Watermaker

[mparent]

What is the best watermaker for a boat 36-38 feet with two people?

[lshick]

It would be misleading to give you a brand and model.

What do you figure your daily (fresh) water usage will be?

What is your current energy budget surplus? How many Amp-hours do you have surplus? Do you have solar panels, wind generator, or (shudder) gas generator? Do you have a DC refrigerator?

If you get a DC-powered watermaker, figure on one roughly Amp-hour per gallon produced (depends on the brand, of course, but as a ballpark). If you get an engine-driven watermaker, think about how many hours a day you'll run the engine at low load, and the effect that will have on the engine's health (to say nothing of your nerves).

What are your space requirements? A big block of free volume argues for a pre-built "console" unit. Otherwise, it may make sense to get components that you can shoehorn in where you can. But be able to get at the components, because the watermaker will be a high-maintenance item.

[sck5]

i have no interest in the company, but a pur powersurvivor 40 (or whatever the company that bought them out calls it now) works on DC but also can be used as a manual pump driven unit if the batteries go flat. Not a bad feature to have.

[sailingdog]

Getting one that has enough capacity that it can supply your needs in a relatively short period of time is probably a good idea. However, it is hard to say what the best watermaker is going to be for you without at least a bit more information like—What size battery bank do you have? What is your daily water usage going to be? etc...

I'd point out that relying on a watermaker is a foolish idea—they can fail for many unrelated reasons. You should always have enough water in tanks to supply your needs for any given passage, so that if the watermaker fails, you won't die of thirst.