How Much Water Tankage Would You Like ?

[Sailabel]

We wanted enough tankage to last at least a weekor our 'normal' water usage in an anchorage where we cannot (will not) run our watermaker; plus enough water to last our longest passage (20+ days) with restricted water usage should the watermaker break down.

Our boat carries 125 gallons of usable water in 4 tanks. In the 'normal' cruising mode, the two of us use about 10 gallons a day... yep, we're water hogs. But that includes daily showers aboard, cooking, washing dishes, and lots of drinking water.

If we end up in a marina (Mexico) we transfer 10 gallons of 'good' water to jugs, isolate our bow tanks and use dock water for showers and dishes... and drinking the waters aved in the jugs. Only watermaker or rain water goes into the main water tanks.

We have been able to catch rain water off our bimini top.... but it goes into jugs first... then into the tanks. We have yet to leave our deck fills open.

Steve

[zeehag]

my formosa carries 160 gal in 2 tanks, port and stbd. is plenty of water for use by crew of 2 for over a month if one conserves well. i use my shower and hair wash water(total of 2 gallons, if i wash in salt first then rinse--takes 2 qts) for clothes wash and scrubbing messes on boat.(spills, cat furballs, stuff)
the opb i sailed on for a near year was a performance cruiser with 50 gal water capacity.. we stayed out long times-- didnt have a problem with outlasting the tankage. we filled about once per month. we carried extra water as drinking water as well. i washed hair in salt then rinsed in fresh..same with clothing and bodies...worked great.

[capt_douglas]

I always seemed to run out of water before I ran out of diesel. I soloed and had a 100gal/400L tank. A 6-gallon/24L Sunshower rinse lasted me 3 days (wash in salt, rinse in fresh). I allocated about 1gpd/4Lpd for personal use, dishes (again, wash in salt, rinse in fresh), and drinking. I got about a month out of the tank most times.

I got pretty inventive about collecting water but if it doesn't rain, all the tricks won't do much for you. I've been to islands where the water was either not available or too expensive for my cruising budget.

Watermakers are expensive to buy, install, maintain, and use. However, it seems to me that a small unit in the 40-80gpd/160-320Lpd range is a viable 12/24VDC option. The biggest problem is the cost - it can easily reach USD4000 and may take a long time to recover the expense.

If I were to cruise the more settled areas, then the watermaker might not be needed, but for long ocean crossings or locations were civilization is a thousand miles away, you don't have much choice. And as others have offered, water rationing is no way to see the world.

[chuckr]

while everyone is talking about water usage i would suggest you go to a great and i mean great boat yard and see what they can do about designing a secondary fuel tank for you and not drop the water --
deltaville boat yard did a great job on designing and putting a 50 gal fuel tank on board - we had 36 gal now have 50 -- see our posting with pictures - the tank looked like a piece of art with all the angles on it

we have 100gal of water and did well but headed to mexico this year will get a water maker

chuck patty and svsoulmates
on the hook solomons md

[zeehag]

as for fuel, formosas carry lotsadiesel in the bottom of the hold in about 120 gallon capacity. i am gooood. boat was MADE for this.. and is comfy ....these just all need work. that is not a bad thing--lol keeps ye busy on a passage or in anchorage.

[nautical62]

For island cruising, I get by with 3 gallons/person/day. That includes daily drinking water, dishes water, a couple rinses after swimming and a quick shower in the evening. More would of course be preferred.

[capt_douglas]

I've given lots of thought to swapping tanks - converting the 100G water to fuel and the 55G to water. Getting the water tank converted is far easier and cheaper than restoring a 30 year old diesel tank and that probably means replacing it - not an easy or cheap alternative. The only problem with doing that, aside from the expense, is that now I'm committed to a watermaker. Decisions, decisions,...

[Sailabel]

Capt. Douglas... re: swapping the tanks- keep in mind that in many anchorages you'll not want to run a watermaker due to potential contaminates (oil residue) in the water. Having the 100 gallons may make life easier. A lot of boats cruise with 50 gallon fuel tanks. With a fuel consumption of around .75 gph, you have almost 3-days of constant motoring capability. Plus you'll probably want a couple of fuel cans aboard, if anything just to shuttle fuel to the boat. For me, I'd sure consider keeping the larger water tank.

[Jentine]

Originally Posted by Eleebana

.................................................. ...... Should I have gone the watermaker route instead?.......................................... ...............
Greg

YES!

There is no substitute for having an endless supply of clean fresh water aboard.