How little water do you use?

That's right! How little? It's a central theme around the docks with a number of boaters boasting about how little water they use. One elderly woman boasted they only use 2 gallons per day. I said, well, we have freshwater heads. So do they, she said. She said she doesn't like the moisture in the boat so they don't shower. Baby wipes! she boasts! As we turn to get our water, "Remember: get some Baby Wipes" she advises. It'll be a Frosty Friday before I resort to that. WTF! Does she use baby wipes to wash the dishes too?

There's a water shortage right now in BC and docks are refusing boaters who want water. There is no water available in Klemtu and Bella Bella and they make it difficult for you to get water in Shearwater, (I'll take that discussion offline for those who want to know). So if, like us, you want to fill your 350 gallon tank, better plan ahead. I believe Ocean Falls has lots of water. BTW, I figure I can get about 18 days on our 350 gallons. More if we use Baby wipes.




Jim
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We use 4.5 gpd while in the Bahamas.

Use what you want...just don't waste it.


If you want to be in a survival course, well I can recommend a few.


Not to say there aren't methods of decent hygiene and relatively little water usage...it depends on your boat and your give a darn quotient.

We use a lot of water, end up pulling into the fuel dock for 50.00 worth of diesel and topping up my 125gallon water tank every few days.

while at the dock we use a lot when cruising very little

fresh water heads so when cruising if it is yellow let it mellow

if it is brown flush it down

wipe dishes and if only a day out of maria while cruising the dishes go in the sink under board

With just my wife and I on board we can go an easy two weeks if not three with our 170 gallons of fresh water. We have a Navy-style push-button shower head and salt water toilets which I'm sure make a big difference in fresh water usage.

I envy those of you with large capacity water storage, I use my onboard water supply exclusively. After replacing my 80 gallon tank last winter with 2 poly tanks I now have 76 gallons. One of the nice things about the upper Mis is the number of marinas, I doubt I'am ever over 20 to 30 miles from water, not all have fuel, pump out or mechanic services but I haven't found any that didn't have water. Raw water flush heads I'am sure save me a lot of water and I don't see ever changing that system for a freshwater flush. The envy is with a larger capacity I could stay out of marinas longer.


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Dang, y'all are stingy (and parched). When we are in the Bahamas on the hook my family of four (two teenaged sons) and our giant, thirsty dog use about 20 gallons a day. Fresh water heads. We shower every night.

I like my wife a lot at all times. I like her even more when she is clean, happy and eating off a plate that was washed with water.

A 12v water maker turns this discussion on its head. We don't waste water but use quite a bit, including for our washing machine which takes 11 gallons per load. Total usage for two people averages 35 gallons a day.

We use about 50 galllons a day if we don''t do laundry or wash the salt off the windows.

Can't wait for the new watermaker, 40 Gallons per hour. Yippee!!!

JDCAVE said:

That's right! How little? It's a central theme around the docks with a number of boaters boasting about how little water they use. One elderly woman boasted they only use 2 gallons per day. I said, well, we have freshwater heads. So do they, she said. She said she doesn't like the moisture in the boat so they don't shower. Baby wipes! she boasts! As we turn to get our water, "Remember: get some Baby Wipes" she advises. It'll be a Frosty Friday before I resort to that. WTF! Does she use baby wipes to wash the dishes too?

There's a water shortage right now in BC and docks are refusing boaters who want water. There is no water available in Klemtu and Bella Bella and they make it difficult for you to get water in Shearwater, (I'll take that discussion offline for those who want to know). So if, like us, you want to fill your 350 gallon tank, better plan ahead. I believe Ocean Falls has lots of water. BTW, I figure I can get about 18 days on our 350 gallons. More if we use Baby wipes.

Jim
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Click to expand...

For those heading to Desolation this summer, Powell River still allows water fills. It's excellent water, too.

Vancouver Island has a class 4 drought right now, so water usage is being limited.

Dougcole said:

...I like my wife a lot at all times. I like her even more when she is clean, happy and eating off a plate that was washed with water.

Click to expand...

Now that there is funny. And my wife likes me a lot more too when I don't stink.

It's our home- we don't skimp.

No idea right now. I'm not wasteful - but I have 600 gal in water tanks and it's just me on board. I top them off from time to time. Fresh water heads but they are vacuflush and pretty water efficient I think.

I have a 600 GPD (25/hr) water maker that needs a new salt water pump and membrane. I'm in no real hurry to fix it until I start spend more time going up and down the coast.

Richard

JDCAVE said:

... There is no water available in Klemtu ...

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No water in Klemtu? It was raining hard the whole time I was there in early April on the way down from Ketchikan. It didn't let up for the 14 hours we were docked. I have a hard time imagining it without water!

Richard

Britannia said:

No water in Klemtu? It was raining hard the whole time I was there in early April on the way down from Ketchikan. It didn't let up for the 14 hours we were docked. I have a hard time imagining it without water!

Richard

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It can rain on the coast, but how to to capture and store the water? If it just runs off, it won`t help the water supply.
There are predictions of a Pacific El Nino, but no sign of it here on the east( got it right this time Eric) of the Pacific, more the opposite. Maybe it is heading this way.
Try to stay clean . Don`t flush the baby wipes .

BruceK said:

It can rain on the coast, but how to to capture and store the water? If it just runs off, it won`t help the water supply.
There are predictions of a Pacific El Nino, but no sign of it here on the east( got it right this time Eric) of the Pacific, more the opposite. Maybe it is heading this way.
Try to stay clean . Don`t flush the baby wipes .

Click to expand...

Ah - got it. Well I've heard the El Nino stories too. We've had more overcast here in CA than usual for this time of year. I hope the predictions are correct and we get a wet winter. Though of course that will bring floods and landslides. Can't win here...

Richard

Britannia said:

No water in Klemtu? It was raining hard the whole time I was there in early April on the way down from Ketchikan. It didn't let up for the 14 hours we were docked. I have a hard time imagining it without water!



Richard

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And it's raining hard here tonight too in Klemtu! Isn't 3G wonderful! A friend just left here this afternoon. His water maker on his KK48 packed it in. He was hoping to get water here, but now has to run to Rupert to wait for parts.


Jim
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We can get down to 12 gallons a day, but in the beginning of the trip the usage is a bit higher until we get into full conservation mode, we still take short showers and wash dishes daily.

If I was in one of those drought areas I would be looking pretty hard at a water maker.

JDCAVE said:

There's a water shortage right now in BC and docks are refusing boaters who want water. There is no water available in Klemtu and Bella Bella and they make it difficult for you to get water in Shearwater, (I'll take that discussion offline for those who want to know). So if, like us, you want to fill your 350 gallon tank, better plan ahead. I believe Ocean Falls has lots of water. BTW, I figure I can get about 18 days on our 350 gallons. More if we use Baby wipes. Jim
Sent from my iPad using Trawler Forum

Click to expand...

With 400 gallons of water capacity, we are good for over two weeks with heavy use on anchor washing and clothes. No RO unit as not needed and they are more trouble than worth unless offshore IMHO. If we know we'll be out of water re- fill range it becomes every other day showers and minimal clothes washing. When lots of guests on board we plan on being near a refill location at least weekly.

For many years Bella Bella and Klemtu have been non water givers unless you buy fuel from them. Between Port Hardy and Prince Rupert there is no good water stop unless one goes out of way to Ocean Falls or Kitimat, both of which are nice stops in any event.

I don't trust Shearwater's water, it is now clear but smells funny, not nearly as good as Klemtu's. Currently there are no water restrictions in Sidney BC or Campbell River. Word is that Comox is short and not allowing boat washing.

Raining in Juneau and Sitka, but it was a light SE Alaska snowpack so spawning salmon are finding dry ground - not good.

I just add a few drops of water to a good Scotch

I only have a 40 gallon water tank... lolz. I'm not even using it at present. I need to replace the lines from the tank to the faucets, as I'm convinced they're all foul. Just haven't gotten to it yet. I use marina facilities to shower, and hook up the city water input when I can.

In the early 1990's we arrived in the Bahamas with a brand new 120' tri-deck, and some lady asked/made the comment on water usage, similar to the "we use 2 gal/day" post, and my boss, the owner of the vessel, in his usual dry wit replied "Why would I want to" (live on 2/gay/day)

Later that evening when he relayed the story to me, with a boatload of guests present, he asked, not a concern, just for his own curiosity,"Bill, how much water DO we use?" My reply "Mr. D... on the long term average I plan for a minimum of 100/gal/person/day" So avg about 1500/day.

One of the guests, also a well to do business man, said "thats ridiculous, I take short showers, and am very conservative with my water use, I can't be using more than 20 gal/day"
And I had to reply, "Yes, and the boat was washed spotless when you arrived, it's rinsed every day your here, your towels are washed every day, and your sheets are changed and washed every other day, and the chef is making 3 meals/day for 15 people (45 meals/day) plus hors deuvres and drinks for 8 guests, (crew doesn't get apps).
"Oh, I didn't think of that"

And my boss had his second chuckle of the day, lol.

With 300 gallons onboard, we need fuel before water when cruising. So, topping up water is never a problem. If we really needed to conserve we would use paper plates and cups. Run the galley sink tap so that the water flow is no thicker than a pencil lead and you'll save a ton of water. Leaving yellow in the head ain't my thing, and my wife would throw me overboard if I did.

Living aboard with clothes washer, no special conservation measures, I top
the water tank at about 4 weeks. Don't wait to run out.
I was told the tank is 1000 gallons, it's under the fo'c'sle sole.
When it's low the bow up-trim is noticeable.

Ted

One of the very best upgrades we made to our boat was a Watercounter. Since we prefer to live on a mooring (which we did full time for 2-3 month stretches) or at anchor, water usage is important. Also, the boat came equipped with a dishwasher and stacked laundry set up, both of which we liked to use. 350 gallon tank. With the Watercounter, we could understand very precisely what different uses consumed.. length of shower, or various cycles of the appliances, and so on. Turned out we could go for a month pretty comfortably but paying close attention, or 3 weeks pretty sinfully, 2 weeks acting like we had unlimited supply. Given that, I could never make the watermaker pencil out, even with shoreside water at 50 cents a gallon. Bought a lot of diesel fuel with the money saved.

Have 350 gallons which seems to last longer than the groceries. Envision stopping every one to to weeks for an overnight in a marina. Wash the boat, pump the holding tank, fill the water tanks, restock the galley, and cook's night out.

Ted

Full time cruising, two of us, we used about 10gal/day.

Wifey B: Not playing this game as I'd never win. If we get ready for who uses the most, let me know....