Water Maker Options

Hi, I have about 600g of water which will be fine for most trips, etc but am doing Alaska this summer and don’t want the hassle of going in for (likely questionable quality) water.
I had the throughholes installed for a water maker last summer but the more I think about it I just don’t know how often I’d use it.
A friend told me about RainMan water makers which are about 6K and portable but I could likely plumb it in as well, this seems interesting as I could pull it off the boat and store it, or let my parents use it (they have a 35 ft sailboat).
The other lower priced option is these which I heard folks on the forum say good things about.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F173106046078

Lastly I could bite the bullet and go for a Spectra but it sounds like that could be 15-20k and I’d much rather put that to other uses.

Thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated.

This is the company that has been highly recommended to me:

https://www.bluewaterdesalination.com/

They have a range and certainly some less than 15k. Watermakers can be troublesome. Doesn't seem like the place to try to go cheap.

Thanks, totally agree they can be a pain, but the biggest piece of advice I’ve been given is you need to use them to keep them working, that’s why I like the portable option or even the eBay option which while lacking all the automated controls, n2k integration, etc should be much easier to decommission until the next long adventure which could be Years from now.

AC, Are you going to the boat show? Both Crusty Chief and I installed RO Water makers. We have the 40gph units and are really happy with them. They worked well for us in Alaska last summer with no issues. I installed mine and Crusty hired his out. Check them out at the boat show.


Cruise RO Water & Power: Watermakers for Boats & Yachts

Cruise RO looks very interesting.

Yes I’ll be there on Saturday, what day/s will you be around? Would love to connect and here your install experience.

Will check them out for sure.

We will be there Friday through Sunday. Friday is seminar day and Saturday A/P day. Install is straight forward and he has UTube videos. Go to his website.


Hope to see you too!

Spectra Watermakers

We have used a Spectra watermaker without trouble for several years. The maintenance has been no problem. One thing we liked was that every 5 days it takes 3 gallons of fresh water and flushes the system, keeping the internal filters fresh and ready to use.

Once you have a watermaker on board, you won't know how you cruised without one. We hold 1,200 gallons of fresh water and still run the watermaker all the time. Nothing beats getting into an anchorage after a cruise into the weather, relaxing for a bit, then washing the boat clean of all the salt.

Good luck on finding just the right fit.

Jim
M/V Sea Venture
YouTube/CruisingSeaVenture

Industry insider notes: Spectra is going through some corporate-level "changes", and their customer service is being affected. All indications are the units are still the same, however.

Rich Borens at Cruise RO is well regarded in the industry, primarily for his no-nonsense watermaker build/quality, but also for outstanding customer service.

However, as a consumer, we are most likely going to opt for the Rainman in a portable AC unit (as we already have two generators aboard).

We have a Village Marine unit that produces 26gph although the genset has to be running, or we have to be on shore power. You may want to look into what your internal power needs will be...

Good Luck!

So I think I’m between Cruise RO and Sea RO. Both were at the boat show and I thought the Sea RO unit seemed slightly better built but both looked good. Cruise RO has a 110v version which could be interesting as I have a giant house bank and inverter so could run it off that if needed or more importantly underway without running the Genset.
Thoughts on Sea RO versus Cruise RO?

Rich @ Cruise RO is great for customer service. We like the Cruise 40GPH, uses both an AC for High pressure and DC for the booster. All parts are off the shelf and pretty much readily available, no proprietary parts. Because its components are separate you can install the components where you want. We mounted the control panel in a large PVC electrical box for a clean setup. I helped Tom on ASD with his layout and gave him a few ideas to make the job easier. He did all the install himself and was very happy with the results.

This is the link of the Water Maker install from our blog, if your interested.

Please join us on MV Pairadice

Cheers

Had some good rain today, about 2000 litres in the tanks over a few hours.
Do they get rain in Alaska?

I wouldn't buy a watermaker for a single summer in Alaska, especially with 600 gallons of capacity. Once you're in SE, water is available pretty readily and it's been clear, clean, and safe in my experience. For most people, the leg between Petersburg and Juneau is the longest without services. Even with lots of side trips, this is a ~10-14 days.

B.C. can be a little more challenging with water since a lot of the usual cruising boat stops only have untreated water. Some of the First Nations villages have good, treated, free water. Most Alaska-bound cruisers are moving quickly enough through BC (2-4 weeks) that it's easy to stop and get water once or twice when you're getting food/booze/whatever.

That said, I wouldn't be without my watermaker! But I go every year, and I only carry 150 gallons...

I've lead ~30 boats up to Alaska over the last several years and fewer than half had watermakers. All brands have been trouble free EXCEPT Village Marine. One year three different boats had Village Marine watermakers and they ALL failed. The Cruise RO, Katadyn, and Spectra on that trip performed flawlessly.

I have a homemade 50 gal/hr watermaker similar to Cruise RO. One issue is how handy you are. Cruise RO and similar are the best bet for price and reliability. They require turning on, opening a couple valves, etc. Just a couple minutes, but some people don't like that. If you don't want to be bothered, you may want a completely automatic watermaker for about 5Gs more.
Cruise ROs watermakers use standard filters, membranes and pumps. Many of the turn key systems are not only expensive to buy, but to service, or replace parts.
Having plenty of water on board is like living on the beach. You can have decent showers, laundry, dishwasher and so on.

Thanks all, looks like I’ll go with Cruise RO, I really like the idea of the off the self parts, I’m a firm believer in having as much on the boat as possible field serviceable.

I certainly know I can go without one but not needing to go into port at anytime during the trip makes life much more relaxing and I can always run in on the RIB for groceries and gasoline. Not to mention I’ll feel better about the rainfall shower head I just installed

We found having a WM, even in Alaska was a great addition. Many places we visited had no water or services. It all meant we could spend more time fishing and exploring. When you are cruising with Crusty fishing is the mission.....

Not to mention if you maintain the system it eliminates getting bad water, I have zero desire to clean those massive tanks...

I wouldn't be without a water maker, but also admit it's a bit of a luxury. It's just really nice to have all the water you want, and not have to worry about it. We have made probably 80-90% of our water over the past 4 years, and are approaching 30,000 gal made.