Provisioning Before a 30-Day Yard Stay
The yard period is a logistical category of its own. Refrigeration may or may not work depending on power arrangements. Cooking gets messy with hauled-out boat life. Restaurants in the area may be limited, expensive, or both. Provisioning the right way before going up makes the stay better.
The galley reality up on the hard
- Refrigeration runs only if you have shore power or generator capacity
- Sink drains to a bucket (no through-hull connection)
- Cooking attracts dust from yard work
- Heat in the cabin can be intense (no through-flow ventilation)
- Eating outside the boat often gets old after a week
What to provision
- Long-storage staples: Rice, pasta, beans, oats, canned tomatoes, oils. Don't depend on the local supermarket having what you want.
- Shelf-stable proteins: Canned tuna, beans, tetra-pak chicken, dried lentils, peanut butter.
- Sauces and seasoning: Make boring staples palatable. Curry pastes, hot sauces, soy, vinegar.
- Hardy fresh: Onions, garlic, potatoes, cabbage, hard squashes — last weeks without refrigeration.
- Breakfast simplicity: Oats, instant coffee, UHT milk.
- Snacks: Crackers, nuts. The yard day is long and snacky.
The eat-out balance
Cruisers report a sweet spot: 2–3 nights per week eating out (sanity preservation), rest of the meals on the boat with shelf-stable provisioning. Pure self-cooking gets miserable; pure restaurant gets expensive.
Refrigeration without shore power
If the boat is up on hardstand without shore power, the fridge becomes an icebox. Daily ice purchase. Reduce what you depend on cold storage for. Plan meals around shelf-stable.
Frequently asked questions
Refrigeration up on hardstand?
Only with shore power or generator. Plan around ice if not.
Eat out or cook?
2–3 nights eating out as sanity break; rest at the boat.
Hardiest fresh foods?
Onions, garlic, potatoes, cabbage, hard squash, dry-cured meats.
Cleanup during yard work?
Dust everywhere; covering food storage helps.
Budget?
Hard to estimate — varies wildly by location. Mexico and SE Asia very cheap; Caribbean and Med moderate; US expensive.