Coastal Cruising SE USA - Live without watermaker?

[Cliffhanger]

Freshwater to flush the head seems like an unnecessary extravagance. I'd be changing that quickly to saltwater. Our previous boat didn't have a water heater so in winter we used to heat up some water on the stove and have a "sponge shower". It is surprising how little water you actually need to get clean. We washed dishes in saltwater then rinsed in fresh. We had about the same amount of water as you do and could stay out for a couple of weeks. Our current boat holds a crazy 1300 litres (340 gallons) so we just have hot showers whenever we want and don't worry about water at all. A bit of a luxury but not at all necessary and doesn't really add to the pleasure of boating.

[sailjumanji]

Originally Posted by Adelie

If you are using 10gal/d that means you need 20/Ahr/d power. For that I would want an extra 50Ahr of LA battery capacity and about 75W extra solar panels.

Nah, we use 12 gal per day for a couple. We run the watermaker in the afternoon after the battery is full, and the solar easily covers the Spectra watermaker load

[dfelsent]

A fresh water flush is not an extravagance when you have small holding tanks you must use.
We use our shower spray into the toilet as an alternative to the seawater intake.
Far less smell in the tank, and far less volume of flush water.
For a pee? Not much. For solids? Still not much.
And the tank odor? Wildly less with fresh water.

[waterman46]

Using fresh water to flush the head right away puts you in the "not really serious" category about water usage. So that's the first thing to change.

We only use pressure water on board. We take quick showers daily at 1 gallon per shower. Hate to lie down in salty bedsheets. Use fresh water for dish washing since I don't believe in washing dishes in someone else's poop in the anchorage. Dishes can be rinsed with a very small trickle of fresh water. Salt water can be used for washing clothes with a fresh water rinse.

We used a watermaker for many years since we spent most of our time on the West Coast of Mexico and Central America where marinas are few and water is scarce and questionable. But the watermaker broke down and we could not repair it in the remote areas. So except for drinking, we are now using water from marinas with a little clorox for disinfecting. With 2 tanks, we can treat one tank while using from the other but still use the large plastic bottles for drinking water.



With our 2 tanks we can go a little more than 2 weeks, then it's time to go to a marina for free water. When in the marina we run our onboard clothes washer or use one at the marina or in town.

[malbert73]

Fresh water flush is the difference between a head having no smell or having that permanent distinct odor. If you are coastal cruising and anchoring in harbors it’s easy to get fresh water at same time you top off diesel or empty your holding tank. So if your cruising is like that keep the fresh water flush but like others say if you are going further off grid consider dumping it. We keep going back and forth on water maker but since our own use would be very intermittent we are holding off (due to maintenance complexity of sporadic water maker use) and I will be adding an additional freshwater tank instead.
For what OP is describing, adding a reserve water tank may be the lowest cost/maintenance approach…

[clakiep]

Crossing the Atlantic from Cabo Verde to Santos in 1975 in 23 days with a crew of 5, we used 150 liters of water (we had 300) a bit over one liter per person and day : showering with sea water (bucket or dive), also toilet flushing, eggs and spaghetti cooking (gives special flavor according to area), dish washing, teeth brushing etc....of course we had lots of beer also.

Capt. Claus - ocean tramp of the 20th century

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by flightlead404

I have 65 gallons of water onboard. So far, with restricting showers and limiting head flushing (fw electric head) we still can only stretch that a few days.

Given that I'm hoping to spend much more time on the hook/mooring balls over the next 6 months, what are the techniques, tips, tricks to deal with water requirements, or should I bite the bullet and figure out how to install a watermaker?

What's your holding tank capacity, and how often must you pump it out?

Maybe your freshwater fill-ups might coincide with pump-outs anyway?

-Chris

[Anders]

We're not in SE US but in the Med. Im sick and tired of having to find somewhere to get water and in the spring I will install a watermaker.

[sailorboy1]

I have had freshwater flush for a year now. While know it uses water, i havent been able to tell based on how long a tank lasts. Our holding tank is 25 gal and lasts a week for the 2 of us, how much fresh water is in the tank.

I talked myself out of a watermaker for years. Now i have one. Now that I have one I can say it is simple really, boat life is better with one !!! If you can swing it, get one.

[davil]

Originally Posted by flightlead404

We're into our 1st season of sailing, but have spent most of that time in marinas with only a few nights at anchor here and there due to doing work on the boat, work schedules, and having to split time between boat and land.

Before the end of Nov we're pushing off from Hilton Head to meander down to the Keys (hopefully) and winter in warmer climes.

I have 65 gallons of water onboard. So far, with restricting showers and limiting head flushing (fw electric head) we still can only stretch that a few days.

Given that I'm hoping to spend much more time on the hook/mooring balls over the next 6 months, what are the techniques, tips, tricks to deal with water requirements, or should I bite the bullet and figure out how to install a watermaker?

!!
===================================

All depends on lifestyle, compromises and avoid unnecessary hardships that might end an otherwise promising cruising life.

As a couple we used about 3 gallons a day, faithfully replaced by our 35Powersurvivor running 2 hours a day.
Daily showers using a Sunshower, ran an extension hose via open port, gravity supplied
------------------------------------------------------------

Everything is money and extra time-consuming "projects"

Whale hand or foot pump easy installation on the galley sink, no more wasting water and avoids nagging.
Cost about $ 100,couple hours install. Priceless!!!
You still have a faucet on the head running the electric pump for teeth brushing.
-------------------------------
Head flushing,
must replace flushing fresh water literally "down the toilet"

Money,moderate,new intake hoses, anti siphon valve, y valve to share a truhull intake plus clamps etc.
Work intensive.

Alternative Composting unit
cost about $ 1000
installation simple,no messing with hoses etc operational immediate
May keep original hoses and toilet unit,for a return to original head.
============================================
Water producing
35Powersurvivor
Cost about $ 4000
Install easy
return on convenience high
(yes I know, there are higher volume producing units, depends on lifestyle)
============================

60 gallons tank seems adequate for USA, based on my needs.
Can always add a water maker later if needed.
Bahamas another story.

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

How easily you can power a watermaker depends a lot on the existing systems configuration on the boat. On my boat, it would be easy. I'd just go for an AC powered water maker and plan to run it while making dinner (as the generator is already running for an hour or so to power the stove and warm up the water heater for showers). Provided the batteries aren't low from a cloudy day and I'm not using all 3 stove burners for dinner, there's generally a decent bit of surplus generator capacity at that time, so other than a tiny bit of extra fuel, running an extra appliance would be pretty much a freebie.

My discussion of secondary costs was aimed at people who are aiming to minimize fuel use.

I double checked my numbers.
PUR 40 will put out 1.5gal/hr using 4A. So actually it’s 2.67ahr/gal.
For 10gal that would need 26.7Ahr, 80Ahr extra battery capacity and 100W extra solar panels.

For a Rainman 12v system 34A will get you 8gal/hr. So 4.25Ahr/gal.
For 10gal/day that means 43.5Ahr/d, 131Ahr extra battery capacity and about 174W extra solar panels.

https://www.defender.com/product.jsp?id=86967
https://www.rainmandesal.com/12vdc-watermaker/

[smj]

We carry 50 gallons of water and can comfortably cruise for slightly over 2 weeks with 2 people aboard. We use foot pumps at the sinks and normally shower with the spray bottle, though I did ad a pressure water pump that runs the shower if we feel the need. Also a composting head.
We’ve been cruising of and on now for slightly over 29 years and in the past 10 years I’ve been tossing around the idea of a watermaker as my back isn’t in great shape and jugging 5 gallon containers doesn’t help it. We like to have a simple boat and from my experience those that have water makers love them when running and hate them when they don’t, and to be honest the thought of the watermaker maintenance makes hauling jugs seem like a trivial task. And as I’ve learned, just because you have a 5 gallon jug doesn’t mean you have to fill it with 5 gallons of water!

[valhalla360]

In survival mode, 1 gal/person/day is viable...but after a few days, the search parties will be able to find you within 20-30 miles downwind. After a few months, you will likely become nose blind to the issue but everyone else will know.

60 gal, we do fine for 5-7 days without any herculean effort.

Along the east coast, that's easily doable as pretty much everywhere you can fill up for free in just a few minutes by pulling up to the fuel dock.

When you get to the bahamas, water is still available but comes with a cost. Consider carrying a couple 5 gal water jugs and rigging up a rain water catchment system.

A watermaker is certainly an alternative particularly if you plan to spend a lot of time in the bahamas or will anchor in place for 2-3 weeks at a time.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

In survival mode, 1 gal/person/day is viable...but after a few days, the search parties will be able to find you within 20-30 miles downwind. After a few months, you will likely become nose blind to the issue but everyone else will know.

Nope. Wrong.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Nope. Wrong.

I've heard old salts claim it but my nose says otherwise.