Fresh Water in the Florida Keys

[FF]

"would it be worth trying to collect rainwater ?"

Only in the rain season , the summer , when many folks flee FL.

Rainwater is fine to drink, but dirty so needs to be filtered.

[psneeld]

Originally Posted by Benthic2

would it be worth trying to collect rainwater ?

Like a lot of things on a boat, if the boat isnt set up for it well, then the alternatives are just easier.

Pmus do the math and then realize how big the collector has to be or how much rain has to fall to be worthwhile..... it is impressive. Again if you are set up to catch every little rainstorm.

Run the genset more rather than more batteties and solar panels.....

Stop for fuel more than adding huge tanks....

etc...etc...

I know water is available in the Keys, even at a small price..... I was just looking for favorites from people who have been here by boat.

[aboatman]

Some boaters just wait until a marina is closed for the night, pull in top off their water tanks and dump their garbage. They might even take a shower if there's no code for the door.

I wouldn't and I would call it stealing, but I've seen it done.

[psneeld]

That is certainly possible and I have done some of it and settled up over the phone the next day.

What you see versus reality isnt always the same.

If I saw someone abusing a marina like that, photos and a call to the marina would be in order. Plus, few marinas dont have some sort of video surveillance...if they dont, they really must not care too much.

[drb1025]

Originally Posted by psneeld

and if I had one...maybe I wouldn't have asked the question...

plus I have done the math of purchase/ maintenance costs and the cost of water here and in the Bahamas for my exoected durations....

so NO, a water maker is nothing to me but convenience at a huge price....and maintenance drag 11 months of the year.

Watermakers are certainly expensive. If a boat purchase decision was subject to the same economic test, we wouldn’t be boating. Interesting where we all draw the line once we have a boat. Stabilizers? New electronics? It never ends. But I’ll be at the boat show later this month to find out what I didn’t know I needed, haha.

[BandB]

Originally Posted by psneeld

That is certainly possible and I have done some of it and settled up over the phone the next day.

What you see versus reality isnt always the same.

If I saw someone abusing a marina like that, photos and a call to the marina would be in order. Plus, few marinas dont have some sort of video surveillance...if they dont, they really must not care too much.

As a bystander, you don't really know if the person has made arrangements. We've arrived many times at closed marinas, having spoken to them earlier.

I can't recall which Michigan Marina that the dockmaster had sent a bill to someone who snuck in and used the marina at night. The guy called cursing the dockmaster out. Then the dockmaster thanked him for admitting it was him, now either pay or he'd have him arrested for theft. The guy paid.

[BandB]

Originally Posted by drb1025

Watermakers are certainly expensive. If a boat purchase decision was subject to the same economic test, we wouldn’t be boating. Interesting where we all draw the line once we have a boat. Stabilizers? New electronics? It never ends. But I’ll be at the boat show later this month to find out what I didn’t know I needed, haha.

Justifying a watermaker by the cost of water is impossible. It's a device of convenience.

[john61ct]

Everything for me is oriented around staying away from civilization as long as possible. Whatever factor starts regularly causing me to have to make supply runs becomes the focus of my next investment.

For people regularly stopping ashore, their priorities are different

[Steveg353]

Water in the Keys = no problem. Water in the Bahamas runs 35-75 cents per gal. and is not too hard to find at major stops....at least in the Exumas.
Toting water to the boat is work but I treat it as exercise. Sometimes I will make a water run just because.....who doesn't like a blue water dinghy ride? We have no problem keeping our tanks (250gal total) at 75% or more with 2 6gal containers. Water makers are great but not a necessity at least for us. However, washing the boat down in front of the blow boats....priceless. Right on par with dropping ice cubes into an empty glass in a quiet anchorage.....showing my devilish side.

[Gordon J]

Originally Posted by Dougcole

Thread creep. But PS, I'm considering one of the Rainman portable watermakers, for the same reasons as you, Ive also done the math. A good bit less $, no install to worry about, and bring it home when you don't need it. Just a thought.

https://www.rainmandesal.com/

A neighbor next to my slip at marsh Harbour is using a Rainman. I like the fact that it is modular and all the parts fit on the deck for easy access. What I don’t like is that it is very loud, thank generator when you’re standing next to it, and it has only a 20 µm pre-filter. My built in water maker, A Spectra, is much quieter but is a pain in the butt to work on because of its location on the boat. Having said that, I find it really does not require much work.

In the Bahamas, or at least in marsh Harbour, I tested the water at 950 ppm total dissolved solids. With my water maker, I am producing water with 172 1 hundred80 ppm. I like the convenience of a built-in system, I push a button and it begins making water. I can read both the output volume, salinity, and filter status by merely looking at the interface mounted on the lower helm.

Overall, water production is fairly simple. I am lucky the previous owner installed such a squared away system.

[john61ct]

Most watermakers I've seen have been on cruising sailboats, including used regularly for freshwater washdowns.

Obviously the tiny ones don't have much tankage, but even if water is used very sparingly, that factor makes watermaking capabilites even more compelling.

Some of the more efficient DC powered units can be run from solar-only, and in fact are often wired as a more useful "excess/free load dump" after bank Absorb stage is reached, compared to a HWS or making ice.

The key to low maintenance is running them often.

[Gordon J]

Originally Posted by drb1025

Watermakers are certainly expensive. If a boat purchase decision was subject to the same economic test, we wouldn’t be boating. Interesting where we all draw the line once we have a boat. Stabilizers? New electronics? It never ends. But I’ll be at the boat show later this month to find out what I didn’t know I needed, haha.

I think a water maker is one of the best improvements a person can make to his or her boat. I see this after having spent 18 months in the Caribbean, and now altogether about eight months in the Bahamas on two separate occasions. I am currently in marsh Harbour at the Abaco beach resort. The water here test at 950 ppm Total dissolved solids. While some people are drinking this water and putting it in their boat, I refuse to do so. You can taste how poor the water is, and although I am sure it probably will not harm me, I enjoy sparkling clear ice and water that has no flavor.

So, by no means there’s a water maker a necessity, but, even if the previous owner had not installed one, I would’ve put out the money to buy one.

For those of you who are trying to stay away from civilization as long as possible, the water maker affords a chance to use water as you will, enemy to wash your boat. Most of you pioneers probably have solar which is more than adequate for running a 12 V water maker. My 12 volt system produces between 15 and 17 gallons an hour.

[psneeld]

thanks everyone, I was looking for water, not watermakers.

plus, I am pretty dang good with boating within my means .....and when I have to go to the grocery store or stay in a marina for company 2X as frequently as needing water...getting water in the Keys should be easy enough and never cost a fraction of a watermaker...I just needed to know peoples favorites.

When I head to the Bahamas, I will reevaluate convenience and economics....I can see the diffetence.

[Bigsfish]

Flagler hired my great grandfather to bring supplies to workers building his railroad to the Keys. He would bring his schooners to the mouth of the Miami River (the location of Fort Dallas) to pick up fresh water to fill the holds and take the water south to the the RR workers. You wouldn’t even put a foot in the Miami River today as you might plus up a goats head or other animal used for a sacrifice.

He also dug out Hurricane Harbor on Key Biscayne to hide his schooners from a hurricane.

That’s your history lesson for the day. There is a museum in Palm Beach that tells of his adventures (U. D. Hendrickson). That info and $8.00 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

[HeadedToTexas]

So I'm in the water business and the notion of expensive reverse osmosis systems was replaced by inexpensive systems a decade or more ago. Calling it a "watermaker" doesn't improve its function or multiply its value by an order of magnitude. I get that what works quietly mounted on a basement wall falls apart in one storm on a boat, but that doesn't add an order of magnitude to the price either.



https://www.amazon.com/Aquatic-Life-...%2Bfilter&th=1

I also get that a few hundred dollars buys a whole lot of free water; arguably more than one could ever use when it's plentiful.

So here's my angle. I've read over and over about boat folks yearning for a long, hot shower at the marina after several days on the hook. Might it be worth a few hundred dollars to have all the water you want to take that long, hot shower every night? Sure would to me. Or at least that's my take as an aspiring owner.

[High Wire]

Originally Posted by BandB

Justifying a watermaker by the cost of water is impossible. It's a device of convenience.

A little like justifying the cost of fishing

[BandB]

Those appear designed to filter fresh water and require additional filtering even for NYC much less for raw ocean water. And 100 GPD isn't going to do it. These seem fine for aquariums, but I sure wouldn't trust one of them for drinking water in a boat. They are labeled correctly on your website as "Home Water Filtration Systems." No test data or detailed specs showing the level of filtration.

Sorry, when it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

[BandB]

Originally Posted by High Wire

A little like justifying the cost of fishing

Yes, we have a young friend who has only been fishing three years and her first time out was hooked since she caught a 300+ pound Marlin. She talks about loving to catch our dinner, then she smiles and says, "I love it even if they are the most expensive fish you can buy.'

[Dougcole]

Originally Posted by Gordon J

A neighbor next to my slip at marsh Harbour is using a Rainman. I like the fact that it is modular and all the parts fit on the deck for easy access. What I don’t like is that it is very loud, thank generator when you’re standing next to it, and it has only a 20 µm pre-filter. My built in water maker, A Spectra, is much quieter but is a pain in the butt to work on because of its location on the boat. Having said that, I find it really does not require much work.

In the Bahamas, or at least in marsh Harbour, I tested the water at 950 ppm total dissolved solids. With my water maker, I am producing water with 172 1 hundred80 ppm. I like the convenience of a built-in system, I push a button and it begins making water. I can read both the output volume, salinity, and filter status by merely looking at the interface mounted on the lower helm

Overall, water production is fairly simple. I am lucky the previous owner installed such a squared away system.

Is it the Rainman watermaker itself that is loud, or are they running it with a honda generator? One of their models comes with the generator, so maybe that is where the noise is coming from?

I'm considering a Rainman in the future. Do you see any other good/bad things about it?

Thanks

[HeadedToTexas]

Originally Posted by BandB

Sorry, when it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

They are what they are. And RO membranes are RO membranes. Seawater would definitely have a higher rejection rate than most fresh water sources, but the membranes are the same. The difference is how rugged the housing and hose connections are in marine systems vs. home "aquarium" systems.

Will 100 gallons a day really not do it? Sounds like a problem for boats with "only" a few hundred gallons of fresh water storage.