Keeping it Fresh

Like our electrical setup, we modified our plumbing system. The Allures 45.9 comes standard with a raw (salt) water thru hull and distribution loop that services the toilet and a foot pump in the galley. We eliminated this entire system.

This was a difficult decision. There is sound logic to being able to rinse dishes in the galley with an unlimited supply of sea water. The same goes for flushing the toilet. So why did we forego a raw water system?

Before deciding to buy new, we toured many used boats. Several were smelly. With research, we learned that sea water left stagnant in the toilets often causes odors. Although there are less extreme remedies, flushing the toilet with fresh water seemed the most full-proof and had added benefits.

The galley sink set up was also a factor.  We wanted a foot pump for our fresh water tank so, that in the event of an electrical failure or need for conservation, we could still easily access our fresh water. This extra fresh water foot pump would require an additional faucet.  The Allures 45.9 comes standard with two faucets at the galley sink, one for fresh water and one for the raw water foot pump.  Adding a third faucet and second foot pump seemed overly complicated.

In considering the challenges of toilet odors and the galley faucets, we realized we could simplify and save by eliminating the raw water system completely.

The big question was, “Would we have enough fresh water?” I did my best to predict our water usage and consider the impact on our 110-gallon tank of flushing and doing dishes with fresh water.  I concluded that with two people and limited conservation our tank could last 11 days with raw water flushing and rinsing and about 7 days with only fresh water. In either scenario, on a long passage we would need to conserve more, carry additional water, or somehow refill our tank.  If we wanted to be autonomous and avoid marinas, eventually we were going to need an unlimited supply of fresh water. We decided a watermaker was in our future. We also concluded that, in a pinch, we could conserve water equally with or without the raw water loop. We could always use a bucket of salt water to flush the toilet and rinse the dishes.

So, we eliminated the raw water system and included provisions for a future watermaker. While coastal sailing and before we get our watermaker, we expect to have to fill our water tank 50% more frequently, but still less than once a week. Once we are crossing oceans, we expect to have a reliable watermaker with plenty of spare parts. With adequate power from solar, a hydro-generator, and our alternator, we plan to run the watermaker weekly and keep our tank full. We expect Gerty to smell fresh and our dishes to be clean.

We know our future watermaker contradicts our efforts to keep things simple, but if there was a machine to spin straw into gold, we would install that as well.  Some things are worth complexity. At least we won’t have the complexity of a raw water plumbing system as well.  Plus, I will sleep better at night with one less hole in the bottom of the boat.