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Old 12-10-2013, 00:04   #1
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Water

Hello, I'm new to sailing and around Dec. 1/13 I'm planning to go to the Bahamas for the winter. My question centers about water, I have enough drinking water however I was thinking about water to shower, I was thinking about connecting like 4 house filters together to be able to shower and maybe do the laundry. I usually am on the hook and I though this might work. I'm on a budget so I wanted to try to bypass the expensive RO systems out there. Any ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your help.
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Old 12-10-2013, 05:34   #2
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You want to do what with the house water filters? It sounds like you're trying to make really clean salt water. Use just one and get the same result.
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Old 12-10-2013, 05:41   #3
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Re: Water

Sounds like you need one of these
http://www.rvwarehouse.com.au/assets...r-20shower.jpg

As for the washing. Wash in salt water first then rinse with fresh. I saw a great home made washing machine that was merely a 20 lt paint drum with a lid, that the person would drop over the bow. The motion of the boat and waves would agitate the contents.
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Old 12-10-2013, 05:54   #4
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Re: Water

If you are going to shower and wash in salt water why bother to filter it? You still need to rinse in fresh water and you will be surprised how hard it is to rinse out all the salt water. If you do not the cloths will never dry. Better to take you laundry ashore and do it there. Do you have a water maker?
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Old 12-10-2013, 07:50   #5
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Re: Water

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Originally Posted by Tingum View Post
If you are going to shower and wash in salt water why bother to filter it? You still need to rinse in fresh water and you will be surprised how hard it is to rinse out all the salt water. If you do not the cloths will never dry. Better to take you laundry ashore and do it there. Do you have a water maker?
My thoughts were along the lines of swimming then being able to rinse off afterwards. I currently do not have a water maker, I'm kind of struggling with the price. Thank you for the advice.
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Old 12-10-2013, 08:15   #6
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Re: Water

You will not be able to filter out the salt and make fresh water no matter how many house filters you string together.

Was that your thinking? It is difficult to understand why you wanted to filter salt water.

BTW, fresh water is widely available throughout most of the Bahamas. You will need to jug it back to your boat and a few places charge a bit for it.

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Old 12-10-2013, 08:29   #7
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Re: Water

Thank you for the info. I was hoping that after a swim I would be able to rinse off with a few of house filters to filter 70 to 80% of the salt out! but from your answer it doesn't seem likely. It does seem that the current RO systems are high maintainence when not in use, I'm struggling with the cost effectiveness of the fresh water system, any ideas or where is the best place to buy? I only need a small system, your ideas? Thanks
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Old 12-10-2013, 09:03   #8
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Re: Water

The best place to buy a watermaker is finding a good deal on a used one. I just sold our perfectly working 6gal/hr unit with spares and filters for $900. You just need to be in the right place at the right time.

But if you are going to the Bahamas, fresh water is available in most of them. Again, you will need to jug it to your boat, and some places charge a small amount for it.

This will be less expensive than a water maker. Particularly since you will just be spending a few months there.

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Old 12-10-2013, 09:13   #9
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We use prell liquid soap, jump in salt water lather up rinse off w fresh
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Old 12-10-2013, 09:20   #10
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Re: Water

filters will not make salt into fresh. Many people do a salt water shower and a fast fresh water rinse. A stern or cockpit shower nozzle is great for rinsing. In the Bahamas you can just wash up in the water and then fresh rinse. Outfit your boat with a rain catch awning to fill your tanks. Other than that you will have to get water ashore.
You dont mention much about your boat. A RO system is not only expensive, but will require the ability to recharge your batteries to power the load on the system. So keep that in mind.
Unfortunately there are no easy answers other than water conservation. Most people find they dont feel the need to shower every day like they do ashore working 9-5. There are places to buy water in the Bahamas. We lived aboard in Mexico without a watermaker for 1.5+ years so it's do-able, but a lot of ferrying of water in jugs!
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Old 12-10-2013, 10:14   #11
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Re: Water

Need a little bit more info. How big is your boat and its potable water supply? How many people aboard? Where do you plan on anchoring out? All the post above are correct about your water filter idea,"that wont work". I think you should ask yourself how often you want to head in for water and be realistic about how much you use. Water is what sets you free. You can wait for wind to get you where you want to go. Solar will keep your batteries up pretty well if you are careful making water and food your limiting commodities. We learned this lesson the hard way years ago when a faulty diverter valve made us believe both of our water tanks were full when in fact we had only half the water we thought. That cost us 2 full days of hard earned vacation and solidified for us the need for a water maker. I know its expensive but without one you seriously limit yourself. there are plenty of purist on this forum who will take only sponge baths and meter out water as if it was liquid gold and that will work if you like that kind of limit. We use water much less sparingly on Mulligan. My wife and I agree the other is way more attractive after a shower I don't like salt on my decks and hardware so I frequently use the fresh water deck rinse. There are several DIY water-maker plans available but its still not cheap if you ultimately decide to go that route. If you do there are two basic schools of thought.

1. High power draw high output.
2. Low power draw low output.

We have both systems installed on two separate boats. Our mono Tropical Depression has a CruiseROwater system. It runs off of a Honda 2000i gas generator producing 30+ gph and will top off her tanks in just a little over 2:45 it is loud so we plan on being in the water or shoreside when we use it The guys at cruise are great and responsive to questions.

On Mulligan we went with a Spectra 150. It produces about 7 gph and runs on 12 volt. On good days our wind and solar charging more than keeps up with its demands. It is much quieter than the CruiseRo

I don't favor either system over the other now having had both for a couple of years.

If You have an installed genset on your boat and use it regularly for toping off the house bank then your choice becomes even easier because you wont need to carry a gas genset in addition to the water maker system components. I will note that the Honda 2000i has no additional capacity when its running the CruiseRO water maker, where as a large diesel genset has excess capacity to charge batteries etc.

Last but not least most of the places we go in the Bahamas water is not cheap, we have seen water in excess of .30 cents per gallon.

Good luck with whatever you chose.
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Old 12-10-2013, 10:29   #12
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Re: Water

First we need to know your FW capacity. Start with that.

I have been regularly going to the Bahamas since 1990. The two boats I took there had 150 gallons and 130 gallons capacity. I do not have a watermaker. And I could count on one hand the times I've had to buy water.

In the early years we used to get water from cisterns. I mostly cruise the Exumas and free fresh water is now readily available there. We (2 persons) have a shower every day and wash our dishes in FW.

I know the current thinking is that everyone should have a watermaker but I have found, for the Bahamas, it's not necessary. I have shied away from watermakers due to cost, complexity of operation and the additional power required for a decent output unit.

Get a few jerry jugs and you'll be fine.
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Old 12-10-2013, 10:41   #13
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Re: Water

I think where you are going and how much time you want to spend away from civilization will be the deciding factor of wether or not to get a water maker. If you are harbor hoping water maker not necessary. A month in the central Berry's you probably want a water maker.
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Old 27-10-2013, 16:28   #14
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Re: Water

Quote:
Originally Posted by ShaktisBoy View Post
Need a little bit more info. How big is your boat and its potable water supply? How many people aboard? Where do you plan on anchoring out? All the post above are correct about your water filter idea,"that wont work". I think you should ask yourself how often you want to head in for water and be realistic about how much you use. Water is what sets you free. You can wait for wind to get you where you want to go. Solar will keep your batteries up pretty well if you are careful making water and food your limiting commodities. We learned this lesson the hard way years ago when a faulty diverter valve made us believe both of our water tanks were full when in fact we had only half the water we thought. That cost us 2 full days of hard earned vacation and solidified for us the need for a water maker. I know its expensive but without one you seriously limit yourself. there are plenty of purist on this forum who will take only sponge baths and meter out water as if it was liquid gold and that will work if you like that kind of limit. We use water much less sparingly on Mulligan. My wife and I agree the other is way more attractive after a shower I don't like salt on my decks and hardware so I frequently use the fresh water deck rinse. There are several DIY water-maker plans available but its still not cheap if you ultimately decide to go that route. If you do there are two basic schools of thought.

1. High power draw high output.
2. Low power draw low output.

We have both systems installed on two separate boats. Our mono Tropical Depression has a CruiseROwater system. It runs off of a Honda 2000i gas generator producing 30+ gph and will top off her tanks in just a little over 2:45 it is loud so we plan on being in the water or shoreside when we use it The guys at cruise are great and responsive to questions.

On Mulligan we went with a Spectra 150. It produces about 7 gph and runs on 12 volt. On good days our wind and solar charging more than keeps up with its demands. It is much quieter than the CruiseRo

I don't favor either system over the other now having had both for a couple of years.

If You have an installed genset on your boat and use it regularly for toping off the house bank then your choice becomes even easier because you wont need to carry a gas genset in addition to the water maker system components. I will note that the Honda 2000i has no additional capacity when its running the CruiseRO water maker, where as a large diesel genset has excess capacity to charge batteries etc.

Last but not least most of the places we go in the Bahamas water is not cheap, we have seen water in excess of .30 cents per gallon.

Good luck with whatever you chose.

How loud is the ro cruiser? Cause I'm thinking about getting one
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Old 27-10-2013, 18:22   #15
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Re: Water

what vasco says.

we've been going to the bahamas for years and have never felt the need for a watermaker. we stay for months at a time. tank capacity is about 140 gallons and we use about 5 per day, which allows for a daily shower for both of us. we could easily go three weeks between fill ups. you're never more than a few days away from the next water source and it's not nearly as expensive as some would like to think. we average about ten cents per gallon. some places it's free. compare that to the cost of buying, installing, running, and servicing a watermaker and i think you'll find it much cheaper and less trouble.

although we've got 6 gallon water jugs i haven't had to jug in quite a while. fuel docks usually have a water hose available; at the treasure cay fuel dock this summer we paid 8 dollars for 50 gallons, about 16 cents per gallon. good for ten days.

but i am going to rig up some kind of rain catcher, just for fun. i'm thinking about a quality tarp with a garden hose bib attached at the center and some ingenious way of setting it up when rain clouds are approaching...
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