Fresh Water supplies

scruff

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I there,
Fairly new to this forum and am interested indoing a transat in 2010 - finance providing.

I have been looking / still am for the right boat for doing it in, currently swaying towards the Achilles 24 (provided I can find a tripple keel one!!)

One concern I have about the transat, amongst many others that I'm sure will be resolved before letting go of the mooring rope, is that how much fresh water would you ned for the crossing?

I'm off the thinking that would require a ration of around 5litres per person per day (planning single handed) so that makes 40days x 5 litres = 200 litres + backup. That seems to be an awfull lot of weight to add to a 24 foot boat before you start addingin all your food, exra equipment etc.

Are you thinking of using a water-maker on your crossings or what provisons have you made for this.

I would hate to be in the dryest crossing of the atlantic and to drink my last drop of water - could be mildly disheartening to say the least!!

anyway, great wee gem this forum, glad I found it!!

Regards,

Scruff
 

Gwylan

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Achilles would be a good choice! Lots for sale along the Bristol Channel Coast. in varying states of repair and maintenance. good luck
 

CPD

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5l per day seems a lot. Im working on 3 per day for the Azores challenge in May for drinking. Everything else uses salt water.
 

FAITIRA

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[ QUOTE ]
5l per day seems a lot. Im working on 3 per day for the Azores challenge in May for drinking. Everything else uses salt water.

[/ QUOTE ]
I agree 3l/day would be heaps, if it,s split up and from different sources probably better. I took bottled water for the backup supply. Probably used 50-60l on a 32day s/h passage. Mind I had a beer supply too!, Bill.
 

andlauer

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Bonjour
I confirm that 3l a day is a good value but I would take an extra 50% spear plus 20 litres as a rescue reserve.

As I don't have any water tanks, the water is in bottles.
Caution : for the return the 1 gallon US bottles are not waterproff so I transferred the US water into European empty bottles.

200 l, in weight, is less than two crew members and empty bottles provide extra flotability reserves! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Eric
 

Jake

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Hi Scruff

Welcome to the forum! I agree with Eric that the empty water bottles make good reserve buoyancy. In fact, I have designed my entire water stowage system around that principle, with each empty fitting back into a sealable locker. Bottles also mean you can move the full ones around to help with trim.

Other comments about using saltwater hold good - as you know many yachts have a saltwater pump in the galley. According to a well-known designer, when it comes to weight, the minimum you should allow for (water, food and other consumables) is around 10lbs ( 4.5kg) per person, per day. (This is why micro-yachts struggle with long range trips.)

The crew of Lively Lady (currently circumnavigating) have been using personalised bottles for their water, even though they have a tank, so they can keep a track of how much each person is actually drinking, especially in the hotter climes. (I think they have to get through at least 1 litre bottle each per day - in addition to tea, soup etc).

One boat I know of sailed from New Zealand to Alaska, non-stop, and kept the tanks topped off by catching rain! Personally, I'm going to go with the old addage of a gallon (4.45lt) per day, per crewman, which builds in Erics safety margin. Thankfully, after a slow start, the boat will get lighter by 11lbs every day!

Talking of weight, if the volume of water that would fill the average fridge freezer weighs about a ton, it makes sense to fill in as much of the cockpit as possible....
 

CPD

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............ and a thought I had just last night is to mark each bottle with consecutive dates so you know at a glance if you are ahead/behind on consumption. this does mean however you have to use the bottles in a certain order which makes moving them around for trim purposes a little troublesome. Well, you have to have something to do ................ /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

NickiCrutchfield

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Hi Scruff,
Excellent choice the Achilles 24. well I hope it is as I have just bought one from Pembroke. It would be great to have another Achilles in JC 2010. Proper racing. Good luck with the search. By the way, did I see you on the Achilles 24 Flicr site?
Cheers,
Nicki
 

nickrj

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5ltrs is way too high an estimate. I would actually go closer to 2ltrs per day. On my ten days from Lisbon, I actually used less, under or around 1ltr/day. For my Atlantic crossing, I intend on taking 130litres of drinking wanter in 1.5ltr bottles, spread around the boat, with 40ltrs of non-drinking water for washing up, and rinsing after salt showers lashed to the deck.

I truly believe I will end up on the other side with way too much water, but of course, emergencies have to be accounted for.
 

nickrj

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Well, I could, but the lashed tanks were going to be filled from tap water, and Canarian tap water is de-salinated, and while probably drinkable, isn't something you'd want to drink if you had the choice!
 

FAITIRA

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[ QUOTE ]
Well, I could, but the lashed tanks were going to be filled from tap water, and Canarian tap water is de-salinated, and while probably drinkable, isn't something you'd want to drink if you had the choice!

[/ QUOTE ]
We filled up in Gomera Nick, good water! On our then, 44ftr we carried a tonne of f.w., I estimated later, we had used about 30gallons on a 30 day passage, two people, and herself washing her hair at least once a week! we lugged a tonne of H2O all the way accross, nuts! Hope all is going Well. Bill.
 
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............ and a thought I had just last night is to mark each bottle with consecutive dates so you know at a glance if you are ahead/behind on consumption. this does mean however you have to use the bottles in a certain order which makes moving them around for trim purposes a little troublesome. Well, you have to have something to do ................ /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

That sounds a bit complex, especially as you're bound to get 'brain-dead tired' from time to time.

Suggest simply keeping a log of the total number of 'working' bottles used (keep the reserve separate), by simply taking each new bottle from the opposite side from the last, and entering such details religiously in the log to keep an overall track of useage.

An alternative method might be to keep a 'tally' system, with an inch or so of plastic tape (1 of 2 colours - port and s/board ?) secured to each bottle neck. Remove these on opening and stick 'em on a bulkhead or somewhere equally obvious to keep a running display.


If conditions allow over the next couple of months, it might be a useful exercise to simulate ashore a period of water restraint: logging each and every drink taken, and the amount used for cooking (obviously ignoring the amount whenever salt water could be used) ... And - when using a bottled water supply - there'll be no taps left running when cleaning your teeth ! Simulating a reduced schedule of personal hygiene might pose something of a challenge though - and get you some strange looks from neighbours or work-mates ....

Colin
 

scruff

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Thanks for all your input, one little niggle has been put to bed at least.

I have seen the Achilles’ for sale in the Bristol, well on the web at any rate but am based on the east coast Scotland so quite a trip to view some potentially neglected, un-economic boats! Even at that, the cost of bringing them back up north would be quite high, and I wouldn’t fancy putting to sea on a trip of that magnitude on a boat that has just been purchased - would like to know the characteristics of the boat first!!

I have signed up to the Achilles flicker sight, although I must confess to be a time to time lurker - its good and reassuring to know that there is an active pseudo owners "association" with the related mines of information.
 

Gwylan

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Re Choice of Achilles 24 - make sure you get the Mk2 - raised step from cockpit to companionway - keeps a lot of water out and makes the whole thing safer.
Also check the shroud plates thoroughly and expect to replace them and reinforce that area.
Can p.m. you an email address for a guy who did a transat with an Achilles [ nutter, but there you are]
 

Lee_Shaw

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Putting water in a spray bottle (like those ones for spraying plants) and using that to wash with makes quite a small amount go quite a long way. It's also quite pleasant to wash the face with.
 
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[ QUOTE ]
Putting water in a spray bottle (like those ones for spraying plants) and using that to wash with makes quite a small amount go quite a long way. It's also quite pleasant to wash the face with.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good idea - I've been a '2 flannel' man until now - one for the face, another for the groin and armpits. Think I'll give the spray a try. Colin
 

Noddy

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[ QUOTE ]
Good idea - I've been a '2 flannel' man until now - one for the face, another for the groin and armpits. Think I'll give the spray a try. Colin

[/ QUOTE ]

Thank you for that Colin.
 
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