Cruisers Forum
 


Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on Cruisers Forums. Advertise Here
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 11-07-2010, 06:04   #1
Registered User

Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: based in the UK, heading for the South Atlantic
Boat: Victoria 38 (known as Morris 38 in US)
Posts: 31
Catching Rainwater

Anyone done this for real on trade wind / tropics passages? How did you collect? Any advice?
oldvarnish is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-07-2010, 06:38   #2
Registered User

Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 294
I haven't but I know someone who did. He let the rain run off the decks for a few minutes to clean them of salt & dirt, then put plugs in all the scuppers and opened a couple of ports (one on each side) that led into the water tanks. Once the tanks fill up, if it rains that long, close up the ports, and reopen the scuppers. He also used rain + nonskid to do laundry.
Mariness is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-07-2010, 07:27   #3
Registered User

Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 240
We are set up to collect from the decks, and we do!
Let them wash through for 10-15 minutes, plug the drain holes(with ordinary bathroom plugs) open the tank fillers and away we go.
In a good Tropical downpour we can fill two x 200 litre tanks in around 10-15 minutes.

We have a double filter system on the water, that is one filter at the pressure pump and another just before the faucet outlet. These are cleaned regularly. I rarely treat the water with chemicals and in ten years of cruising we have yet, fingers crossed, to experience any contamination.

I would add that we do not use any chemical cleaners on the deck, it's teak, except before a passage when we clean the whole deck carefully with clean water and a sponge, maybe a little washing up liquid if it's particularly dirty.

Hope that helps.
annk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-07-2010, 07:27   #4
Registered User

Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Santa Cruz
Boat: SAnta Cruz 27
Posts: 6,711
We sewed sunbrella 'gutters' on the bimini which deflected the water to the front corners, but a 6'x6' piece of canvas will collect enough water to fill the tanks in the tropical deluges. We tended to collect at anchor more than on passages.
donradcliffe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-07-2010, 08:11   #5
Eternal Member
 
capt_douglas's Avatar

Join Date: May 2003
Location: Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Boat: Vancouver 36 cutter????
Posts: 620
Send a message via Skype™ to capt_douglas
I did the same as annk. It was simple, required a few rags or towels to act as dams and diverters, and worked well when the winds piped up. I had a 3" caprail and that made it easier than caprails with the aluminum railing. I also found that by using a towel as a diverter to move the wide deck torrent towards the deck fill really helped.

I've seen folks that had fresh water fills in less suitable locations use the deck drains. They installed a "Y" valve with one hose going to the tank and the other overboard.

The tough part, at least it was for me, was waiting for the decks to run clear. Depending on the amount of rain, sailing conditions, and other factors, it may take 10-15 minutes to get the water clear enough to put in the tank.

As for concerns about water quality, I've found that a good filter and some common sense seemed to work best. Rain water is quite clean and after getting the decks clean, quite sweet. If you're in a metropolitan location, you may have to wait longer for the rain to wash the air clear and get the deck clean.

The biggest problems I've had with getting water was from shoreside places. Some of the water sources clearly weren't as pure as waiting on the rain. In that case I put the jerry jugs through a basic filter (spun particulate and carbon) and added a 1/4 cup of bleach to the tank.

A number of times the rain never lasted long enough to get the water clean enough for me.
__________________
Capt. Douglas Abbott
USCG/MCA IV/M.I./C.I. 500-ton Oceans
capt_douglas is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-07-2010, 08:19   #6
Registered User
 
Pete the Cat's Avatar

Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Maine and California
Boat: Tartan 37 "Velera"
Posts: 407
Did exactly the same thing that donradcliff did and it worked well in the tropics. I boiled the drinking water because--even offshore--you get bird visitors who are not too careful, but was often able to fill several three gallon cans (like they sell water in in El Salvador) in a few minutes of downpour off my 6X6 bimini. I actually had a hole cut in the center in the bottom with a cringle and had a threaded hose connection that went to it. Worked great. Sometimes I could fill the regular tanks with it as well.
__________________
Ray Durkee
S/V Velera
Tartan 37
Castine, Maine
Pete the Cat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-07-2010, 08:21   #7
Registered User
 
Captain Bill's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Punta Gorda, Fl
Boat: Endeavourcat Sailcat 44
Posts: 3,173
I have a friend with a Mainecat 30 which has a water catch system on the hard top which works pretty well. I personally have a water maker and have not yet resorted to catching rainwater. I am considering making a sunbrella catchment device to hang from my boom. The water maker is a power hog and if I can get the water free so much the better.
Captain Bill is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-07-2010, 09:50   #8
cruiser

Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Probably in an anchorage or a boatyard..
Boat: Ebbtide 33' steel cutter
Posts: 5,030
with 1 reef.

Quote:
Originally Posted by oldvarnish View Post
Anyone done this for real on trade wind / tropics passages? How did you collect? Any advice?
I´ve used the main with success. 1 or more reefs with the reefed section forming a sort of trough, the water runs down the main, along the trough the tie off a funnel at the mast under the boom and divert into bucket, water cans or whatever. You might need to lift the boom a little with the topping lift but my main works fine without changing anything. At anchor the bimini has throughhull into pipe which leads to the water tank .
conachair is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

« Sober | Eating Fish »
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Catching Fish alexleclainche Families, Kids and Pets Afloat 54 05-12-2009 11:19
Rainwater Collection Methods Nauti-Ness General Sailing Forum 7 26-07-2009 15:14
Rainwater - problems?? Wotname Cooking and Provisioning: Food & Drink 22 31-08-2008 22:31

Advertise Here


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 23:17.


Google+
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Social Knowledge Networks
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.

ShowCase vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.