Here is an e-mail I received from a reader, along with my answer. Maybe it will help someone else who is trying to make some decisions, also –Jim
We are getting our (J SO 45.2) ready for about 10 month trip from NW to NE of US. We are stalling on the cost of water maker and can’t decide if it makes sense. I know that hauling water in jugs is a hassle and that water quality in Central America/ Mexico is an issue.
Is your water maker working? Was Daniel Bay too polluted to use it?
Good to hear your plans are coming along. Our water maker is working great. The water at Daniel’s Bay is fine; I had to pack it about fifty yards to the dinghy, so that slowed the process a bit. We treat all water from questionable sources with Clorox just to be on the safe side. A test kit would be a good thing to have onboard. We were able to make all our water, till we slowed down and started spending extended time in ports and anchorages. The filters tend to plug up in port and the unknown pollution is a concern. So, as a backup to a water maker, it is still necessary to have a plan to carry water. After packing 300 gallons of water the last month I recommend some sort of collapsible container and a long hose. And while you are at it, you might as well have one for fuel. (Except for the Baja race, we motored about 80% of the way to the Galapagos.) I would love to have a couple of bladder tanks and a cargo net to lift them on board. (I hate having jerry cans on deck.) Fuel and water would be much easier to move, and in larger quantities. The only problem we had with the water maker was my installation. We were not able to make water over about 7 knots. After jury rigging a scoop on the thru hull, and venting the sea strainer, the only problem is plugged filters in the harbors. I think I will add two more pre-filters ahead of the water maker so we can make water in the non-polluted bays. I have one 5 micron filter now, and I am thinking a 30, 20, and a 5 would save on filters. The 30 micron would catch most of the problem. Most anchorages we have been have too much silt or sea life, and the 5 micron filter gets clogged up.
As far as helping you make the decision on water maker or not. It is nice to know if we have a tank or plumbing problem and lose our water, we can make more. On a coastal trip that is not as important as a long offshore passage. We are using about 20 gallons of water per day with showers. That’s four jerry cans per day! Yikes! I love our watermaker.
We are using the Schenker modular 60. I chose this unit because of its simplicity and cost. I didn’t feel I needed a lot of electronic auto testing and switching devices to cause problems. This unit has two pumps you can use one or both. It uses 20 amps at 12 volts DC, and in the warm water is producing 70 liters per hour. We plumbed the product water to the galley sink so we could see it, smell it, taste it, test it, before it goes into the tank.
I hope this helps. I will post this on the website with pictures of the installation. Look under “For Sailors Only”. I think the water maker might fit in the same location on the 45.2.
Jim