Seeking fresh water from salt water help

Jackdaw

Jackdaw

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Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Justin_NSA said:
How old are you Capta? GPS began with Sputnik ! :biggrin:
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;^) Well OK that's where the IDEA started.... the notion that you could 'turn around' the Doppler shift ranging they were doing to find sputnik to find locations on the ground if you knew were the bird was. But is was not technologically feasible for years past that. GPS as a program as launched in 1973? and became fully operation in 1995.
 
Justin_NSA

Justin_NSA

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Jul 7, 2004
8,492
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
Jackdaw said:
;^) Well OK that's where the IDEA started.... the notion that you could 'turn around' the Doppler shift ranging they were doing to find sputnik to find locations on the ground if you knew were the bird was. But is was not technologically feasible for years past that. GPS as a program as launched in 1973? and became fully operation in 1995.
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Granted, but it was definitely "twinkle in some engineer's eye" as mentioned.
 
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Gunni

Gunni

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Mar 16, 2010
5,937
Beneteau 411 Oceanis Annapolis
Terry Cox said:
Her position was, when I talked with her, that we are way over washed.
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There is a certain charm to a girl who is proud of her scent! Look, I think most of us salts know how to stay relatively clean and take a Navy shower with a gallon of fresh water but when you start packing the family and friends on board nothing scrapes the fun off their bottom like getting a daily lecture on the nobility of privation and the stink-eye over water consumption. Me, I prefer to have LOTS of freshwater and dispense it liberally to all. Crew morale stays high and they loves their Captain!
 
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capta

capta

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Jun 4, 2009
4,935
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
Terry Cox said:
Karen Thorndike was the first woman who sailed solo around the world in the late 90s

An alternative source of fresh water while at sea is collecting rain water
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If Karen Thorndike was the first solo women circumnavigator in the late 90's, what does that make all the other women who did it before her?
Ok, now to collecting rain water at sea. Have you ever been in a rain squall at sea? Most hardly last long enough to take a quick shower. That means that usually there isn't enough time for your rain catchment system to even rinse off the salt, before the squall has passed. No potable water collected that way. If one has a rain water collection system that is stored away from salt spray, and can be used immediately upon deployment, then you are still lucky if you get any potable water before the squall passes.
Though collecting rainwater at sea is possible, it is unreliable and should not be counted upon for even minimum survival.
 
NotCook

NotCook

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Dec 29, 2008
806
Treworgy 65' LOA Custom Steel Pilothouse Staysail Ketch St. Croix, Virgin Islands
We have averaged in the 2-4 gallons per person per day on passages and offshore and between island cruising. I agree with Gunni's comment about power consumption being a major factor. You have to consider both the gallons per day needed per person, the gallons per hour the watermaker can produce, and the power required to produce the water AND backflush the system after each cycle. You will learn how to conserve water, but having a watermaker certainly makes life easier. We cannot easily get into some marinas, or have to go well out of our way to get to a marina where we can get to the dock to get water. Otherwise, the option is to schlep water in the dink in 6 gallon tanks - a very time consuming process for 50-80 gallons or more. Capta provided some other key considerations. I know some who have modular installations like Gunni mentioned and they seem to work out well for them. If possible, I'd power the thing with solar, along with the fridge. We've been using the generator out of necessity, but hope soon to be converting to DC entirely and take advantage of the free sun energy and fewer moving parts to break down - like our generator that is down currently while waiting for replacement parts...
 
NotCook

NotCook

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Dec 29, 2008
806
Treworgy 65' LOA Custom Steel Pilothouse Staysail Ketch St. Croix, Virgin Islands
capta said:
Have you ever been in a rain squall at sea? Most hardly last long enough to take a quick shower.
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Ha! Yeah, and the sunshade that I try to collect water with is whipping around so much that 90% of the water is dumped over the side in the wind that actually goes down the nice spout that I built into the canvas to attach a hose to! Only those rare days when it just pours all day with no wind are really effective, it seems.
 
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B

Benny17441

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May 24, 2004
7,173
CC 30 South Florida
Gentlemen this is the 21th century and the Bahamas is a civilized country. Provisions, water and fuel are readily available in the populated islands. The only thing we stock up before going over is on paper products as they pay freight on their volume and although readily available are a little expensive. I love secluded Islands and beaches and anchoring on the Banks but after a couple of days I'm ready to go to a town and go ashore. A hot shower, a good restaurant and interacting with the locals is my idea of cruising. Now if you intend to cross an Ocean then a water maker might be a necessity. Power consumption is a primary concern as the pump draws a high load.
 
All U Get

All U Get

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Oct 2, 2008
3,811
Pearson/ 530 Strafford, NH
I agree with Benny. Our friends on Seeker got a 30 gallon bladder in their dingy to schlep water from the dock. Then just pump it to the tank. They keep it on deck when crossing, a lot neater than the Jerry cans.

All U Get

21st century you say
 
M

MitchM

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Jan 20, 2005
1,031
Nauticat 321 pilothouse 32 Erie PA
the biggest water problem on our boat is the shore dwellers who like to turn the hot water on in the shower and think a 4 gallon HW tank will last 20 minutes. we switched to a shower faucet that you must press to get water. it's amazing what a difference that made -- except i am advised it's a real problem for washing one's hair.
 
Gunni

Gunni

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Mar 16, 2010
5,937
Beneteau 411 Oceanis Annapolis
I have been known to valve off a water tank and stage a "water outage" when someone gets the notion they can take a 20 minute shower :) I have also let guests use up all the water and then announce we will be going commando for the next 3 days! It is a scarring experience but some people just don't learn.
 
Jerry Clark H356 SV Persi

Jerry Clark H356 SV Persi

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Mar 3, 2003
710
Hunter 356 Grand Rivers
When cruising, my wife and I use about 15 gallons of water per day. That is for drinking, cooking, washing dishes and showers. This does not include washing down the deck and boat as we have a sea water pump for that. We are mostly on inland water, but if I spent more time on salt water I would find a way to wash down the boat too and get a watermaker. We don't have a watermaker because where we go has good water and we use an on-board filtration and UV light system (SafeH20) to prefilter and treat all water past the tank that we get from marina's where we stop. Most people on these forums that have a watermaker use them a lot and use more water since using the watermaker is good for it and using more water makes the boat feel more like home.

Look at CruiseRO systems. If I were buying a unit, that is what I would get. I have a generator, so power is not an issue. If you are depending on batteries and solar, look at Spectra. Plan on using it every day or two, so get one with 20 to 40 gallons per hour capacity and run it every day or two.
 
capta

capta

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Jun 4, 2009
4,935
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
Jerry Clark H356 SV Persi said:
Look at CruiseRO systems. If I were buying a unit, that is what I would get. I have a generator, so power is not an issue. If you are depending on batteries and solar, look at Spectra. Plan on using it every day or two, so get one with 20 to 40 gallons per hour capacity and run it every day or two.
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I agree wholeheartedly with CruiseRO systems; Rich is THE MAN when it comes to watermakers, IMO. He's helped us from the design stage to spare parts.
If you have any amount of tankage, then you won't have to run that often, but you MUST run or rinse your watermaker every 4 days or so for the health of the membrane. This is very important to consider if you are installing a watermaker. If you can't be aboard at least every 4 days, you don't want a watermaker. A well used watermaker can go a week or so once in a great while without ruining the membranes, but it should not become a habit. Pickling and unpickling them is a real pain, IMO, so as a snowbird I might think twice about having a watermaker. For just a few months aboard a year it's probably cheaper to buy bottled water in the long run.
 
B

Benny17441

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May 24, 2004
7,173
CC 30 South Florida
Dried up salt on skin is quite abrasive so in the absence of a good rain shower I have to take a fresh water rinse after swimming or after a couple of days at sea. Nevertheless I can probably do with a gallon per day. Get most of my fluids from beer. Water is perishable; untreated water can go bad in a few days. I try to stick with bottled water for drinking and for coffee as it makes it taste better. For cooking the heat will kill any organisms. For some reason cuts and sores take a long time to heal at sea avoid showering with stale water if you have any open sores.
 
G

gettinthere

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Nov 26, 2008
1,970
Endeavour 42 Cruisin
2 of us use about 8 to 10 gpd while cruising the Bahamas.

Water in the Abacos is pretty cheap if you shop atound just a bit, around 11 cents per gallon. Many marinas have very good deals if you stay ot their dock.

The Exumas are pricy, 50 cents and up...but there are several places where you can get water free by jugging it.

Honost cruisers will admit it is only the convenience that appeals, when they can make 20 or mor gpd and not care about conserving
 
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