The water problem
So our water maker finally broke down beyond repair. We made several mistakes in selecting and installing this particular watermaker. Having one of these units malfunction is not a nice experience. In fact it could be pretty serious depending on where you are. The reason is you need water is to drink. Having one of these units means you can spend pretty much an near unlimited amount of time out in remote areas.
Boats do need consumables of course, but with a good watermaker onboard, all you need is food, and fuel. So to setup for 2 months it can be pretty easy, 3 months possible, but you have to work harder and plan better.
Our fuel tanks hold 215 litres each, this lasts us around 1-2 months before they are below half. We could use less diesel, but we like hot showers. When it comes right down to it, we don't actually need the diesel to live, just live more comfortably. Coming through the Pacific we toped up 80 litres in Marquesas, our next top up was Fiji over 4 months later.
Our cooking gas is propane, and we have around 12kg in a mixture of canisters. Our main tank is 9kg and this lasts us between 2-3 months. We have two more another 3.5kg tanks, which are a backup if our 9kg tank runs out and we are no where near a gas swap or refill.
we don't really fish, the only time we accidentally caught one we threw it back!
Food can last a while. Especially if you know what to buy, how to store it, and what you can make with what you have. You can do a surprising amount with rice, beans, pasta, etc. There's also fish, but we don't really fish. In fact the only time we caught one (accidentally) we threw them back in!
Anyway, the watermaker really needs to be bullet proof, the last thing you want when you're out having a great time on your boat is to head back to a marina to fill up with water.
key to a happy wife, and a happy boat.
That's not to say cruising can't be done without a watermaker, but it is much harder. Fill up a 40 litre water tank, carry it to your car, take it to work and back. Doing that every day doesn't sound like a lot of fun. Plus you have to get very creative about where and how you can top up. So you also wind up using less water, and never going too far from a water source for too long. Drinking is not really the problem. Cooking, dishes, washing clothes, and showers are where the water goes. Again ask your family not to shower or do any laundry for a few days, and see how that goes down. It's not fun, and not comfortable. So this bit of kit is key to a happy wife, and a happy boat.
So what is the problem with ours? In short, the 'gimic' that saves power wore out, and there is no way to repair the key proprietary piece of engineering. Our lesson is: don't buy a watermaker with 'energy recovery' if you want a marinized solution. In this world you must choose between reliability, and efficiency.
Here's the kind of job we have to get into every now and then in order to live on the boat.
Ultimately we replaced our old Schenker Smart 30l for an Open Ocean 60litre plant we are very happy with the new 12v model.
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