Get to know your galley before you plan a single meal

Every narrowboat galley is a compromise, and the sooner you accept yours, the happier you will be. Some boats have a full four-burner cooker with a proper oven and grill; others make do with a two-ring hob and a grill pan that doubles as a roasting tin. Work out which you have before you shop, because a recipe that needs three pans on the go at once is a recipe for a bad evening.

Spend a few minutes noting a few practical things. How much clear worktop do you have once the kettle and the chopping board are out? Is there a side hatch or opening window you can use for ventilation? Where does the heat go when the grill has been running for twenty minutes? On most boats, the answer is "straight into the saloon", so plan to cook with the hatch open and the fan on.

Keep everything you use regularly within arm's reach of the hob. On a boat, a step to the cupboard and back is a step you will make two hundred times a week.

Plan the week, not just the meal

The single biggest difference between a relaxed galley and a chaotic one is planning. Rather than deciding what to eat tonight, decide what you are eating for the next four or five days and buy accordingly. Choose meals that share a base: onions, garlic, tinned tomatoes, stock, a bag of carrots and a couple of peppers will take you from a chilli to a curry to a pasta sauce without a second shopping trip.

One-pot cooking is your best friend aboard. Think stews, curries, risottos, sausage and bean casseroles, pasta cooked straight in its sauce with just enough water, and tray bakes finished under the grill. They use one pan, one hob ring and one washing-up bowl afterwards.

• Cook once, eat twice. Double up a curry or stew, cool it quickly, and store it in the fridge for the next day.
• Prep before you light the hob. Chop everything first and lay it out on a plate. Galley worktop is precious, so never chop while something is burning.
• Keep a storecupboard of easy wins: tinned beans, chopped tomatoes, dried pasta, rice, stock cubes, curry paste, herbs, a jar of pesto and a tin of anchovies.
• Buy tins and packets that stack. Square containers beat round ones in a narrow cupboard every time.

Making a two-ring hob work harder

With only two rings, sequence matters. Start the thing that takes longest — rice, potatoes, a stew — then use the second ring for the quick part. A hob kettle is worth its weight in gas: boil water for pasta, couscous or washing up while the main pan gets on with it. Boiling water from the kettle is quicker and cheaper than heating a big pan of cold water from scratch.

Always use a lid, and match the pan to the ring. A small pan on a big flame is wasted gas and a hot handle. If your boat has a pressure cooker or a small slow cooker, use it: both cut cooking time dramatically and neither heats the cabin the way an oven does in July.

Grilling, baking and the oven question

The grill is the most underused piece of kit on a narrowboat. Line the grill pan with foil, and you have a fast way to cook fish fillets, sausages, halloumi, mushrooms, peppers and cheese on toast with almost no washing up. Foil also protects the pan from the fat that would otherwise set like glue on a cold morning.

If you do have an oven, treat it as a batch tool. It takes time and gas to reach temperature, so never bake one potato when you could bake six. Roast a tray of vegetables and use them cold in the next day's salad or folded through pasta. Cool the oven down before you switch it off and let the residual heat finish the job.

Storage that ends the cupboard rummage

Half the frustration of a small galley is not lack of space — it is not knowing where anything is. Decant dry goods into square, stackable, clear containers and label them clearly with contents and date. Write on the lid as well as the side, so you can identify a tub without lifting it out.

• Give every item a home and put it back there every time. Consistency beats cleverness.
• Group by job, not by type: a baking tub, a spice tub, a tea and coffee tub.
• Use a shallow "grab shelf" near the hob for salt, pepper, oil and your most-used spices.
• Keep a small basket for loose packets so nothing migrates to the back of the cupboard behind the tinned tomatoes.

Safety, ventilation and the washing up

Never use the hob or grill to warm the boat — it is dangerous and it is not what they are for. Fit a carbon monoxide alarm, test it regularly, and turn the gas off at the bottle whenever you leave the boat or turn in for the night. Turn pan handles inwards, and secure loose items before you move off, or you will find the saucepan drawer rearranged itself at the first lock.

Wash up in a bowl rather than under a running tap — water is heavy to carry and your tank is finite. Use the two-bowl method: hot soapy water first, then a quick rinse. Wash glasses, then cutlery, then plates, then pans. Never tip cooking oil or fat down the sink; wipe pans with kitchen roll and bin it. A little discipline here keeps your boat smelling fresh, your drains clear and your evenings pleasantly uneventful.