How much freshwater do I need?

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mike
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How much freshwater do I need?

Post by mike »

I'm trying to decide between installing a 26gal or 13gal flexible water storage tank... I had pretty much settled on the 26gal, but am having second thoughts, based on wondering whether or not we need that much water on board.

The difference in price is only $20, so that's not a significant factor... my main concerns are the weight and the space it will take up. Obviously, the weight is not a show-stopper, since I can simply refrain from filling the tank all the way except when going on longer trips. But the 26gal bag is quite a bit larger than the 13gal (approx. 27x27 vs. 27x48).

Most of our trips will be just weekends, with longer trips (1 week) maybe once or twice a year. With 2 adults and 2 small children, about how much water should we expect to consume?

Thanks!

--Mike
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mgg4
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Post by mgg4 »

According to the USPS Cruise Planning course, you need 1-3 gallons of water per person per day. If you are going out with 2 people for 2 days, you need up to 4-12 gallons. If you have 4 people for those same 2 days, you need 8-24 gallons.

When my wife and I go out for the weekend, we carry 10-20 gallons of water. During the summer, we sometimes have more. Granted, we don't necessarily use it all, but we have it in case.

--
Mark Galbraith
Mac26x "Offline" (2002)
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mike
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Post by mike »

I decided to go with the 13gal tank... my wife indicated that she would prefer to drink bottled water most of the time anyway, so this water will primarily be for cooking, washing hands, brushing teeth, etc., and I think 13gal will be plenty for the shorter trips.

--Mike :sing:
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mgg4
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Post by mgg4 »

mike wrote:I decided to go with the 13gal tank... my wife indicated that she would prefer to drink bottled water most of the time anyway, so this water will primarily be for cooking, washing hands, brushing teeth, etc., and I think 13gal will be plenty for the shorter trips.
You will probably want to use your bottled water for brushing teeth as well, but you are right that the tank can be used for "Cleaning", while using bottled water for drinking and other "Internal" use.

--Mark
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dclark
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Post by dclark »

I put the 26 gallon Plastimo forward of the dinette. You can't really fill it completely without it pushing up on the seat. You can get close though.

There is nothing that says you have to fill it up all the time. Just put in what you want.
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mike
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Post by mike »

Though I had decided on the 13gal, I'm being wishy-washy and bought the 26gal earlier today. I'll see how it fits under the forward dinette, and decide whether or not to keep it or go with the smaller tank.

--Mike
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Captain Steve
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Post by Captain Steve »

I have the 13 gal model and it fits nicely underneath the cooler liner. I fill it with my hose into a short stub that is corked on the tank. We drink bottled water so this 13 gal lasts a long time. Future mod is to run the intake up around the head and a deck fill mounted on the deck underneath the life lines.
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Don T
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Post by Don T »

Hello:
I recently purchased a 23.5 gallon Nauta flexible tank to put in under the cooler liner. Space should allow for 18-20 gallons. The deckfill is located on the aft outside corner of the aft dinette seat. I find water usage is directly proportional to the amout of work it takes to pump it out. We used to go a week w/ 12 gallons (2 adults & 2 kids) but now that we have an electric pump and faucet, I have to fill up every 2-3 days. The new tank should last longer and I installed a 4 ohm 25w resistor in series with the pump to lower the pressure (and current).
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L Scott
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How much fresh water???

Post by L Scott »

I have a '96 26X..I redirected the hand pump (Head & Galley) water lines out the rear of the boat and down into the water....This gave me an endless supply of water....For my drinking water I have 2 each 9 gallon tanks available. These are located forward of the table.....I ran a small water line from these tanks to the Galley Sink...The water is pumped by using a windshield washer pump from an '87 Caddy...Spent 3 weeks on board last year...Water was not an issue...Been working great for me for over 3 years..
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mike
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Post by mike »

Ok, I decided (really, I mean it this time) to stick with the 26gal tank. After seeing it in place (under the front dinette seat), I realized that the extra space it consumes (compared to the 13gal tank) is under the starboard V-berth, which is not that great of a storage area anyway.

--Mike
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Post by Jeff Drumm »

Ok, I decided (really, I mean it this time) to stick with the 26gal tank. After seeing it in place (under the front dinette seat), I realized that the extra space it consumes (compared to the 13gal tank) is under the starboard V-berth, which is not that great of a storage area anyway.
I went with the 26ga Plastimo myself, and installed a deck fill just forward of the starboard genoa track. I also put in a Shurflo on-demand pressurized water system. However, I located my tank under the V-berth, relocating the flotation to other areas (not all of it, just enough to allow the tank to fill). As pointed out above, you go through water a lot faster when you don't have to pump it yourself, and I was surprised at how quickly a full tank emptied.

The added weight in the bow improved trailering, and when the tank is full the boot stripe is now parallel to the water :)
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Steve
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Post by Steve »

I upgraded my water system last fall and installed the 26 gal. Plastimo and love it! Also replaced the old hand pumps with nice chrome finished kitchen sprayers (see mods section). Works great all the way around. Cooking, light showers (w/ hose pulled out onto deck), etc. Go fo moe, you'll always appreciate extra water. And from what I've heard, having the tank/bag full during trailering helps stabilize the Mac too!
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Duane Dunn, Allegro
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Post by Duane Dunn, Allegro »

I can't see dedicating that much precious storage space for such a large tank unless it was placed in a normally unused area such as where the foam is under the vee berth.

The storage under the forward dinette seat is the largest easily accessable one in the whole boat. That is our pantry, it holds 3 large collapable totes that can take all the non-icebox food for five for a week. Plus it holds many extras like the collapsable beach cooler, the crab boiling pot, marshmellow sticks, etc.

We have two 5 gallon hard water containers just to port of this large locker in the one at the end of the aisle under the edge of the vee berth. Our's is an older boat so we don't have to deal with the ballast vent being there. I have a dip tube system that drops in through the cap for either container. When one goes dry you just unscrew and drop it into the other. I never liked the soft 5 gallon bags, but these hard 5 gallon ones are great. You can grab the empty one and easily take it to where the water is, no messing with fill hoses. We spend quite a bit of time on moorings and at anchor so we need a way to top up when away from a faucet and hose. You can take the 5 gallon containers to shore in the dingy with no problem for filling at any convienient faucet.

The dip tube system feeds the manual pump in the head and my on-demand sureflo pressure pump at the galley. We find one 5 gallon tank of water is good for 2-3 days.
Frank C

WATER or FUEL ... Similar Storage Issues

Post by Frank C »

Duane Dunn, Allegro wrote:I can't see dedicating that much precious storage space for such a large tank unless it was placed in a normally unused area such as where the foam is under the vee berth. ... I never liked the soft 5 gallon bags, but these hard 5 gallon ones are great. You can grab the empty one and easily take it to where the water is, no messing with fill hoses. ... You can take the 5 gallon containers to shore in the dingy with no problem for filling at any convienient faucet.
It's kind of interesting that Duane's points about storing and refilling water jugs ... those same issues apply to fuel tanks. But, in case of water, there are no regulations about safe installation of "permanant" (> 6-gallon) tanks.
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Duane Dunn, Allegro
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Post by Duane Dunn, Allegro »

Yes, in a way it's the reason so far I have stuck with only 6 gallon fuel tanks. The ability to remove them from the boat, particularly when it's on the trailer at home and get them filled is important to me. I'm starting to change my mind however as more and more I am wishing I had more then the 6+6+3 gallons on board. It wouldn't be that much worse to have to tow the boat through the gas station on the way to launch.

I don't think there would be many occasions when I would want to put one of the fuel tanks in the dingy and take it to shore to fill, but it is possible to do this. For the most part up here fuel docks are readily available everywhere.

I do however see water as different. Sure you can usually get water at the same place you get fuel, but often we are either at a park dock, mooring, or anchored off a park area. We may go many days without seeing a dock with a faucet. There is usually water available on shore at all parks, but it is rare for any park dock to have water available near enough to reach the boat even with a long hose. In a marina yes, but we do our best to avoid the marina scene. In general we never spend the night places where there is not some kind of public shore access as we need to get the kids off the boat from time to time for sanity sake. This usually means we can also count on more water available somewhere on shore.

If I had a built in water tank I'd definitely want it to be big as we spend a lot of time in places where there is no way to hook up a hose and top it up.
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