Ericson 25, Galley, Stove, Origo 4100, S/V 10X



Origo 4100 Installed in S/V 10X

Terry Steller, an Ericson 25 owner in Michigan, recently sent in some pictures of the work he completed in the galley of his boat, 10X. Most Ericson 25s either had pressurized alcohol stoves in this space or they had no stove at all. For those that fell into the latter category, this area of the galley consisted of a single, blank counter space. This was what Terry had to work with on his boat. This meant that he had to cut a brand new hole in this blank counter space in order to mount his new stove, an Origo 4100. This, by the way, is a non-pressurized alcohol stove, which is much safer than the pressurized alcohol stoves from the days of yore. It's also much safer than using a propane camp stove in this space. Propane, of course, is heavier than air, and can accumulate in the bilge, which could result in some bad things happening to you and your boat. As you see in the picture below, the Origo 4100 has a considerable amount of bulk beneath its flush-mounted top.

This is because this bulky area beneath the flush-mounted top contains two large fuel canisters.

Terry, therefore, had to accommodate this bulky area of the Origo 4100 when choosing how and where to install the stove in his counter top. He wanted to install the stove as close as possible to the front of the counter. This made sense, because in this location, use of the stove will be a bit easier for the cook. One problem, however, that Terry ran into when choosing to install the stove in this location was the clearance, or lack thereof with regard to the small drawer on the face of the cabinet. He didn't want to sacrifice this drawer by cutting it out in order to make room for the bulky underside of the Origo stove. Therefore, he decided to elevate the stove by two inches by mounting it on a frame that he constructed out of Brazilian cherry.

Terry indicated that he selected Brazilian cherry simply because it was a wood that he had available to him in his shop, and because it was the wood in his shop that most closely resembled the original mahogany used in the Ericson 25. He said that if he had to do it all over again, he would have made the frame out of mahogany for the sake of consistency. I must say, though, that the Brazilian cherry looks pretty darn good from my perspective.

Terry also said that while he was at it, he added a shelf to the cabinet underneath the stove.

I would say that, all in all, Terry has done some impressive work in his galley, and his modifications will do much to make his Ericson 25 more suitable for weekend excursions and longer cruises.