waterlog towed watermaker - what's the story?

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waterlog towed watermaker - what\'s the story?

in our latest copy of YM there is an article about the ARC (lets face it, when isn't there one about a rally or 3!). anyway, the article was about how entrants were going to generate power. one of the skippers was shown proudly holding a Waterlog towed water maker.

Does anyone have any experience of using this piece of equipment? in theory, its a cruisers dream .. to be able to make fresh water just by sailing along...

we looked into these about 4 years ago when they were being 'pushed', but no-one could provide any information about having actually used one. demonstrator models had been promised but never showed up; a yachting journalist actually contacted me privately to say that the company had threatened them if they tried to print anything negative and so the magazine felt unable to publish anything about the equipment.

So, have things changed in the intervening years?
 
Re: waterlog towed watermaker - what\'s the story?

ahem, its a touchy point on YBW forums.. do a search...
The skipper of the yacht you mention (Little Blue) was morred next to us prior to the arc... he had issues with it then...
barge pole etc... seems a good analogy.. as said, do a search...
then buy a Shenker or Spectra...
 
Re: waterlog towed watermaker - what\'s the story?

Definition:

Nautical: Heavy and sluggish in the water because of flooding, as in the hold: <span style="color:blue"> a waterlogged ship </span>
 
Re: waterlog towed watermaker - what\'s the story?

I've actually seen and touched one! But I haven't seen it deployed. The prop looks very small and intuitively you are not going to extract much power by towing that behind a yacht.
 
Re: waterlog towed watermaker - what\'s the story?

Developed in Canada I believe?, little prop pumps water up the tube as much fresh water as you want






tested thoroughly in superior, michigan, huron, ontario and it even worked in Erie
 
Re: waterlog towed watermaker - what\'s the story?

[ QUOTE ]
tested thoroughly in superior, michigan, huron, ontario and it even worked in Erie

[/ QUOTE ]
... which would make it ideal for Leman, Garda, Maggiore, Windermere, Balaton etc?... Quite a market!
 
Re: waterlog towed watermaker - what\'s the story?

I've seen one and it did actually work and was used by some friends of mine. But.....
Probably best PM me for the rest of the sorry tale.
 
Re: waterlog towed watermaker - what\'s the story?

Yes, please, I'd be interested as I've been following the saga for years. AFAIK it's OK to publish the truth however embarrassing it might be for someone. Anyway, they'd go for IPC, not you /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Re: waterlog towed watermaker - what\'s the story?

Ok. I'll put it up for all to see. Its not that dramatic really, but given the past posts I was perhaps being overcautious.

The towed watermaker was used by some friends of ours circumnavigating on a Leisure 21 of all things! The boats name is Valkyrien by the way - there may be some info about it on their webpage which a search should pop up. They had been using it coming down through the med and it was working well. The problem came when they hadn't used it for about a month and tried it again. Needless to say it didnt work despite following all instructions etc. Having had no joy from the seller, they took it apart themselves only to find a big mash of rusty bits inside. Looks like the components werent suited etc etc..... Anyway, sadly they lost their money and had to resort to containers instead. Having said that, they had some luck further on in their cruise which made up for it - but thats another story! They are in NZ now by the way!
Cheers

Patrick
 
Re: waterlog towed watermaker - what\'s the story?

Hmm, seems to follow the trend of stuff re this white elephant of a thing, thanks for the post !.
I still think the best value are Schenker and Spectra.
The only beef I have with Spectra is the fact that it is non user fit.. ie, it must be fitted by them or their agents. Which, of course, adds to the cost.
We have the 60lph Schenker unit but must admit have not used it in anger yet. All I can say is the build quality, support and ease of fitting is excellent. Since Mactra uk obtained a dealership it is a well respected and robust unit, with forst class support.
Lemain (David) has the Spectra, and has had apparantly great service from it.

The load on the Schenker at 60lph is 20A at 12v.. nothing really in the great scheme of things.
 
Re: waterlog towed watermaker - what\'s the story?

That's the first time I've actually heard of anyone who knows anyone who has seen a single drop of fresh water coming out! That's a big step forward.
 
Re: waterlog towed watermaker - what\'s the story?

Build your own. Full instructions HERE (right click on the link and then click on Save Target As - 2.3Mb Word Document)
 
Re: waterlog towed watermaker - what\'s the story?

Hi Stingo
I looked at that design, or one very similar, a few years back. Thanks for posting it, its a great design.

In the end though, I decided on a 12 v system for our needs, at 20 amps for 60 ltrs it is good value. for 3.5K, with everything inc full spares kit, and I mean comprehensice, ALL gaskets, seals, a full rebuild kit, manual (service) everything.

The price of a similar system to as you quote, in the UK, was nearly 3000. I cannot use the main engine to drive it as the load on the front pulley ould exceed Marcedes recomendations. At the moment, I dont have a genset either. But, we are looking at a Paguro 4000 unit.. linked to the battery charger (50A) the requirements of the desal unit is minimal, and still allows the use of other 240v powered kit. The Schenker unit has dual 12v motors and need only 8 bar to work. It also has the industry standard SW 25 - 40 membraine.

So, for me, (and I DO like constructing ! ), I decided to go for the commercial unit operating at a lower 1st stage pressure. But, for some this may well be a good design.

Joe
 
Re: waterlog towed watermaker - what\'s the story?

Captain Slarty,
Where did you get your Schenker from? I've just been quoted £4429 + Vat for the 12v 60l modular plus another £666 (an unpleasant number if ever there was one!) for the analogue controller, a great deal more than the £3500 you paid......That's from Mactra.
Have they gone up?
Cheers,

Crispin.
 
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