One trio did the Trans in the smallest legal boat possible (26'? I forget) and, in order to minimize weight, those youngsters packed a bunch of snack foods like Pringles and not much else. Someone needed to have taken them in hand before the race and put some sense into them. To make matters worse, the food in question had the fat substitute Olean (a.k.a. Olestra). It was literally a gut-wrenching experience for them. They all survived and finished the race, but were incredibly hungry when they crossed the finish line. It was one of those "never again" learning moments for them. 😉 

 

We may have been asked to contribute money for food in a couple of races, but if we did it wasn't much. What mattered to me was - as you say - having good food, warm for those cold nights, and plenty of it. Lief and his wife sound like gems!

[JohnT]

On 16 August 2018 at 11:09 PM, Smithy said:

 

I am still getting my mind wrapped round the idea of squid coming up on deck at night. Does this happen only at a low speed, or can they snag a boat doing 10 knots or better? How high off the water is the deck, that they're clambering aboard? Please tell more about this when you get a chance. 

We  are normally trying to go as fast as possible but you will find we normally average just over 6 knots. The deck height varies, depending on the boat, but with most modern catamarans, the deck of a 40 to 50 foot cat is normally around 2 metres above sea level. But, I have seen squid shoot about 4 metres out of the water and belly flop onto the deck. I have also seen flying fish hit the helmsman, sitting with his head 4 metres above the water level, knocking the helmsman out cold. This is why, at night, no lights are allowed on watch except the Tri-colour navigation light at the top of the mast. The flying fish are also attracted to light. It is very seldom that you can get a smallish sailboat going 10 knots unless in some fast flowing current - we normally have full fuel and water tanks and a massive amount of provisions.

[Auspicious]

If you are cooking underway (different from moving from anchorage to anchorage or marina to marina) everything takes longer than you are used to. Efficiencies of scale are always valuable. Usually water is a limited resource. Even with a watermaker onboard you don't want to be dependent on it working. I'll share one of the things I do to be efficient.

 

Consider that most pastas take about 12 minutes to cook. Making hard cooked eggs takes about 12 minutes. Doing both at once in the same pot in the same water saves time, cooking fuel, and water. If you have enough pots and space you can save the pasta water for other uses: rinse water for growing sprouts, cooking oatmeal or Cream of Wheat, parboiling veg for a roast, or anything else where the starchy water won't be a problem.

 

One of the guidelines of offshore sailing (for those who have watched the movie Pirates of the Caribbean "they aren't so much rules as what you would call guidelines") is not to let anything go down a drain or over the side without considering whether it might be useful for something else.

 

Reusing cooking water is one.

 

Something else I often do is to cut the top and bottom off a small can. This is getting harder as more cans have formed bottoms instead of rolled edges top and bottom. When you can cut both lids off and leave a ring you can use that for cooking/steaming eggs for egg sandwiches. You can also use the rings for forms for rice for an attractive dinner. Every little bit of morale boost at sea is helpful, even if it is as simple as nice presentation at dinner. Same as at home.

[gfweb]

@Auspicious Have enough power for a microwave? Those microwave pasta cookers use very little water.

[Auspicious]

18 hours ago, gfweb said:

@Auspicious Have enough power for a microwave? Those microwave pasta cookers use very little water.

 

Good question. Depends on the boat and trip duration. Lots of cruising boats do have microwaves. Power for that may come from batteries through an inverter or directly from a generator. Using an inverter means having to charge the batteries again which may come from wind, solar, main engine alternator, or generator. Main engine or generator means drawing on fuel which is a limited resource on passage or cruising off the grid. There are lots of fixed consumers of power (navigation electronics, refrigeration, lights) before luxury items like microwaves.

 

Resource management is key to a pleasant voyage.

Edited August 24, 2018 by Auspicious
typo (log)

[FauxPas]

On 8/13/2018 at 6:39 AM, JohnT said:

The first meal I have always cooked at home and has always been baked mac and cheese. It is a filling meal and low acid, which is very important to keep new and mostly inexperienced crew from getting seasick - make a meal with chilli or high acidic content, and the crew will spend their first 24 hours leaning over the edge of the boat "talking" to Neptune, offering up his or her dinner.

 

I didn't know this about low/high acid food, interesting! 

 

On 8/14/2018 at 11:35 AM, JohnT said:

Pork chops, marinated in a lemon juice, brown sugar and English mustard mix for an hour

 

This appeals to me. Proportions? And when you say English mustard, do you mean the dry mustard like Keen's? 

 

On 8/16/2018 at 12:49 PM, Smithy said:

Back in my sailboat racing days

 

@Smithy, I sometimes think of you as similar to a cat, you have certainly had close to 9 different lives!   

[JohnT]

7 hours ago, FauxPas said:

 

This appeals to me. Proportions? And when you say English mustard, do you mean the dry mustard like Keen's? 

 

 

This is one of marinades that just goes by looks. If it looks right, it is! Basically I put a tablespoon of the powdered English mustard into a ramekin, put the juice of a lemon in and a tablespoon of brown sugar. Stir it up and adjust with a bit more lemon juice if need be. Stir well and let stand to let the sugar disolve, giving a stir every now and a gain. I use pork cutlet chops and coat  with the marinade. Let the chops marinade for about half an hour then oven bake or grill. The sugar will caramelise and the lemon juice will tenderise.

[Auspicious]

On 8/24/2018 at 5:00 AM, JohnT said:

Basically I put a tablespoon of the powdered English mustard into a ramekin

 

In North American the brand of English mustard I see most often is Colman's. It is available both dry and prepared. In a pinch Chinese hot mustard, even in the small plastic packets, will do.

 

I tend not to take brown sugar to sea. It clumps badly enough in inland pantries. At sea it turns into a brick in short order. Remember that brown sugar is just sugar and molasses. Accordingly I carry sugar which has a broad range of application and molasses which does as well.

 

Pork is a great protein, religious beliefs among the crew permitting. Rather than chops I usually roast a whole pork loin early in a trip. It's easy. Leftovers, sliced thinly, go toward sandwiches. Remaining leftovers get combined with barbecue sauce (I cheat - use a bottle at sea) for another dinner. I treat chicken breasts similarly: if I'm going to roast or grill chicken I make a lot and leftovers go to chicken salad and/or a stir fry.

 

Like @JohnT I'll do some prep at home before departure, just as leisure boaters will for a weekend outing IF departure location is close enough. Often there are airplanes between home and the boat which can be awkward, particularly as security lines and other delays get longer and longer.

 

Some stomachs, even among experienced crews can be unsettled the first day or so. Whether I make something at home, onboard before departure (rare - there is a lot to do), or underway I try to choose meals that are gentle on stomachs. I am not a doctor or a dietician. Keeping up with these issues makes a difference in the success of a voyage. As an engineer I have great respect for peer-reviewed science. What seems to make the difference is whether a food triggers the over-production of stomach acid; this is not always correlated with food acidity directly. Sliced mild pickles, while acid, are generally not a problem for example. High fat content foods are almost always a trigger. That leads to an entirely different set of decisions during shopping. Low-fat and no-fat yogurt is great while some people will find full fat yogurt unsettling. Cheese-dominated dishes may work or not depending on the cheese selected. I avoid fried food and am careful even with sautes. Always low-fat mayo on sandwiches. Mustard, although usually acidic, is fine for most people. Odd isn't it?

 

I've spent a lot of time down the rabbit hole of the science behind acid reflux. That most directly (behind only military studies for crew performance) addresses stomach acid generation. While the science is sometimes weak it appears that tomato skin is for some reason a bigger trigger than the flesh or gel. That's why, I believe people with serious acid reflux are advised to avoid fresh and raw tomatoes but prepared or canned sauces are okay.

 

Since we're on physiological effects of boating I'll share some other related thoughts that apply whether you are crossing an ocean or spending a weekend on the water. I'll be as genteel as possible.

 

Dehydration is a real problem. On my prep list for crew is to bring a reusable water bottle like those from Nalgene and for those inclined to hot coffee or tea a car cup that has a sealing top. The water bottle I personally prefer is this Nalgene Tritan 24oz On the Fly (OTF) BPA-Free Water Bottle because it has a latching top and a secondary lock ring. It won't fail and make a mess if knocked over. I carry three on trips - active, in fridge, and one for some kind of powdered mix. I have yet to find a car cup that is really leak proof. If you think you have one please fill it, close it, and knock it over. If it doesn't leak I beg you to send me a link. I'll buy it and recommend it to my crews. Returning to hydration, aside from long-term health a dehydrated person doesn't sleep well and judgment deteriorates. I pay attention to water consumption and visits to the head. I don't keep track per se, I just pay attention. If I think someone is not drinking enough water we'll have a private chat that ends with a charge to pay attention to *ahem* the color of some things. That is usually sufficient.

 

Water consumption also helps with the other bane of people operating in high motion environments: constipation. *sigh* Sorry. It's real. Vibration (high frequency movement) and motion (low frequency movement) do have an effect on the human body. Lots of water helps. Preparation H helps as a lubricant. Diet helps. High fiber helps but is slow (days) to take effect. Low fat helps faster.

 

Which returns to roles. On recreational boats, even a weekend or evening outing, roles that have dedicated people overlap. That means, on my boats, that I may be skipper, purser, cook, and medical officer. That means the establishment of a degree of trust. It's easier for me. People put their lives in my hands by signing up to crew for me across an ocean. This is much more difficult for a purely recreational boater out for a daysail with friends. Good friends don't want to be a bother. You on the other hand want them to have a good time. That means some understanding of how to help and establishing trust to share information that makes people feel a little uncomfortable. Little kids are easy - they just tell you. Adults are harder. *grin* You need to be open without making people worry. A lot depends on relationships and expertise. Good luck.

 

I've wandered a bit off cookery here. In my defense the cook, skipper or not, is often the medical officer.

 

I'll end with a light-hearted story. I was taking a big Swan from Oxford MD to Bitter End Yacht Club in North Sound, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands. We got crew on board - a big one as there were a lot of berths and the owner was okay with feeding everyone. We had to wait for the tide in the morning (about 4a) to get out due to the draft of the boat. The owner kindly took us out to dinner. Sitting around on board afterward someone asked what they had brought along. Note this was some time ago, perhaps 2007. By the time we got all the way around (I went last since I was skipper) and adding in what we had on board already with the boat we had something on the order of eight handheld VHF radios and ten GPS receivers. Really? So everyone leaned forward to see what Dave had brought: an analog meat thermometer and a stick blender. Guess what we used on that trip? Yep. The thermometer and the blender. Food counts.

 

sail fast and eat well, dave

Dave Skolnick S/V Auspicious

AuspiciousWorks.com

 

 

 

Edited August 25, 2018 by Smithy
Adjusted Amazon link to be eG-friendly (log)

[FauxPas]

4 hours ago, Auspicious said:

While the science is sometimes weak it appears that tomato skin is for some reason a bigger trigger than the flesh or gel. That's why, I believe people with serious acid reflux are advised to avoid fresh and raw tomatoes but prepared or canned sauces are okay.

 

Or you can do like @Shelbydoes - quickly blanch the tomatoes just to remove the skin, then eat the tomatoes while still fresh.  

[Auspicious]

1 hour ago, FauxPas said:

 

Or you can do like @Shelbydoes - quickly blanch the tomatoes just to remove the skin, then eat the tomatoes while still fresh.  

 

Sure. In a kitchen ashore that makes all kinds of sense. With only two burners on a moving platform that can be a bit of gilding the lily. Remember that water is a limited resource, there are only two burners (usually), you can't put anything down without risking it launching across the boat, motion makes EVERYTHING take longer, and--on someone else's boat--basic tools like spiders can't be counted on. Can you? Sure. Should you? Often not.

[FauxPas]

I really wasn't seriously suggesting you do this on the water, it's just that a few of us tease Shelby for her (always) peeled tomatoes. 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

6 hours ago, FauxPas said:

I really wasn't seriously suggesting you do this on the water, it's just that a few of us tease Shelby for her (always) peeled tomatoes. 

 

Yes! this was the first justification I have ever seen for peeling tomatoes and it immediately brought @Shelbyto mind.

 

Add to the constipation issue that there is a lack of privacy on smaller boats, and you have the perfect storm. So while it is not a comfortable issue for discussion, @Auspicioushas brought up some helpful information. This has sometimes been my most uncomfortable situation on smaller boats, especially with people I did not know well. 

[Auspicious]

Hollywood hasn't done reality any favors about boats. Stick a bunch of adults in a small space with tiny bathrooms and we all know more than we are used to. Privacy is a state of mind and a gesture of respect.

[Smithy]

On 8/24/2018 at 7:00 AM, Auspicious said:

I have yet to find a car cup that is really leak proof. If you think you have one please fill it, close it, and knock it over. If it doesn't leak I beg you to send me a link. I'll buy it and recommend it to my crews. 

 

We've been very happy with our Contigo Autoseal mugs. We chose mugs with handles, as shown in the link, but they also come without handles. The mugs hold temperature better than any others we've tried. I learned about them from a friend who took hers on a backpacking trip around Europe: she'd fill it with boiling water in the morning, and have hot water for tea a few hours later.  It didn't leak.

 

Here's a picture of one of ours, not-leaking. Clockwise, from upper left: coffee inside; lid on; tipped over (for more than a minute); righted again. No leak. The only apparent age issue is that the outer coat of the mug, which once matched the lid, has worn off to reveal the stainless steel below.

 

 

Note: I discovered, while making this photo series, that our other mug DOES now leak around the lid's rim; the gasket must be wearing. I think they're 4 years old. They didn't leak on our boat trip last year. 

 

[lindag]

18 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

We've been very happy with our Contigo Autoseal mugs. We chose mugs with handles, as shown in the link, but they also come without handles. The mugs hold temperature better than any others we've tried. I learned about them from a friend who took hers on a backpacking trip around Europe: she'd fill it with boiling water in the morning, and have hot water for tea a few hours later.  It didn't leak.

 

Here's a picture of one of ours, not-leaking. Clockwise, from upper left: coffee inside; lid on; tipped over (for more than a minute); righted again. No leak. The only apparent age issue is that the outer coat of the mug, which once matched the lid, has worn off to reveal the stainless steel below.

 

 

Note: I discovered, while making this photo series, that our other mug DOES now leak around the lid's rim; the gasket must be wearing. I think they're 4 years old. They didn't leak on our boat trip last year. 

 

The same mug I use every morning for my coffee....it keeps my beverage nice and hot until it's finished.

[Smithy]

5 minutes ago, lindag said:

The same mug I use every morning for my coffee....it keeps my beverage nice and hot until it's finished.

 

Yes. In case it isn't clear, ours have had heavy use: in the car, in the trailer, sometimes even in the house or the hot tub. I have other travel mugs I keep for sentimental reasons (corporate logo from my former job, for instance) but never use them any more because they don't hold a candle to the Contigos.