water catching canvas thingy

[rebel heart]

So when underway I've done some stuff with taking the loop created in the mainsail and using it to capture rain water in a funnel.

This time around we're designing a canvas enclosure that goes from the mast all the way back to the aft stay. We'd like to use it to collect some rain water and just wondered if anyone had some clever ideas on how to do this in such a way as to maximize water caught but not compromise the effectiveness of the canopy.

Thanks folks!

[capngeo]

We have a shade triangle we rig over the foredeck. It fastens to pad eyes at the bow, and athwartship lifelines just in front of the mast. A spare halyard goes through a hole in the middle which is a 3/4” marleron through hull to lift the shade up. When a storm is coming, we release the halyard, which inverts the triangle. The through hull is now in the lowest instead of highest point. A garden hose is connected to the TH, then routed to a water tank fill (we have 2). 1” of rain gives us about 40 gallons.

[rebel heart]

Thanks buddy. Apparently I must "spread some thanks around" before I can press the little thanks button for you again.

[Strait Shooter]

I've been thinking about rigging an Aussie Sail Shade and running 2 opposing ends into a catchment attachment. Aussie Shade Solutions, The Inventors of Shade Cloth Blinds, Retractable Shadecloth Blinds, Outdoor Blinds, Sun Blinds - Home

[savoir]

One of these will do the job provided it isn't too windy.

Tarpaulin, Drainage, Cut Size 5x5Ft - Tarps - Hoist Winch and Rigging - 3ZRU3 : Grainger Industrial Supply

[Strait Shooter]

Originally Posted by savoir

One of these will do the job provided it isn't too windy.

Tarpaulin, Drainage, Cut Size 5x5Ft - Tarps - Hoist Winch and Rigging - 3ZRU3 : Grainger Industrial Supply

I like that.......

[F15EWSO]

Originally Posted by capngeo

We have a shade triangle we rig over the foredeck. It fastens to pad eyes at the bow, and athwartship lifelines just in front of the mast. A spare halyard goes through a hole in the middle which is a 3/4” marleron through hull to lift the shade up. When a storm is coming, we release the halyard, which inverts the triangle. The through hull is now in the lowest instead of highest point. A garden hose is connected to the TH, then routed to a water tank fill (we have 2). 1” of rain gives us about 40 gallons.

Do you let some go over the side first to "rinse" out salt or bird droppings? Do you keep the tarp clean enough that rinsing is not necessary?

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by F15EWSO

Do you let some go over the side first to "rinse" out salt or bird droppings? Do you keep the tarp clean enough that rinsing is not necessary?

When I get water off the mainsail I wait for the rain to have done its thing for a while. There's a lot of dirt and crusted salt on there initially. I also only fill up gerry cans with it, never directly into the tank because the deck run off would end up in there as well.

[capngeo]

Originally Posted by F15EWSO

Do you let some go over the side first to "rinse" out salt or bird droppings? Do you keep the tarp clean enough that rinsing is not necessary?

Usually its pretty clean, but if not I actually will squander some of our tank water, and apply a scrub brush prior to the rain... IF I know it’s going to be a good shower and make up for the loss.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by savoir

One of these will do the job provided it isn't too windy.

Tarpaulin, Drainage, Cut Size 5x5Ft - Tarps - Hoist Winch and Rigging - 3ZRU3 : Grainger Industrial Supply

I have one of these and had to make a folding square frame for it. There is no place to put up 4 corners on my sailboat. And yeah, the wind will try to carry it away. But in a down pour they do a good job.

The problem I've found is that rain is dirty. So if it goes into your tanks you will want to clean them occasionally.

[F15EWSO]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

When I get water off the mainsail I wait for the rain to have done its thing for a while. There's a lot of dirt and crusted salt on there initially. I also only fill up gerry cans with it, never directly into the tank because the deck run off would end up in there as well.

I like the gerry cans, I would transfer those to a solar shower or laundry and dishes use. Would resist putting into the main tanks.

[Play Actor]

We let the rain wash the deck for a few minutes and then plug the scuppers and open the fill pipes. The water runs into the tanks, and the sediment collects in a couple of low spots before the rain runs into the fill pipes. No problems in 11 years. We run the water from the tanks through a 10 micron household filter and use it for everything, including drinking. The filters require changing every 6 months or so. We cruise full time and have only rearely had to buy water.