Tony - I cruised in the Caribbean for more than 5 years and found that
collecting rain water will supply almost all your needs if your are diligent
about the process of collecting and have methods to store extra water when
squalls provide an unexpected bonanza. My solution was a "teat" in my full
boat awing which allowed me to collect all the rain we needed. Two key
things the awing which you will need anyway should be well secured so as not
to flop in the wind and the placement of the teat must be tested for optimal
placement. Then no matter when it rains be prepared to collect water - day
or night and you can capture as much as 50 gallons in a squall. Depending
where you are it can be every day or once a week between opportunities and
they will come most often when ur not really ready.

I never filtered my water and only sometimes added a little bleach and never
had a problem - You did not mention how much storage you had - we had 100
gals in primary and 20 gals in a bladder plus 5 gal flexible jugs which
served us well.
"tbuck" wrote in message
...
I have been told that it is quite possible to catch all the water
required for two people when cruising the Caribbean and further south.
Has anyone devised a good system? Is the rain water filtered (bugs etc)
or stored directly to the main tank. I spoke to one cruiser who would
rinse the deck during a rain storm then had the deck drain piped to a
tank. I'm not sure if this water was used for drinking or washing etc.

Tony