Are watermakers losing their relevance?

[Pete17C]

Originally Posted by Parrothedd

As far as giving water away, we used to do it routinely to the Venezuelan Navy stationed on Las Aves. They sure appreciated it and brought us lobsters in trade.

that's not really 'giving' it away, now is it?

[lordgeoff]

Originally Posted by Freedom45

No, my opinion.
We have been cruising for a little over four years in the Pacific with water makers.
Wouldn't leave home without one. I've witnessed many people struggle for water.
One might have enough for passage, but when they get to anchorage, now the search begins to find safe water, lug jerry cans for miles sometimes. Don't count on collecting rain either.
We have 500 gal water capacity but don't need it, I will be downsizing tanks to less than half that someday to gain space.
I like my fresh water shower.....

Cheers.

Agree 100%. We have 1,000Lt and still think a water maker is essential. I don't have to be too fussy with what I put in the tanks because I keep Desal water separate for drinking and cooking. It gets very tedious hunting for potable water in the pacific. Nothing tedious about flicking a switch.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by hpeer

Mike.

We are close to you in tankage and usage. I got badly tempted to get a WM this year. In the yard at Grenada I pumped out our tanks and refilled with “fresh” water. It hasent killed us yet but it has a lot of fine sediment and we got some growth we had to kill with bleach. Blocks up the filter after a bit.

Now I’ve got to find a way to purge the tanks. Not easy the way they are constructed. Piss!

We do have a hand operated WM, just in case.

That’s a PITA. Hope you get it sorted.

We shock our tank at the beginning of each season, and then add bleach as necessary. But we’re lucky to be in a land of good quality tap water. I think if/when we head south I’ll make a WM a higher priority.

We carry our old manual camp water filter (Katadyn Pocket). It will purify most freshwater sources, so if our tank got contaminated we’d still be able to drink. But it’s not a WM.

[SV Bacchus]

While in the Bahamas last season we were struck by lightening. We were used to hanging out around deserted islands and only going to shore every 12 to 14 days for light provisioning and hitting up a local bar!

Unfortunately our watermaker took a hit from the lightening strike.

We have 200 gals capacity and did not have to alter our 12 to 14 days visits to civilization but we DID have to pay .40 cents a gallon for water when we did go in.

A fellow cruiser started buddy boating with us and would give us 30 or 40 gallons every week. For comfort I would still buy when I could but our buddy made it a much smaller bill for water.

I would not be without my watermaker, no how, no way!

[philiosophy]

I agree most actively cruising boats have it. That said I have been cruising 9 years 365 24/7 and use only catchment and a self priming pump to suck the water out of the jugs in the dingy. I carry 4 jerry’s belowdecks in addition to 115 FW tankage for crossings. Ecuador to Marquesas was 3800 miles and 30 days. It can be done quite easily tho it takes a special woman.

[Sailshabby]

Timely topic, as we’re currently driving up I-95 having just left J.T.’s shop with our new Spectra. Installation begins this weekend (yes, I’ve been banking swear words, blood and sweat in preparation).

It’s like most other ship’s systems. We could all be using just the stars to navigate by, pieces of floating wood to calculate boat speed, and killing the occasional whale (“the other white meat”) for oil lamps, but why? Technology- in reasonable doses - makes like more enjoyable.will we recoup the cost when we sell the boat? Seriously doubt it, but the gap will be made smaller in “convenience units.” My inner Bligh will be able to chill when I watch a guest running the tap like they’re in their house. All of that extra angst can be saved for the inevitable “Hey, I flushed a stuffed animal down the toilet and now it doesn’t seem to work”...

[Olddan1943]

Originally Posted by Hardhead

"As I recall, the Navy figures 30/day per man and we know about Navy showers. LOL
That also includes water for cooking, laundry etc."



The navy spends a lot of time at sea, so it would be good to know the reasoning behind their guidelines. I hate to ask about this... but what's up with the navy showers LOL?

Navy shower = get wet, shut off the water, soap up, rinse off..... dry off.... all done.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by mjgriffin007

Why would they spend a few thousand on a machine that is rarely used and requires regular maintenance?

I would think outfits like The Moorings and Sunsail would install watermakers on most of their fleet, at least the big boats, for one reason: minimizing docking damage. The ONLY reason I ever dock a boat in my (admittedly limited) cruising experience in the BVIs is to get water. The fuel onboard could last for 3x my cruise, I can get groceries and booze using the dinghy, and for inexperienced captains like me, the "dock rash" chances are high. And the folks I usually take don't follow my entreaties to limit water use. Maybe I should be more of a hard-a**......... ;o)

Nooo...not on a bareboat charter boat. The WM would be trashed in no time.

Ive been around the charter industry a long time and only seen a few bareboat boats with water makers, usually installed by the owner. All were out of commission and the charter base instructed guests not to use them because they do not want to maintain them.

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

I think this is the biggest factor. Watermakers only make sense for serious cruising boats.

We have been cruising for a long time and water is becoming harder, not easier to find in all the places we have visited. Having said the above, we have still not fitted a watermaker to our new boat. It has now been over six months since we left and rain water has kept our tanks full without any need for water from shore. This will not work in very dry climates and we still plan to fit a watermaker, but if you are on the fence about fitting one, a good rainwater system can fill your tanks remarkably quickly in nothing more than light drizzle.

Lucky you. Last time I saw any water from the sky falling on a boat was 9 months ago.

[Gaia]

Well I find myself agreeing with 90%. Unusual! WMs are the cats meow imho. Besides they make great water for tea and on GAIA that is essential. ��

[icemate]

Originally Posted by mjgriffin007

Why would they spend a few thousand on a machine that is rarely used and requires regular maintenance?

I would think outfits like The Moorings and Sunsail would install watermakers on most of their fleet, at least the big boats, for one reason: minimizing docking damage. The ONLY reason I ever dock a boat in my (admittedly limited) cruising experience in the BVIs is to get water. The fuel onboard could last for 3x my cruise, I can get groceries and booze using the dinghy, and for inexperienced captains like me, the "dock rash" chances are high. And the folks I usually take don't follow my entreaties to limit water use. Maybe I should be more of a hard-a**......... ;o)

A lot of the boats in charter are owned by others expecting charter fees to help pay for the boat or for a tax right off. Most who charter from Moorings are day sailors and not true cruisers, There are place in the BVI likeThe Bitter End Yacht Club where a nice dinner and hot shower is available with docking at a fair price. As with water makers, you won't see Moorings putting the bill for solar panels or wind generators or even air-conditioning. Comparing Moorings. a day sailors toy. with a Cruisers Yacht is not even close. I had sonar, radar, self steering (non electric powered), anchor windless. dingy davit, wind generator, water maker, radar and more as I could sail without being tied to a dock at night.

[Pizzazz]

I think a watermaker (or two) is a no brainer. Your tanks can leak, you can lose the water, salt can get into the tanks and so on. Water is essential for a good life and there is no point in living off a tank. Again, the convenience factor. Sometimes even at a marina, it is easier to flip the switch instead of getting the water hose set, then checking the quality of the tap water which is not very consistent. You come back from dinner and your tanks are full. For a small boat, extended cruising is not possible without a watermaker (or highly risky of you rely on catchment).

The key is to have one and use it regularly. If you use it once every few days, it needs very little maintenance. In terms of cost, I agree they have super expensive for some reason ($10k for a spectra) bit you can build one for $2-3K. Do not compare this to the cost of water, compare it to the cost of installing a second water tank.

[newhaul]

I have a powersurvivor35 and wouldn't want to cruise without the convenience of it .
Now for a solo 35 a day is plenty . That's actually my full tankage .
I also have a manual one for the just in case .

[CarinaPDX]

It makes no sense to include a watermaker in a new boat unless it is high end or built for cruising (e.g. Amel). Having a WM means operating and maintaining it regularly, so not for the vacation crowd.

Why anyone would have a water system where a single leak would drain the tanks is beyond me. Multiple tanks are required, for possible leaks or contamination. Personally I think leaving electric power on to a pressure system while far from harbor is kinda nutty - a disaster waiting to happen.

A watermaker is clearly not essential for cruising but it sure does make life easier. And it can pay for itself over time. In the Med it is hard to refill water tanks except in (expensive) marinas. One fuel dock I went to told me they couldn't let me have water with the fuel fill because the nearby marina was trying to force boats in for water. (Not the only bad experience.) If your style of cruising is marina to marina then no problem, but for those of us that like anchoring, and not paying extortionate marina fees, then a WM is very useful.

I am not current, but in the past some of the coastal community water supplies in the PNW have had the occasional giardia cyst - 1st world water - and also in Mexico. Chlorine won't help. A watermaker is the best solution.

Greg

(PowerSurvivor 40E)

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by Paul Howard

I have done a circumnavigation of the world, high latitudes and many places in between, a combined 15 years full time cruising, all without a watermaker. In many parts of the world, especially in the tropics, the 10 liter jugs can be delivered down to your boat for a small fee. Even getting a load of 30 or so delivered to the boat is not a problem, let someone else lug the water for this senior sailor. Cost of a jug of water is perhaps $1.50 per jug, much cheaper than the watermaker and all that it takes to maintain it.

Nope. Conservatively I estimate we've made around 120,000 litres of water with our watermaker.

It cost around $6000 to buy 9 years ago, has had one new membrane, at less than $400, maybe $20 per year in filters, and $20 worth of oil changes for the pump.

Buying that much water at your prices would have cost nearly twice as much.