Dockside Water or No...?

[Osprey69]

We are currently not connected to dockside water as we are bow in and the connection is at the stern. And quite frankly was not going to hook it up without more knowledge/confidence in plumbing.

Now that we are getting through the upgrade/repair list I am thinking about it.

What are folks doing when you have a choice? Dockside water or pumps?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Lepke]

I use my watermaker year round. Some coastal docks have poor water, and I like the taste of my water, no chlorine, etc.
Why not add a water hookup forward during your upgrade? Even though I don't use them, I have multiple water hookups available.

 

[Comodave]

I never liked using dockside water in the boat. We had a RV and a campsite had too high pressure and blew a hose off a connection. In the RV it was just an annoyance, in a boat it can overwhelm the pumps and then it is a real problem. Even if you try to remember to turn off the water when you leave all it takes is forgetting to turn it off once and you can sink the boat. Besides if you cycle the water in the tanks it will be fresher or whatever.

 

[Gotwex]

Like ComoDave said above, dockside pressure can cause real problems. If you are going to use dockside water, I highly recommend a pressure regulator before the boat connection. We do not hook up to dockside, we just use our onboard tanks and mind them. Much safer.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

When I am at my winter dock, I am on City (dock) water. I filter the incoming water with a whole house charcoal filter and I also have a water pressure regulator (adjustable) on the hose. Works great! While cruising we use our water maker.

Don't understand why folks don't want to use city water while at the dock. Both the USA and Canada have good water.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Like ComoDave said above, dockside pressure can cause real problems. If you are going to use dockside water, I highly recommend a pressure regulator before the boat connection. We do not hook up to dockside, we just use our onboard tanks and mind them. Much safer.

This is what I use:

https://www.campingworld.com/valter...tor-49511.html?cgid=regulators-reels-fittings

 

[Comodave]

It isn’t about the quality of the water, it is about blowing a connection off a pipe and flooding the boat. Even with a pressure regulator you can have a hose failure. With it hooked to city water there is no end to the amount of water that can flow into the boat. With a water tank and a blown connection you will only run the water tank dry and then the leak will stop. Yes you can put a gallon limiter on the hose but that just makes it much more complicated. I just use the water tank and when it runs out, simply refill it.

 

[psneeld]

Depends on the size of your tanks, how much you use a day and how much you like filling tanks.

In 3 different liveaboards spanning 20 years I never had an issue that could have gone catastrophic. I have always used city water.

Never saw one sink because of city water at any dock I have ever been on or responded to a sinker because of dock water in 15 years as a salvor/responder in the marine trades.

Can city water sink your boat? Sure.... what other very remote chances do you take in boating and life in general? Compare that to paragraph one.

BoatUS foundation doesn't seem to mention it in most of the sinking articles I have read.

 

[wkearney99]

If you do this, and I'm not suggested you do, it's probably worth considering using an in-line shut-off valve on your hose. On a previous boat that had a shore water inlet I used a shut-off valve in two places. One at the pedestal and the other at the boat's inlet. I shut them both off when leaving the boat.

Why? Because on more than once occasion I came back to the boat and found the one on the pedestal turned to the on position. I gathered someone else needed to use the pedestal water and couldn't figure out what needed to be on/off and mistakenly turned on my hose. That and it let me close the hose at the boat to disconnect it without having to climb back up to the pedestal to shut it off if I'd forgotten.

The one at the boat had a 45 degree angle, and that helped with how the hose fed to the inlet port. https://www.amazon.com/Orbit-Brass-Gooseneck-Shut-Off-Coupling/dp/B0013I461C

Side note, metal garden hose fittings tend to corrode due to salt exposure (metal quick-disconnects especially) so it's good to use some teflon tape to help mitigate the problem.

 

[Comodave]

I also have had unknown people turn on the water at our boat when we kept them at marinas. So I would disconnect the hose after filling the boat.

 

[DonW28]

We do use the dockside water in our marina unless I shower on the boat. Then I turn on the pump and use the tank. Blowing hoses from water pressure is not a problem in this marina. Our pressure wouldn't blow icing off a cupcake. LOL. We still turn it off when we leave though.



Don

 

[Bacchus]

I do both depending on tank level and desire to turn the tank over.
I use a Press Reg as our marina water us about 100 PSI.
I make it a habit to DISCONNECT hose from boat when leaning it vs closing a valve. I also turn off FW pump and all other non-essentials when leaving the boat.
Typically we hook up early spring to fully flush the system then fill half tank at a time unless we are heading off for multi days.
It's funny but RVers and boaters are a lot alike...
Some would never use tank for drinking, cooking etc - bottled only
Others use tank fir everything.
Both work fine if handles properly but most are adamant about their method.

 

[firehoser75]

Personally I would not connect to the dock water for continuous use (run off the tank and refill as needed). I had a water line in the boat blow off a fitting while on board. I was there to deal with it, and to save some of the water in the tank. If I had been off the boat and connected to dock water, it could have been a big problem.
Also, I have found it annoying when trying to refill my tank at a marina when all of the spiggots close by were taken up by other boaters running dockwater full time. It might not be very neighbourly

 

[Osprey69]

Thank you all for your thoughts.

I think I will keep doing what I am doing and just refill tanks every week or so. No biggie and one less thing to worry about failing. Watermaker is almost re-commissioned so there is that.