"Wayne.B" wrote
Perhaps Roger Long could cast some light on the question?

I struggled with this question a lot when international standards and
the Coast Guard's starting to enforce Public Health Department rules
made potable water skin tanks illegal in vessels. Watermakers have
eased the situation somewhat but I was designing sailing school
vessels before they were at the state of the art they are today.

Imagine putting enough water for a highly populated, slow, vessel that
makes long voyages into separate tanks with enough space to get around
the outsides for inspection and the bottoms two feet above any
possible bilge water level. You could use up 10% - 15% of the
vessel's usable accommodations capacity pretty easily.

The solution was to have a small potable water tank that went to the
galley and the drinking fountains and big skin tanks that went
everywhere else. All the other water outlets, such as in the heads,
would have a little sign that said, "Not suitable for drinking."
Everyone would brush their teeth or drink it anyway.

It's more of an issue on steel vessels where damage or a corrosion pin
hole wouldn't be discovered in the fresh water tanks. People might
get an unhealthy dose of salt without noticing it. Worse, they might
get some really nasty cholera bug in some port.

This isn't much different from our sailboat where the water in the big
tank tastes bad. Potable water is a bunch of plastic bottles under a
bunk. It's actually a lot easier to hand a new one up to the thirsty
helmsman than keep refilling a glass. Before any long voyages away
from reliable water supply though, I've got to tackle cleaning out
that tank and piping system.

When was the last time you found water seeping through a pin hole or
other damage in the skin of your fiberglass boat? That's about the
risk level of an integral tank. Without the Coast Guard looking over
my plans, I'd put an integral tank in any boat and just keep an eye on
the hull and the taste of the water.

Another reason though for using bottled water, despite confidence in
your tanks, is all the funky stuff that can get into marina hoses and
piping. It doesn't take much getting in when the pipes and hoses sit
out there warm in the sun. Even though we don't drink the water from
our tank, I like to fill it on a weekend when lots of people have been
hosing off their boats and filling their tanks just in case a guest
pours themselves a glass.

--

Roger Long

"Roger Long" wrote:

"Wayne.B" wrote
Perhaps Roger Long could cast some light on the question?


Another reason though for using bottled water, despite confidence in
your tanks, is all the funky stuff that can get into marina hoses and
piping. It doesn't take much getting in when the pipes and hoses sit
out there warm in the sun. Even though we don't drink the water from
our tank, I like to fill it on a weekend when lots of people have been
hosing off their boats and filling their tanks just in case a guest
pours themselves a glass.

We do both. We carry 400 gallons of water in two tanks. We wash our
boat before we fill the tanks. I have no hesitation about drinking
water from the tanks.

We also freeze water in bottles at home and put the frozen bottles in
the frig and freezer on the boat to help it keep cold. The ones in
the refrigerator we periodically put in the head for drinking or
taking pills. We also use those bottles to make sunshine tea. But
when we are living aboard, we keep the water fresh enough to drink
provided we don't fill the tanks with bad water to begin with.

grandma Rosalie

I used to love sunshine tea and never had a problem drinking it but
someone (can't remember who but I do remember that they were credible
on such subjects) told me that you can get very, very sick from it.
The tea leaves grow in far a way places, often are spread out on tarps
in the sun to dry, birds fly over, etc. You put this highly organic
stuff in a bottle and let it heat up to just about the optimum
temperature range for bacterial growth and then drink it.

I'd like to know just how much of a concern this really is. The
person who told me explained it as one of those things you'll get away
with for years but can get life threateningly sick.

BTW I'd have no hesitation about drinking the water out of our tank
either except that it tastes like essence of old boat.

--

Roger Long

I just remembered that my sunshine tea paranoia predates Google where
you can get an answer to anything. (I once typed in "What is the
meaning of life?" and got an answer.)

A search for sunshine tea turns up no hint of a reported problem even
when the words "sick" and "danger" are added in. Given how the world
loves problems, I'm sure someone out there would have heard about it.

Enjoy

(But keep that teapot on board in case I ever visit

--

Roger Long

Roger Long wrote:
I just remembered that my sunshine tea paranoia predates Google where
you can get an answer to anything. (I once typed in "What is the
meaning of life?" and got an answer.)


C'mon, don't keep us in suspense.

A search for sunshine tea turns up no hint of a reported problem even
when the words "sick" and "danger" are added in. Given how the world
loves problems, I'm sure someone out there would have heard about it.


Microbiology isn't my strong suit, but I think the tannic
acid kills most of the harmful bugs. That's one reason why
people got in the habit of drinking tea all those centuries ago.

DSK

DSK wrote:

Roger Long wrote:
I just remembered that my sunshine tea paranoia predates Google where
you can get an answer to anything. (I once typed in "What is the
meaning of life?" and got an answer.)


C'mon, don't keep us in suspense.

A search for sunshine tea turns up no hint of a reported problem even
when the words "sick" and "danger" are added in. Given how the world
loves problems, I'm sure someone out there would have heard about it.


Possibly the problem would be with contaminated water where the
microbes would have been killed by boiling the water, which isn't
usually done when you make sunshine tea. I'd think if you could drink
regular water, you could drink any water made into tea. I don't think
the tea leaves would be a source of contamination.

I would think all those filters that people use would have a much
greater chance of contamination as they are damp dark places ideal for
growing stuff.

Microbiology isn't my strong suit, but I think the tannic
acid kills most of the harmful bugs. That's one reason why
people got in the habit of drinking tea all those centuries ago.


Sunshine tea doesn't even have to be in the light. It can be 'brewed'
even in the dark or at night or when it is cold. It IS quicker in the
sunlight. The only problem we have ever had was when Bob
accidentally filled the water tanks in Nassau without checking, and
subsequent tea made from it turned green and tasted terrible. Nassau
water is brought in by tanker from Andros, and it tastes like swimming
pool water and is slightly brackish. Makes terrible coffee too, I'm
told (we don't drink coffee).

That's why he now fills a bottle up with whatever water he is thinking
of putting into the tanks, and lets it sit out to see if anything
settles out, and then makes a bottle of tea with it to test it before
he fills the tanks at any new place.

When I say that I just go ahead and drink water without filtering it,
I think it is only fair to mention that I'm not at all picky about my
water. With Bob being in the Navy and all, we've had water in many
places that I'd regard as less than ideal. In the Pensacola area we
had a well point and the water that came up was so turbid that I
couldn't see my hands in the bottom of the dishpan. Then in
Jeanerette LA, the water tasted faintly oily. Later when we moved to
RI, we had well water with a high iron content which stained all the
wash if you should accidentally use chlorine bleach. We drank the
water at those houses anyway.

grandma Rosalie

Rosalie B. wrote in
:

We drank the
water at those houses anyway.


Yecch....After reading this thread, I'm going to the kitchen to hug my
water distiller. Water comes out of it so pure it doesn't even conduct
electricity!

I drink it because it's MUCH better than the kidney stones the calcium
deposits in the city water supply gave me....OUCH!

Excuse me.....My stomach is turning, again....

I find I can make tea just fine using room temp water and allowing a
soak time. Advantage I find over heat brewing is less of an acidic
taste.