Water Consumption

[Mat-C]

I'm sure its been covered elsewhere, but a quick search failed to find anything much....

How much water should one allow per person per day for coatsal cruising?

[masalai]

Less than 140 litres per person per day if you live in a suburb in SE Queensland (and quietly water the garden - favourite plants - occasionally)

Seriously, though, it has been covered, and it is a lot less than that.... Figure how much you drink in a day (when you have to mow the lawns and tidy the garden etc) then add how much you need to wash in - remember to have a good swim first to save on water - (less than a 2 gallon bucket?) and how much do you need to wash/rinse your clothes plates etc and pots/pans then multiply by days out (a couple of 20 litre plastic water containers - so you can carry them/it ashore to refill)....

[Willallison]

Bit of a "how long's a piece of string" question that one Mat.
If you're careful, you can get by on less than 5L per day. I know people who use at least masalai's 120L each day - and that's afloat!!
It comes down to what type of cruising you do, where you do it and how frugal you can be (or want to be). It also depends on how much space you have available for tankage and how critical the weight is.

[FAST FRED]

Bare minimum is 1 gallon per day per person.

That assumes dish washing (a big consumer) will be done with sea water , and any shower will be with a bowl and cloth to wash and rinse.

A solar shower is fine for another 1/2 to 1 gal, mostly depending on hair length.

The above is NOT "normal cruising" its a step above survival.

For well trained crew 5 gpd per person is HUGE is luxury!!

FF

[Mat-C]

Thanks gents - all useful stuff.
Assuming a planing power cruiser about 30ft long. Berths for 4, a shower and fresh water for washing up...
How much per person per day?

[Kay9]

4 people x 5 gals a day living= 20 GPD add in a shower for each person. Lets say you have a 1 gal per min shower head, ( thats not much of a shower BTW) and you limit each person to a 10 min shower your going to add another 40 GPD

Your up to 60 GPD, in my experiance that sounds about right. So now your main question is with these restrictions how much endurance do you want?

In most cases, I have come to belive that water is often the last system figured into a ship build and whatever space is left after fuel and prop-systems, thats what you get for water. Its then up to the captain/owner to determine his/her desired water consumption rate by limiting showers/washing/people to gain the endurance he/she is after. I know thats what I have to do.

K9

[masalai]

Then also consider the viability of a "RO watermaker" as it will save weight in large water tankage (leaving more for fuel...?)

[the1much]

How much water - usage aboard

[Willallison]

Watermakers are great if:
1. you run them frequently
2. you run the required power source (be that engine, genset, whatever) for sufficient time to make the water you require
3. you're prepared to pay for it in the first place
4. you're prepared to manitain it and don't object to the added complexity.

Ballpark figure for water consumption, general use plus sensible showering 8 - 10 litres per person per day.

if you have dogs or women on board, double it!!

[blackdaisies]

You can get solar stills for water. They evaporate salt water into clean drinkable water. You can even rig one up for yourself or for just survival. There are also grey water systems to reause water after it runs through a filter. The filter can be those lava rocks that can be rejuvanated by the sun once a year, a good replacement for bulky bags of charcoal.

http://www.vulkatec.de/english/5/

http://www.builditsolar.com/SiteMap.htm

[Jack Daniels Eq]

On a power boat, a water maker is mandatory, methinks.
Carry more Whiskey that way.
Add ice maker & a/c also
BR>Jack

[masalai]

Can't be good whiskey else you would not spoil it with water.....

[dsuursoo]

i've been down to two liters a day, but that wasn't afloat. about two gallons a day, minimum to feel nice, i think. three should suit anyone's needs, so long as you only shower every third day. five a day if you have one ripping solar still and a lot of rain at night, or a watermaker that runs on solar power/wind power.

as has been said, it's really kind of variable. three liters per day, absolute minimum, no showering, use saltwater soap for everything else, and your head is just a board hanging over the transom. that gives you some leeway, as you might not drink it all, and you can build up a savings in case you have a thirsty day.

and if you fish, remember that raw fish has a lot of water in it. so put down a line behind you.

[Jack Daniels Eq]

Who said anything about mixing it with water ...... ??

[dsuursoo]

Originally Posted by Jack Daniels Eq

Who said anything about mixing it with water ...... ??

GROG!!!!

no, wait... that's rum...