Water Maker

[CORPSVET]

We are THINKING about adding a 1-2 gal/hr 12volt water maker to our C-28 Cutwater. Has anyone done this? Any recommendations as to installers, where to purchase (local NW Washington area), costs, etc. would be nice. Have asked if "FACTORY" could do it, but just thought I would see what others have done.

Thanks
Dave

 

[sdubnoff]

I have a larger boat with a high capacity AC watermaker and I am getting a Cutwater as well. It never occurred to me to put a watermaker on the Cutwater (and I love gadgets). Unless you are planning on spending lots of time north of Desolation Sound, your watermaker will be not very useful, since you can get good water most everywhere. If you are planning to run it off of DC, you will probably want to power it while the engine is running so as not to run down the batteries and to mask the noise. Plus, DC watermakers are slow, so you won't make much water in the brief time you are running. If you really want a watermaker, I would get one that will make lots of water while you are running the boat, and for that, on a boat without a generator, I would use one with an engine-driven high pressure pump.

All in all, they are complicated, expensive, require maintenance and not all that necessary for NW coastal cruising.

Steve

I

 

[Levitation]

Take the money it will cost and buy lottery tickets. The odds are better :mrgreen:

 

[Irish Mist]

There is one in the "for sale " section

 

[knotflying]

I have been told that unless you are traveling someplace that has limited and questionable water supply getting a water maker is an expense space hog with high maintenance. We have enough systems on our boats to keep us busy, do you want another one?

 

[CaptMac]

I'd echo Steve's comments - we don't use our watermaker except when traveling north of Desolation Sound - or down in Mexico. Once you get to Alaska, water is plentiful again.

We have a Katadyne Powersurvivor 40E - it is rated at 1.5 gal/hr - in our cold water up here it actually makes just over 1 gal/hr using about 4 amps DC. Same as we had on Island Ranger. It's a manual system - nothing fancy and takes up very little room. You do have to pickle it when not in use - but it is very easy to do, and "stores" the membrane for up to a year.

Mac

 

[kevinflanagan]

More good information. Like the sound of the manual, easy maintenance water maker. Someday want to make a trip to Bahamas and we want to consider a water maker for that trip. I've heard water is expensive there, don't know from personal experience though.