How we provision for 6 weeks off grid living

February 14th, 2024

On Tāiko, we can usually provision for at least 6 weeks, which means we don't need to go to supermarkets or shops for 6 weeks when we are planning to be off grid. This includes our food, water, toiletries, and anything else you can think of that one would need for daily living. However, provisioning is a big task, and if not planned properly, can be daunting. 

It's taken us a long time to learn how to provision properly because life aboard a boat is not the same as living in a house. For example, the fridge and freezer are a lot smaller and rely on solar power to run so if you overload them (or buy the wrong food products), we can waste a lot of our food. So this has been a long learning process and we're still learning. We've also picked up lots of tips from experienced cruisers.

We now have a very specific process for provisioning. A good friend of ours gave us sage advice, which was to keep stock of everything you have on the boat and where it is. Because, that's the other thing that is different to living in a house, in a boat we store stuff everywhere we can fit stuff! Every bit of space counts. But, what is also important is weight distribution. We can't have one part of the boat heavier than another part...so it's a process. Making a record of everything we have aboard (in terms of food and sanitary items) was a lengthy process but it was worth it.

Now when we provision, we make an Excel spread sheet of the days we will be out and on each day, we record what we will have for breakfast/lunch/dinner including drinks and snacks. Of course we may not necessarily follow the outline precisely but it helps us know what we are going to eat and how much of everything we are going to need. Next, we look at our recorded list of items and make a list of only the things we don't have. Having this recorded list of items is such a money saver as it prevents us from buying things we already have.

It takes us about four days to provision for 6 weeks. Partly because it is a big exercise and it's exhausting, and partly because we don't have the space in the car to carry so many groceries. One of these days is set aside for pickling which is something we've recently learned to do and we're loving. It is so rewarding enjoying your own pickles. The other reason we pickle is because it is one of the ways we can keep food for longer without relying on a fridge. Here's a short clip of us doing some pickling. Enjoy!