If you ever pack more than you could possibly need for a cruise, you might say that you have everything but the kitchen sink, which is a good reminder of the one thing you don’t have: a kitchen sink. None of my boats have a built-in galley, so instead I have two well-appointed galley boxes, a compact one for solo travel, and a larger one to accommodate cooking for a crew. They each hold cookware, tableware (including a tablecloth), and a stove and its fuel, but while both are equipped with dish soap and a scrubby sponge, neither has had room for a sink for dishwashing. I’ve used a collapsible bucket for doing the dishes, but it’s not well suited to the task. It is awkwardly deep and awkward to work in, and even when it’s collapsed, it still has the same broad footprint and takes up valuable storage space.When I happened upon Ortlieb’s 10-liter Folding Bowl at one of the Seattle marine hardware stores, I knew I’d found a better sink. (Ortlieb’s original name for it in German, is faltschüssel, folding bowl, but a better term for it would be from waschschüssel, washbasin or sink. I’ll refer to it as a sink.) The sink is made of PVC-coated polyester fabric with 1/2″-wide seams bonded by high-frequency welding, an electrical process that works in the same way a microwave does: it creates heat internally by vibrating molecules, so there is very little deformation of the material on the outside. The seam connecting the bottom to the sides is rounded at the corners, which will add to the life of the Folding Bowl by eliminating sharp points that become focal points of wear. Four semi-rigid rods set in sleeves at the top hold the sink open when it is in use. The 10L size has an opening 11-1/2″ square and is 5-1/2″ deep. The corners are flexible and allow the sink to be folded into a compact package—held snugly together by its webbing handles—that weighs less than 9 ounces. Folded up, the sink takes up very little space and fits nicely above the stove in the smaller of my galley boxes. It can even be carried in a pants pocket.
Photographs by the author
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Thanks for the review, I ordered one at once!
From whom did you order? I am finding it difficult to find a source.
Jon
In the US try:
Ortlieb USA
ModernBIKE.com
Varuste.net
A search for Ortlieb folding bowl 10L may turn up additional sources.
Looks really useful. I notice that as well as the 10L bowl Ortlieb also offer 5L, 20L and even a 50L size options. I am going to study the dimensions of the 5L size to see if that will serve for the cooking items and crockery I will store within the galley boxes currently under construction for my 12′ Smacks Boat which, by necessity, are diminutive.
Nice review. I’ve had one of those folding sinks for many years; time to haul it out and actually use it.
I’m trying to figure out your stove box…does it come apart completely? It looks like the sides and bottom fit together but are not attached together. Perhaps post a pic of it completely closed up, and then wide open? Thanks.
The galley-box cover is built with the top and front side and lifts off as a unit. When the box is not in use, the lid is held in place with a strap and the whole box is stowed upside down; it’s base serves as a slip thwart. A cutting board serves as one of the shelves to keep things organized when the box is inverted.
Question, not on the sink but on the stove in the opening photo. What is it, and how is it in its “holder” for lack of a better word? I have an old Primus kerosene stove I got from my folks back around 1960 and while large and heavy, it is still what I use for camping. I need to come up with a way to use it in a small boat.
Ah yes, I will also need to order one of those sinks. Looks like the cat’s meow!
Thanks,
~Kees~
The stove is the folding Multi-Fuel Stove from nCamp. I reviewed it in the March 2021 issue. The stove is sitting a baking pan I added to my galley as a cover for cooking things on my Gas One Camping Grill. It just happened to be a good fit for the folding stove and would catch ash and coals when the stove is used with wood as fuel.