Fresh Water in the Florida Keys

[psneeld]

Those that have spent a lot of time in the Keys and primarily anchored out.....

Where did you top off your fresh water supply?

So many marinas are too shallow or full...what was your approach?

 

[john61ct]

Watermakers are an ideal solution

 

[Ski in NC]

Where are you in the Keys?

I've got a smallish FW tank and what I would do is go to a fuel dock and buy like 20gal of fuel, and GF would fill the FW tank. And yep, I would tip the dockhands!!

Can do this in KW Bight for sure, Garrison Bight (I think) and Marathon for sure. From Marathon up to the upper keys, not sure as that is not my stomping grounds.

Marathon has a town dock that services the mooring field. Might call them up and see if you can get water if you buy a night on a ball.

 

[Cigatoo]

“I've got a smallish FW tank and what I would do is go to a fuel dock and buy like 20gal of fuel, and GF would fill the FW tank. And yep, I would tip the dockhands!!”

Of course if you had already tipped the dock hands you wouldn’t have to buy the 20 gallons of fuel. Just sayin

 

[DavidM]

The Marathon City Marina has a free water filing station with a side tie up that is just inside their piers on the west side. Call on your VHF to let them know you are coming in for water as it sometimes is busy. They won't know (and may not care) whether you are on a mooring or not.

The water does run slow and it will take quite a while to fill 100 gallons.

For commercial marinas I would do as Ski suggests above.

David

 

[psneeld]

Watermakers are an ideal solution

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.

 

[psneeld]

Thanks guys, especially the water filling station at Marathon.

Just found out there are free pumpot boats that roam the Keys too.

My backup plan also included trying a USCG station if the marinas didnt work out.

Figure the Govt owes me some water now they are charging me for health care that was supoosed to be free....

 

[JohnP]

Thanks guys, especially the water filling station at Marathon.

Just found out there are free pumpot boats that roam the Keys too.

My backup plan also included trying a USCG station if the marinas didnt work out.

Figure the Govt owes me some water now they are charging me for health care that was supoosed to be free....

Stayed on mooring in Boot Key Harbor Marathon last Winter for a Month. Awesome place very reasonable and well run. Small charge for water if you brought the boat to the dock, but filling jugs on your daily dinghy runs kept tanks topped for free. Wish I were there right Now. NJ was near 0 this morning!

 

[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/

 

[caltexflanc]

We spent several months over the course of a few years in the Keys exclusively on a mooring or at anchor and finding a place to get water was never an issue. Sometimes the fuel and water ploy described above, sometimes at Marathon (there was a small fee back then). Never could make the $$ payback for a water maker pencil out, even in the islands, and certainly never in the Keys. Having a 350 gallon tank and a Watercounter helped a lot, admittedly.

 

[psneeld]

Yep, even a $1000 watermaker for a couple hundred gallons here and there over the years doesnt make sense.

I was not getting warm and fuzzies about a lot of marinas and their hospitality based on reviews. Especially this year as everyone keeps saying dockage is a premium from the hurricane.

Thanks again...I will notcsweat it, but will try to get some long before I get short.

 

[Bigsfish]

But Scott, having a watermaker in the Bahamas out islands is fun when you wash down your boat and the blowboaters are looking.

 

[psneeld]

But Scott, having a watermaker in the Bahamas out islands is fun when you wash down your boat and the blowboaters are looking.

Irv, with grreat guys like you around...

I would just pop over to your boat and replenish my fresh water and rum tanks...

 

[Bigsfish]

Scott your welcome anytime. If I still had my place in the keys I would let you tie up and have the use of electric and water but now I just have the Miami River house.

 

[psneeld]

Always the gracious host...

 

[Benthic2]

would it be worth trying to collect rainwater ?

 

[Bigsfish]

Scott. Me? No way, Watfa told me to say that. LOL

 

[Steveg353]

Garrison bight in Key West has free water at the dinghy dock. In Boot Key harbor it is 5 cents per gallon at the side tie dock by the harbor office for your boat fill up. There is also water along the wall by the dinghy dock for free to fill smaller containers. You don't have to be on a ball. If you're on a ball there is a service that will come to your boat and fill your tank for 25 dollars if you don't want to move. We were there prior to the storm but I imagine it's still the same.

 

[markpierce]

In the early decades of the 20th century, a railroad brought tank-car loads of fresh water to the Keys. Unfortunately, a strong hurricane wiped out many of the railroad's bridges connecting the islands.

 

[Keysdisease]

You are talking about the Hurricane of 1935. 408 known deaths, destroyed enough railroad bridges the entire route was turned into US1 for cars. At the same time an 18" water pipe was installed to supply the Keys w water. When the new highway was constructed in the 1980's a 36" pipe was installed. There is also a desal plant on the Navy base in Key West

There is a monument for those lost in 1935 on Islamorada

In the early decades of the 20th century, a railroad brought tank-car loads of fresh water to the Keys. Unfortunately, a strong hurricane wiped out many of the railroad's bridges connecting the islands.

 

[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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

About rainman

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.