The Pacific - is a watermaker just a nice to have?

[Petronella]

We're slowly preparing Mehalah for a circumnavigation. In the Med and the Caribbean we've never had a watermaker and managed fine with fairly large tanks and miserly water use. Many of our fellow sailors have watermakers and wouldn't be without them. But...they often seem to go wrong incurring high costs and long waiting times to get them fixed.

Are they REALLY needed in the Pacific as many people insist or could we manage without?

If we need one what would you choose? 12v (solar charged) or 220v (we do have a generator but are generally reluctant to use it)? Large output or smaller output?

Thanks
John

 

[capnsensible]

There will probably be as many opinions on here as there are ants! However, I crossed from Panama to Tahiti last year with pit stops in Galapagos and Nuku Hiva without a watermaker. It rained a lot. And then some more.

However, I reckon if you were to cruise the atolls a bit, it would be handy but not essential.

And it will probably break when you most need it.......

 

[dansaskip]

Like capnsensible I crossed Pacific from Panama to NZ via Galapagos, Marquesas & Tahiti last year. I did cruise the atolls some. Longest passage 34 days with light winds and my boat is only small. Never felt the need for a watermaker and know of others too without them. Just something else to go wrong. But doubtless you will get lots off opinions that they are essential. But then they also seem to clutter up their decks with a multitude of jerry cans as well.

 

[AndrewB]

Like Dansaskip we crossed without a watermaker. There was not as much rain as we expected, and by the time the two of us reached the Marquesas, out of 450 fresh-water litres capacity we had just 120 left in the tanks (plus an emergency reserve of 50 litres), having used an estimated 400 litres on a 40 day passage. The water available in some Pacific islands is limited and of suspect quality, and if you expect to use it I would recommend fitting a really good quality filter.

Personally though, on this experience and with this capacity, I would not bother with a watermaker if I did it again. However my game-plan does include collecting a fair amount of rain, which is usually not a problem - most often my tanks have been nearly full at the end of an ocean passage.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Water makers , bit like anchors , we never cross the Pacific so,can't comment as far as the Med goes there really no need for a water maker , over 28 years all over the Med we never had a problem finding a tap some where without having to go to a marina ,
That said two years ago we build our own water maker , you find a thread some where here , and I have to say we love it and can't see us being without one while we still full time liveaboard and cruisers , no more short showers , we can clear the deck with fresh water and we can do as much clothes washing as we like but the big plus , the days of carrying cans in the dinghy are over .

Off the self water makers are expensive and usually parts have to come from the manufacture but as you already have a Gen you can build one for a tenth of a price of a new one which will not only give you more water per hour but parts are easily found and a lot less to go wrong.

If Feel you can manage to do without one', then in my view its one thing less to worry about .

 

[alant]

We're slowly preparing Mehalah for a circumnavigation. In the Med and the Caribbean we've never had a watermaker and managed fine with fairly large tanks and miserly water use. Many of our fellow sailors have watermakers and wouldn't be without them. But...they often seem to go wrong incurring high costs and long waiting times to get them fixed.

Are they REALLY needed in the Pacific as many people insist or could we manage without?

If we need one what would you choose? 12v (solar charged) or 220v (we do have a generator but are generally reluctant to use it)? Large output or smaller output?

Thanks
John

Get one that filters out plastic.

 

[KellysEye]

We had a 240v industrial grade watermaker they last much longer, the fridge was the same.

 

[PhilipH]

We have a Spectra watermaker. It has been brilliant and like anything needs maintenance. The freedom from taps and what comes out of them (how do you know about potability, content etc) is very valuable to us - we know we are getting good clean water. Runs 12v and uses very little power, makes 25 litres an hour and we have wind and solar generators as well as towed generator for passages. Not worrying about showering, drinking, washing clothes etc is superb. Not having to cart water about in jerrycans is also superb. Been using this for 9 years including circumnavigation and lots of time in the Tuamotus. Would not be without it.

 

[Seven Spades]

Get a General Ecology water filter to go with it to improve the taste. Desalinated water sometimes tastes strange.

 

[elenya]

We have cruised for 25 years with no water maker. A reasonable tankage of 700lt gives us a couple of months water. We have a very effective rainwater collection system that allows us to top up tanks easily and quickly.

If I had small tanks I would look at expanding the tankage with fixed tankage or portable containers before a water maker would be considered.

As with any kit you need to be able to manage with equipment failure. So whatever you choose make sure you do a few sums to make sure you can get out of trouble if a tank(s) leak or equipment fails.

Both tankage and water makers work, just depends what your comfort zone is for equipment reliability.

 

[BobnLesley]

...not essential. And it will probably break when you most need it.......

We're in the Tuamotus right now without one and just a few days ago we provided 20 litres of potable water to a yacht whose watermaker had contaminated their tank with brackish water.

Here's been the first time in fifteen years of cruising that water seems to be a problem, but our take is that even if we have to walk into a grocery store next week and buy another 200 litres in 1.5 litre bottles to take us through to Tahiti, that'll probably still cost us less than most watermaker owners/users spend in a year just renewing the filters and maintaining/servicing one.
Remember KISS: If you don't fit it, it can't break; if it's already fitted and working, try not to use it as it'll break.

 

[PhilipH]

We're in the Tuamotus right now without one and just a few days ago we provided 20 litres of potable water to a yacht whose watermaker had contaminated their tank with brackish water.

Here's been the first time in fifteen years of cruising that water seems to be a problem, but our take is that even if we have to walk into a grocery store next week and buy another 200 litres in 1.5 litre bottles to take us through to Tahiti, that'll probably still cost us less than most watermaker owners/users spend in a year just renewing the filters and maintaining/servicing one.
Remember KISS: If you don't fit it, it can't break; if it's already fitted and working, try not to use it as it'll break.

So that would be 200 1.5l plastic containers to dispose of in an already over-polluted environment and in particular in the Pacific where recycling is impossible in many places.... The windward side of Pacific islands tell you enough ...

 

[RupertW]

So that would be 200 1.5l plastic containers to dispose of in an already over-polluted environment and in particular in the Pacific where recycling is impossible in many places.... The windward side of Pacific islands tell you enough ...

When I crossed the Atlantic having 80 x 2l water bottles was cheap and practical and almost instant solution to any tanks getting contaminated or leaking but you are right about the pollution it must cause. As we were going to the Caribbean which uses millions of plastic bottles for tourists every year I didn't think we were causing a big problem but I'd like to think of a better solution next time.

 

[sailaboutvic]

We're in the Tuamotus right now without one and just a few days ago we provided 20 litres of potable water to a yacht whose watermaker had contaminated their tank with brackish water.

Here's been the first time in fifteen years of cruising that water seems to be a problem, but our take is that even if we have to walk into a grocery store next week and buy another 200 litres in 1.5 litre bottles to take us through to Tahiti, that'll probably still cost us less than most watermaker owners/users spend in a year just renewing the filters and maintaining/servicing one.
Remember KISS: If you don't fit it, it can't break; if it's already fitted and working, try not to use it as it'll break.

I don't disagree with what anyone have said re not having one ,
But after 40 years of not having one and cruising for the last 28 years , having one the last two years have make a big difference to our lives .
We use to manage with 400 lts for three weeks but that meant using the shower very carefully i.e. Turn on , get wet, turn off , soap up , turn on and quick rinse . dishes done once a day , we brought bottle water to drink 24 bottles a week and because we didn't use marinas we carried all our water in cans , which then use to give me back pain for the next few days and once I was out for a week .
Now we safe about €10 a week not buying water in bottles , we shower for as long as we like and as many as we like , dishes are done after every meal, fresh water is used for cleaning the deck , and clothes are wash when every we feel like .
The cost of maintenance so far each year is a set of filters €15 .
No chance of contamination of drinking water as are drinking water goes into a 15lts bottle each time we make water .
This subject like many other come down to if you happen to owner a water maker or not , I have never met anyone who got one who said they wish they didn't , nor met anyone who wants to sell their unless they where buying a bigger one .
I have to hold my hands up and say , when I didn't have one , my comments was I wouldn't have one for reasons given here , but now I have one I wish I build one years ago , maybe I wouldn't suffer so much with my back now .

 

[Dave100456]

We have cruised for 25 years with no water maker. A reasonable tankage of 700lt gives us a couple of months water. We have a very effective rainwater collection system that allows us to top up tanks easily and quickly.

If I had small tanks I would look at expanding the tankage with fixed tankage or portable containers before a water maker would be considered.

As with any kit you need to be able to manage with equipment failure. So whatever you choose make sure you do a few sums to make sure you can get out of trouble if a tank(s) leak or equipment fails.

Both tankage and water makers work, just depends what your comfort zone is for equipment reliability.

“700 litres, Us, couple of months.” You Are to be commended on living on 5.8 litres/day for such extended periods.

 

[Kukri]

... our take is that even if we have to walk into a grocery store next week and buy another 200 litres in 1.5 litre bottles to take us through to Tahiti, that'll probably still cost us less than most watermaker owners/users spend in a year just renewing the filters and maintaining/servicing one.

Remember KISS: If you don't fit it, it can't break; if it's already fitted and working, try not to use it as it'll break.

That's a brilliant line, and new to me, certainly the second part, which is what I do, but hadn't realised that I was doing it...

 

[Sybarite]

I am not an ocean wanderer but if I were I think that the idea of the luxury of unlimited showers would tempt me.

 

[alexsailor]

I cruise Adriatic and Greece in the summer so sorry to post this in "Pacific thread" but I am also thinking to buy one. It is not cheap that is true but I do not want to calculate: one Schenker watermaker for 7k eur is equal to 7000 1,5 litre bottles that last for a lifetime...
I also hear that it breaks a lot, and how cheap or free (most places in Greece) drinking water is but to have an "unlimited" water onboard - that is an idea I fancy. Sometimes it feels good to clean the cockpit, wash clothes....

At the moment we have 500l water tanks and a 5micron filter (just for bigger particles) and we pour water into BRITA filter (carbon filter). We never had problems. drinking that water. Tanks and pipes are still original (sy is from 2002).
So we got rid of plastic bottles years ago. To be honest we just keep two "emergency" bottles on board... just in case we pure in some shitty water (only happened once in Corfu Mandraki).

Cheers!

 

[Kelpie]

When calculating the cost of water produced by a watermaker, are people generally powering these from solar or by generator? The latter surely being much more expensive.

 

[sailaboutvic]

When calculating the cost of water produced by a watermaker, are people generally powering these from solar or by generator? The latter surely being much more expensive.

We power ours from a Gen , we make 80/90lts an hour which cost us in fuel £1.40 we run it every two to three days when at the same time we using the Gen to charge the batteries and heat up the water, I consider that to be good valve for my £1.40