Water Usage while Cruising

Radeen and I have taken a close look at our water usage this year as we cruised from Miami to Long Island, south of Georgetown and back north. We left Miami on Feb 8th, 2013 and now it is March 19, 2013, so we have a good idea of our usage. We do NOT have a watermaker, and we cruise on an IP35 with a 90 gallon water tank. We carry no water jugs on deck, but we do have seven flexible five gallon jugs we use to bring water to the boat via dinghy when needed.

We filled up in Miami, Feb 8, and we got stuck for three days in West Bay New Providence. We had Jeff, our good friend and crew onboard, and by the time we reached Highbourne Cay, Feb 13, in the north Exumas, we needed to take on water. We took on 75 gallons at Highbourne Cay for $0.50/gallon. That was 6 days at 12.5 gallons/day or 4.16 gallons/person/day.

With this 75 gallons, we all three showered everyday, we washed the boat with fresh water, and we worked hard at conserving. We did NOT pre-wash dishes in saltwater. Still, this was a lot of water usage for cruising on 90 gallons.

We use a 5 gallon solar shower on deck with a extended hose passed down into the head. This allows for keeping the solar shower on deck and for showering in the head. A nice and civilized concept!

From Highbourne Cay, we pressed onto Georgetown, where we anchored out and continued to conserve. I would take the dinghy across the harbor, 1.1 nm, fill up 4-5 jugs and dinghy this water back to the boat where I would lift the jugs to the deck and pour them into the tank.

Overall, it was no big deal, and water was readily available nearly everywhere. We are really trying hard to NOT spend the money on a watermaker. We would rather spend it on other items.

Our longest run on our 90 gallon tank was when we departed Georgetown on March 7 for points north. We ended up in Warderick Wells, where there is NO WATER, and this is when we started to pre-wash dishes with a bucket of saltwater poured into the second sink bowl. It really does save water. It is also KEY to have a double bowl sink for this purpose. We ended up making our tank last until we sailed over to Eleuthera, on March 17! This was 11 days on 90 gallons for two people! The fact is.....we only took on 70 gallons once I jugged water in Eleuthera. So, 70 for 11 days equals 6.36 gallons/day for two of us or 3.18 gal/person/day. This has been our lowest water consumption to date.

Again, we showered every day, and washed the boat with fresh water! Showering may seem like a big deal to us, and it is. We like to be clean, yet we need to conserve water. The solar shower easily allows for HOT showers, a nice feature, and controlled and low water usage. We can make a 5 gallon bag of water, shower 4 people, but every one really needs to conserve for that! Every day, we fill it, and it lays on deck and heats up all day long. By 5-6 you get a shower, and then it is dinner time. This is our sequence.

So, with our usage now near 6 gallons per day, Radeen and I could run 15 days before we would need water. For us, there are not too many places 15 days away from water for us. Obviously, when we are on the coast, and not in da BaJammas, we usually get 10 gallons per day and keep the boat topped up. That way, you never have to jug 75 gallons as once. Trust me, if you do jug 75 gallons, you will notice it in your arms and shoulders the next day!!!!!

Yes, a watermaker would be nice, but at $4,000 to $5,000 dollars, plus maintenance, we can buy a lot of water. From Feb 8 to March 19, we have spent $37.50 on water. Is it really worth spending $5K on a watermaker to save this????? Not for us right now.

Hayden in Eleuthera, Bahamas, where WATER IS FREEEEEEEEE

PS:
If we did have a watermaker we could take endless showers and spray water into the air for evaporative cooling, now that would be really nice