Drinking water on a 22ft boat

[niCastro]

Hey there. My wife and I are doing a 30 day cruise around the San Juan islands this July. We are wanting to bring at least 20 gallons of water (more if we can) onto our US Yachts 22 but don't have good ideas on how to carry the water. This would be water for about 5-7 days for us using our well tested backpacking skills.

The normal 5 gallon jerry cans seem too big for the storage space under the cockpit and there just isn't deck space for them. We're thinking about maybe just using the 1-2 gallon disposable jugs and refilling those. It'll be a pain if we have to use the dinghy to get water but not so bad if we are at a dock and can use a hose. Just curious to hear what others have done on boats in the 22ft range and how much you were able to carry.

Thanks for any advice.

[sanibel sailor]

That's 1-1/2 to 2 gallons per person per day. Not what I've done backpacking.
Cut way back on water usage is first step.
I use 1 gallon drinking water jugs on my Peep Hen (14'), figure 1/2 gallon per day.

[JoeRobertJr]

Our 25' has a 16-gallon water tank, which is good for the two of us for a full week with no special conservation efforts. Still, we bring some additional water bottles, and like the plastic gallon jugs with screw tops and strap handles. They are small enough to store in various places, and easy to refill and carry. We tried a collapsible 5-gal camping water jug, but that was too difficult to store.

[tkeithlu]

My reference here is experience camping in my family's 20 ft English rivers
boat, which we bought second hand in 1909.I can't wait to get back to her.

Think about what weight you can readily toss about and what size will fit in the cracks a corners in an already small boat. I would say the upper end is five gallons, which equals 40 pounds of water. Put that in a study five gallon plastic jug with a good handle. How many of those can you invent space for?

Then think through using one gallon jugs, again with study construction. They fit in more spaces, weigh eight pounds each, but are much more bother when you take them ashore to refill.

Here's a selection of five gallon types; substitute "1" for "5" and see the smaller size.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=water+jug..._sb_ss_sc_1_32

[capn_billl]

in between 1 gallon, and 5 gallon is 2 gallon camping containers.

https://www.amazon.com/Arrow-Home-Pr...%3D%3D&sr=8-26

[Fore and Aft]

We used to keep all our 2 litre orange juice and Coke bottles. Then stuff them into our 24 footer when going cruising. A bit longer to fill, but easy to store onboard.
Cheers

[Lake-Effect]

You won't be carrying all 30 days of food on a 22 ft boat, so you can pick up drinking water whenever you resupply. And if your partner is like mine, you WILL be stopping somewhere for hot showers and a sit-down meal at least weekly.

We have a couple of poly water jugs; our largest one is about 5 gal, and sits on the cabin floor, usually covered by a board that we use to expand the V-berth area. Before the start of the trip, we freeze several bottles of water and pack those in the cooler around the perishable food; as they melt, we drink the water.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by niCastro

Hey there. My wife and I are doing a 30 day cruise around the San Juan islands this July. We are wanting to bring at least 20 gallons of water .....................

Will you never touch upon land or a marina in that entire 30 days? Will you anchor out all the time?

[JoeRobertJr]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

Before the start of the trip, we freeze several bottles of water and pack those in the cooler around the perishable food; as they melt, we drink the water.

I cannot believe I did not consider this. I have been making separate blocks of ice for the cooler. Thanks for the great idea!

[thomm225]

The 2.5 gallon containers of water are available at most grocery stores for a couple bucks.

https://www.instacart.com/products/3...g-water-2-5-gl

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

We used to keep all our 2 litre orange juice and Coke bottles. Then stuff them into our 24 footer when going cruising. A bit longer to fill, but easy to store onboard.
Cheers

Yeah and that water is almost non-drinkable after a few days but good for showers etc.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by JoeRobertJr

I cannot believe I did not consider this. I have been making separate blocks of ice for the cooler. Thanks for the great idea!

My brilliant wife came up with this. She's not just another pretty face, competent sailor, dependable navigator & trip planner, cordon bleu chef on a single butane burner, silver-maned menopausal V-berth heater....

[SeaStory]

On our 18' boat in TX, we would also freeze 2-3 liter waterbags, like camel paks, but no name brand. Then we would hang that in the cockpit and sip the cool water all day long.

Of course, on this longer trip, they aren't going to have the option to freeze things in their own containers after the initial provisioning.

[lockie]

Collapsible containers like this work for me. They can fit at the bottom of lockers and elsewhere, and take up almost no room when empty and are cheap.

https://www.amazon.com.au/Fityle-Col...45357582&psc=1

[stormalong]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

We used to keep all our 2 litre orange juice and Coke bottles. Then stuff them into our 24 footer when going cruising. A bit longer to fill, but easy to store onboard.
Cheers

Originally Posted by thomm225

Yeah and that water is almost non-drinkable after a few days but good for showers etc.

I used this method for reserve water on extended ocean crossings. It works great. Don't know about orange juice residue but Coke bottles wash out easily and the water keeps just fine for months.

Why would the water be undrinkable after a few days???