Dilemma...more water or more power?

[JPA Cate]

Hi, guys,

Actually, if he uses the Spectra each day to keep both his existing tank and two five gallon hard jugs (which he said he had room for) full, then he should be okay, based on an average cruising speed of 8 -10 knots. I'm pretty sure his vessel is capable of more than that.

Once he leaves to go offshore, wouldn't he plan to use the Spectra daily when there's enough wind or sun to power it? If the tanks are mostly full, then even if the Spectra failed, he'd still have enough to make port on. Probably want to pickle it about 5 mi. out, for the cleanness of the sea water. Why would he not run it every day long enough to keep the filter clear? Agree that he needs to plan around the flushing schedule, and to plan water for that, but don't understand why he wouldn't use it often enough to not need to flush it. Can he not wait 6 days between flushing it? Most passages are less than two weeks, so maybe he'd only need to flush it one time? Because he can use what's in the tanks the last couple of days.

Of course, it all depends on his water use, but in my experience 1/2 gallon per person per day has been adequate, using salt water for everything that does not go down my throat, even in hot places, where perspiration is an issue. But I am aware that is low water consumption by today's standards. So at this point, I'd like to know what the OP's average water consumption is. And if he gets back to us after his 3 weeks away, perhaps he can let us know...hint, hint.

Ann

[Teknav]

If you are in the Sinai desert and the likes, you'll need 4-5 gallons of water per day. If you're cruising the seven seas, plan on having 1.5-2 gallons per day. If you're in Texas, where the temp is over 100 F during the summer months, you need to drink about a gallon a day. (If your urine's color anything but pale yellow, you need to drink more water; dark urine is due to dehydration.) That's all folks!

Mauritz
Going to behave now!

[nimblemotors]

I think it is easier to create electricity than water, so I'd store the 'premade' water.
But then somewhere such as the PNW, it can rain more than the sun shines,
so water is easy to get, and solar power isn't, in that case batteries.
I'd also suggest Lithium bats to save weight.

[Tellie]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Hi, guys,

Actually, if he uses the Spectra each day to keep both his existing tank and two five gallon hard jugs (which he said he had room for) full, then he should be okay, based on an average cruising speed of 8 -10 knots. I'm pretty sure his vessel is capable of more than that.

Once he leaves to go offshore, wouldn't he plan to use the Spectra daily when there's enough wind or sun to power it? If the tanks are mostly full, then even if the Spectra failed, he'd still have enough to make port on. Probably want to pickle it about 5 mi. out, for the cleanness of the sea water. Why would he not run it every day long enough to keep the filter clear? Agree that he needs to plan around the flushing schedule, and to plan water for that, but don't understand why he wouldn't use it often enough to not need to flush it. Can he not wait 6 days between flushing it? Most passages are less than two weeks, so maybe he'd only need to flush it one time? Because he can use what's in the tanks the last couple of days.

Of course, it all depends on his water use, but in my experience 1/2 gallon per person per day has been adequate, using salt water for everything that does not go down my throat, even in hot places, where perspiration is an issue. But I am aware that is low water consumption by today's standards. So at this point, I'd like to know what the OP's average water consumption is. And if he gets back to us after his 3 weeks away, perhaps he can let us know...hint, hint.

Ann

He shouldn't run it every day unless he was using a lot of water a day, which is possible but not smart on his limited capacity. His unit needs to be run for at least two hours to maintain a healthy membrane. In the interest of unit longevity, short run times are killers on membranes especially on smaller units like his. But I was going on your twenty day example. But if he runs it every six days then it would be just as easy to run it every three days and keep to the schedule I referred to. A 1/2 gal. a day is pretty minimalistic by today's standards. Certainly doable, but with a 6gal.an hour watermaker it doesn't make sense to suffer with so little unless you're trying to prove to yourself how minimalistic you can be, not necessarily need to be. Crossings don't have to be about giving up some luxuries. There's nothing better than after a hot days sailing drenching a few gallons of fresh cool water over your body, dry off, and a little baby powder.....uh,.. so I've heard.
But I'm with you, I'd like to hear what his water consumption is after he has made a few trips and revisit this discussion. Guaranteed his requirements will be different than the next guys. Don't make it right or wrong, just different strokes.

[noelex 77]

There should be no reason to rough it. You have enough resources not to have to bother with saltwater washes.
Power generation is an issue but you have plenty of room for lots of solar, which I hope you have taken advantage of, and its cheap these days.

Even if you fit an autopilot and assume the worst case with no wind for the wind generator you should only be consuming something like 60AHrs when sailing before the output of the solar panels exceeds your consumption. (Chartplotter, led nav lights, VHF, and autopilot for say 14hours when the solar panels will not be contributing much)

[Pipeline]

Good ideas from all posters. I consume about 3 gals a day total, and that's prolly a bit high. Two gals a day in warmer climates. Thanks for the input. I'm going to save this thread. Aloha...