Rainwater Collection Methods

[Nauti-Ness]

I am headed out on an extended cruise soon and am looking for ways to collect water during rains. I have a deck fill near an overboard scupper and was wondering if there was a good material to stop the water going over and into the open deck fill. A towel will work ok but is there anything better? Will modeling clay work ok without contaminating the water?
Also, is there a method to tap into my thru hull hose that diverts water overboard and into one of my tanks?
Appreciate any and all suggestions

Thanks in advance
Nauti-Ness

[jemsea]

Take a bicycle tube and cut it in two places on either side of the valve stem. Then loosely fill it with sand. Tie the ends securely with stainless wire. Works great as a dam to divert rain water into deck fills and will not blow overboard.

[mesquaukee]

I use a large sponge in a plastic bag to plug up the scupper.
To make it easier to fill the tanks install a Y valve in the line under the deck fill, remove the cover on the deck fill. Install a through hull near it and hook it up to the Y valve. Leave the Y valve in the position so water on deck runs out through the through hull. When it rains just throw the Y valve, after the decks are flushed, so the water goes into the tank.

[imagine2frolic]

What kind of boat? How about off the bimini, mainsail, and or boom? Divert the water where you want it with a hose. I would think a lot simpler than getting it off the cockpit floor?.......i2f

[zeehag]

use a tarp or extra sail in the rain to divert the water into a container for later use then you donot have to remember to unblock a scupper whenye need it ......and the water is usable for cleaning and washing---if you divert water collected after the first 15-30 mins, might even be drinkable, depending on the cleanliness of the containing method.......

[GordMay]

For deck collection (tho' I prefer I2F's aerial collection), Jemsea’s rubberised sand bag will work very well, as will your simple towel.
As I2F suggests, you don’t want to collect drinking water from your cockpit.
As zeehag suggests, make certain that your decks are clean and salt-free, prior to collecting.

[alibaba.e]

There are holes in my mainsail boom which allows rain water running down the sail to run into the boom which is sealed with exception of a water hose fitting on the end of the boom. I run a short hose directly into the filler for fresh eater tanks. Works great.

[roverhi]

You'll spend most of your time at anchor so collecting with the hook down is the most profitable. We had an awning that covered from the mast to the back stay. We put plastic thruhulls on either side. When it rained, we let the rain wash off the salt, etc. for a minutes. We'd then pull down the through hull to make a pocket in the awning and run a hose to the tanks. Never had to haul water or otherwise refill our tanks in a year of cruising in French Polynesia. Won't quite as well in Baja, unfortunately.

I don't like deck fills for water. Too many people contaminate their water supply with fuel or pump out waste when they have deck water fills. It is a small hassle to run the hose below to the tanks but never a worry about suddenly being without potable water and having to get the taste out of the tanks.

Aloha
Peter O.