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

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.

Unlikely. It doesn't rain much for long periods and the occasional short
squalls in the fine weather periods don't do much more than rinse the
deck.

Has anyone devised a good system?

We have a deck drain, with a divert valve. The rain either goes to sea or
to our water tanks. Certainly rinse the deck first, but there is no need
to filter the water before drinking.

Our way of looking at it is rain is a useful occasional supplement but we
also have a watermaker.

Mike

The water should be filtered to at least 2-3 micrometers (absolute) to
prevent intrusion of mold spores, etc. which will inoculate the tankage
and grow at an exponential rate when/if they enter the tank. Most people
are immune to such molds (many are very toxic), some people are
violently reactive and the reaction is cumulative (gets worse and worse
and worse and worse).

Mike
I like the idea of the diverter valve, but if the water goes into the main
freshwater tank is'nt there a chance of contamination from bugs etc. I
am thinking of a catch tank then filtering into the main tank?
Tony

Mike Cobbe wrote:

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.


Unlikely. It doesn't rain much for long periods and the occasional short
squalls in the fine weather periods don't do much more than rinse the
deck.


Has anyone devised a good system?


We have a deck drain, with a divert valve. The rain either goes to sea or
to our water tanks. Certainly rinse the deck first, but there is no need
to filter the water before drinking.

Our way of looking at it is rain is a useful occasional supplement but we
also have a watermaker.

Mike

is'nt there a chance of contamination from bugs etc

Well, I notice RichH is recommending filtering but we don't think it worth
the effort, provided you clean the deck properly.

Having said that, tanks/pipes can get mould (or whatever) in them over
time. Not really sure why, Peggy can probably tell us. Therefore roughly
every six months to a year, when there is free unmetered water available,
we empty the tanks, give them the bleach treatment Peggy has talked about
and refill them.

Mike

I work in biologically controlled water system. Peggy sells toilets.

Typical atmospheric air will contain 30,000 particles per sq. ft. with a
small percentage of Stochybotris Autra and various Aspergillis spores.
These are removed by filtration. There is NO place on earth where these
spores are not present. Most folks are tolerant of these species, some
are extremely reactive - hence cumulative dosage can be fatal for some.
Play the odds and risk the 'trots' or worse - your choice.
An independent 'collection' tank, then filtration into a (sanitized)
storage tank is the prime recommendation.

One must remember that until the western world corrected and
biologically controlled its water systems and methods .... the leading
cause of death and illness ...and probably the reason for low
life-expectancy was waterborne diseases before that change. The reason
for the low life expectancy in the 'third world' is STILL uncontrolled
water systems/sources. Simply draining rainwater into your boat's tank
is risky and quite archaic in light of modern practices .... and can be
quite dangerous. Even the 'ancients' who filled cisterns from rain
run-off used sand bed filters to purify and create a barrier from
biologically aggressive species while having absolutely NO idea about
such microorganisms. How soon we forget!


Peggy's 'bleach treatment' is a one-size-fits-all case and doesnt apply
to most stagnant (boat) water situations; plus, free chlorine in potable
water is a small risk carcinogen - take your choice.

Peggy's 'bleach treatment' is a one-size-fits-all case and doesnt apply
to most stagnant (boat) water situations;

Why do you say that?

Mike

RichH wrote:

I work in biologically controlled water system. Peggy sells toilets.

Typical atmospheric air will contain 30,000 particles per sq. ft. with a
small percentage of Stochybotris Autra and various Aspergillis spores.
These are removed by filtration. There is NO place on earth where these
spores are not present. Most folks are tolerant of these species, some
are extremely reactive - hence cumulative dosage can be fatal for some.
Play the odds and risk the 'trots' or worse - your choice.
An independent 'collection' tank, then filtration into a (sanitized)
storage tank is the prime recommendation.


What would you recommend? I assume a pre filter and then a fine filter.
In your earlier post you gave the figures as "2-3 micrometers
absalute".When I see filters in our local hardware store they say what
they will do,i.e, protect from cysts, but not the actual size. Are
filter elements standard sizes?
Tony

"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.

I've not heard of scuppers being the feed source, though I imagine it ought
to work as well.

The various folks I've talked to about the subject used the actual fill.
They'd see a squall coming, wash the deck with the deck washdown, let the
initial burst rinse, and then block the scuppers and direct the water to the
fill.

Of course, that requires a toe rail which will channel, rather than shed,
water, and fill pipes at least reasonably low for flow to them.

Others use awnings with pockets sewn into them (less surface area, but
easier to keep clean) and hose connectors to the same effect, without the
need for a deck configuration. One of the boats we've been considering has
the fills in the cockpit deck, which would require something like that.

And, about the quantity, it will depend a great deal on the size and
configuration of your catch surface (how much area). One correspondent had
an Endeavour 43, and they'd rate the squalls they saw coming in gallons.
They wouldn't bother for less than a 50 gallon squall, but frequently had
150 gallons. This was in the Caribbean, based out of STT and cruising all
the way to Venezuela.

Certainly, the ability to catch water is one of our hot buttons in a boat we
look at.

L8R

Skip and Lydia

On Wed, 24 Sep 2003 10:02:12 -0700, Skip Gundlach wrote
(in message . net):

"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.

I've not heard of scuppers being the feed source, though I imagine it ought
to work as well.


My friend has a Morris Yachts' Frances 26. The foredeck is recessed creating
a shallow (about 3" deep) "well deck" of sorts. At the aft port corner there
is a drain plumbed to a hose bibb below. If he wants to use rain water, he
lets the deck get flushed off first, then plugs up the scuppers with rags or
whatever then attaches a short garden hose to the hose bibb below and directs
the rainwater wherever he wants it: jugs, tanks, sink, wherever. Aboutthe
slickest set-up I've ever seen.