Water maker in the Salish?

[DinghySailor]

Greetings from Portland Island, BC.
I was recently told by a bluewater sailor he’d never use his watermaker in the Salish region. “Too polluted” he said, but agreed that it would likely be fine in the straits. If you use a water maker in the Salish, please let me know your experience. We’d love to add one to our boat if we can use it here.

 

[Foswick]

Well, I think there are two good follow-up questions:

1. Around here, why would you need a watermaker? You are never far from freshwater sources to fill up. Watermakers, are notoriously high-maintenance, take up space, and you still need a FW tank anyway.
2. Specifically what pollutants are of concern? A watermaker will remove some pollutants and not others. In general, most coastal water in developed areas have increased levels of VOCs and some other pollutants that a RO desalination unit does not, by itself, remove well.

I would agree that using a watermaker around here is not a good plan A, but mostly due to my first point - there is simply no need that justifies the expense and hassle. I don't know about the second point (levels of specific pollutants) except to say I would be cautious near marinas and other high-traffic areas, as well as anywhere near farming runoff. It is hard to be very far from both except, as pointed out, maybe out in the deep channels.

 

[jssailem]

Being on Portlandor the many island,

While there is a lot of tidal flow, you are surrounded by ship traffic, be it the ferries or the many pleasure boats using the passages and channels nearby. I would think a watermaker aboard in that area would become easily contaminated. @Foswick's point is that water resources on the big islands might be a more reliable source.

That said, I was in Port Browning on Pender two weeks ago. The marina manager informed me that visiting boats could not fill their water tanks.

As you move northward, the places to stop and find water are less frequent. A water maker might be a useful tool as long as you are careful about your sourcing.

 

[DinghySailor]

We don’t go to marinas if we can help it. We’ve managed over the years coming to BC to keep our tanks mostly full by filling our jerrys at campsite faucets. A hassle of course, but we often find what we need. Places in Desolation have hoses hanging down banks that are apparently spring fed—great for washing.

A watermaker, if possible, would be preferable. Wondering if it’s done and what the pitfalls are.

 

[jssailem]

A watermaker, if possible, would be preferable. Wondering if it’s done and what the pitfalls ar

Challenges

• Power. Water makers require pumps to push seawater at high pressure through membrane filters that extract the salts and other dissolved substances from the raw water
• Sources of chemically clean water
• Clean equipment and properly maintained membrane filters
• Time
• Money

Here is a link to more information.

5 Best Watermakers for Sailboats | Life of Sailing

With the right Watermaker, the ocean becomes an almost immeasurable supply of fresh and clean drinking water to keep you hydrated during your offshore sailing adventures.

www.lifeofsailing.com

 

[colemj]

I can't speak to whether a watermaker makes sense on your boat, your cruising areas, or they type of cruising you do, but there really isn't an issue using a watermaker in almost any type of water. The one condition that would be bad is a lot of oil/fuel in the water.

Otherwise, the normal issue of operating and maintaining a watermaker is keeping the pre-filters clean enough. Silty waters will clog them before you can make much water.

Even oil/fuel can be handled with a separator, or just by having the intake a few feet underwater.

Watermakers aren't great at filtering out some VOC's, but carbon filters are. If these concern you, add a carbon filter.

Mark

 

[colemj]

I just looked at that link. While it does give the basics about watermakers, the list of the 5 best ones is horrible. The two most problematic brands we see out cruising are Sea Recovery and Spectra. The Katadyne one isn't worth the bother, and the first time you need a part for it will pay for a much better one. Village Marine was bought by Parker, and they jacked up the prices and began to use proprietary sized membranes. Otherwise it is a decent unit no different from others. Echotec is a solid choice, but power hungry.

Mark