Best watermaker for a Catamaran

[Octopus]

Another vote for Dessalator. I recommend getting the biggest capacity AC watermaker that your generator can reliably start (taking into account start-up load). Once it's running, turn on your other loads.

[Caliber40]

If after sale service is important to you Cruise RO has to be a serious consideration......just installed ours (20 GPH AC Unit )this year and had the usual questions.....service from Rich was impeccable.....almost 24/7.....come to think about it it may be 24/7......I just chose to call 06:00 to 20:00!

I'd recommend Cruise RO to anyone looking for a watermaker or water maker advise!

[robertk445]

Originally Posted by rdomaleski

Hi all, I am taking delivery soon of a new Leopard 45 Catamaran. I wanted to get some feedback regarding the most economical, reliable and productive water maker to purchase. I will have a generator so do not mind getting an AC system to can make water faster. I have been looking at the "Cruise RO" AC systems that makes 33 to 43gph. All feedback appreciated for this soon to be new Catamaran owner! Thanks.

First off Congratulations on your L45! I am sure you are pumped for delivery! When is your delivery date? We also are waiting for our L45, coming Sept. Thank you for asking the water maker question. We have the same question. If you are going to install your own watermaker, I hope we can get some photos of the install. Better yet, if there is a way to see the install as I am sure it would help get our watermaker installed. I was planning to install our watermaker as well. Thanks again, hope we can sync up and share experiences! Robert

[mikereed100]

Since you already have a generator, an AC system makes a lot of sense. I installed one of my own making, very similar to the Cruise RO 30 gph model and am able to run it off of our Honda 2000 generator or a 3kW inverter with the engines running. An AC system requires much shorter running times and the initial cost is less as well. As mentioned above, if after sales service is important to you, and it should be, you cannot do better than a Cruise RO system.

[rajsach]

We have a Spectra 12v Newport on our Leopard 44 and are very happy with it. We also have about 800w of solar so we pretty much run it whenever we want and top off as opposed to filling the whole tank at once and it's not an issue. If you're picking up the cat at Dania beach use JT at Halden marine and the guys at Just Catamarans. Can't say enough good things about them.

[rajsach]

Oh and congratulations on the new catamaran!!

[yeloya]

We have installed, repaired and seen almost all of the brands. My vote is for Echotech. Solid, very simple, the membranes are cheap and one can get them almost anywhere.
Some brands are using the membranes that no other brands are fitting in, hence are sold at awful prices.
I prefer 12 V, sooner or later you will have to motor in light airs and you can make water w/out using the genset.


Cheers


Yeloya

[mikereed100]

Originally Posted by yeloya

I prefer 12 V, sooner or later you will have to motor in light airs and you can make water w/out using the genset.

This can be done with an AC unit as well. Using a 3kW inverter we can run the watermaker with one engine running if the solar panels are producing and the batteries are topped up, or using both engines if the solar panels are not contributing. Since installing the inverter last year I think we have only used the generator once. Since we only make water for 1 hour every 3-5 days it is fairly easy to time it for when we are motoring.

[rdomaleski]

Hi RobertK, we are taking delivery in February 2018 right after the boat show">Miami Boat show. We purchased the 2018 "Demonstrator". My wife Sharon and I are now empty nesters and really excited about our Leopard. Best of luck to you as well!
Rob

[Dave852]

D.C. Go with spectra. A.C. Go with Cruise RO. I have owned both and making a lot of water suits me better but you will find strong opinions on either side of the argument.

[Emerald Sea]

There's a bit of research and evaluation to made when making a good choice for your watermaker. A lot of this is eluded to above and you'd do yourself well to work out what you need for water rqmts, your available power systems and whats on the market.

We have a Dessalator DUO100 also and its been regularly used for over 3 yrs now and been a champ - some basic maintenance rqd. I certainly like the fact that I can choose AC or DC. When the batts are up our first choice is always DC but we have a good solar array and lithium batteries (not specifically necessary for a wm). This was a factory installation, under the floor boards-below the waterline, but its no more difficult, or easy, to install than any other watermaker. As its been very reliable I dont hesitate to recommend one.

[rdomaleski]

Thank you for your input, appreciative

[Emerald Sea]

Note that the Dessalator DUO100 running on DC draws over 30A.

[rdomaleski]

Wow that's a lot of amperage!

[rom]

Originally Posted by Emerald Sea

Note that the Dessalator DUO100 running on DC draws over 30A.

@12V that would be more like 50+ A
My D100 (DC only) works great but I wish they had use a smaller lighter and more efficient burshless motor directly connected to the pump. Their old tech motor runs very hot after 30 minutes.