Bluewater Cruising and Water Storage

[ddsailor25]

So, one of my goals in life is to go blue water cruising. Hopefully, over the next couple of years I can find the right boat for me. For now I'm just getting infomation to help find the right boat.
So, I was wondering what blue water cruisers do for drinking water onboard? On our current boat we only use the onboard water for washing up and dishes and don't really feel comforatable drinking that water, so we carry all our drinking water in gallon jugs. Do blue water cruisers do the same or clean the tanks regularly? Are there good inline filters to use that will reduce the risk of getting sick from drinking that water?
Thanks for any and all info.

Dave

[donradcliffe]

We drink the tank water, filtered through a Seagull IV filter. Its a bit pricey, but improves the taste and is fine enough to filter out giardia. The source of the tank water is a combination of watermaker, rain, and trusted dock water. Some people put a bit of chlorine or iodine in their water tanks, but we have never needed to do that.

[boatman61]

Hi... in the US I too only use tank water for washing up, showers etc... but thats mainly because I found tap water quality to be very poor... drank only boiled or bottled water.. only place I had 'major growths' in my water in less than a fortnight
Elsewhere I use tank water for everything, if out of EU areas I mix 1 capful of bleach per 40 litres... you can also buy purifying tablets and/or filters... even better invest in a watermaker and become independant...

[speciald@ocens.]

We carry bottled water, 200 gal in tank + Brita filter, and a water maker that makes~40 gal/hr that replenishes tank when we run genset to charge batteries.

[mct]

I've been cruising around the Alantic last five years and don't use an inline filter and not got sick (as far as i know!) from drinking the water out of the tank. Of course you could indeed keep separate water jugs/jerrycans/whatver for drinking water, but i think there are other things far more likely to make you sick. I mean, this blue water cruising - it's supposed to be an adventure! I don't remember the likes of {choose your favourite explorer here} fretting about water that comes from a tank that has only had water in it anyway, or buying bottled water. Lots of boats have water collection systems so the water that runs off the sails can be diverted to the tanks. Or a watermaker. Or just those big bottles/jerrycans of water. It'll be fine!

[boatman61]

Unless your doing a crossing and 2weeks out you have to start filling 5litre bottles and leaving them to stand so's the 'life' settles at the bottom and then syphon of the 2 -3 litres of clear water at the top...
Beaufort tap water

[atoll]

2500 liter tanks,pressurised water system with normal domestic filters that are cheap to replace,also run/circulate the fridge condenser water through the tank,so keeps it nice and fresh which we drink.

large rain water catchment area over cock pit plumbed in to the tanks,almost never need to fill the tanks in tropical areas.
no water maker.

200 liters of jugs in the cockpit for washing and showers,in a good tropical downfall takes about 20 minutes to fill the jugs.

suspect water we add bleach.

we take multi vitamin and mineral supplement if using rainwater long term as no minerals in rain water.

with up to 12 people on board we still have to be carefull and use water sparingly and take salt water showers and rinse with 1/2-1 liter fresh.

[MarkJ]

440 litres of fresh water lasts a few months when theres salt water plumbed into the sink (can add some bleach to the salt water in ports).

The trick for me is spray bottles. The fresh water tap is never turned on.... except for the kettle and to refill spray bottles.

[Curmudgeon]

I but this stuff called Aquabon that takes the bad taste out of water from the tank. Works pretty well; just throw in a few capfuls each time you refill.

And if that doesn't work I carry a couple of gallons of vodka in the bilge. A shot or two improves the taste of the water immensely.

Atoll, that is an interestiong comment about rainwater lacking minerals. Does water from a watermaker also suffer from a lack of minerals?

[Hannah on 'Rita T']

Re: Aquabon. The foul smell is a lack of air in the water. Stir it vigorously for a while, run it through a hose and back into the tank and it will soon be sweet.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

I but this stuff called Aquabon that takes the bad taste out of water from the tank. Works pretty well; just throw in a few capfuls each time you refill.

And if that doesn't work I carry a couple of gallons of vodka in the bilge. A shot or two improves the taste of the water immensely.

Atoll, that is an interestiong comment about rainwater lacking minerals. Does water from a watermaker also suffer from a lack of minerals?

not 100% sure but i think it is the same,with a water maker.
there are 50 essential vitamins and minerals that the body needs,lack of even one of them can have serious consequences over a longish period.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

... Atoll, that is an interestiong comment about rainwater lacking minerals. Does water from a watermaker also suffer from a lack of minerals?

R/O systems do remove minerals & pathogens from water. However, we get the vast majority of our minerals from the foods we eat, not from drinking water. For example, 1 glass of orange juice has the same amount of minerals as 30 gallons of tap water.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by GordMay

R/O systems do remove minerals & pathogens from water. However, we get the vast majority of our minerals from the foods we eat, not from drinking water. For example, 1 glass of orange juice has the same amount of minerals as 30 gallons of tap water.

Yes, I thought that might be the case. If you eat other healthy food you will easily make up for the lack of minerals, although a good multi-vitamin can't hurt.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by atoll

... there are 50 essential vitamins and minerals that the body needs,lack of even one of them can have serious consequences over a longish period.

Water is NOT a significant source of nutrients.
Only a few minerals in natural waters have sufficient concentrations and distribution to expect that their consumption in drinking water might sometimes be a significant supplement to dietary intake in some populations.

See ➥ http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_...rientsindw.pdf

A single multi-vitamin-mineral tablet would probably provide more nutrient value than a full month's supply of drinking water.

[atoll]

Zinc · Iron · Magnesium · Chromium · Selenium (Keshan disease) · Manganese · Molybdenum · Copper · Calcium · Potassium,and iodine,

lack of any of these when living on rice, beans and fish can be detrimental.

also the body does not store vitamins very well,so it is nesscary to top them up when you spend long times at sea,thats my experiance any way,but thanks for the input gord