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Inbreaker

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 21, 2020
Messages
92
Vessel Make
Tollycraft 45
G'day.
I'm looking at a couple of potential projects on my '94 Tolly 45. The basic layout is very similar to 43s and 44s.
I'd like to replace the fwd holding tank. It is of course located under the deck of the fwd cabin, although there is some access from the fwd bilge. Has anyone dealt with this?
Next, it would be very pleasant to be able to make fresh water on board.
I should say that I cruise in the PNW and prefer to travel and anchor out in remoter places.
FW availability is relatively good, at least to Cape Caution, but it is becoming more problematic. The water at remoter marinas is often not potable, and even some Govt docks are restricting water access.
Against that, the potential cost of a water maker install is sufficiently eye watering to challenge the cost/benefit analysis, and the best placement of water maker components is not entirely obvious.
Can anyone offer advice from experience?
Thanks,

Sarona
 
Water makers are expensive. If you ever calculate out cost per gallon it will make you very unhappy.

While you can design your own more manual water maker for half the price it still doesn’t pencil out well. On the other hand, it sure is a convenience item and those of us who have them really don’t care how they pencil out.
 
If you are going to replace the holding tank then I would check with Ronco. They make heavy duty quality tanks. They will put fittings in the tank where you need them. They have hundreds of stock tanks to choose from.
 
I see you’re in Nanaimo. Barr Plastics in Abbotsford, for custom tanks. Not cheap but exceptional quality. Holding tanks are, in my opinion, a thing you only ever want to do once, so I spare no expense. Give ‘em a call to talk it over.

Watermaker? Game changer, like Starlink. Unless you’re in the Bahamas or Red Sea, not usually a cost justifiable thing. But my time on the water is precious, and I want NOTHING making decisions about where I go or when. Got a washer/dryer, genset, lots of battery and sophisticated inverter/charging capability, very complete nav/electronics (and upgrading shortly)….and added a watermaker a couple years ago. Nothing left except the weather and health, and they is what they is. So no more trying to schedule routes based on fuel stops, filling up water, doing laundry, etc etc. Sounds like I’m a bit spoiled? You betcha. I/we, are worth it. And the clock is running FAST. Turns out by putting a realistic eye on the calendar we only have a few years left to do this….like I can now count on one hand. And hearses don’t have ski racks, so we’re grabbing what we can while we can. Plus….water availability is now much more than just a scheduling convenience. eg, no more potable water in the Broughtons since Quatsi packed it in a couple years ago. Echo Bay and Sullivan Bay….not potable. And I don’t want to be forced to cross Johnstone Strait to Port McNeill or Port Hardy in weather just to get water. Several years back in those terrible fire/drought years, there was no water to be had in many places in Desolation, and the Gulfs are chronically short.

So our watermaker is priceless to us. Re eye watering cost? Of course a definition of eye watering is required here, but we got our 55 gph from Wolf in Comox. Around C$8000. Modular to facilitate flexibility installing. I did all install myself. Fred just sold the business to a fellow out of Campbell River, not sure if the contact info on the website is current, you could call and have a conversation.
 
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I see you’re in Nanaimo. Barr Plastics in Abbotsford, for custom tanks. Not cheap but exceptional quality. Holding tanks are, in my opinion, a thing you only ever want to do once, so I spare no expense. Give ‘em a call to talk it over.

Watermaker? Game changer, like Starlink. Unless you’re in the Bahamas or Red Sea, not usually a cost justifiable thing. But my time on the water is precious, and I want NOTHING making decisions about where I go or when. Got a washer/dryer, genset, lots of battery and sophisticated inverter/charging capability, very complete nav/electronics (and upgrading shortly)….and added a watermaker a couple years ago. Nothing left except the weather and health, and they is what they is. So no more trying to schedule routes based on fuel stops, filling up water, doing laundry, etc etc. Sounds like I’m a bit spoiled? You betcha. I/we, are worth it. And the clock is running FAST. Turns out by putting a realistic eye on the calendar we only have a few years left to do this….like I can now count on one hand. And hearses don’t have ski racks, so we’re grabbing what we can while we can. Plus….water availability is now much more than just a scheduling convenience. eg, no more potable water in the Broughtons since Quatsi packed it in a couple years ago. Echo Bay and Sullivan Bay….not potable. And I don’t want to be forced to cross Johnstone Strait to Port McNeill or Port Hardy in weather just to get water. Several years back in those terrible fire/drought years, there was no water to be had in many places in Desolation, and the Gulfs are chronically short.

So our watermaker is priceless to us. Re eye watering cost? Of course a definition of eye watering is required here, but we got our 55 gph from Wolf in Comox. Around C$8000. Modular to facilitate flexibility installing. I did all install myself. Fred just sold the business to a fellow out of Campbell River, not sure if the contact info on the website is current, you could call and have a conversation.
We had no problems getting potable water last August and September in all of the places you mentioned. Never needed the watermaker.
 
Where did you get water in the Broughtons?
 
Working from memory, I'm home the log book is on the boat. We got water wherever we needed it. No restrictions or quality issues. Our stops in no particular order were:

Departed La Conner 8/10/24
North Pender
Silva Bay
Secret Cove
Beach Gardens
Toba Wilderness
Blind Channel
Lagoon Cove
Echo Bay
Sointula
Port McNeill for fuel & water
Sullivan Bay
Denham Bay
Ganges
Pender Harbor
Returned to La Conner 9/15/24

Edit:
We had expected problems. The water maker died shortly before departure so I put in an extra tank. Didn't really need it.
 
We have travelled the Broughtons and not had problems so far. Several places are gone of course so be carefull with your water. We have not gone further though.
I have taken on water that we were warned about as may be questionable.
Years ago I started using filters for water supply. First a 5 mic. , then a 1 or 2 mic, and finally a ceramic unit.
Twas not cheap especially the ceramic but it worked.
Of course we carried spare elements.
Even at our home marinas I use those filters since NO city can guarantee no debris.
 
If you anchor out the majority of the time (my preference) , a watermaker is a must. Unless you pay for moorage, you are going to possibly have difficulty filling your tanks. One summer, in the San Juans, there was a water shortage and I couldn’t get water unless I was buying fuel or paying for moorage. This helped me shell out the cash for a water maker. Cruise RO Water is my go to for systems and components. You can buy a system that has the components seperated, so you can mount where space is available. Also, whatever system you get, check the price on the replacement of the ro membrane. My Sea Recovery ro membrane (proprietary size) was going to be over a thousand bucks. I switched over to canisters and membranes from cruise ro water. The top quality ro membranes are $300 each.
 
I have no problem finding water in the Broughtons. However, if you want potable water in the Broughtons, I have only found that on Vancouver Island.
 
Working from memory, I'm home the log book is on the boat. We got water wherever we needed it. No restrictions or quality issues. Our stops in no particular order were:

Departed La Conner 8/10/24
North Pender
Silva Bay
Secret Cove
Beach Gardens
Toba Wilderness
Blind Channel
Lagoon Cove
Echo Bay
Sointula
Port McNeill for fuel & water
Sullivan Bay
Denham Bay
Ganges
Pender Harbor
Returned to La Conner 9/15/24

Edit:
We had expected problems. The water maker died shortly before departure so I put in an extra tank. Didn't really need it.
Working from memory, I'm home the log book is on the boat. We got water wherever we needed it. No restrictions or quality issues. Our stops in no particular order were:

Departed La Conner 8/10/24
North Pender
Silva Bay
Secret Cove
Beach Gardens
Toba Wilderness
Blind Channel
Lagoon Cove
Echo Bay
Sointula
Port McNeill for fuel & water
Sullivan Bay
Denham Bay
Ganges
Pender Harbor
Returned to La Conner 9/15/24

Edit:
We had expected problems. The water maker died shortly before departure so I put in an extra tank. Didn't really need it.
Echo Bay and Sullivan Bay do not have potable water. And as far as I can remember back, never did. And that’s it for the Broughtons. Lagoon Cove does but I wasn’t considering that as “in the Broughtons”.
 
I have no problem finding water in the Broughtons. However, if you want potable water in the Broughtons, I have only found that on Vancouver Island.
Given the OP was referring to potable water in his query about watermakers I assumed that was a given.
 
If you are going to replace the holding tank then I would check with Ronco. They make heavy duty quality tanks. They will put fittings in the tank where you need them. They have hundreds of stock tanks to choose from.

Agree, Ronco Plastics for tanks.

And their stock tanks don't know "which end's up?" until you decide where the fittings go. We replaced the nominal 40-gallon (actual 35-gallon) tank i our previous boat, increased capacity to almost 60 gallons IIRC.

-Chris
 
Echo Bay and Sullivan Bay do not have potable water. And as far as I can remember back, never did. And that’s it for the Broughtons. Lagoon Cove does but I wasn’t considering that as “in the Broughtons”.
I'm curious how you determined Echo Bay and Sullivan Bay water is not potable? There are long term and year round residents living with that water.
 
I'm curious how you determined Echo Bay and Sullivan Bay water is not potable? There are long term and year round residents living with that water.

First, it’s a fact that Sullivan Bay is not potable. Do not confuse potable with safe. Sullivan Bay has an excellent natural water supply. However, it is not certified by any government organization so it can not be classified as potable.
 
I'm curious how you determined Echo Bay and Sullivan Bay water is not potable? There are long term and year round residents living with that water.
I can speak for Sullivan Bay. They have creek water on the dock which is sweet, but peaty. The residents get desalination water which is only available to them.
 
I have 300 gal of fresh water on board. I don't drink it. We cannot cycle it fasts enough.. It is for toilets, dishes, showers, deck washes. I carry 3- 5 gallon water containers to a dedicated water dispenser on the galley sink. This runs off a water dispenser pump

Full time we use 5 gallons a week for drinks, coffee, food needs.
 

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First, it’s a fact that Sullivan Bay is not potable. Do not confuse potable with safe. Sullivan Bay has an excellent natural water supply. However, it is not certified by any government organization so it can not be classified as potable.
I see your point. The difference between safe and classified as potable. I find it interesting that Sullivan Bay does not post an advisory about the water. Home port is Shelter Bay in La Conner. The water is not treated so they post an advisory.

I can speak for Sullivan Bay. They have creek water on the dock which is sweet, but peaty. The residents get desalination water which is only available to them.
I've run into the brownish water at many ports in BC and Ak. Filtration takes care of the particles. Of course that does not deal with biological or chemical contamination.
 
Let’s remember most water starts as salt water, it evaporates (essentially making it distilled). Then it falls from the sky. What happens next determines its quality. If it falls on an island that has no septic tanks, no agricultural ponds, no roads or cars and no industrial infrastructure the only contamination being an occasional dear urination, that’s some pretty safe water but it doesn’t meet the definition of potable.

Of course potable water could start from a well in a metropolitan area full of contaminated run off and then have chemicals like chlorine and fluoride added to it.

So what’s best? Maybe a water maker solves all this?
 
First, it’s a fact that Sullivan Bay is not potable. Do not confuse potable with safe. Sullivan Bay has an excellent natural water supply. However, it is not certified by any government organization so it can not be classified as potable.
Using the above definition of potable, how could your water maker solve this?
 
Using the above definition of potable, how could your water maker solve this?

That’s hard to say. We run a water makers on a remote island. Our water maker is inspected and approved by a government agency that allows us to call it potable water. The same water maker could be installed on a boat and possibly (never asked the question of the agency) inspected and approved by a government agency.

Is it necessary to meet the government’s criteria for potable water? I think I made it clear that Sullivan Bay had safe water probably better than water found in many metro areas.

Op was primarily concerned with finding water far north and secondly concerned with its safety as no one has bothered to get their water certified. A water maker would solve both these issues.
 
I think the OP was primarily concerned about finding potable water as the OP lamented the fact that "water at remoter marinas is often not potable". But let's not split hairs, as I would think most people would think twice (possibly refuse) before filling their tank from a supply that had a sign indicating that the water was not potable. I know I would.

My larger question is do you or others who have a water maker onboard consider the water it produces potable? If so, how do you know that it is potable?
 
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The filtration capabilities of modern watermakers are astoundingly efficient. They can remove contaminants down to 0.0001 microns, eliminating virtually any trace of salts, bacteria, viruses, and harmful chemicals. Consequently, when it comes to the purity of the water produced, the method employed by watermakers stands above most other forms of water purification.
 
I'm curious how you determined Echo Bay and Sullivan Bay water is not potable? There are long term and year round residents living with that water.
Because when you tie up at the dock and check-in at either marina they *tell you* it is not potable. Sheesh.

As far as my own? I test watermaker output every time I make water with a TDS meter. It is 50 ppm or less. 500 is acceptable. It then runs from my tanks through a micro filtering and UV purification system. Specs are impressive, and field tested by me living in Ensenada Mexico for 8 months living off dock water. Tested by the Asesoría Integral Ambiental there to confirm water off the dock was mucho bad, and out of the tap on my boat was excellent. So I declare my homemade water to be potable.

I see a lot of posts after this with the usual recitations of anecdotal evidence, so I’ll just conclude with: when the dock master tells me not to drink the water, it’s not going in my tanks.
 
Right then.
As to the holding tank- the problem is how to come at it, as it is under the floor in the forepeak. If someone with a similar Tolly had dealt with that. It would be helpful. Otherwise, thanks for the tips about local tank manufacturers.
On water, potable or otherwise, and the cost/benefit of a water maker-
Modern water makers are perfectly capable of producing potable. Ie safe drinking water. You can get the same thing by filtration and UV purification. Refuge Cove in Desolation and Blind Channel in the Discoveries use this latter method I believe. Echo Bay use to until the change of ownership. Unless you test your water product from time to time however, your lawyer will advise you not to advertise it as 'potable ', even if you drink it yourself.
Sullivan Bay has a lovely clear spring that provided drinking water for decades to the people that ran the camp there, and anyone who turned up to fuel, in the old days.Now, of course, it is the tannin stained tea from the lake that is made available to the riff raff, and not much of that.
I double filter (20m and 5m) all water that is not uv treated.i have added chlorine to the tank water in Haida Gwaii. We then carbon filtered jugs of drinking water. No one got sick. But we were careful with the wate had to be.
We carry 250 US gallons, which is a lot more than I have had in the past on a 40' sail boat in the South Pacific, south east Asia and northern Australia. We could stretch 90 gallons for three weeks between two people. But that was with a salt water flush toilet and no pressure water.
I like to anchor out, and I tend to avoid frequent fuel stops. The conclusion I have reached is that I can make do, particularly south of Cape Caution. If I fuel more frequently and spend a few more nights on docks, she'll be right. The watermaker will have to wait for the next boat.
 
I don't think you should need to ask. I'm almost sure that by law you have to have a notice posted at the access point that states the water is not potable. How hard is that?
 
No, they didn't inform me at either place.
They didn’t inform me either, I asked. I always do. Different philosophies I guess: mine is that anything that can harm me or mine I ask about, I don’t presume someone will tell me. Dock water, pedestal voltage (eg 208V or 240v), local wildlife hazards….the list goes on. The more times I’ve been to a place the shorter the list gets. A little common sense helps too. But *always* for water. That can change even within a season. And for me, it doesn’t need to be potable, although that is the first question. Folks that know what they are talking about will generally give you a good and truthful explanation if asked “what is the source of your water”. Like Lagoon Cove, Big Bay, especially Kwatsi Bay (before it sold) - waterfall fed, multiple micron filters and UV treated. I respected the folks and trusted their word. Never a doubt. The brown stuff out of Echo Bay? No thanks, I’ll take their word for it.

I’m curious though - what would cause you to assume that water off a dock in some remote area of Northern British Columbia would be potable, or safe to drink?
 
They didn’t inform me either, I asked. I always do. Different philosophies I guess: mine is that anything that can harm me or mine I ask about, I don’t presume someone will tell me. Dock water, pedestal voltage (eg 208V or 240v), local wildlife hazards….the list goes on. The more times I’ve been to a place the shorter the list gets. A little common sense helps too. But *always* for water. That can change even within a season. And for me, it doesn’t need to be potable, although that is the first question. Folks that know what they are talking about will generally give you a good and truthful explanation if asked “what is the source of your water”. Like Lagoon Cove, Big Bay, especially Kwatsi Bay (before it sold) - waterfall fed, multiple micron filters and UV treated. I respected the folks and trusted their word. Never a doubt. The brown stuff out of Echo Bay? No thanks, I’ll take their word for it.

I’m curious though - what would cause you to assume that water off a dock in some remote area of Northern British Columbia would be potable, or safe to drink?

I agree, never occurred to me to assume rural water was potable. Guess I spent too much time overseas not to question water safety.
 
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