We LOVE our Engel!
More cruiser trivia to spice up your day... I know it's not as exciting as swimming with whale sharks or hiking with rattlers but it is handy info for the cruiser at heart. If you are a cruising couple, the addition to your boat I'm about to mention is very desirable. If you are a cruising family, this item is practically mandatory. Now I realize that the cruising kitty will suffer a big dent by such a purchase. However, life on a boat improved for our family enormously by having an Engel Freezer aboard.
I know I have mentioned this before, but life would not be the same aboard our boat if we didn't have our freezer. Can you say ICE???? How about ICE CREAM???? How about the fish that didn't get away and you can't eat it all? How about Steak Diane in the middle of nowhere? And did I mention ICE?
We purchased our maranized 40-quart Engel in April 2009, five months after we cast off and began our family cruise. Here's Hotspur's AC/DC Fridge Freezer - Engel MR040F
The Engel is versatile - it can be a fridge or a freezer. It runs off our solar panels, uses an average of 2.9 amps when it's running (depending on how often it runs... depending on how hot it is outdoors, etc...), and it's quiet. Yes, it is a 12-volt system or 110-volt... it will do either.
It stores nicely on board. On our 35' boat, we put out Engel at the head of the V-berth and it acted as a step up to the bed. Aboard Hotspur, she sits nicely atop the bureau. Our friends on 'Just A Minute' have their Engel in front of their Nav Station and use it as a bench to sit upon.
Now, we have a friend that is a single-hander. He has no fridge and has no freezer. He is on a very tight budget... and I mean VERY tight. He recently sold a piece of property and now has a bit of cash to do some work on his boat. When I asked "William" what his top priorities were regarding the upgrades on his boat, he said he wanted an Engel... first and foremost.
