We’re still experiencing the effects of the full tank of well water that we inadvertently took on over a week ago. The water was ok for washing but undrinkable, even after running through our excellent filter. When we anchored here in the Elizabeth River we didn’t know how long we’d stay and just figured we’d use up the water and refill next time we stop for fuel. Of course we ended up staying here longer and eventually we used all of the well water. So here we were with an empty tank and a marina with a fuel and water dock right beside us, but it’s a little tight to get to. Also, we have a good set with the anchor, and our anchor chain is very messy and rusty and leaves a terrible mess on the deck every time we raise it. So what to do? We decided to stay put and ferry water out to the boat in collapsible containers. We have four jugs holding five gallons each. Every day when we dock the dinghy behind the marina Jack refills the jugs using a dock hose that a nice marina resident offered us. Then we haul them up on deck and pour the water into our tank. We figure we’re using about 10-15 gallons a day for washing and cooking so we’re slowly gaining on our 100-gallon tank. If we were anywhere else but the ICW we’d be using our watermaker, but you need clean seawater to make clean water and the water here has too much crap on it.
Interesting about “resource consumption”
I was always the resource planner for passages – fuel, water, battery (someone else was usually the food planner)
We don’t think about how much fresh water we consume, and when it is plentiful (having large tanks and being able to refill them whenever needed) we use a lot.
So by ferrying the water in 5 gal containers you have the opportunity to measure your “Coastal Cruising consumption” – at least US Coastal Cruising, where good water is generally available and cheap at each stop.
When passagemaking or cruising in remote areas, as I’m sure you know, managing fresh water becomes a priority. E.g. leave the fresh water pump turned off, turn on only to use water; use a foot pump for sea water to wash dishes – fresh water only for final rinse, same for bathing! devise a means to catch rain water to refill tanks, keep a separate supply of drinking water, and use the watermaker only for refilling this, etc., etc. – I suspect EV is well equipped to do all these. It will be interesting to see how your “remote area cruising consumption” compares.
Hi,
You renewed our intent to always test and taste.
The SPECTA folks sold us a separate hand held tester. We check the dock water first to see if its ppm is acceptable, and if so, then drink the cup we just tested with the $45 hand held device. We have our spectra pickled.
Sorry you got a bad tank of water. That can be a bummer.
Ed and Sue in SERBIA on the Danube…
Hey, just noticed all of that brown skin. Be careful, use a bit more lotion.