Do you hate using plastic wine glasses on your boat? Want a real stemmed crystal glass . . . that’s boat-friendly?
Over the years, I’ve looked a lot of different types of wine glasses, but frankly I never thought I’d find a crystal set that was really designed to be used on a boat. Then a while back, Royal Stabilis reached out to me to review their wine glasses.
Admittedly, these are a bit of a luxury item. But I have to admit, I like sitting in the cockpit, enjoying the beautiful view and sipping wine from a nice glass.
The glasses each have a small but very strong magnet centered in the base under the stem. The metal base plate is a magnetic stainless 8″ by 8″ square — it’s heavy enough to resist moving, plus has non-slip silicone pads on the underside as well.
Set the magnetic board on any flat surface, and then you can set the glasses down on it without worrying about them tipping over and breaking in what I’d call normal conditions. I’ve tilted the magnetic base up to about 20 degrees to simulate a bad waking and the glasses don’t move — at a higher angle, they will start to slide but have not broken free of the base plate.
To lift a glass off the magnetic board, hold the glass by the stem and not by the bowl. You can either tilt the glass or slide across the base plate to the edge.
The glasses and base are sold separately, so that you can buy whatever combination works best for your boat. Royal Stabilis recommends two or more bases so that there is one within easy reach of everyone. Glasses are sold in sets of four and come in red, white and champagne styles.
So, the big question is how well do they really work? Our experience has been very good — no broken glasses. The glasses have stayed right where they should when in use, and we haven’t spilled a drop. Not only do the magnetic bases protect against waves and wakes, but they also protect against accidental bumps — something that we seem to be prone to, either bumping the table or reaching for an appetizer and nudging a glass.
The glasses store in a cardboard box with holders for each glass — it’s designed to be used and re-used. One nice feature of storing them in the box is that they don’t “clink” underway.
This past weekend, we were out sailing in pretty “boisterous” conditions where a number of things that don’t normally move underway fell to the floor. The glasses, in their box, were fine (note: they didn’t fall).
The glasses are a very clear lead-free crystal. Royal Stabilis says that they are engineered to be break resistant — all I can say is that we have not broken one. Stems are always the weak spots and a bit of care goes a long ways. But yes, they can break.
These glasses and magnetic board are a really well-thought-out way to have very nice wine glasses on a boat. No, they are not cheap — crystal isn’t. For that reason, I know they won’t appeal to everyone. But for those who do want crystal, these are much more boat-friendly than conventional crystal stemware.
Royal Stabilis only sells through Amazon. All three styles of glasses and the magnetic boards can be ordered from the same page:
Here’s your “Quick Start” to everything you need to know when living on a boat:
Kelly Gatten Huddle says
Love this!
Bruce Bullington says
I’m enjoying The Boat Galley ! One thought I had about the wine glasses, maybe if space is limited, you could make a slot in the ceiling over the galley to store the base, then stick the glasses to it !
Carolyn Shearlock says
Yes, you can buy nice teak ones to do exactly that: http://amzn.to/2fLxZZ2 Stick an old wine cork in the open side so glasses don’t slide out (we had one of these on our previous boat).
Jim Humphrey says
Re your previous review on the Lunatec non smelly dish cloths. I ordered some from Amazon and although they are not very absorbent they do a wonderful job cleaning pots and pans and can’t wait to try it out on various places on our 24 ft Mirage sailboat, Dragon Fly when Spring comes back to this part of Canada. Brockville ON, on the St Lawrence River, Canada/USA border. Merry Christmas Jim
The Boat Galley says
Hi Joy! Yep. Here’s the link to the My Team Talks headsets at Cruising Solutions. Dave and I use them and love them — they are more expensive than some other solutions but work way better with no interference and good even when it’s windy, plus they go around the back of your neck so aren’t likely to fall off (and into the water) if you look down. Use the coupon code “theboatgalley” (no quotes) to get 10% off through December 17. https://www.cruisingsolutions.com/products/my-team-talks
Chuck B says
Hi Carolyn, the Amazon US link for the wine glasses doesn’t seem to be working for me.
Carolyn Shearlock says
Thanks for letting me know! Some sort of glitch on Amazon’s part — I fixed it in the post and here’s the correct link, too: http://amzn.to/2gzIAdE
BOB & DONNA MAGLIOZZI says
Hello Carolyn,
Wife and I enjoy “TBG” and all the info you provide. Question on the crystal wine glasses- will the magnet in the stem effect the ships compass?
Thank you.
Carolyn Shearlock says
It didn’t ours at a distance of about 3 feet. But we never have the wine glasses in the cockpit when underway, and where they are stored is well away from the main compass and also the autopilot.
Mike says
Hi Caroline. Really enjoying reading the suggestions and recommendations on you site.
I grew up on boats in Australia, was always on the water and one day I will retire to a boat and live out my days on the sea.
These magnetic wine glasses are OK but they caused a few issues for me because visitors would try to pick the glasses straight up and that tilted the whole metal base.
Recently I had some sent to me that are much better in design. They have an adhesive pad that sticks to the table and the magnetism is perfect. Again I was a little concerned that the sticky pads would wear out and lost their stickiness, but six months later and they are still perfect.
If you are interested I purchased these crystal wine glasses – https://www.butlertechnik.com/silwy-magnetic-crystal-wine-glasses-250ml-with-nano-gel-coasters-luxury-set-of-2-p2917
I was a bit concerned that they would not survive the shipping but they were packed very securely and arrived well before I expected them.
Thanks for all of your articles. One of my favourite sites 🙂