Re: Watermakers
The PUR Survuivor Hand-operated watermaker makes less than 0.5 gallons/hour (vigorous pumping). This is not adequate for a planned water supply.
The small 12VDC R/O units, like the Power-Survivor series (30/40E/80E) have a TERRIBLE reputation for
pump failure. Myself aside, I''ve NEVER met anyone who described good (or even satisfactory)performance & service-life from these units. Larger units, with a better reputation, are very expensive, large/heavy, and power-hungry.
BTW, I had a 35, which made all my water, over 7 winters in the Bahamas (7 x 6 months = 42 months), before the membrane failed. Note that I carried 35 Gallons of fresh water, and was never more than 1/2 day from a shore-side replenishment, if needed.
Notwithstanding my good experience, you would not want to rely upon (passagemaking) a fresh water supply, with so many terrible reviews, and that requires about 3-4 Amp-Hours of elect. power per gallon of water (where will you get that power?).
Re Passagemaking in a 25 Footer:
Such a small boat will have a very small cargo carrying capacity, and a moderate speed (short LWL) - hence you may not have enough displacement to carry the provisions neccesary for a 30 - 45 day passage.
I think it would be exceedingly foolish to begin a journey, knowing you will (soon) end up in a survival hunter-gatherer situation! Fishing & etc are only a means to supplement, and provide variety to, an already adequate food supply.
Almost all of us have been "caught out" in bad weather; and this might (often) be described as bad luck. Those who start out in bad weather, that gets worse, cannot complain of bad luck; but must accept their own responsibility for the consequences of their foolishness.
Likewise, it wood be foolish to begin any journey, knowing you do not have the resources at hand, to safely complete the journey - at least under the expected conditions, if not the worst-case scenario.
Conclusion:
Although I am a proponent of both:
Do it now, and keep it simple (don''t wait for the day when you might have everything you could possibly WANT) ...
I belive there are a few things that you abssolutely REQUIRE, including:
*Enough WATER & FOOD to complete your journey
...
OMO
Regards,
Gord