Water Use at Slip

[Shrew]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

So the question - do you other cruisers who are used to being water conscious find that you still limit you water usage while in a slip with "free" water?

I'm not sure that we qualify as 'cruisers'. We only live on the boat for 6 months a year (Late April to Early October), and we have a seasonal slip for that time period. However, we do go out for several weeks at a time, and at least 3 days a week when we're in our home port. However, I will answer anyway....

Yes, we wash all the dishes with the faucet off first, then we rinse them all together. We take 'military' showers. We are still strict on the overuse of lights, even though they're all LED. About the only thing we do differently in the marina is run the AC with unashamed abandon.

[sailorboy1]

who would have thought such a simple question/topic would get some wound up

[barnakiel]

We still use fresh water very consciously while at the dock. The reason here (Canary Islands) is very simple - all water comes from a dessalination plant (a huge watermaker) and local energy is derived 90% from burning fossil fuels.


However, our attitude is rare, if not unique. You will see most any local and visiting boat owner use this water as if it were salt water drawn with a bucket.


Our offshore water use is less than 1 gallon per day (crew of 2.
Our dock water use is about 2 gallons per day (per 2 crew, but showers and toilets not measured),

Spain average water daily use is 70 gallons (per 2 people),
US daily average water use is 200 gallons (per 2 people).


Greta Thunberg person of a year? C'mon.


barnakiel

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I have a flow meter so know how much I use very accurately. We tend to almost double our water usage while tied to a dock. It goes from 2 gallons/day to nearly four. The main reason four our added usage is because we don't use raw water for initial dish washing.

Whether at anchor or at dock we tend to use water consciously. It's habit I suppose.

I guess I should add, while at the dock we use shore showers. But this doesn't really alter our normal usage because we mostly use rain water for showering on board.

Being water conscious is baked into our (my spouse and I) genes. First as wilderness canoe/kayakers, where every drop is hand-pumped. Then on land owning a house with limited black&grey water capacity. And now on the boat with no watermaker; all of this encourages wise water usage.

It makes no sense to me to be extravagant just because I can... Although, I do have to admit that when I'm in a motel I sometimes let the water run continuously on my shower .

[MV Wanderlust]

We are in a slip and fill our tanks from marina water. We shower aboard, do laundry aboard, and have freshwater toilets. We do have shower shut off valves for Navy showers, which I use but Mrs prefers not. If we don't do laundry, we can easily go a week on a tank. Laundry sucks it down pretty fast.

When we're not aboard, I find myself shutting off water at sinks or faucets when not in use and feel guilty if showering at someone else's house and not having the ability to turn off the flow. So, yes, it has had an effect on how I approach water usage.

[David B]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I am in a slip and have been for 2 months now. Have all the water I want "free", as in not metered. Yet I still run the facet slow, turn it off and on instead of leaving running, take short showers and even turn the water off and on for that (and we have lots of hot water as electric is $20/mo for as much as we want). I think it is so much a habit that it is in my muscle memory.

As info in knowing how big a water maker would be "useful" for us I tracked this wasteful water usage rate for over a month figuring that if we had the same amount of water while anchored as we use in a slip water life would be good. For the 2 of us the water usage was still only 10.5 gal/day.

So the question - do you other cruisers who are used to being water conscious find that you still limit you water usage while in a slip with "free" water?

The two of us use around 400-500 litres per week wherever we are - that includes the washing machine and of course dish washing 3 or more times per day, plus 2-3 showers per day total. We don't have F/W flush on the two electric heads, but its a consideration for the future.