If you ask random cruisers if you need a watermaker onboard, you’ll get a variety of answers. But no one will dispute that it’s a great convenience to have. But, like most boat gear, a watermaker has its benefits and drawbacks. Whether you need one depends on a few factors, including where you’re cruising, whether you prefer to anchor out or dock at a marina, and how long you cruise at a time. Let me explain.
Who Benefits From a Watermaker?
Watermakers are more helpful to some cruisers than others. Which category do you fall into?
Cruising Grounds
When we were cruising the Sea of Cortez, we were glad to have a watermaker. It’s a desert climate that gets little rain. The tiny fishing villages had little potable water. By being independent, we didn’t need to stress their supplies. We could also count on clean water, that would not be guaranteed everywhere we visited.
However, American coastal cruisers or boaters following the Great Loop might find a watermaker necessary. If you have adequate tankage, you’ll find it easy to refill your tanks when you fill up with diesel or stop for provisioning.
Type of Mooring
Some cruisers prefer to tie up to a dock most nights. For them, fresh water is often available from a hose at the dock, either for free or at a small charge. But anchoring out or picking up a mooring ball is less expensive. Anchoring also gives you access to more remote areas. If you anchor out without a watermaker, you’ll spend a lot of time lugging jerry cans.
It will also affect your logistics. Not only will the weather affect where you travel, but so will the need to pick up fresh water.
Length of Cruises
Not all cruisers sell their homes and sail off into the horizon with no plans to return to land soon. Some cruisers retain a home base and go out for weeks or months at a time.
This cruising style requires boat owners to “pickle” their watermaker before going a while without using it. Pickling is when you run preserving chemicals through the watermaker. Not only is this a nuisance, but the process also shortens the lifespan of membranes.
If your cruising style benefits from the ability to make your own water, you should still be aware of the pros and cons of having a watermaker. Let’s start with the cons.
Reasons Not to Have a Watermaker
These are not deal breakers for all cruisers. But you should be aware of the cost of having a watermaker on board.
Expensive to Buy, Install, and Maintain
To be perfectly honest, a watermaker will probably never “pay” for itself compared to the cost of buying water. At Boot Key Harbor, where we moored for several years, water currently costs a quarter a gallon. “Expensive” water is available for as much as $1 per gallon (a rarity, in my experience).
Since I began cruising, there have been significant improvements in watermakers, offering more affordable options. But an inexpensive watermaker costs over $2000 for the equipment alone. Installation can be significant, perhaps requiring a new thru-hull and time spent in a yard. In addition, you’ll have to invest in membranes, replacement pumps as parts age, and rebuild kits.
But that doesn’t include powering a watermaker.
Energy Infrastructure to Power
Can you generate the power you need to run a watermaker? Or will you need to invest in equipment?
With a robust solar array and efficient batteries, you can run a 12-volt watermaker with power you get from the sun. Your other option is to power it from a portable generator, powered by gas.
Again, many cruisers find watermakers worth the investment. And you’ll benefit from having robust power production on board, even beyond making water. But it’s still something you need to account for.
Takes Up Room
When space is tight, you want to make every item you have on board worth it. Is the space dedicated to a watermaker (including spare parts and gasoline cans for powering a generator) worth it for you?
That said, we (and many cruisers) find the benefits far outweigh the cost.
Benefits of Having a Watermaker
When we first began cruising, we considered a watermaker a “nice to have.” It didn’t take us long to see its many benefits.
Ability to Anchor Out
Nothing beats a quiet, serene anchorage. It’s the image most of us have when we set off cruising. Having the ability to make your own water gives you access to remote and idyllic settings.
In addition, your budget will go farther if you aren’t spending it on dockage.
Simplifies Logistics
Planning your travels around the weather is difficult enough. Adding in the need to top up your water tanks is just another complication. Being able to travel where you wish without worrying about water leaves more time for cruising fun.
Finally, having a watermaker can extend your cruising time in one more way.
Makes Cruising While Aging Easier
Dave turned 80 while we were cruising aboard Barefoot Gal. Cruising as you age requires some thought, and having a watermaker allowed us to continue, as lifting 40-pound jerry cans of water became more challenging. We’ve gone without a watermaker for as long as three months. It’s doable. We didn’t fill 5-gallon jugs full to make it easier to get them from the dinghy onto the deck of the boat. But it’s still a lot more work.
Watermakers on Board – Our Story
Okay, let’s start by saying that yes, a watermaker is indeed a luxury. People have been sailing around the world for years without one, and many still do today.
When Dave and I bought our first cruising boat in 2002, a watermaker wasn’t even on our “nice to have” list. We figured that we’d catch rain and occasionally get water from ashore when we needed it.
But then we saw the listing for Que Tal, and in addition to everything else we did want, she had a watermaker. Well, we figured, okay. We probably don’t need it, but sure, we’ll take it.
By the time we bought Barefoot Gal, we considered that a watermaker was included as a definite plus. In fact, we had decided that if we bought a boat without a watermaker, we’d install one and factored that into price and feature comparisons on boats we were looking at. Cruising the Bahamas, a watermaker certainly made logistics easier. We still had to plan where we went according to the weather, but at least we didn’t have to also consider getting water.
When our aging watermaker failed, we didn’t make repairs immediately. Instead, I pickled it while we decided if it was worth the time and expense to rebuild. The part we needed cost close to $500. If we needed a rebuild kit as well, that would be another $100 or more. We brought water aboard from shore for three months. That was long enough for us to decide it was far easier to flip a few switches than to continue that extra work.
What Having a Watermaker Means Day to Day
Having a watermaker means that when we’re out at anchor, we take a few more showers and more freshwater rinses after swimming. The snorkel gear gets a little better rinse off. We wash some laundry by hand on the boat to extend our time away from towns. And when we have an unexpected repair, it’s nice to be able to do a better cleanup when it’s over. Ditto when something spills.
What to Consider If You Decide to Buy a Watermaker
For those wondering, both our watermakers were chosen by previous owners of our boats. The first was an HRO, and the second one a Katadyn 80E. Both were 12-volt systems that we ran primarily off our solar power.
We liked running a watermaker from solar, but we also realized that the output was limited. Which brings us to the first choice you need to make.
12-Volt System or Run off a Generator
The capacity of a watermaker run off a generator is great. But you also have the noise of the generator in addition to the sound of the watermaker. You’ll want to know that you can make water quickly enough that you’re not listening to equipment so long that your peaceable anchorage is ruined.
Availability of Parts
Older styles of watermakers always had proprietary (and expensive) parts. You might not be able to get the parts you need in all locations.
When we replaced our Katadyn, we went with a Rainman that we were able to run with power from our solar panels stored in our lithium batteries.
This technology is rapidly changing. I’d do a lot of research if I were investing in a watermaker today.
Should You Have a Watermaker
I don’t really have a conclusion about how to decide if a watermaker is for you. They are expensive, and you can do without one. They can break down, although they’re more reliable than in the past. And so you still need to carry full tanks and always make sure you have enough water to get to the next water stop. You certainly can cruise without one.
But we’ve known numerous people who were cruising on extremely tight budgets, without many of the creature comforts that most cruisers have (outboard for the dinghy, radar, AIS, even refrigeration for a few), and almost all of them have said that a watermaker would be their first “splurge” if given the chance.
Learn More to Flatten the Cruising Learning Curve
Life on a boat has a steep learning curve. But you don’t have to do it alone. The Boat Galley offers step-by-step courses offering advice from cruisers to cruisers on everything from learning the basics of living on a boat to getting the most from your VHS radio. Best of all, you can save hundreds of dollars through the All-Access Pass.
Carolyn Shearlock has lived aboard full-time for 17 years, splitting her time between a Tayana 37 monohull and a Gemini 105 catamaran. She’s cruised over 14,000 miles, from Pacific Mexico and Central America to Florida and the Bahamas, gaining firsthand experience with the joys and challenges of life on the water.
Through The Boat Galley, Carolyn has helped thousands of people explore, prepare for, and enjoy life afloat. She shares her expertise as an instructor at Cruisers University, in leading boating publications, and through her bestselling book, The Boat Galley Cookbook. She is passionate about helping others embark on their liveaboard journey—making life on the water simpler, safer, and more enjoyable.
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