sailboat water purification

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The Boat Galley

making boat life better

Boat Water Filtering

Published on July 20, 2020 ; last updated on April 30, 2023 by Carolyn Shearlock

Why worry about boat water filtering? I’ll admit, the first several charters we did, and trips aboard friends’ boat, the topic of water filtration never crossed my mind.  Now, after six years of full-time cruising, I think it’s something every boater should seriously consider.  Actually, maybe a better way to state that is that I think it’s necessary and I hope you’ll consider adding one.

Why Filter Your Boat Water?

No matter what type of “cruising” you do, even just afternoon day sails, you’ll benefit from a water filter:

• Good-tasting water.  Even “pure” water will pick up a taste from the tank.  Plastic tanks seem to have more problems than stainless ones, but it can be a problem in any tank.
• Remove chlorine.  Many cruisers use chlorine (straight bleach, not scented, 1/4 cup per 100 gallons) to keep “crud” from growing in their water tank and also to purify the water.  Freshly chlorinated water tastes bad and can cause problems in cooking — it will kill yeast in bread-making and yogurt cultures, for example.
• Remove bacteria and “crud.”  If you don’t chlorinate the water in your tanks, all sorts of “crud” will grow in it, particularly if you’re in a warm climate.
• Purify caught water.  If you catch rainwater, it can collect all sorts of stuff as it makes its way through the atmosphere and across your deck or tarp and into your tank.  Not just minute particles, but even leaves and other stuff.
• Catch bugs that get into the tank.  We discovered that bugs would sometimes get in the tank through the vent.  You can’t close the vent, and even though we screened it off, some no-see-ums did make their way in.  A filter will catch these before they show up in your iced tea.

With a water filter, you’ll actually drink the water from your tank.  You won’t have to buy cases of little water bottles, resulting in less to carry, less to stow and less trash.  And all your cooking will taste that much better — not to mention being healthier!

Three Filtering Options

There are three broad classes of filtering:  after the tap or right at the tap (such as many of the Brita or Pur filters), a Seagull-type filter and a standard plumbing filter and housing.  Before deciding between these, however, you need to think about the purpose of the filter.  Simply stated, a filtering system that will work for occasional daysails or afternoons on the boat is not the same as what you’ll want if you’re heading to the tropics and plan to catch — and consume — rainwater.

Below, I’ll detail the pros and cons of each.

Filtering after/at the tap

Brita is probably the best-known maker of these systems, with Pur a close second. They fall into three general types: pitchers, where the water is filtered going into the pitcher; bottles, where the water is filtered as you drink from the bottle; and tap filters that screw onto an existing faucet. We used a PUR water filter/dispenser on our boat for several years and thought it was much better than Brita for removing bad taste.

More recently, ZeroWater has come out with a line of filter/dispensers and they get great reviews. I haven’t used one so can’t comment from personal experience.

These systems are best for:

• occasional use
• removing unpleasant taste or chlorine (it’s a charcoal filter)
• those needing a quick and very simple “installation” — no need to cut into water hoses
• available at virtually every grocery store, drug store, discount store and more in the US
• relatively short filter life (most are 20 to 40 gallons) can make them expensive in the long run (about $6 for a 40-gallon filter makes it about 15 cents a gallon).
• have to remember to fill the pitcher if you opt for the pitcher instead of the tap model (not always available)
• no protection against giardia, molds or other microorganisms in the water
• pitchers are inconvenient on a boat and very prone to spilling in the refrigerator (have to transfer water to a traditional bottle)
• filter units can be hard to find in remote places and virtually impossible outside the US

You can get these water dispensers on Amazon:

• Pur 18-cup water filter/dispenser (this is the newer model of the one we used)
• Pur Replacement filters (the “pitcher” filters are used in the dispensers too)
• ZeroWater 22-cup water filter/dispenser with water quality meter
• ZeroWater Replacement filters

Seagull Marine Water Filters

Seagull filters are truly the gold standard of filtering . . . and require a lot of gold both to buy initially and for the filters!

General Ecology, the company that makes the Seagull, states that “All Seagull IV purification systems are independently certified to meet EPA guide standard protocol for microbiological purifiers against bacteria, cysts and viruses. Plus, Seagull IV systems excel at removing chemical and aesthetic contaminants including herbicides, pesticides, chlorine and foul tastes, odors and colors.”  The Seagull comes with a dedicated faucet.

General Ecology also makes the Nature Pure water filtering system. It’s the same quality filter, but is a replacable canister instead of a drop-in filter. Which one is best for you depends on where you’ll be installing it. Seagull systems are more expensive than Nature Pure initially but Nature Pure replacement filters cost more.

We had the Seagull on our first boat and the Nature Pure on this boat. Love them both!

• Top of the line purification. If you know you’re going to be taking on truly suspicious water, it will do a great job.
• Size constraints. It’s about 5″ in diameter and 5″ long, smaller than a standard housing.
• Full-time cruising. Good, tasty water is always available at the tap.

But beware:

• The Seagull is expensive — over $500 initially (comes with one filter and the dedicated faucet) and nearly $100 for a filter good for 1000 gallons (we found it lasted us about a year). That’s about 10 cents a gallon, which is less than the Pur and it offers much better filtering.
• Limited availability of filters. Unless you live in a city with a large specialty store, you’ll have to buy filters online.  Forget buying them outside the US (I’ve been told they are NOT available in Canada, but that may have changed by now).
• Some installation. This type of filter gets plumbed into the cold water hose and the housing has to be fairly near the faucet.  They claim it’s a twenty-minute job, but if you’re working in the typical confines of the under-sink galley cabinet and contorting yourself in the 3-square feet of galley floor space, it’ll take longer.  Changing filters can also be “interesting.”

Unlike the Pur filters and standard plumbing filters, the Seagull-type systems are sold in relatively few places.  While they may be available in some chandleries in very large boating cities, they generally have to be ordered online.

• Seagull:  Amazon , Defender
• Nature Pure: Defender

“Standard” plumbing filters

There are all sorts of filter housings and connectors sold in hardware and home improvement stores.  While our boat, Que Tal , came with a Seagull system, this is what I’d install if I were starting with nothing.

Advantages:

• Variable filtering level. You get to choose what type of filter you use in the housing from just improving the taste to removing various substances.  There are important differences in the filters — see my article on choosing the right filter for your application .
• Easily obtainable. Go to any hardware or home improvement store and you’ll be able to walk out with what you need — even in most foreign countries (although perhaps not in tiny towns outside the US).  We never had problems finding 10″ filters in Mexico and Central America, although sometimes we couldn’t get exactly our preferred filtering level (we used them in our watermaker and also as a prefilter for the deck fill at marinas).  Reports from friends cruising in other areas say they’ve not had a problem.

• Inexpensive. The housings are $20 to $30, and you’ll need a few connectors, short bits of hose and hose clamps.  Filters vary in cost depending on the filtration level, but most are under $10 with a top-of-the-line filter available for $20 online and have a life of 10,000 to 12,000 gallons (although you’ll want to change them at least once a year).  Unless you have a very unusual installation, you should be able to get everything you initially need for $75, definitely for $100.

The only disadvantage that I know of is that you can’t get quite as good filtering as with the Seagull-type (I’ve never seen that “complete” a filter in a 10″ filter).  But you can get very good filtering.

If you decide to go with a standard plumbing filter:

• Get one that uses standard 10″ filters.  They are by far the easiest to find and you’ll have the most choices of filtering levels.
• I like a clear housing as you can see the state of the filter.  However, they can be a little harder to find and a little more expensive.
• A filter wrench is nice, but not strictly necessary.  You can wrap a belt around the housing.  (NOTE:  depending on the installation, it can be impossible to use a filter wrench and you might be forced to just use a belt or a strap wrench).
• Many housings now come with a shut-off valve in the top part.  These tend to cost a little more.  The valve is “nice” when changing filters, but not nearly as necessary as with a house system, since it’s easy to shut off your water pump.  Without the valve, you’ll probably spill some water in the locker, but it’s very likely that you’ll spill some out of the lower compartment anyway.  Our solution was just to put a rag below the housing before changing the filter and have a bowl or bucket nearby to dump it into.
• Some housings have special quick connect fittings.  Reports from friends say these are more prone to leaks and require proprietary fittings that can be hard, if not impossible, to find after the initial installation.  If you use standard plumbing fittings, repairs requiring a replacement part will be much easier.

Whatever system you go with, enjoy drinking good-tasting water, coffee, tea, lemonade — as well as food that doesn’t taste like bad tank water!

• Rainman Watermakers 2019 Models
• Sugar-Free Electrolyte Replacement
• 🎧Improve Your Tank Water With A Filter

And check out our other courses and products

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Reader Interactions

Martha Warner says

August 14, 2011 at 9:13 am

Great timing as we are exploring our options for a “whole boat” filter to improve taste and insure healthy drinking water aboard Journey. Here I find you’ve done the research for me and now I can make the right choice. Thanks Carolyn!

Carolyn Shearlock says

August 14, 2011 at 5:00 pm

We seriously underestimated how much we’d appreciate a water filter. QT came with one, but we hadn’t even considered it. Loved it, though — water always tasted great and we never had tummy troubles due to our onboard water. Hope you love yours just as much!

Charlotte says

January 7, 2012 at 8:54 am

any experience with these filters?

afwfilters.com/store/ro—drinking-reverse-osmosis/6-stage-di-zoi-delta-pure-reverse-osmosis-system-11.html

They came with our boat and seem to work well Thanks!

January 7, 2012 at 9:35 am

Hi Charlotte!

I don’t have any experience with them. Looks like a major purifying system. The only downside that I see is the size, but it looks like it removes pretty much everything (although not a watermaker designed to remove sea salt).

Jed Guertin says

August 2, 2012 at 10:28 am

I’m quite familiar with the Seagull system and filter and PurestOne system and filter. I won’t go into detail but I might be able to provide you with some useful information for you to pass on to your readers.

Simply put, if you put a good quality .5 micron (nominal) carbon block filter in your “plumber’s” filter housing in my estimation, you’ll have the same quality water as a Seagull filter.

As far as I’ve been able to ascertain the General Ecology Seagull filter is not a purifier, never has been. It’s all about what I call weasel words.

April 6, 2013 at 1:31 am

I see that this article and the subsequent discussion threads are a couple years old. I’m hoping that the author is still active as I am struggling to find the right water filtration for two area of our boat. Currently we fill our tank in the US, primarily from a well water source. We live on board year round and the water is refreshed weekly. But I know there is crud in that tank and I get queasy thinking about bugs and other goobers. So I drink bottled water, but do cook with it without any problems. I do not use it for any appliances like coffee or tea. We also shower on board. So, here are my issue I hope to resolve with filtering.

1. At the galley tap…want the purest water possible with everything out. Cold water only and not for dishwater. If I installed a separate faucet…I’d probably have it under the counter. Not sure I have an option for countertop with Corean. And I don’t want to give up counter space.

2. It’s a hair thing. Tank water is killing my hair. We never put choline in. Tried it once and I hated it. Need so,e type of filter at the shower head for hot and cold water, or at least when they are mixed. Figure this will mount in the shower someplace, but not a lot of room. Also want everything filter out.

3. Next year we begin cruising full time so we will install a water maker. Still will want the galley water we consume to be filtered. Although I’ve been told that made water is pure enough, I’m thinking its the tank that puts stuff back in that I don’t want. Expect this may be true of the shower as well, but I don’t know.

Truth is, I don’t know what to do. I’ve been assigned this job on our boat and the more I read the more confused I get. I’m hoping this site is active or that someone who know and is interested,in helping me figure it out will contact me or respond here.

Thank you thank you thank you in advance. Cheri

April 6, 2013 at 7:25 am

I’m not sure why you think the site isn’t active, as I write four new articles every week . . . and there is lots of activity on the Facebook page!

Here’s what I’d do:

Put a 10″ filter housing on each line exiting your water tank (clarification after a question: put it after the pump; some boats have more than one line & pump) and use a .5 micron carbon block filter in each one (read about the different types of filters here: https://theboatgalley.com/choosing-water-filter/ ) — this will give you the purest water possible and will also filter out any chlorine out. You can put these anywhere on the lines, wherever you have space as long as you can get to it to change the filter. If you also put a filter on the water line between the tank and the water heater, your hot water will be filtered, too (and you won’t have gunk settling in the water heater, either). This is the least expensive way to get good filtering that I know of (Sea Gull is good but very expensive and you need a separate faucet). This is option #3 on the article that you left your comment on: https://theboatgalley.com/water-filters/

Next, flush your tanks with a lot of water — it’s the best way to get whatever is is there out. Then start filtering the dock water that you put into the tank, also with a .5 micron carbon block filter. The housing will fit on the end of the hose, then you can put a short stubby piece of hose after the filter to go to the deck fill. This will ensure that the water going into the tank is clean, although it will slow down the fill. Once all your water is filtered between the tank and the tap, you may want to start using chlorine again to make sure nothing grows in the tank (but only if the tank is stainless). We had a watermaker and still used chlorine. Just FYI, any type of carbon filter will take the chlorine out, so you don’t have to taste it or have it on your hair. If you were noticing the chlorine that much, I suspect that you were using too much.

April 13, 2013 at 5:39 am

Good site, thanks for the information! I’m looking to equip a new (to us) boat and it needs a water filter. On a previous boat we had a Seagull for drinking water and we were pleased with it, but on this boat I would like a whole-boat filter so we can brush our teeth in the head without worrying about water quality. I also don’t want to cut any new holes in the countertop for a separate faucet.

In your experience, can a 0.5 micron 10″ x 2.5″ filter be used for the whole boat, or only for the small drinking water faucets? The specs on some of the filter manufacturer’s sites indicate low flow rates of around 1 gpm for these fine filters. That sounds a lot lower than the 3 gpm range that our pump will be pumping.

You say “put a 10″ filter on each line exiting your water tank.” Do you mean on the inlet side of the water pump? I would think the filter would need to be on the outlet side of the pump.

We are going to be catching rainwater. Do you think there is any advantage in using a series of 10″ filters–like a 10 micron pre-filter then a 0.5 micron fine filter, or is that just too complicated or too much flow reduction?

Thanks for sharing your experience.

April 13, 2013 at 8:33 am

Exactly how you do it depends a lot on the boat configuration, how long the hose runs are and how powerful your water pump(s) is (there does NOT seem to a standard way of plumbing a boat!), but you’re right that the filter will probably be better on the outlet side of the pump (although we had a filter before the low pressure pump on our watermaker and it worked fine). If the filter is after the pump, the pressure switch will simply cut the pump off periodically if the pump is putting out water faster than it is flowing through the filter, and of course the water at the tap won’t flow any faster than it goes through the filter.

Using a filter before the water heater (if you have one; we didn’t, just used a SunShower) will eliminate the gunk that collects in it and thus will lengthen the life of the water heater.

We had a Seagull ourselves, but I do know of at least three boats that did use a single 10″ filter for both the galley and head (one head, and no freshwater flushing). And as you alluded, the biggest problem with using just one filter for the whole boat is the flow rate — although this does help with water conservation! That’s one reason that I like have separate filters on the hot and cold lines.

Finally, on the rainwater catching . . . since that is just a gravity flow, I’d worry about not having enough pressure to push water through a fine filter and just backing up instead (in El Salvador, we would catch 20 to 50 gallons in 20 minutes or less at times). The head pressure is going to be so different on different boats and different catchment systems that I hate to make any blanket recommendations. With the premise that any filter is better than none, I’d probably go ahead and install the 10″ housing, then experiment with what filter is the finest that doesn’t restrict the flow too much (20 micron? 10 micron? you don’t need carbon as you’re not trying to get chlorine out at this point — more trying to catch sediment). While I know of several boats that talked about putting a filter on their rainwater catch, I don’t know of any that actually did (or if they did, I didn’t hear from them after they had installed it). If anyone else here has installed one, it would be great to know what worked for you — please leave a note in the replies.

April 14, 2013 at 2:08 pm

Thanks for the reply. I wasn’t thinking of filtering the rainwater before it hit the tanks, only after it hits the boat’s freshwater system.

I think the inlet filters you had on your watermaker were fairly coarse. We had a boat with a watermaker that used 20 micron filters on the inlet and 5 micron filters on the fresh water flush (which was between fresh water pump outlet and the watermaker inlet).

Maybe the thing to do would be to put something like a 20 micron filter on the intake side of the fresh water pump to screen out any sediment from the tanks, and a 0.5 micron on the outlet side.

But it sounds from what you said like the water flow will drop so low through the 0.5 micron filter that there wouldn’t be enough flow to run the shower. Maybe a better way is to just filter cold water to the galley faucet. That wouldn’t require another hole in the counter top, but it would mean brushing our teeth in the galley instead of the head. Oh well.

Any comments from someone who has used a whole boat filter and who also uses their shower would be appreciated.

April 15, 2013 at 11:31 am

I guess I should make clear that I don’t KNOW that the pressure drop will be too low for an acceptable shower if you use a 0.5 micron on its line; it’s just what I would be concerned about. I’m going to post a note on The Boat Galley’s Facebook page and see if anyone has tried using a 0.5 micron filter as a whole boat or shower filter and what their result was. Hopefully we’ll get some answers!

If you want filtered water in the head sink, you could put a filter on that line in addition to the one in the galley. I don’t know your boat’s configuration, but our boat had a bunch of otherwise hard-to-access space under the head sink that could easily have been a home for a 10″ filter.

Michael Littrell on Facebook says

April 15, 2013 at 12:28 pm

Will the “standard” plumbing filter work with a simple hand pump or does it require the pressure created by a powered pump to operate efficiently?

The Boat Galley on Facebook says

April 15, 2013 at 1:04 pm

I know of several boats that used them with a hand or foot pump with no problem — and one that used a Seagull filter with a foot pump. We had a foot pump as a backup in our powered system and I had no problem using our Seagull with the foot pump, either.

Dave Skolnick on Facebook says

April 16, 2013 at 8:41 am

I have a whole-boat filter. The element has both a mechanical filter and a carbon filter. It works great. Elements are a standard size but I haven’t found the combination units in the US, only in Europe.

Philip Johnson on Facebook says

April 16, 2013 at 8:53 am

I have used these filters in combination with 10 or 20 micron paper filters ahead of the carbonated filter to supply the hotel water demands. They work fine. I would however caution against use of carbon filters when filling the water tanks as it will also remove the bromine which helps keep the water stored in tanks from going sour quickly.

Chris van der Baars says

May 29, 2013 at 5:03 pm

Just installed a Home Depot, GE 5 micron filter as a “whole system filter” on the intake side of the water pump on our Com Pac 25. It stopped the water flow to a trickle. I know it’s the filter because when I remove the element the water flow returns to the pre-filter rate. I installed an accumulator tank hoping that at least some of the water would make it into the 1 litre tank. No real improvement. I hate to give up …… any thoughts? Thanks… Chris.

May 29, 2013 at 5:52 pm

Most filters are installed on the outlet side of the pump so that the pump can push water through it rather than have to pull water through it. I’d try moving it to the outlet side.

September 4, 2013 at 6:44 pm

Belated thanks for your suggestion of moving the filter to the outlet side of the pump. We have been on the boat continuously since mid-June and can share our findings about our “Home Depot” systems. As mentioned previously, I moved the filter to the outlet side of the pump and then installed a 1 litre accumulator tank after the filter. The result is, no surprise, good flow from the accumulator tank but an immediate reduction of flow when the tank is emptied. The pump cannot push the water through the filter to provide a continuopus flow. All in all, an adequate system for us marina based people who have showers available shore-side and enjoy fresh water sailing. The water quality is excellent.

December 22, 2019 at 11:37 am

did you try installing the water filter after the accumulator tank? the pressure from the accumulator tank I would think would increase the force through the filter.

September 4, 2013 at 6:13 pm

We use a PUR faucet mount that lasts 100 gallons , removes Giardia and Cryptospiridium, reduces chlorine and tastes good. Available on Amazon and any home improvement store.

Sally Conlee says

October 8, 2013 at 9:22 pm

The Purest One website does not appear to be working. The phone numbers are disconnected.

October 9, 2013 at 6:03 pm

Thanks for letting me know. I did some investigating and found that the company has recently changed hands and they are trying to re-do the website. Right now, you can contact them by email — click on the contact button on the website (I changed the link so that it goes to the “new” site).

Colin MacDonald says

December 19, 2013 at 3:36 pm

Thank you for information on PurestOne filter/Seagull, I am thinking of installing one my boat inline on out let of my main water pump after the accumulator thank and exciting water faucet. any thoughts on this plan I will have to order from Canada on line and get ship to Canada

December 19, 2013 at 6:51 pm

It has a fairly low flow rate, so if that line also goes to the shower, you may want to just have the filter on the line where the drinking/cooking water is. Other than that, sounds great!

Ken Arnold says

July 10, 2014 at 7:56 am

The 10″ House filters also have a “Ceramic Bacteria” filter avail. for about $30-40. It can be cleaned w/ a steel wool (stainless) scrubber pad. It is very slow flow and really needs a Pleated or Carbon Block filter “prefilter” or it will plug fast.

You just scrub the sides of it lightly to make it like new.

Nancy Wargo Kahlden says

July 10, 2014 at 1:41 pm

We added a refrigerator type filter and a spigot on the counter above the refrigerator in our Tayana ’42. The line and the filter were in the refrigerator and we had cold tap water. We had installed a DC refrigerator system in the original frig.

Lupari Sue says

July 10, 2014 at 2:41 pm

Just writing about our water today. We have particle for all water and ceramic for drinking water.

Rusty Barnett says

July 10, 2014 at 2:59 pm

Just sanitized & filled my tanks yesterday, as well as replacing the pressure pump. Thanks for this summary…I was thinking about putting in some type of filter!

The Boat Galley says

July 10, 2014 at 3:00 pm

Nancy, I know another boat that did that. Great way to get cold water if the layout works!

CherylAnn Falconer says

July 10, 2014 at 4:29 pm

We have a filter tap on our Liberty 458 ! It’s brilliant

Dawn Wheeler says

July 11, 2014 at 1:34 am

I bought a filter system from the purest one based on your recommendation and we love it!

The Sea and Sailors says

July 11, 2014 at 1:04 am

I always do! Okey, almost…

Ted Reshetiloff says

July 11, 2014 at 12:12 pm

We run the standard 10″ filter on our foot pump but I have found that the more aggressive filters esp charcoal ones are too restrictive and the foot pump has a hard time moving the water. I’ve tried putting the filter on either side of the whale foot pump to no avail. We are a family of 4 living full time aboard and we just use basic 5 micron filters and drink rain water. Our catcher dumps right into our tank. Tastes great

Where The Coconuts Grow says

July 11, 2014 at 3:45 pm

Great post. Our boat also came equipped with a Seagull filter. I’ll definitely check into the Purest One replacement filters for next time!

Randy Donkel says

July 11, 2014 at 6:11 pm

4 Tlbs. Of Clorox to my 40 gal. Tank kill bacteria,germs and bad taste.

Eva Persson says

November 3, 2014 at 10:03 am

Thanks for an interesting post! Has anyone tried LifeStraw? I think it sounds interesting and would like to hear from people about it! Eva

Noah Barton says

November 9, 2014 at 4:15 pm

Also wondering about using a Lifestraw. Our boat is equipped with a “seawater” galley intake and since we are sailing on Lake Michigan would getting either their Lifestraw Go (water bottles with a filter built in), holding up a filter to the tap every time we wanted clean water or getting a family-sized filter unit that we would then use to fill up urns and jugs make more sense? This would be used primarily for the Mac Race, which we figure it should take about 3-4 days to complete. We would have an 8 person crew. We want to shed as much weight as possible so bringing on 65 kilos of water really isn’t option on our already heavy cruiser-racer.

Don Rushton says

May 10, 2016 at 12:12 pm

I fitted my Hunter 34, Cygnus, sailing Lake Huron with the blue plastic cartridge RV style .5 micron charcoal filter (comes with garden hose connections) downstream of my stored water tanks pressure pump.They are only $20-30. and quick to change out once a season.

I also installed a 2nd lake water pump and faucet in the galley for hand and dish washing etc. which saves the stored drinking water. I guess it could be fitted with a similar cartridge if we wanted to make it potable as well.

Tina Heimann says

March 16, 2016 at 7:34 pm

FYI: We bought our Seagull 2 years ago, bought in Canada on line (we live in Toronto) and order our filters from same company out of Montreal. Tina and Dan Heimann Solitude (Catalina 400)

March 17, 2016 at 8:46 am

Filtration is very important. We have 3 stages. 1 as the local water is entering the boat. Sediment fibre filter. Then it has one of these filters for the general purpose taps in the galley and head, then we have one ceramic filter for dedicated drinking water tap. Clean safe water without lots of plastic bottles to dispose of.

Gordon Wedman says

May 10, 2016 at 11:07 am

On my boat I have a ten inch pleated filter ahead of the pump to remove sediment and a 3M RV/Marine WV-B2 Whole Vehicle Water Filtration System after the pump. The 3M filter removes sediment down to 0.2 microns and has charcoal as well. Flow rate to 2.5gpm. I took an old one apart and was impressed with the pleated filter inside and the amount of charcoal. The complete system is about $200 and replacement filters around $100. The B2 cartridge will filter 7500 gallons of water, probably more if you start with reasonably clean water. A note of caution about chlorinating your tank water if you have a water maker that does a reverse flush with your tank water. You don’t want to run chlorine through your water maker as it is bad for the membranes. Always wait a few days before doing a reverse flush to let the chlorine dissipate.

Willem Jobse says

October 25, 2016 at 4:51 pm

I have seen many comments but they do not solve the real problem. Filters do not remove biofilm in your lines, the breeding ground for viruses, bacteria´s and legionella. Specially older ship in hotter climates could have a huge problem in their lines. Chlorinating is very bad for environment and your body. We think that treatment of your lines with stabilized hydrogen peroxide is the solution. Specially for people living on their ships. You may find more info on the webpage from freshwaterwizard based in Spain. (but a Dutch product)

November 26, 2016 at 12:03 pm

Hello all – for years we had a sediment filter in the water line plus a Pur faucet mount unit in the galley of our sailboat, Mariah. We plan to do the same thing on our new boat. It’s a relatively simple & inexpensive solution if you have a pressurized water system. The water tastes great. The Pur filters are small & easy to stash in small spaces.

SV Pearl Lee says

June 19, 2017 at 11:14 am

We use dual stage filtration and UV. ~ Tom

Good Ship Monster says

June 19, 2017 at 2:52 pm

Great idea! Just say no to bottled water.

Susan Kam says

June 19, 2017 at 4:52 pm

Best thing we ever did! I drink a lot of water and after hubby lugged around giant jugs of water a few times, we got an under sink filter for what used to be the salt water tap.

Tom Vetter says

June 19, 2017 at 12:58 pm

We prefilter at the hose and use a Berkey purifier for drinking and cooking. They’re extremely effective. http://berkeywaterkb.com/black-berkey-purification-elements-test-results/

Bob Lorraine Morecraft says

June 19, 2017 at 5:13 pm

Totally agree. We filter first dockside then again at the galley sink with another Seagull water filter. We use Yeti mugs, Tervis tumblers and bike water bottles and refill as needed. We refuse to stow plastic water bottles. And of course, when underway or at anchor, there’s the watermaker.

June 19, 2017 at 2:14 pm

A quick question on filter installation. Is it better to install the filter before or after the water pump?

June 19, 2017 at 3:37 pm

Between the pump and the faucet (that is, AFTER the pump).

Erin Gray says

June 20, 2017 at 3:47 pm

New filter it’s !

Patty Makowski says

July 25, 2017 at 1:06 pm

I just read this to my husband- a master plumber. He said that the info in your article is absolutely spot on and presented in a way that’s easy for everyone to understand. I’ve been flirting with buying the Purest One, but I think we’ll start with the $100 solution and see how that goes. Right now we’re in the Pacific Northwest (US and British Columbia) so not too many worries. Next year we set off for Alaska and might have to think about another solution. By the way, our boat is ferro-cement with ferro cement integral water tanks and the taste is surprisingly good, we stuck a remote camera down there and we shocked to see clear water and no “crud”. But we carry 600 gallons and it starts to taste stale in a very short time.

As always, thanks again for your great articles!

July 25, 2017 at 6:31 pm

Cherie Burch says

July 25, 2017 at 3:47 pm

Question about using your watermaker in Boot Key Harbor. Do you put bleach in your tanks? Or does the watermaker take care of the potential bacteria. I have heard the water quality is not good there. We will be there in October and want to use the watermaker, already have an under sink filter for chlorine and heavy metals but are concerned about bacteria.. Thanks for all the great articles, I have learned a LOT from you over the past few years.

We do not use bleach in our tanks. Bacteria are too small to go through a watermaker membrane. It also removes dirt, viruses, etc.

July 25, 2017 at 8:51 pm

Thanks so much for responding. Takes a load off my mind!

Rosalind Franks says

January 17, 2018 at 7:51 pm

We got a seagull, we no longer buy bottled water for drinking. 1000 gallons at .75 a gallon is $750. That’s how I justified it to myself and hubby. We drink a lot of water and have had everyone we know taste test. I’m a huge fan

Yep, I love the Seagull!

January 17, 2018 at 8:42 pm

I like my tasteless water, and having a tap with filtered drinking water is totally necessary! Also takes up less space than bottled, and filters are easier to carry!

Mike Boyd says

January 18, 2018 at 12:01 am

Variation on a theme…we use one of the 3M under-sink full flow filters. Sits somewhere between the Seagull and whole house filter options. Filters are probably not as ubiquitous as the whole house (but can be found at most home improvement and big-box stores in the US). Filters last 6 months or more depending on installation. I’ve hooked one up to a separate faucet and would get longer use, but for those not wanting another faucet, you can also just hook it up to the cold water line of the sink (our current install). Does a great job with taste as well as filtration from our plastic fresh water tanks. Cartridge replacement is a snap…1/4 turn, no worry about turning off valves or dealing with wrenches. Mine sits in the cabinet under our galley sink in the space between the sink and the wall. At 1/10th the price of Seagull, it is something I would install on any future boat…or house.

January 18, 2018 at 3:30 am

Yes, that’s one of the options I mention in the post. Many people use the 10″ filters. Generally costs about $100 to install.

January 18, 2018 at 4:23 am

Sorry, didn’t see it specifically mentioned. They are about $50 if you install it yourself. I just like how easy it is to change the filter and how long they last. Here’s an example of one: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Filtrete-Under-Sink-Advanced-Water-Filtration-System-3US-PS01/203582800

January 18, 2018 at 12:32 pm

Ahh, thanks for the link. That’s actually a bit different, but same type of thing. Looks like it might be a little easier install and take up less room under the counter.

January 18, 2018 at 1:09 pm

Here is a picture of ours under the galley sink (where the water pump and accumulator also live on our Leopard). Installation is pretty easy and replacement cartridges are easy to replace with a 1/4 turn by hand…no tools required. It also lacks metal parts so corrosion isn’t an issue. It is just a variation of the other options, but I thought worth the mention due to these features I consider boat friendly.

Nicki Pendergast says

January 21, 2018 at 2:50 pm

We easily collect rain water. Our filter system is simple & cheap. Just opposite my galley in my master cabin is a small basin, there we added an inline filtered foot pump. We pump a quart of water and refilter that through a Britta. Double filtered! My galley sink already has a salt water pump, so didn’t want a 3rd faucet there.

January 21, 2018 at 2:53 pm

Can no longer get SHURflo filters. We found Omnipure. Between the two filters, most unwanted things are filtered out. Also our water tanks are stainless steel, which isn’t compatible to bleach.

Diane Grieman says

July 11, 2018 at 11:31 pm

Quite a number of us in Mexico (because info spread by word of mouth) use the SafH20 filtration system – excellent and economical. It has come out in the 7 years since you wrote this article. Check out their web site.

Chuck B says

September 26, 2019 at 11:12 am

The fresh water tanks in my boat are fiberglass. I’m wondering if the fiberglass leaches anything into the water (i.e. toxic BPA, etc.), and if so, what filters might be effective at removing it before drinking?

July 21, 2020 at 11:15 am

We personally use a Berkey water filter. They are gravity water purification systems that are portable. You can take them anywhere. No electricity or water pressure needed. I would think the Travel or Big Berkey are the appropriate size in most cases.

https://www.berkeycleanwater.com/

Molly s/v Sabai says

July 23, 2020 at 8:46 am

We’ve had a Pur faucet mount filter in the galley for over 20 years. Works perfect. You can get them & the filters at Walmart or a hardware store. Filters are a bit pricey but they last quite a while. We a have a Brita filter pitcher as back up if the pressurized water system breaks (but that would never happen, right?). You do need sediment pre-filter on the line. I think ours is 20 microns. That probably wouldn’t matter if all you use is water from your RO system.

David Roberts says

December 27, 2020 at 12:11 am

Thanks for a couple of informative articles on water filtering.

My wife and I have owned a 50s-era timber bridgedecker in New Zealand for several years now. The water tanks are fibreglass and black plastic (PE?) and the water has always had an unpleasant odour and taste, though we shower and brush teeth with it. Even a visiting dog turned up her nose in disgust. Basically, you wouldn’t want to drink it. We’ve used bottle or carton water for drinking, coffee, tea, cooking, etc.

Over the years I’ve tried various inline filters from marine brands, with no noticeable improvement. I found your articles on filters while searching for people’s experience of using home water filter systems on boats. It’s amazing how much parroted BS there is on the webs, with very few people actually providing advice based on experience.

I’ve now installed a filter system and wanted to describe the setup and result for the benefit of other readers.

I didn’t want a separate tap at the sink, rather I wanted a ‘whole of house’ arrangement – we have three outlets: galley sink; heads basin; and shower.

Although our town supply water at the dock is excellent I can’t be sure what might be living in the tank – three do not have cleaning/inspection ports – I’ve been treating the water with a product used in rural rainwater tanks. So my preference was to filter with a half-micron carbon block.

I was concerned that we’d lose too much pressure in the system with the half-micron so considered stepping up the housings form 10” standard to 10” jumbo (4.5 diam). Lots of options so I emailed one of the stores for advice. They said that we should be fine with the half-micron given our pump specs, though they recommended a dual filter under-bench setup with a separate outlet which made me question the advice!

Our water system feeds from three tanks via separate valves to a Jabsco Par Max 3.5 13lpm / 3.5gpm pump (cut-in pressure 20psi, cut-out 40psi). Tank to pump about 1m. Pump to filter about 3m. Filter to galley sink about 2m. Filter to heads basin about 4m. Filter to shower about 4m.

So, I went with a 10” standard (2.5” diam) dual filter arrangement with 13mm / 0.5” inlets/outlets, with a poly spun combined sediment/GAC filter followed by a 0.5 micron carbon block. I figured I could either upsize the pump or increase the filter pore/filtration size (as I treat the water anyway and it’s mostly about the taste and smell).

There’s a drop in the flow, but it’s not a concern at either of the sinks or the shower.

The most noticeable change is the quality of the water. Seriously, no smell, no unpleasant taste. It’s just like drinking water from the tap at home.

In summary, 40psi / 3.5gpm pump, dual stage filter with 20 micron pre-filter and 0.5 micron carbon block, no problem.

December 27, 2020 at 6:23 am

Sounds good! Yes, we use 0.5 micron carbon block filters on the freshwater flush of our watermaker, which runs off our regular pressure water pump. Flow rate is still good! Thrilled that you got your water tasting good!

July 6, 2021 at 7:25 pm

With the standard house filter, are they any concerns about water pressure? Right now, I’m using a Shurflo in line RV filter, but it’s expensive and the water flow is really hampered (using a 3.8 GPM FW pump from Shurflo).

July 12, 2021 at 2:59 pm

I haven’t heard of anyone complaining unless the filter gets clogged to the point where it restricts water flow.

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5 Best Watermakers for Sailboats

Last Updated by

Daniel Wade

June 15, 2022

With the right Watermaker, the ocean becomes an almost immeasurable supply of fresh and clean drinking water to keep you hydrated during your offshore sailing adventures.

Many sailors do spend a lot of their time and money on various parts of the sailboat including the sails, engine, electronics, and generators especially when preparing for long-distance voyages.

While there's absolutely nothing wrong with this, they often overlook one crucial part of general human survival: having an ample supply of fresh drinking water.

Whether you have freshwater drinking tanks on your sailboat or planning to cruise in areas where you can easily access clean drinking water, the hassle involved in having to come to the dock to fill the water tanks can be quite overwhelming.

This is exactly why you need to find the best watermakers for sailboats.

Like many other nautical technologies, watermakers have significantly advanced in the last few decades to become very efficient and more reliable. They're no longer a luxury on your sailboat but a necessity. Better still, watermakers have become relatively affordable and are meant to keep you hydrated as you explore areas that do not have clean and fresh drinking water.

In this article, we'll take a look at how watermaker systems work, highlight its benefits, and highlight the best sailboat watermakers on the market right now. At the end of this read, you should be able to choose the best watermaker for your sailboat.

Table of contents

Benefits of Having a Watermaker on Your Sailboat

The freedom and security that come with having full water tanks on your sailboat are of immense importance, especially if you're cruising in an area where fresh drinking water is hard to come by and quite expensive when you do. As such, having a watermaker aboard your sailboat is no longer a luxury like it used to be in the past. With a steady supply of fresh and clean water, your life on the sailboat will be a lot better. This is because you'll have enough clean water to drink, cook, wash, and shower, which is beneficial if you want to enjoy your sailing adventures.

Honestly speaking, many sailors do not actually need a watermaker. Well, if you're planning to sail just near the shores, then there's a chance that you can easily access fresh and clean water by the dock. But this can be limiting if you've been dreaming of going off the grid and sailing to some exotic and unknown places in the world.

With that in mind, a watermaker makes a lot of sense to most sailors. You won't have to worry about having to carry aboard gallons of fresh water for cooking and drinking during your voyage. You won't have to treat freshwater as a precious commodity that must last until you can refill at the next port. With a watermaker, you can simply go ocean crossing without worrying about running out of water.

A watermaker allows you to have a steady supply of fresh and clean water to keep everybody well-hydrated and healthy. You can clean the water anytime you feel like and all you have to do is replace the filter once in a while and you'll be good to go. In essence, a watermaker is probably one of the most important equipment to have aboard your sailboat, so installing it is of great importance if you're a serious sailor.

The Basics of Modern Marine Watermakers

Modern marine watermakers essentially follow the principle of reverse-osmosis to produce pure, drinking water from seawater. During this process and through very high pressure, seawater is forced through a semipermeable membrane that only allows freshwater molecules to pass through it but not salt, bacteria, or any other organic material. The newly made pure, drinking water is then piped to the sailboat's water tanks while the leftover (brine) is discharged overboard.

Even though marine watermakers may differ in the type of pump that's employed and how it is driven, this is one of the most important features in every watermaker. In most cases, water can be electrically pumped or powered directly off the boat's engine. If you have an AC generator or alternator on your boat, it would make much sense to use the AC output to drive the watermaker directly. You can also choose the DC-powered models if you rely on renewable energy from solar or wind. Alternatively, you can still go for AC-powered watermakers but you'll have to buy an inverter.

All in all, DC-powered watermakers are more efficient since they integrate a power-saving energy recovery system (ERS). You must, however, keep in mind that your energy consumption levels might be quite high if you're sailing in colder and saltier areas. This is because the water purification process might be a bit slower in such areas. As such, you should consider investing in a more high-powered watermaker system if you will be sailing in colder and saltier areas than if you're planning to sail more in warm and less salty areas.

As far as an engine-driven watermaker is concerned, you should mount the high-pressure pump on the engine so that it can be belt-driven using an automatic clutch. An engine-driven watermaker should be your first option if you want large quantities of fresh drinking water. This is more productive than AC or DC-powered watermakers. Even with a relatively small engine, this setup has an automatic regulator that constantly pumps the water. With that in mind, engine-driven watermakers are ideal if you want to reduce your energy consumption. To put it into perspective, an engine-driven watermaker can lower energy consumption by an enormous 80%, especially when compared with conventional AC or DC-powered watermaker systems.

How to Choose the Best Watermaker for Your Sailboat

There are many factors to consider when looking for the best watermakers for your sailboat. Here are the most important things to consider.

Your Freshwater Needs

One of the most important things to consider before spending your money on a watermaker is your freshwater needs. What quantity would be enough to keep you going on your sailing adventure? While the quantity might differ from one sailor to the other or from one boat to the other, you should consider the number of gallons that a particular watermaker can produce per day. This will help you in choosing the ideal watermaker; a model that will ensure that you never run out of water. Do not underestimate your water needs, especially if you're planning to sail with your children or if you're planning to stay on the boat for an extended period of time.

Do you have enough space on your vessel to accommodate the type of watermaker you're looking to buy? While most watermakers are designed to fit in the smallest of space, you should consider the actual size of the watermaker and find out whether you have enough space on your vessel to fix it.

Watermakers can run on electricity, renewable energy such as wind and solar (if you have them on your vessel), or both. When looking for the perfect watermaker, you should consider how to power it and whether or not the watermaker has low-energy consumption, which is definitely a great feature. Again, there are also engine-driven watermakers, so it's important to know exactly what you're going for.

Maintenance

Watermakers have a reputation for being difficult to maintain. Fortunately, the equipment and components have improved in the last few years so you should go for a model that's easy to maintain. You should use the watermaker in water bodies that look good, You should avoid using the watermaker in dirty harbors as you may have to change the filters every so often or even damage your watermaker altogether.

Best Watermakers for Sailboats

Let's take a look at the best watermakers available on the market right now.

The Ultra Whisper

Engineered by limited electrical options that can run on either DC or AC, THE Ultra Whisper by Sea Recovery is one of the best watermakers currently available on the market. In addition to being very quiet, this watermaker features an automatic operation that requires very minimal operator adjustment.

This watermaker is ideal for small powerboats and sailboats since it can serve as an efficient water supply. This model boasts about a 75% reduction in power consumption, especially when compared to other models.

• ‍ Smooth and quiet water production
• Can produce up to 2,280 liters per day
• Ideal for small boats
• It is energy efficient
• ‍ It might not be perfect for large boats

Echotec Watermaker

If you want a watermaker model that can produce 60 liters per hour flawlessly and with no maintenance apart from changing the filters, look no further than the Echotec Watermaker. This model is designed for ultra-reliable performance and easy customer installation.

This watermaker is made from high-quality components that can withstand the continuous harsh marine environment, making it one of the most durable watermakers on the market. This is essentially a series of modular watermakers ranging from 12-volt to 24-volt DC-powered models. They bring forth energy efficiency, a computerized energy recovery system, and ultimate reliability to ensure that you never run out of fresh drinking water while out there on the sea.

• ‍ Energy efficient
• Cost-effective
• ‍ Comes with a very low speed
• Not ideal for large boats

Spectra Katadyn PowerSurvivor

As a compact and energy-efficient watermaker, the Spectra Katadyn PowerSurvivor is arguably the most affordable watermaker currently available on the market. We are talking about a model that only requires 4 amps to desalinate water for your sailboat. It can produce 1.5 gallons of fresh drinking water per hour, which is an excellent return for a watermaker of its size.

It is also one of the most portable watermakers around. You can choose to either install it permanently or temporarily in case you want to take it somewhere else. This portability is also essential if you're looking for a space-saving model that can fit in the smallest of compartments. Its simple but rugged design is essential in ensuring that it can perform at its best even in harsh marine conditions. In terms of its power capabilities, this is the only model on the market that will convert to a hand-operated system or manual power if there's a power shortage.

• ‍ Portable and lightweight
• Rugged design to withstand harsh marine environments
• Efficient and reliable
• Can revert to manual power if there's a power shortage
• Perfect for off-grid sailing
• ‍ Gasoline or diesel can easily damage the semi-permeable membrane

Village Marine - Little Wonder Series

Whether you're looking for a watermaker for your small sailboat or looking for a watermaker that can efficiently serve those huge yachts, the Village Marine Little Wonder Series provides everything. This model is meant for experienced sailors who are looking for various capacity options. This watermaker weighs just about 69 pounds but can produce nearly 180 gallons of fresh drinking water each day.

Designed with a low RPM high-pressure pump, this model remains one of the most efficient and economical watermakers on the market. That's not all; this watermaker is designed with corrosion-resistant features and is one of the most serviceable watermakers in the game. It is reliable, quiet, and portable; all factors that make a watermaker great.

• ‍ Easy to operate
• Corrosion-resistant
• Easy to maintain
• Quiet and versatile
• ‍ It doesn't have automatic adjustment controls

Ventura 150 Watermaker

This is one of the most versatile watermakers on the market. It can use both electricity and renewable energy. This model is engineered to be lightweight and energy-efficient and its compact and modular design makes it a great option if you're looking for a watermaker that's easy to use and install in confined spaces.

The Ventura 150 watermaker is highly efficient as it can produce over 6 gallons of water an hour, which makes it quite perfect for small vessels. This sailboat watermaker features a controller that allows you to operate and monitor the device remotely. It also has the auto store button that will automatically flash the system after every five days.

This watermaker is quiet and surprisingly compact despite its ability to produce about 150 gallons of water per day. It also gives you the option of going for the automated manual or manual model.

• ‍ Very versatile
• Can use both electricity and renewable energy power
• It is smooth and quiet
• It is compact and lightweight
• ‍ The manual model has analog controls

To this end, it's easy to see that having an ideal watermaker aboard your vessel is one of the first crucial steps towards being self-sufficient and sustainable. With a watermaker, you'll be able to access fresh drinking water at all times when sailing even in far-flung places. Most of these models are well-constructed and incorporate some of the best technologies that make them efficient, reliable, and easy to install, use, and maintain.

So when it comes to choosing the best watermaker for your sailboat, it may all come down to what is ideal for you in terms of energy consumption, efficiency, the quantity of water produced, among many other things. With an ideal watermaker, you can remain off the grid for as long as you want without ever worrying about running out of water and this is of great importance in enjoying your sailing adventures.

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I've personally had thousands of questions about sailing and sailboats over the years. As I learn and experience sailing, and the community, I share the answers that work and make sense to me, here on Life of Sailing.

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Yachting World

• Digital Edition

Water for sailing: We survey the ARC fleet to find popular options

• Toby Hodges
• June 24, 2021

How to stow, conserve or generate drinking water for sailing is key for any offshore sailor. Toby Hodges surveyed the 81 skippers of the ARC 2020 fleet for tips

Water is the source of all life. For any sailor considering extended cruising or an ocean crossing , the ability to carry or produce sufficient fresh water for sailing is a top priority.

But how do you decide how much water to ship or how best to generate your own? Our survey of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) fleet last year focused on water.

We asked the skippers how much water they carried for sailing, in what form, how it was used and, for the majority with watermakers, detailed questions about the generation of water and how the equipment performed at sea.

Since we last ran a survey on this topic in 2014 our collective attitude towards waste has arguably changed for the better. That fleet of 193 yachts carried over 28 tonnes of bottled water with them across to the Caribbean. All sailors today should consider how every consumable item they carry aboard will be disposed of when they reach their destination.

Pogo 12.50 Rush. Photo: James Mitchell

The main decision ocean sailors face with water stowage is whether to fit a watermaker, which is both a practical and a financial decision. Generating your own water is one of the best investments cruising sailors can make towards comfort and true independence.

ARC skippers over the past two decades have consistently described watermakers as one of their most vital pieces of equipment. “To us, a watermaker is the single best thing you can have for cruising by a fair margin and fully changes the game,” thinks Rush ’s Ian Baylis.

Three-quarters of the skippers who replied to our survey had watermakers aboard. The seven yachts listed as not carrying one were all smaller entries between 35ft and 45ft and typically over 20-year-old models. They carried extra water in bottles and jerrycans and used it sparingly.

Usage and conservation of water for sailing

Being frugal with water becomes second nature to most cruisers. The majority of respondents said their crew only showered every three days, 12 every two days and 13 daily.

One of the most common pieces of advice from skippers concerning water conservation is to fit a saltwater tap and to use seawater whenever you can. “Cook with salt water when possible,” advises the crew of Montana , a Swan 48 S&S from 1973. Yet over half of the respondents did not have a saltwater tap fitted in their galley, nor even a manual freshwater pump in the galley or the heads.

“The saltwater tap in the galley is essential,” thinks Tobias Gröpper on his Sunbeam 44 Pivot . “We still have 50% of our tank capacity on arrival although we took showers etc.”

Jorn Aalefjær, the Norwegian skipper of Ticora III , and Dane Martin Nielsen aboard his Jeanneau 53 also both stressed the benefit of fitting a saltwater tap.

Suffisant , one of the smallest entrants, a Beneteau Oceanis Clipper 331 from 1990, has only small tanks, but uses a Katadyn Power Survivor 40E watermaker. They used salt water to wash with and had manual taps fitted in the galley and heads.

Swiss skipper Marina Passet says: “Salt water is no use for washing clothes, but can be used for brushing teeth, washing dishes and vegetables.”

Article continues below…

Water on board: what should you carry? We ask ARC skippers for tips for an Atlantic crossing

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Catamaran sailing across the Atlantic: Why multihulls are taking over the ARC

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Seasoned cruising sailors the Blacks aboard Bowman 57 Emily Morgan , say they have used their set-up for 8,500 miles and would not do anything differently. They relied on their Spectra Ventura watermaker, but advise closely monitoring the tanks: “We graph tank levels daily,” says Anna Black. “If the level is below the line then no more fresh water showers until it returns. Allow 20% extra in case of problems.”

Many other crews, including on the Sunbeam 42.1 Ibex , were happy relying on desalinated water without needing large back-up quotas of water.

The Chung family aboard Kaizen use a four-filter system to purify their water and drink everything from the tank. They have an instant hotwater tap, and “we make our own sparkling water and have reuse cannisters for emergency”, says Kean Chung. Their Oyster 49 has 1,000lt tanks and a Sea Fresh H20 watermaker, so the crew were able to shower daily and there was no need for any bottled water.

Water stowage

There should be no need to rely on single-use plastic water bottles when cruising. Reusable bottles, flexible or collapsible bladders and jerrycans are a perfectly adequate solution for storing reserve water, particularly if you have a good filtration system.

Use salt water when possible, for washing clothes, dishes or taking showers. Photo: Thomas Horgen

Recycling plastic is not possible on many islands. While in recent years IGY Rodney Bay Marina has provided a plastic recycling service for visiting yachts, run in co-operation with a local community group, due to COVID restrictions the service was suspended in 2020.

So it was disheartening to find that nearly half the fleet still shipped over 100lt of bottled water each, while seven yachts carried over 250lt of bottled water, despite five of these having a watermaker.

Many skippers still like to carry bottled water as a contamination-proof back-up or for monitoring intake. Aboard Escapado for example, a Beneteau first 40.7 with no watermaker, they carried over 250lt of bottled water.

Skipper Sophie Iona O’Neill says: “One person kept a tally and did three fills of everyone’s water each day.” She says the total daily consumption amounted to: “two litres of drinking water per person, plus one litre of tea/coffee, giving a total of 3lt of fluid per person, per day,” – a useful statistic for those planning water consumption.

Water generation

If installed correctly and serviced properly, a watermaker should perform consistently well. The majority of 2020 ARC skippers rated their watermakers most highly, with 70% giving 5/5 for reliability.

Wash-up in seawater, then just rinse in fresh. Photo: Tor Johnson

Just eight skippers reported having any issues with their equipment. Any problems were either fixed with spares or the result of another issue, such as a power source problem ( Adagio had issues with their genset and, in the case of the Malo 43 Ydalir II , the fault was traced to a leak onto the inverter).

The few who experienced any faults with their watermaker’s performance were typically those who had only installed it that season. The overriding advice is to make sure you have tested your system thoroughly at sea before embarking on an ocean passage.

With prices typically ranging from £4,000 to five figures, it is worthwhile making sure a watermaker is working smoothly and knowing how to service it properly in advance.

Have the power

The ability to harness power naturally and to store it efficiently is changing the watermaker world. “If you don’t want to use diesel to make water you need a lot of power generation,” warns Lucky Girl ’s Charlie Pank, who has a Schenker Modular 30. However, only five skippers say they increased their battery capacity when their watermaker was fitted.

Paul Lemmens was very happy with his Rainman AC 120lt per hour unit aboard his Hanse 455 Veni Vidi Vix , but advises: “You need good batteries/large inverter to function.” He fitted an extra 400Ah of lithium batteries when the watermaker was installed.

The advent of high DC power has had a marked effect on watermakers, says Mactra Marine’s Jim MacDonald, who, COVID restrictions apart, usually attends the ARC start for any last-minute watermaker problems or services. “Go for a low-energy system that will run off the batteries,” he advises. A good bank of solar panels or a hydrogenerator can really help – nearly half the fleet used solar to help charge their batteries.

Many of the crews in the ARC still carry significant amounts of bottled water.

“As lithium has become more prevalent, DC systems with energy recovery are coming into their own,” MacDonald continues. “This means that whatever your means of power generation, you can always use your watermaker – whereas with the old-fashioned AC/high-pressure pumps you had to run the genset to make it work.” He has also seen the reliability of modern watermakers improving as they increasingly use electronics where possible.

Despite its modest output of 20lt per hour, the Blacks on Emily Morgan rate their Spectra Ventura very highly. They installed it themselves in 2017 and describe it as “invaluable in the Pacific – simple and reliable”.

The German Schaals aboard their Bavaria Cruiser 42 Nikajuma say they wouldn’t change their set-up and that the Echo Tec DML260 always worked – but noting “that the test tap is very important”.

Filtering water

Whether storing water in tanks or making desalinated water from the sea, filtering out any impurities makes sense. “We added 5ml of chlorine in the tank to kill bacteria and used LaVie water purifiers to get the chlorine smell out of the tap water we drank,” says Patrice Charbon, who was sailing the new Fountaine Pajot Astrea 42 Eden Blue for LP4Y with four friends.

Bottled water is still popular on board, despite the potential environmental impact. Photo: James Mitchell

They were trialling a new form of UVA water filtration technology on their desalinated water. Charbon, an associate of the inventors Solable, explains: “The strong LED light beam generates UVAs which break the chlorine molecules. As a side effect, an advanced oxidation process flushes the water eliminating all molecules of pesticides, medicine or hormones that one can find in tap water.

“A 30-minute purification would bring fresh, pure water to our table every day,” concludes Charbon, calculating that the watermaker and filters helped them save “over 200 plastic water bottles for our crossing and over 12kg of PET since our departure”.

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Maintaining Your Marine Water Tank System

• By Steve D'Antonio
• Updated: January 9, 2014

Water Filter

Clean water is not an onboard luxury: It’s a necessity. Drinking, bathing, cooking and cleaning all demand a high degree of purity in your potable water system. Begin the analysis of your system with your marine water tank. What is it made from? Has it ever been opened and inspected? Ideal potable water tank materials include 316L stainless steel; fiberglass that is coated with FDA-approved gelcoat; or epoxy and virgin linear polyethylene. Because of its susceptibility to both galvanic and poultice corrosion, aluminum, while used occasionally for water tanks (as well as integrally aboard aluminum vessels), is less than desirable in potable water applications.

Like all onboard tankage, water tanks should be equipped with inspection or cleaning ports. If your tank is so equipped and you’ve never peeked inside, now’s the time to determine if detritus has accumulated. Don a sanitary rubber glove and swab your finger across the inside of the tank. If it feels slimy or emits an odor, the tank’s interior needs to be scrubbed with detergent, rinsed and sanitized.

| |The bottom right hose in this image relies on steel wire reinforcement, which unfortunately is rusting. Seek other alternatives.|

Next, inspect your plumbing. All hoses , tubing and pipes should be rated for potable water use. If they’re not, there’s no telling what sorts of particles or compounds may be sloughing or leaching into your water supply. Hose, plastic tubing and plastic pipe (including fill and vent hoses) should all be emblazoned with at least one of the following designations: NSF61, FDA Approved or Potable Water Approved. Despite its widespread use, clear hose should be avoided due to its propensity to support algal growth. Conversely, opaque polyethylene, copper and PVC plumbing are well suited to potable water applications.

Anyone installing or working on potable water systems must strive to be as careful and hygienic as possible. Tank openings and plumbing ends must remain closed, taped over or otherwise covered unless they are actually being worked on at the time.

Filters can present a first, second and even third line of defense against potable water contamination. When filling tanks, running dockside water through a high-volume inline filter will ensure clean water is brought aboard. (Note: Dockside hoses are notorious for lacking a potable water approval rating.) However, filters containing activated charcoal should not be used for this purpose, as they will neutralize the chlorine contained in municipal water supplies, which will likely allow biological growth within the tank and plumbing. Also, liveaboard sailors who plan on leaving filters on the dock should make sure they have opaque canisters, as clear canisters are ideal breeding grounds for algae.

| |Proprietary potable-water plumbing systems like this one are not only reliable and compact, they are also specifically designed and suited for fresh drinking water.|

Onboard filters that service the entire boat can be installed immediately downstream of the vessel’s water supply pump, and in this case activated charcoal, along with a particulate filter, are an excellent option. These need not be specialized “marine” filters; household units work very well, and replacement elements are both readily available and inexpensive. Alternatively, you can opt to filter only the water that you intend to drink, cook or wash utensils with, using a “point of use” or under-counter unit. These low-volume specialized filters usually incorporate a carbon component and typically rely on a compact filter and dedicated countertop spigot.

Steve D’Antonio offers services for boat owners and buyers through Steve D’Antonio Marine Consulting ( www.stevedmarineconsulting.com ).

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Marine Water Filtration Systems

Soft Water for your Marine Vessel

The difference between softened water versus hard water is a significant one that you can see immediately. A compact water softener is a great feature to have on your boat. Much of the water found around boating routes is hard water. All freshwater sources likely contain varying quantities of calcium and magnesium. Depending on your water supply’s geographical location, your water may also contain elevated levels of iron and manganese.

Drinking Water Station for your Marine Vessel

Water filtration systems for any boat owner.

• Boat water purification systems eliminates the need for bottled water.
• Soft water filtration systems ensure soft water for boat usage.

Ensure your marine vessel is free of hard water residue and minerals that can damage fixtures and often do more harm than good.  Soft water will preserve the exterior of your boat as well as its pipes and fixtures.

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Boiling hard water will dissolve minerals and affect the taste and texture of food. Chlorine and chloramine can result in a ‘bleaching’ effect making vegetables look dull and less colorful.

Iron and calcium deposits cause build up in pipes and drains causing malfunctions and breakdowns. Hard water will cause scaling which deposits minerals onto the surface and can drastically reduce the life of a water heater.

We offer a variety of Kinetico commercial water softener systems, from the Kinetico CP Series to the Kinetico Hydrus 3 tank options that meet water demands by providing continuous water flow.

When consistent water purity and quality a must, then it is time for a Kinetico commercial reverse osmosis system (also known as an ‘RO’). Various RO series available to meet your needs.

Spots on glass and flatware caused by hard water are unappealing to customers. A water softener will not only help to eliminate hard water deposits, but it will also help to preserve the life of your appliances and dishware. Without the hard scale build-up, dishwashers run more efficiently, and bathroom fixtures will remain free from rust or film caused by hard water

Iron in water will leave an orange-brown staining in both sinks and toilets. Iron can also cause corrosion to plumbing pipes and faucet fixtures. Having an irregular pH balance of your water will result in blue-green staining around your sink drains.

How Can I Stop Relying On Bottled Water?

Water that looks, smells or tastes funny is the primary reason most people turn to bottled water. Kinetico eliminates these real concerns and provides a boundless supply of clean, fresh water that makes teas taste crisp, juices come alive with flavor and a simple glass of water a refreshing delight. You also save on the expense of bottled water and reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in our landfills.

Why are there spots on my car after I wash it?

You have dissolved minerals in your water. These minerals are left behind when the air dries your car. With Kinetico, your water is just water, no minerals — so spots no longer form.

Why Are My Clothes, Towels, And Sheets Stiff?

You have dissolved minerals in your water. In the wash, these minerals get trapped on the fibers in your clothes, sheets, and towels and also cause detergents to stick to fabrics. As if that weren’t enough, dryers then bake the minerals and leftover detergent into your laundry, dulling the colors and leaving the fabric scratchy and stiff. With Kinetico, your water is free from unwanted minerals — so your towels stay soft and last longer.

How Can Better Water Make My Appliances Last Longer?

Hard water is brutal on appliances. The minerals in it build up inside pipes, sapping water pressure, using more energy and making your appliances work harder and wear out faster. Your water heater, for example, is likely the second-biggest energy user in your home. With Kinetico, you’ll spend 30% less on energy to heat your water, and your appliances will last longer too.

How Safe is My Water Source?

It depends. If you have a private water source, the safety of your water depends on whether it comes in contact with natural or man-made contaminants. One of the many benefits of Kinetico is that our approach returns your water to its pristine state, so you know it’s always right and ready for your family to enjoy.

Water from a municipal supply is generally safe, although it likely contains chemicals that, though are proven to reduce bacteria and viruses in water, can dry your skin and hair and are potentially harmful to consume. It’s also possible that some contaminants may “slip in” through aging pipes en route to your home.

Why Are There Spots on My Dishes and Appliances?

You have “hard water,” dissolved minerals in your water. These minerals are left behind when your dishwasher or the air dries your dishes. With Kinetico, your water is freed from these minerals — so spots no longer form and your appliances stay clean and bright and last longer.

Why is My Drinking Water Cloudy?

Cloudy, murky or grayish water is usually caused by dissolved or suspended solids. This is also known as “turbidity.” Water can become turbid naturally or from land disturbances such as construction, storms and urban runoff. Whatever the reason, murky water gets in the way of enjoying the water in your home. After Kinetico, your water is restored to its clean, clear self and once again becomes a welcome friend for drinking.

How Does Bad Water Affect My Living Room?

Hard water has dissolved minerals in it, which can leave unsightly spots on hard surfaces like windows, tables, floors, silverware, dishes and glassware. These spots are often difficult to remove. Minerals can also cause discoloration or orange, blue or green staining depending on your water.

How Can I Stop Relying on Bottled Water?

The primary reasons for choosing bottled water include bad odors, funny tastes or orange or cloudy water. Kinetico eliminates these problems and provides a boundless supply of clean, fresh water that makes teas taste crisp, coffee more rich and a simple glass of water a refreshing delight. When you cook with Kinetico meals taste more flavorful too. You also save on the expense and hassle of bottled water and reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in our landfills.

Why Does My Water Have Funny Tastes or Odors?

Natural minerals and bacteria, common chemicals used in water treatment (such as chlorine), or man-made contamination may be acting behind the scenes to give your water its funny tastes or odors. Kinetico thoughtfully and completely removes the sources of funny tastes and odors so your water is clean, fresh and enjoyable.

Why Do I Have Dry Skin and Hair?

There are two common causes. The first is hard water, which prevents soaps and shampoos from lathering fully and rinsing away completely, leaving a film on your skin and hair. The second cause is the chemicals used to disinfect public water supplies, such as chlorine. When you have Kinetico, these problems stop cold, and your hair and skin will welcome the change.

Why Are There Stains in My Sink, Bathtub and Toilet?

Stains can be caused by iron or minerals in your water, or because your water has a lot of natural acid in it, or both. As anyone who has tried to clean them can tell you, these stains can be difficult to remove. With Kinetico, your water returns to its natural clear, clean self — and stains become a thing of the past.

Why is My Bath Water Cloudy?

Cloudy or turbid water is usually caused by dissolved or suspended solids. Water can become turbid naturally or from land disturbances such as construction, storms and urban runoff. Whatever the reason, murky water gets in the way of enjoying the water in your home. When you have Kinetico, your water will be restored to its clean, clear self and once again becomes a welcome friend for bathing.

There are two common causes. The first is hard water, which prevents soaps and shampoos from lathering fully and rinsing away completely, leaving a film on your skin and hair. The second cause is the chemicals used to disinfect public water supplies. When you experience life with Kinetico, these problems stop cold, and your hair and skin will notice the change immediately.

Why Are My Clothes, Towels and Sheets Stiff?

You have dissolved minerals in your water. In the wash, these minerals get trapped on the fibers in your clothes and also cause detergents to stick to fabrics. As if that weren’t enough, dryers then bake the minerals and leftover detergent into your laundry, dulling the colors and leaving the fabric scratchy and stiff. With Kinetico, your water is free from unwanted minerals — so your towels stay soft and last longer.

Water makes up about 85% of fountain drinks, so any impurities in the water can greatly affect the taste and odor.

Water high in minerals will affect the taste of coffee causing it to taste more bitter, since the minerals reduce the coffee’s flavor.

Metals, minerals or bacteria may cause your ice to be discolored and cloudy. This is a sign of hard water which can also affect the taste.

Filtered water should be used when preparing food, as unfiltered water can greatly impact the flavor of a dish.

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Water Tank Filters

Safe drinking water starts with a clean fill-up..

You would think that with all the emphasis cruising sailors put on their boats and equipment, we would pay a little more attention to ensuring a clean and safe supply of water. This is less a concern in developed countries, where dockside water is safely treated or bottled water is affordable and readily available. However, once you begin to expand your horizons, ensuring a clean water supply requires more thought and effort. This is the first report in a three-part series on equipment and practices that no matter where you and your boat are, you can be reasonably sure that your on-board water supply is safe.

In this first article, we explore how to prevent contaminants from entering your freshwater tank. In part two, we will look at chemical treatments that can be used to keep tank water fresh. And finally, well look at various filtration systems between the tank and faucet that keep tap water sweet and safe.

As people have become more conscious and sensitive about water quality issues, the market for products that promise to protect us from contaminants has blossomed. There are trade journals and associations dedicated to this sole topic: potable water filtration. Rather than attempt to provide a comprehensive overview of the field, weve narrowed our review to a few practical approaches and practical equipment. If you have come up with a system that you feel is novel and practical, write us with details at [email protected] ; wed love to share them with our other readers.

Filtering Before the Tank

Many people don’t bother to filter their water before it goes into the tank. It doesn’t seem worth the trouble. But in many respects, this step is one of the most important. The first rule of sanitation is cleanliness. When significant accumulations of dirt and biomass are allowed to build up in the tank, no amount of disinfectant can reach the bugs buried underneath, and no final filtration system can make the water right again. Water-pump life is reduced by sediment, and fungal mats will clog your water lines.

Prevention comes in three parts. First, a boat that is stored for any significant period should have the water tank drained and dried; and the pipes should be filled with a bacteriostatic fluid. In cold climates, this will require a properly formulated winterizing solution (see PS , September 2014 online ), and in warm climates, blowing out the lines with compressed air is good practice. What must be avoided is a poor winterizing fluid or one that is diluted; it will ferment, creating both solids and foulness. Secondly, an annual spring cleaning and disinfection (see PS , October 2013 online ) can give you a fresh start, flushing out any accumulated biomass from the tank and piping. Third-the topic in front of us-we must keep out as much debris as possible.

Even when the dockside water supply is well supervised and safe, pipe scale and sediment can pass down the pipe, and algae will always grow in the hose. Another reason to filter at the inlet relates to final tap filtration; the incredibly fine (and relatively expensive) filters downstream that will catch giardia and cryptosporidium cysts will have much shorter lives if we use them to filter water that is laden with silt and biomass.

Filters can slow down filling, and whether you are in a hurry to head out or trying to clear the fuel dock for the next guy, excessive delay is intolerable. Any equipment used for filtering at the dock needs to be practical; its unrealistic to expect the freshwater tank to remain sterile for long, and certainly not with any level of filtration that is practical. Ultimately, we must settle for removing sediment and the larger clumps of biomass-and call it good.

What must we remove during dockside filtration? Presumably, you only accept water that is clear and contains very limited sediment. Cloudy water promises heavy microbe loads, is difficult to filter, and-without good filtration-proper purification is impossible; microbes can hide in the clay particles, evading any practical disinfection regiment. For clear water, we recommend a minimum of 10-micron filtration, which will catch course sediment, pipe scale, and larger clumps of algae that slough off the hose interior; this is easily accomplished with pleated elements or spiral-wound cartridges. Are you cruising remote areas where high-sediment water is unavoidable? Hauling jerry jugs from shore? Consider the one-micron, do-it-yourself Baja Filter (see PS , April 2015 online ).

Filter Styles

Universal cartridges.

Universal cartridges promise ready availability through hardware stores worldwide, although you might not always find exactly what you want. The most common standard sizes are 2 by 10 inches, 2 by 20 inches, 4 by 10 inches, and 4 by 20 inches. The actual end-to-end-lengths are standard (4.875, 9.75, and 19.5 inches), but diameters vary slightly. Each end will have a gasket; they are generally open on both ends (so that they can be stacked), but some are closed on one end. You will not be bound to any proprietary design with a universal cartridge, and if some small part fails, many are either interchangeable or inexpensive.

Though 2-by-20 and 4-by-10 filters offer longer life and less flow restriction, for most applications, the 2-by-10 filters are the right choice. This is nice because they are also the most common, available in hardware stores worldwide.

Although universal cartridges are readily available and are relatively simple to integrate into dockside plumbing, we don’t see their merit. Generally, the water in the pipe to the dock is clean and safe; its the gunk growing on the hose were more concerned about. Theres no real harm in this setup (especially if youre a filter salesman whose route includes sailing clubs and marinas), but in order to be of real use, the filter needs to be at the boat-end of the hose.

Hose-End Filters

Hose-end filters offer great convenience and compact size for the smaller boat staying closer to home. The cost is slightly greater per unit of volume than that of a universal pleated filter, but no more than a universal granular activated carbon (GAC) filter of equivalent size, and they are much more compact and convenient. They are probably all that is needed for cruising in developed areas. If you are smart about where you buy them, they are economical, compact, and lightweight, and they offer more than enough capacity to get through the season.

While not as available in hardware stores, hose-end filters can be found at many online suppliers, and most marine and RV retailers carry them.

Unfortunately, there is little choice in filtration media-all are either GAC or GAC/KDM fill with fiber filters on each end-but that has proven satisfactory.

Does it matter that they remove beneficial chlorine? We tested a variety of hose-end filters, carbon block filters, and GAC cartridges; if the water flow is reduced to about 1 gallon per minute, as it would be during filter testing or at the water tap, they remove chlorine as designed; at full flow (4 to 7 gallons per minute) filling a tank, the filters will remove only about 15 to 35 percent of the chlorine. So, unless youre patient, don’t expect complete chlorine removal.

DIY Baja Filter

Practical Sailors do-it-yourself Baja water filter (see PS , April 2015 online ) is perhaps the most versatile of the filters we looked at in terms of design. It filters to one micron, can be used on rainwater and jerry-can water, and it can even be laundered a few times.

The downsides? You have to make it yourself, and it is just slightly less convenient than a hose-end filter. This design is probably the most practical and effective on heavily contaminated water.

What We Tested

We looked at hose-end filters and universal cartridge filters. We have a lot of experience with hose-end filters. Tester Drew Frye (a chemical engineer who also blogs at www.sail-delmarva.blogspot.com) used three different models over the past seven years. His experience with cartridge filters spans 30 years of boating and industrial experience. He has found that it makes the most sense to stick with the most common universal sizes, and not to get lured into proprietary designs with special cartridge sizes and holders. He has seen too many designs become discontinued as the market changes and companies merge. Common filters are most economical for initial filtration.

Along with these common commercial products, we also tested our DIY Baja filter.

How We Tested

Our testing included four elements: basic observation, flow rates, chlorine removal, and filter dissection when expended. While it wasnt practical to perform detailed chemical analysis, we stayed with name brands and have learned that we can place at least some faith in industry ratings.

Many of these manufacturers also produce National Science Foundation (NSF) certified units. Those units are tested extensively, and so the manufacturers of these products have learned to rate units in accurate and consistent terms.

Observations

All of the hose-end filters produced less than 20 percent reduction in flow rate when new, adding very little to the restriction inherent in the hose and piping. Flow rates averaged about 6 to 7.6 gallons per minute (gpm), depending on the location. For comparison, when we installed a jet-stream nozzle on the same hose, flow was reduced from 7.6 to 3.7 gpm.

At the end of their useful life during field testing, the hose-end filters flow typically dropped to 4 gpm, although this was after several years of use. Normally, the filters would be replaced at more frequent intervals, well before flow was so restricted.

Most of this reduction in flow rate was attributed to fine sediment clogging the inlet filter. When we cut the hose-end filters open, the carbon was not clogged, nor was there much evidence of biological growth. We can only assume that the chlorination of the inlet water, combined with our habit of storing the filters vertically so that they could fully drain between uses helped prevent growth.

A key observation was that even when new, none of the filters removed a significant amount of chlorine-and by extension, probably didnt remove organics-at the rated flow rates. How could this be? A cursory review of carbon manufacturer design tables made it clear that it takes at least a few minutes of exposure to carbon for the chlorine to be removed from the water. At a flow rate of 7.6 gpm, the exposure (empty bed residence time) is only about 0.8 seconds. It takes time for the contaminants to diffuse over to the carbon, plus more time to diffuse into the pores; less than a second is not nearly enough.

Luckily, we didnt really want to remove the chlorine, so although the carbon filters function as nothing more than low-efficiency depth filters, were happy with that. However, this doesn’t blunt our ire toward filter vendors who tout these filters chlorine removal ability. (The next time that a water-filter salesman goes on and on about chlorine removal, ask how much chlorine is removed when the tap is flowing . . . and see what happens.)

One thing to expect with a granular activated-carbon filter is that fine bits of carbon will be expelled during the first fill, and-to a lesser extent-subsequent fills. Just flush for several minutes before filling. Flushing is a good idea, even if no carbon particles are showing up. Dockside hoses are untrustworthy and should be well flushed.

Universal Cartridge Filters: While we only tested one universal cartridge filter housing (Pentek Slimline 2 x 10) specifically for this article, weve used many brands in chemical process plants over the years and have experienced very few failures. All failures were easily avoided. Here are some vulnerabilities to be aware of:

Freezing: Any filter housing must be drained in freezing weather.

Hot water: Threads can fail; don’t filter heated water unless every portion of the systems is rated for the temperature.

UV damage: Clear plastic bowls are vulnerable to UV, and we see no advantage to them. They also encourage algae growth, and filter clogging is better gauged by flow rate than appearance. For dockside, opt for dark-color bowls; even they can fail after seven to 15 years of outdoor use.

In terms of connections, we like 3/4-inch National Pipe Thread (NPT) fittings as they are the easiest to adapt to a variety of plumbing types. We don’t like pressure-relief fittings or pressure gauges; they just present more potential for things to leak, fail, and cause installation space problems. While we did not experience any housing problems, we prefer simplicity.

Be sure to check O-ring position and coat the O-ring lightly with Vaseline. You can buy a plastic water-filter wrench for about $3 at most hardware stores, but if you forget or lose it, an oil filter wrench works fine. Replacement O-rings are about $3.

The upper and lower portions of the housings are sold separately, should you accidentally freeze one.

Cartridges: We tested nominal 2-by-10-inch cartridge filters; given typical marina piping and dock hose, larger filters would not have performed any better. However, it is safe to extrapolate the flow capacity of larger filters based upon these results.

A 2-by-20-inch filter will experience about half of the pressure drop of a 2-by-10-inch filter (not twice the flow rate since the housing entrance and piping provide an upper limit). It will last slightly longer than twice as long, since it has twice the holding capacity and twice the filter area.

Larger 4-by-20-inch filters are also available and will provide longer life for high-volume operations (someone washing a charter boat every day) but provide little added value for the typical sailor. Except for the carbon block filters, no filter caused measurable flow restriction when new.

We tested a variety of hose-end filters. These make the most sense for sailors, since they filter water after it passes through the hose, which can be a source for contamination.

Camco RV Water Filter

This is a compact and convenient hose-end filter. Filled with a carbon/KDF blend, the filter provides good flow. It filters particles larger than 100 microns and can be used for 6,000 gallons (based on chlorine removal capacity).

We prefer finer filtration, but this filter is affordable and readily available. These are generally sold in pairs. We found a two-pack at our local big-box store for about $21.

Bottom line: Affordable and readily available, this is our Budget Buy, a good option for a U.S.-based sailor who will be replacing the filter once a year.

Camco TastePure

The Camco TastePure RV and Marine water filter is very similar to the other Camco filter, but it has a white body. Although the filtration rating is 150 microns, testers didnt notice any difference when comparing fine particle removal. Testers noted the same flow and same chlorine removal.

It appears that the main difference between the two Camco filters is in the packaging. You can get better chlorine removal if you slow down, but chlorine is an asset when it comes to keeping tanks fresh.

These filters come out a little more expensive, selling for about $12 each.

Bottom line: The TastePure is a little more expensive than the other Camco filter, and worth getting if you only want one filter. Recommended.

Shurflo Waterguard Filters

Shurflos Waterguard filters, made by Pentair Residential Filtration, have improved construction and better filtration, making them a premium product. Like most other filters in this category, these are also filled with a carbon/KDF blend, but the Waterguard filters provide slower flow rate due to finer filtration (5 microns). Finer filtration means less chance of biological growth, and we like that, but whether this is acceptable may depend on your tank size.

At $37 each, these are not cheap, but they last about two years.

Bottom line: This is the Best Choice for the off-the-shelf, hose-end filtration. The flow rate may be too slow for some sailors, particularly those with larger tanks.

Culligan RV-800

The Culligan RV-800 is the only hose-end filter we reviewed that is certified by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The performance was similar to the Shurflo Waterguard. For NSF approval, the chlorine removal efficiency is required to be 25 percent. In order to meet this standard, the Culligan unit restricts flow rates to 2.5 gallons per minute. There is no micron rating.

In theory, these units need to be replaced at shorter intervals, but only if you care about staying within the conservative NSF rating procedure.

These were less expensive than the SHURflo filters we tested, costing about $27 each.

Bottom line: If you are a stickler for staying within the NSF guidelines, worry about over-chlorinated water, and can live with slower flow rates, this filter will be a good choice.

Universal Cartridge Filters

We looked at five different universal filter cartridges. Except as otherwise noted, the housing we used for testing was a 2-by-10 Pentek, with a half-inch female NPT fitting rated for 120 psi (part #158648). It sells for about $12.

The Pentek S-1 20-micron polyester/cellulose pleated element filter provided good flow and appropriate filtration. It is not recommended for well-water or intermittent flow because the cellulose element will allow bacterial growth and will rot.

We included this as an example of what not to buy. Use only cellulose-free elements in marine applications.

Bottom line: Not recommended.

Pentek SCBC-10

The lone carbon-block filter in the lineup, the Pentek SCBC-10 is silvered to reduce bacterial growth and is rated at 0.5 microns. It was included to illustrate why it is wrong for the application. While this is a very good product and a good choice for final filtration at the tap (which we will address in a later article), it has low flow rate, high cost, and will plug much more quickly than pleated elements due to limited surface area.

This is the sort of filter one might use as a second stage if filtering water of doubtful quality; you would expect slow going (1.5 gpm at best) and limited life. Cost is about $20 each.

Bottom line: This product is not recommended for inlet filtration. Look for our upcoming review of tap filters for details on this application.

Watts Filtration WP5-975

A 5-micron, pleated polypropylene element, the Watts WP5-975 offers good flow, fine filtration, and long life. It is commonly used in reverse osmosis systems. Although it will clog more quickly than courser elements, the larger area of a pleated element should still last you through the season. Price is about $4.50 each.

Bottom line: Available at a variety of online sources, the Watts is Recommended for those who demand fine filtration.

Hydronix SDC-25-1001

A value-priced product, this is the only filter we tested that produced a complete failure due to bypassing. We tested two separate units, and 20- to 40-micron material continued to slide by this one-micron-rated filter. In an effort to save a few pennies, the maker skipped the end gaskets, depending instead on the non-woven material to scrunch and seal to the housing.

We were surprised to see such a complete failure in an NSF-certified filter, but a little investigating revealed that the certification was for materials and lead-free only; it is not certified for performance. A perfect example of why you need to know the details, and not simply accept the NSF stamp as proof of value. These run $2 each.

Bottom line: Dont buy a cartridge filter lacking substantial gaskets.

Hydronix SPC-25-1010

A 10-micron pleated polyester element, the Hydronix SPC-25-1010 represents the optimum compromise of flow, filtration, and usable life. Molded end caps serve as gaskets, a much better arrangement than the 1001 no-gasket system, at some increase in cost.

There are many sediment filters in this product lineup; just match the specifications and make certain there is a substantial gasket.

Bottom line: A good balance of priorities-flow, filtration performance, and life expectancy-the Hydronix SPC-25-1010 is our Best Choice for a cartridge filter.

DIY Baja Water Filter

For the sailor expecting to fill from jerry cans or rain water, this is the simplest method, but youre going to have to build your own. For details and a how-to, see the April 2015 article.

It will set you back about $20 for parts and $7 for the replaceable bag-but it will last a long time. The one downside is that as it plugs, it will overflow water all over the deck unless the flow is reduced.

Bottom line: This is as easy to use as the hose-end filters. We Recommend it for long-distance cruisers.

Conclusions

Our experiment with the DIY Baja filter was enough to convince us that filtration while filling the tanks makes a real difference in tank sludge and hygiene. We don’t see any reason to install filters with more capacity than will be required in a year; in climates that winterize, the elements must be removed before winterizing, and in areas where you use them year-round, you should replace them on an annual basis anyway.

All of the recommended products are rated for more than 6,000 gallons, which represents 150 40-gallon fill-ups; more than any seasonal coastal sailor will need. Only a few units have a rated capacity of less than 7 gpm, and so long as you avoid carbon block filters and any filter rated finer than 10 microns, filling will not be significantly affected.

We like the hose-end filters for their sheer convenience. The $11 Camco RV Water Filter is cheap and simple. For live-aboard and long-distance sailors, universal pleated cartridges that offer 5- to 10-micron (2-by-10-inch cartridge) filtration are our first choice; in exchange for a bulkier housing, you get better filtration, more options, worldwide availability, and better long-term economy. Mount the filter on the boat end of the hose, not the dock end; the hose may be the greatest source of sludge.

While not as convenient, our do-it-yourself filter was a top performer, offering 1-micron filtration, high solids capacity, economy, and easy cleaning; its the best filter for rainwater and jerry can water.

In the next article in this series, we will explore maintaining the quality of the water in the tank. In the third installment, we will present some lower cost options for final tap filtration, as well as some very high-quality microbiological purifiers. Stay tuned. If you have some novel solutions we should test, send your ideas to [email protected] .

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Practical Boat Owner

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Boat water tank treatments tested

• Ben Meakins
• March 25, 2015

Potable water is a valuable resource on a boat – but how do you keep tank water fresh? Ben Meakins and the PBO team test water treatments and filters to find out

The ‘tank taste’ you get from a boat’s fresh water tank can be pretty unpalatable, especially if you’re feeling seasick. Mostly this taste is disguised when used for cooking, but it makes your plain drinking water unpleasant and can produce a thick scum on top of your tea – not to mention making said tea taste terrible.

To overcome the drinking water problem many sailors drink only bottled mineral water and use the boat’s tank water just for cooking. But the plastic bottles take up a lot of space, they’re not exactly environmentally-friendly and it’s a shame not to be able to use tank water for its intended purpose.

But how do you keep tank water tasting fresh? We tested seven methods of making your drinking water more palatable, ranging in price from 54p to £355. These could be divided into the following groups:

• Activated carbon filters These work by passing the water through a carbon filter to remove the taste and smell. It won’t remove bacteria from the water, even though some filters have silver to inhibit the growth of bacteria in the filter. On first use, they must be flushed to remove black carbon particles.
• Sub-micron filters If you want to remove bacteria and other nasty stuff from the water, you’ll need a sub-micron filter. These can remove impurities down to 0.1 micron. Some of the filters on test have additional filters which use surface absorption and a polarised casing to remove chemicals and heavy metals. Many of these filters require a significantly higher pressure to work. Some solely sub-micron filters won’t do anything about taste and smell, however – you’ll need a charcoal filter for that, too.
• Additives We tried a couple of proprietary tank treatments, Aqua Clean, a chlorine-based product, and Aqua Sol. These can be added to the tank water to sterilise it, and are recommended for sterilising and flushing out a tank. They might make the water safe to drink, but they do often result in an unpleasant taste. Following a tip on the PBO forum we also tried using lemon juice as a water treatment.

How we tested them We needed water with a suitably unpleasant taste and odour, so took a sample from a flexible fresh water tank on a small yacht and then passed some through each filter after following the manufacturer’s instructions to flush and prime each unit. We used a sample of each water to make a cup of tea, each brewed for 10 seconds, before adding 10ml of milk by syringe. We then conducted a blind taste test, with testers scoring each sample for flavour, aftertaste and odour.

Control Samples

Plain tap water WATER ***  TEA **** Straight from the tap at the PBO office in Poole, Dorset, this got a surprisingly low score in our blind taste test for the water, with a slight chlorine aftertaste, but was otherwise perfectly drinkable. For the tea it scored well. Plain tank water

Untreated tank water WATER *  TEA * Unsurprisingly this got the lowest score of all. It had a stale flavour, a plasticky odour and a lingering aftertaste that one tester described as ‘old socks’ that got worse with time. Tea made with this water had the most scum on top and a plasticky taste, with a hint of the chlorine (Milton) used to sterilise the tank in the winter.

Water treatments tested

You can read the individual reviews of each of the following products by clicking on the title. For our conclusions, scroll down….

AquaClean Tabs

Lemon Juice

Water filters tested

Penguin Hydropure

Nature Pure QCII

Aquatiere Super Water Filter

Jabsco Aqua Filta

Whale AquaSource Clear

Seagull IV X-1

PBO Verdict

We found untreated tank water most unpleasant…

The tank water was unpleasant to drink – and adding any of the treatments to it served only to alter the taste rather than improve it. All of the filters tested improved the flavour and aftertaste, however.

The Seagull IV and Nature Pure QC filters gave by far the best taste improvement, and also remove bacteria and other substances, making even contaminated water safe to drink.

The charcoal filters all made the water more palatable, with the Jabsco Aqua Filta coming out best of these in our tests. You will need to ensure the water is safe to drink, ideally with the addition of a treatment before it is filtered. We found that the filters removed the taste of chlorine when Aqua Sol was added in a mild dose and this combination of a subtle water treatment to kill bacteria and a charcoal filter to remove any bad taste would seem to be the way forward if you want safe drinking water on a budget.

The Nature Pure system, while not cheap, does all this while delivering a taste close to that of mineral water.

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Our Spot Zero ® freshwater purification systems and SeaXchange desalination systems have perfected the Reverse Osmosis process.

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Contact Spot Zero ®  to determine which reverse osmosis system is right for you.

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Potable Water Filtration for Your Boat

Tank water—ugh. Taste aside, some water is full of contaminants and is downright unsafe to drink. So, installation and servicing of a potable water filtration system should be near the top of your haul-out project list this spring.

Why filter.

Inline filter brands

What else will help water purity aboard.

• Expense: Filtration isn’t cheap. A small Seagull system can initially cost $500 with cartridges running $100 (good for 1,000 gallons or so). Also, boatyard labor may be required for installation and servicing of inline filters as well as watermakers.
• Availability: Not all filters and cartridges are available everywhere, so if you’re cruising, bring spares.
• Installation and maintenance: Some inline filters need to be fairly close to the faucet or mounted vertically. This may be a problem in space-constricted areas. Make sure you can access the filter to service it and choose a clear casing so you can inspect it visually without opening it.

Work with the yard

  see more from the annual haul out guide.

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Your Best Water Purification Equipments for Boat Manufacturer

• 100% safe and pure drinking water.
• Making sea voyages more convenient.
• Free expert technical solutions.
• Modified to meet your specifications.
• Secure door-to-door delivery service.

NEWater: Your Best Boat Water Purification Systems Provider in China

NEWater has long been a leader in the manufacturing of robust water purification systems for boats. If you’re in search of a boat water purification system that meets the highest international standards, look no further than NEWater. This is your must-have when traveling by land, river, canal, or sea. We provide our valued customers with high-quality products and exceptional services including research and development, production, sales, installation, and technical counseling to help grow businesses. Contact one of our professional customer service representatives immediately.

NEWater Brings for You Related Products

NEWater’s boat water filtration system effectively removes unpleasant taste from water, providing good-tasting water in an easy-to-install method.

NEWater’s sailboat water maker is a sturdy, robust, and portable unit designed specifically for the sailboat environment.

The method developed by NEWater’s desalination system for boats efficiently separates solutes and generates clean drinking water.

We provide you with a boat water maker that filters salt particles from the water to make fresh drinking water.

We have built a portable, space-saving, energy-efficient, and 99% fresh drinking water-producing desalination machine for boats.

We offer portable water purification systems that are readily transportable and eliminate pathogens to purify water.

Trusted NEWater Boat Water Purification Units Manufacturer in China

NEWater is a pioneer in the development of high-quality water purifying systems. With our revolutionary water purification systems, we have serviced thousands of satisfied clients worldwide thanks to our high-quality engineering procedures. NEWater can design an environmentally safe and low-energy water purification system for boat to your exact specifications. It thoroughly purifies water, making it safe and pleasant to drink, as well as being simple to install and use specifically for boats.

NEWater’s water purification equipment for boats boasts exquisite production technology and leading design features, as well as an ISO 9001:2000 quality management system with precise and sophisticated production facilities and equipment. We provide on-site support for smooth installation and home delivery services. Our trust in the quality of our products is reflected in a one-year guarantee and lifelong maintenance. Contact our customer service staff now.

Advantages:

• It purifies and disinfects water from the tank and faucets.
• Compact, easy to maintain and install, lightweight and durable.
• Convenient for travel.
• Producing drinkable water does not require an excessive amount of time.
• Low operational cost and eco-friendly.

These Desalination Unit for Boat Applications:

• Large commercial and military marine vessels.
• Power cruises.
• Offshore oil and gas platforms.
• Cargo ships.

Your Boat Water Purification Systems Related Parts

NEWater Mission：Bring New Life for Water

• Manufacturing
• Product Details
• System Data Sheet

NEWater has an independent large-scale production workshop, which is convenient for the control and supervision of product production quality. Strictly abide by production standards and provide detailed guarantees for all projects.

NEWater establishes SOP standardized operation process and strictly implements the work process. The professional project installation team, implement 5S on-site management. Equipped with standard safety facilities, investigating access conditions, and short construction time.

The safe transportation process does not have to worry about product damage and extends the construction period. NEWater has provided system equipment to thousands of companies around the world, which guarantees absolute product transportation.

How Long does the General Production Cycle Need to Wait?

NEWater’s treatment types of equipment are divided into a large system and a small system according to the water volume. The equipment is divided into portable water-making equipment, small modular equipment, skid-mounted equipment, and container-type equipment. According to different water volumes and customer requirements, we provide customized services.

Conventional small equipment takes 3-7 days, and large equipment takes 2-3 months. This is based on your requirements and water volume.

If I Need to Customize Equipment, What Data Need to be Provided?

• As the voltage and frequency of different countries are different, we first need the local voltage and frequency of electricity.
• How many gallons the water requirement per hour is
• The water quality of the source water and what requirements need to be met
• If you need to provide on-site installation services

Does the Equipment Need to be Installed On-site?

• Portable and small equipment — This is plug and play, it doesn’t need to be provided installation services. According to our instructions, you can install by yourself.
• Small modular equipment, skid-mounted equipment, and container equipment-we will reserve the interface for docking. If there are installation workers, we will provide installation instructions and installation instructions. If necessary, we can also send someone to install it.
• How to provide installation instructions —— We have installation instructions and installation videos. If necessary, we can provide free remote software to help you with remote video installation instructions.

How to Charge for Installation Service ？

• We provide free installation instructions, with instruction manuals and installation videos
• Remote video installation guidance. If it is a large piece of equipment and the customer needs to install it by himself, then we will also provide free remote installation guidance service, but we need to plan a good time, within our working hours. Our working hours are from 9 o’clock to 18 o’clock Beijing time
• We send workers to install it. This needs to be based on the size of the project. If we have been designated to install it in the early stage, the installation service abroad will belong to our scope of work, and no additional charge is required.
• If we need to send someone to install it temporarily, we need to provide different charges according to different countries, installation technical requirements, and different types of technical work. Welcome to inquire.

How to Transport the Equipment?

There are several types of transportation, sea, air, and express

• If it is a small device and requires fast speed, we can provide door-to-door service by air and express, the normal transportation cycle is 5-10 days.
• If it is skid-mounted or container equipment, it is more appropriate to use the shipping method. The normal transportation cycle is 20-40 days.

What ’ s Your Payment Method ?

Small equipment needs payment to delivery

For skid-mounted equipment and container equipment, 50% is prepaid, 30% is charged after video inspection, and 20% is charged before shipment.

Of course, we provide you with flexible ways of cooperation. Become our agents, and have more flexible support. Welcome to contact us.

D o You Provide Maintenance Services ?

Absolutely.

• NEWater provides free installation guidance and a one-year product warranty service. During the warranty service period, if there is an equipment problem, we provide free equipment repair or replacement services. If it is a manual operation, a fee will be charged. We can provide the required equipment replacement.
• We provide life-long after-sales service. NEWater has a full set of equipment and accessories, which can be replaced. Don’t worry about the failure of after-sales and maintenance.
• During the warranty period, NEWater provides all kinds of professional technical support, and if necessary. We also provide remote video guidance services.
• After the warranty period, NEWater also provides life-long after-sales maintenance, which requires a certain amount of manual service. There are also many matching accessories that can be replaced, so there is no need to worry about the later operation of the equipment.

Do You Provide Design Services?

Yes, we do.

For conventional small equipment, NEWater has standardized equipment. For large-scale skid-mounted and container equipment, we can design a process that meets the needs according to different water quality requirements.

At the same time, we carry out three-dimensional drawing designs according to different requirements and then communicate with customers to confirm.

After the design confirmation is completed, we then proceed to custom processing. So you don’t have to worry about our design and production capacity. We will provide you with the most professional technical support.

NEWater Boat Water Purification Systems

Boat water purification systems from NEWater are your most reliable choice in the market. Our water purification equipment for boats is specially designed to be easy to transport and cost-effective while yet delivering potable water. During your travels, it is your go-to water treatment to eliminate harmful microbes and odor from freshwater sources including rivers, streams, lakes, etc., therefore, converting them into drinkable water.

We have vast expertise in customizing water treatment systems, exporting, and installing equipment internationally to comply with your boat water purification system specifications. We are devoted to upgrading our products and services through our R&D and engineering teams to assist with water treatment solutions for ocean-going ships, science research ships, fishing boats, and other vessels. This assures that you will receive a boat water filtration system that is of the best standard, efficient, environmentally sustainable, and reliable.

If you have any questions concerning our Boat Water Purification System, please contact us at [email protected] .

The Ultimate FAQ Guide for Boat Water Purification Systems

Purified water is an essential commodity for boats during voyages. Owing to the invention of water purification systems capable of generating purified water based on demand, water vessels are steadily ditching freshwater tanks. The purification systems permit boats to draw their purified water from the surrounding seawater or ocean water, which is more convenient and economical than carrying freshwater tanks. Underneath, we are going to comprehensively look at the desalination units for boat, their primary features, and elaborate working principles.

• What is a Boat Water Purification System?
• Which Purification Methods Are Employed in Boat Water Purification Systems?
• Why Do I Need a Boat Water Purification System?
• What Types of Desalination Units for Boats Do You Provide?
• How Much Do Desalination Units for Boat Cost?
• Which Pre-treatment Systems Are Ideal for Boat Water Purification Equipments?
• How Much Power Do Boat Water Purification Systems Necessitate?
• Do You Provide Solar-Powered Desalination Units for Boat?

➣ What is a Boat Water Purification System?

A boat water purification system is a water treatment unit that extracts undesirable constituents from seawater or lake water to supply boats with purified water. Boat water purification systems are commonly referred to as boat water makers . Most boats operate in seas and oceans characterized by relatively saline water. Boat water purifiers designed for such boats primarily utilize the reverse osmosis process to desalinate the salty water.

However, other distinct technologies such as water deionization and thermal desalination can also be employed. For high-level purification, the water makers incorporate several water purification technologies. Additionally, most comprehensive boat water purification units comprise a water pretreatment system used to expel aggressive contaminants. The systems are also manufactured using rust-resistant material due to the volatile nature of seawater.

NEWater’s expertise in manufacturing desalination units for boats stretches to over two decades. Our systems are expertly manufactured and customized in relation to the characterization of your feed water. They are ingrained with energy-recovering technologies, which significantly shrink their operating costs. Order your customized boat water maker today and enjoy exclusive discounts, warranty protection, and doorstep delivery.

➣ Which Purification Methods Are Employed in Boat Water Purification Systems?

Reverse osmosis is the dominant water purification technique employed in boat water purifiers. However, numerous alternatives can be employed depending on the composition and concentration of the feed water. Below is a brief discussion of the prominent processes employed in boat water purification units.

● Thermal desalination.

Thermal desalination is a purification mechanism that involves evaporation and condensation. The seawater is essentially boiled in a boiling chamber until it converts into vapor or steam. The steam penetrates through ventilation on the boiling chamber and enters the condenser. In the condenser, a first-rate fan chills the steam, consequently turning it into liquid water. All constituents with a higher boiling point compared to water remain in the boiling chamber. They include dissolved solids, minerals, microorganisms, and floating solids. Thermal desalination is further divided into;

● Multi-effect distillation.

Multi-effect distillation is a thermal process that separates impurities from water through evaporation and condensation. The process is undertaken in a series of vessels, which are commonly referred to as effects. The temperature in the successive effects decreases gradually since the water’s boiling point lessens relative to the pressure drop. The following animation video illustrates how MED desalination works.

● Multi-stage flash (MSF) distillation.

Multi-stage flash distillation is a purification process that evaporates and condenses seawater in a number of stages. In the first evaporator, the feed water is heated at high pressure and temperature but in the subsequent vessels, the pressure drops steadily. Condensation of the vaporized water is accomplished using incoming feed water.

● Reverse osmosis.

Reverse osmosis is one of the most advanced boat water purification processes. It is a membrane-based water purification process that is chiefly driven by pressure. The feed water is initially pretreated using sediment filters to expel suspended solids, which can clog the partially porous RO membranes. After pretreatment, pressure is exerted on the feed water to overwhelm the conventional osmotic pressure.

The semipermeable membranes seize components with high molecular weights including dissolved salts and microbial pathogens while water is allowed through. The trapped constituents are left on the retentate side while the purified water moves to the permeate side. The brine (wastewater) can be fed into the reverse osmosis system for treatment while the permeate (filtered water) is collected and ready for use.

● Water deionization.

Water deionization is a purification mechanism that interchanges ionic contaminants with non-objectionable ions. Seawater contains minerals, metals, and dissolved salts, which are characteristically ionic compounds. Positively charged elements such as sodium (Na+) are swapped for hydrogen (H+) by the cation deionization resin while negatively charged elements such as chloride (Cl-) are substituted by hydroxide (OH-) ions.

➣ Why Do I Need a Boat Water Purification System?

Water purification systems have over time become quite essential equipment in boats. They generate purified water for boat maintenance, the crew members as well as passengers on a per-need basis. This means that you no longer have to load up your boat with large tanks to have a water source. In addition, you can carry on with your expedition without having to make unnecessary stops to refill your dwindling water tanks.

A boat watermaker essentially paves the way for infinite voyages. The machine will provide you with high-quality purified water, which can be safely consumed by people on deck. The water can also be used to undertake regular boat maintenance such as cleaning and engine cooling. The following are some of the many rewards you can expect once you procure a boat water purifier for your water vessel.

• Your boat will weigh less and can achieve higher speeds since you are not carrying large tanks of water.
• They are relatively inexpensive to purchase and incur low maintenance costs meaning you are guaranteed quick returns on investment.
• They are energy-efficient thanks to energy recovery.
• They have incredible impurity rejection rates, which guarantee first-rate purified water.

➣ What Types of Boat Water Purification Systems Do You Provide?

NEWater’s reputation as a credible manufacturer of water treatment systems dates back over 20 years ago. Over that time, we have massively grown our catalog of products and our market reach. We precisely manufactured thousands of boat water purification systems and supplied them to over 200 countries. Underneath, we briefly discuss some of our most coveted boat watermakers.

● Reverse osmosis boat watermakers.

 Reverse osmosis (RO) watermakers are boat water purification units that primarily rely on reverse osmosis to turn seawater or lake water into purified water. Our RO boat water purifiers are typically manufactured in TDS ranges of 1,000ppm to 45,000ppm. This allows them to desalinate brackish water as well as extremely saline seawater. Moreover, they average an impurity removal score of 95%-99.7% meaning they generate first-rate potable water. We primarily manufacture them in skid-mounted, modular, and containerized designs.

● Thermal distillation systems.

Thermal distillation systems are purification systems dependent on the processes of evaporation and condensation. They consist of a heating medium, evaporator, condenser, and control valves. These systems are ideal for seawater and brackish water desalination and are proficient in extracting dissolved salts, minerals, floating solids, and harmful microorganisms. We equip our thermal distillation systems with energy recovery technologies to mitigate energy wastage. Our main thermal distillation systems are;

• Multi-effect distillation (MED) systems.
• Mechanical vapor compressors (MVR).
• Multi-stage flash distillation units.

● Deionization machines.

Deionization machines are water purification units that technically replace ionized elements in water with non-objectionable ions. They consist of a cation di resin and an anion di resin. The cation di resin is ordinarily charged with hydrogen (H+) ions while the anion di resin is often charged with hydroxide (OH-) ions. The H+ ions substitute the positive pollutant ions while the OH- ions replace the negative pollutant ions. Deionization machines remove dissolved ions, minerals, dissolved salts, and traces of metal.

➣ How Much Does Boat Water Purification Cost?

At present, purifying seawater or lake water for boat usage has more financial rewards compared to carrying water tanks. Water purification technologies have become cost-efficient over time and this has fundamentally decreased the cost of turning seawater into freshwater. The cost of running a boat water purification system depends on numerous factors, for example, the concentration and composition of the feed water. Feedwater with relatively high concentrations of contaminants tends to be more expensive to purify.

Other factors that determine the cost of purification include the purification process employed, the size of the equipment, and the purification level. The production cost entails components such as human labor, power usage, repairs, and replacements. Generating purified water from seawater using a reverse osmosis boat water maker ranges from $0.79 to $2.38/m3.

Using thermal desalination systems, specifically multi-stage flash distillation systems costs approximately $ 1.00/m3. The drop in production costs over the years is primarily attributed to the development of more cost-efficient boat watermakers. In addition to incurring lesser operational costs, our boat water purification systems are also priced affordably.

Back to the guide ⇪

➣ Which Pre-treatment Systems Are Ideal for Boat Water Purification Systems?

Owing to the composition of seawater and lake water, most boat water purification systems demand an integrated pretreatment unit. Seawater often consists of floating solids, sand, particulates, and other suspended matter, which can potentially block the semi-porous membranes leading to poor performances and untimely damage. Underneath, we are going to walk through some of the water pretreatment systems that can help your boat water maker operate at an optimum level sustainably.

● Multimedia filters.

Multimedia filters are unquestionably one of the best filtration systems when it comes to the removal of total suspended solids (TSS). They are technically made of different filtration material, which is arranged with respect to size. Ordinarily, the materials used are anthracite, sand, and garnet.

● Pressure sand filters .

Pressure sand filters are typically made of one filtration material. However, the filtration media is strategically arranged in multiple layers based on size, gravity, and porosity. Although they are not as effective as multimedia filters, they shrink turbidity and extract huge volumes of suspended solids, colloids, and seaweed.

● Ultrafiltration filters.

Ultrafiltration filters seize suspended solids, colloids, and high-molecular-weight elements using partially permeable membranes. Typical UF membrane filters have an average porosity size of 0.005–0.1 μm. Their filtration rate is unparalleled and they also extract small traces of dissolved salts and microbes.

● Chemical dosing systems.

Chemical dosing systems are mainly used to inject chemical reagents like antiscalants into the feed water. Antiscalants help eradicate pollutants such as magnesium and calcium, which can result in scaling. Chlorination is also undertaken using chemical dosing systems and it seeks to destroy microbial pathogens.

➣ How Much Power Do Water Purification Systems

For boat necessitate.

A few decades back, desalinating seawater was considered an energy-intensive process and this contributed to a low adoption rate. However, efforts to make reverse osmosis membranes more efficient and minimize the wastage of power paid off. Contemporary boat water purification systems use the most efficient membranes and energy recovery devices thereby resulting in low energy consumption rates.

A typical RO boat water maker currently consumes between 3 kWh/m3 and 5.5 kWh/m3 of energy to purify seawater. Using mechanical vapor compression, the energy consumption ranges from 7 kWh/m3 to 12 kWh/m3. In multi-effect distillation and multi-stage flash distillation, the average power consumption range is 6 kWh/m3 to 11 kWh/m3 and 13 kWh/m3 to 25 kWh/m3 respectively.

The difference in power consumption depends on the primary water purification process, the feed water concentration, and the scale of operation. Purifying water with a comparatively higher salinity level consumes more energy. For the most power-efficient boat water purification system, get in touch with NEWater.

➣ Do You Provide Solar-Powered Boat Water Purification Units?

Solar energy is not only cheaper but is also safer for the ecosystem. The use of solar energy shrinks the number of greenhouse gasses emitted hence environmentalists is actively advocating for solar power. At NEWater we manufacture varying solar-powered water purification systems including solar boat watermakers. Solar-powered boat water purification systems mainly exploit solar energy indirectly.

They comprise a separate solar collection and transmission system, which provides power to the water purification equipment. A typical solar power system consists of solar collectors, photovoltaics, and storage batteries. The heat from direct sunlight is absorbed by the solar collectors and transmitted to photovoltaics. The photovoltaics convert the energy into electrical power, which is then transferred to the boat water maker.

High-voltage batteries can be integrated to preserve excess energy, which can be used at night or on rainy days. Solar boat water makers are ideal for off-grid applications and they massively decrease the cost of operation. Some of our solar-powered boat water purifiers are：

• Solar-powered reverse osmosis water makers .
• Solar-powered ultrafiltration systems.
• Solar-powered distillation systems.

Get a Quick Quote!

Our products are proudly manufactured here in Fort Lauderdale, Florida USA!

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April 25, 2017 By Atlantic Ultraviolet Corporation

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When you turn on the faucet, you don’t want to think about germs that may be lurking in the water. You’re sick and tired of buying bottled water due to upset stomachs and fear of not knowing your water’s purity. Ultraviolet purification will give you fast, safe, and economical water disinfection.

The Water in Your Home, Office, Yacht, Sailboat, and RV Need Ultraviolet Purification

Heavy rains and storm water runoff can help pathogens leech into your well or the public reservoir before the water makes its way to your sink. As public infrastructure around us continue to age, water main bursts become more common. E. coli, salmonella, and giardia are just a few of the germs that can slip into your water.

And let’s face it, you fill your boat or RV’s water tank up when the opportunity presents itself—even when you might not know how safe the source is. One bad fill-up can cause billions of microbes to multiply in your holding tank. If you’re lucky, you’ll see the tiny sign at the fill-up station that suggests you boil the water before use. But how many times did you miss the sign? You only realize this as your stomach flips and flops. This can be a nuisance, but it can also be life-threatening.

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How will the Bio-Logic ® Disinfect Water?

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3 Bio-Logic ® Models Designed for Tight Spots in your Home, Office, Yacht, Sailboat, and RV

The Bio-Logic ® is designed to plug right into a standard GFCI outlet. Rotatable heads provide flexibility to match your existing water connection and streamline installation, setting it apart from other units on the market. The included mounting brackets allow you to neatly install your unit with a minimal footprint. This saves you valuable space.

In addition to ultraviolet disinfection, the Bio-Logic ® Bio-1.5 Pure Water Pack includes a two-part filtration system that uses a sturdy 5-micron sediment filter and a carbon filter to rid your water of unpleasant tastes and odors. A stainless steel faucet, as well as everything else you need for DIY point-of-use installation, is included.

Maintenance is simple, even in tight spaces, with our exclusive EASY-OFF ™ End Cap. No tools are required for this accessory. Starting at just shy of 15” clearance is all you need to access the UV lamp for annual replacement and the quartz sleeve for cleaning.

Assembled in the USA of type 316 stainless steel, the UV water treatment systems from Atlantic Ultraviolet Corporation ® are constructed of the highest quality materials and use germicidal ultraviolet lamps to purify water.

For more information on the Bio-Logic ® Ultraviolet Water Purifier visit our Bio-Logic ® overview page or download the Bio-Logic ® brochure .

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• Published: 23 February 2024

Water purification

Filtration made green and easy

• Talia Khan 1 &
• Markus J. Buehler 1 , 2  

Nature Sustainability volume  7 ,  pages 102–103 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Whether on a hike, in a remote disaster zone or in your own home, access to clean water is critical. Filtration of freshwater to remove ultrafine particles like micro/nanoplastics, pathogens or other toxic components is unfortunately usually quite expensive, unportable and environmentally unfriendly.

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Drinking-Water (WHO, 2023); https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drinking-water

Global Water Security and Sanitation Partnership: Annual Report 2023 (World Bank, 2023).

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Water Purification Through a Straw

Housed inside a bottle lid, PureSip uses ultraviolet LED technology to purify water through a straw as the user drinks — killing 99.9% of germs and eliminating the need for single-use plastic bottles.

To support product adaptability, the bottle lid can be used with common reusable water bottle brands such as Nalgene and Hydro Flask. 

The purification process begins when the spout of the bottle lid is flipped open and can continue purifying for a total of 40 minutes before the batteries need to be recharged. With the assumption a user drinks at a certain pace, the team calculated that amount of time to equal 30 liters of water. On average, this would equate to 60 disposable plastic water bottles. 

The PureSip team members — Jack Figueirinhas (MechEngr’23), Jack Isenhart (MechEngr’23), Mackenzie Lamoureux (MechEngr’23), Ella McQuaid (MechEngr’23), Marie Resman (MechEngr’23) and Carlos Yosten (MechEngr’23) — made a point of using lithium-ion polymer batteries because they’re rechargeable, have a long battery life and are more compact than other battery options. 

The PureSip team pitched their idea at the 2023 New Venture Challenge, a cross-campus program and competition that gives aspiring entrepreneurs a chance to win money to fund a startup. The product received third place in the climate-focused section.

Lamoureux, PureSip’s product manager, said last spring , “We hope that our product can help reduce plastic pollution, and more particularly help eliminate the need for single-use plastic bottles.”

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Spring 2024

Middle East latest: Starbucks operator 'to cut 2,000 jobs' after boycotts; truce talks end as aid dropped on Gaza

The latest round of ceasefire talks have broken up without a breakthrough. Meanwhile, Al Shaya, the Starbucks operator in the Middle East, is planning to lay off 2,000 people as the business takes a hit from boycotts linked to the war, according to Reuters.

Tuesday 5 March 2024 17:18, UK

• Israel-Hamas war

• Latest round of truce talks end without breakthrough  
• Dominic Waghorn:  What is the impact of truce optimism fading?
• Starbucks operator 'to cut 2,000 jobs' after boycotts
• Global internet cables cut in Red Sea
• Family 'scammed out of £2,300' trying to evacuate relative from Gaza
• Houthis hit container ship with ballistic missile
• Mark Stone : Kamala Harris's comments only a subtle shift in tone - but White House cannot ignore Gaza crisis
• Live reporting by Ollie Cooper

Joe Biden has repeated US claims that a ceasefire deal is solely "in the hands of Hamas". 

"It's in the hands of Hamas right now," he said. 

"The Israelis have been cooperating. We need a ceasefire."

His secretary of state Antony Blinken also said earlier there is an opportunity to achieve an immediate ceasefire, but that the onus was on Hamas.

A senior Hamas official denied this, claiming that "it is now in the hands of the Americans, if they are serious about achieving a ceasefire before Ramadan, to exercise enough pressure on the Israelis" (see 2.48pm post). 

Much of today's updates have been around the chronic lack of crucial aid inside Gaza - with many international partners calling on Israel to do more to get more in.

But can they do more? And perhaps more pertinently, will they?

Our data and forensics correspondent Tom Cheshire has taken a closer look...

An Israeli strike has killed a mother, father and their son in the southern Lebanese town of Houla, the local mayor has said. 

"It was a three-floor house, now it's all the way collapsed and the rescue workers are still working to see who is left under it," Shakib Koteish said.

Israel has been exchanging cross-border fire with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah since the conflict with Hamas began.

Today's joint operation between Egypt, France, the US and Jordan to drop humanitarian aid into Gaza was the largest operation of its kind to date, according to a statement carried on the Jordanian state-run Petra news agency.

Three Jordanian C-130s delivered the aid, along with three US planes, one from Egypt and another from France, the statement said.

Relief supplies from the World Food Programme were among the deliveries.

Jordan has conducted 28 airdrop missions and another 15 joint operations since Israel's war with Hamas began 7 October. 

Israeli minister Benny Gantz will meet with US defence secretary Lloyd Austin today, the Pentagon has announced.

Mr Gantz, a political rival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but member of the war cabinet, made headlines last week after announcing his decision to travel to the US for talks reportedly without the approval of Mr Netanyahu.

Former Pentagon adviser Jasmine el Gamal described the move as "a huge slap in the face for Benjamin Netanyahu", with Mr Gantz meeting with US vice president Kamala Harris yesterday. 

Israel's military is drawing up plans to open a new crossing to deliver humanitarian aid directly into northern Gaza, two Israeli officials have told our partner network NBC News.

The crossing is expected to be in the area around Kibbutz Be'eri, the officials said, though both stressed that plans were not finalised and could still change.  

Be'eri was one of the hardest hit communities during the 7 October attacks after Hamas gunmen stormed the area and wrought havoc. 

The plan for a new crossing comes after intense US pressure on Israel to get more aid into Gaza, amid growing signs of famine in the northern half of the strip. 

Israel controls all crossings into Gaza apart from Rafah, located on Egypt's border, which it monitors. Rafah and one other crossing, Kerem Shalom in southern Israel, are open for aid - subject to inspections.

The top diplomat in the US has urged Israel to exhaust "every possible means" to more aid into Gaza. 

"Israel has to maximise every possible means, every possible method of getting assistance to people who need it," Antony Blinken said.

Humanitarian agencies are unable to deliver aid due to a breakdown in law and order brought on by war and starvation, they say, and claim Israel is responsible for distributing aid as an occupying power.

Israel blames aid agencies for not transporting the assistance, and Hamas for taking supplies for themselves.

Mr Blinken described the current situation as both unsustainable and unacceptable. 

Speaking before his meeting with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani in Washington, Mr Blinken also said there is an opportunity to achieve an immediate ceasefire, but that the onus was on Hamas.

In our last post, we outlined the comments of Hamas official Bassem Naim, who claimed the deal lay in the hands of the US - which needed to apply pressure in turn to Israel to accept the terms. 

A senior Hamas official has told our partner network NBC News that it is now up to the US to pressure Israel to reach a ceasefire agreement before Ramadan next week, after the militant group presented its proposal for a new hostage release deal at talks in Cairo.

A Hamas delegation had participated in a new round of talks with mediators in the Egyptian capital and was now awaiting a response from Israel, senior Hamas official Bassem Naim said.

"It is now in the hands of the Americans, if they are serious about achieving a ceasefire before Ramadan, to exercise enough pressure on the Israelis," he said in a voice message.

Bassem Naim is the head of political and international relations for Hamas, and told Sky News in the weeks following 7 October attacks that the group's fighters did not target civilians, despite masses of evidence to the contrary. 

As our last post outlines, access to food and other essentials for young people in Gaza is critically low. 

 Parents have been left "helpless" as their children starve and aid is "kept out of reach", according to UNICEF. 

These images, from Rafah, show the daily struggle for Palestinian children waiting to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen amid the chronic shortages. 

Parents have been left "helpless" as their children starve and aid is "kept out of reach", UNICEF has said.

"The sense of helplessness and despair among parents and doctors in realising that lifesaving aid, just a few kilometres away, is being kept out of reach, must be unbearable," Adele Khodr, UNICEF regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said.

Malnutrition is "particularly extreme" in northern Gaza, according to Richard Peeperkorn, World Health Organisation representative for Gaza and the West Bank.

Ahmed Cannan, a toddler weighing just 13 pounds at al Awda clinic in Rafah, is among those suffering from malnutrition.

"His situation worsens each day. God protect us from what is coming," said his aunt, Israa Kalakh.

Nurse Diaa Al-Shaer said emaciated children were now pouring into the clinic in unprecedented numbers.

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