How To Find the Right Watermaker for Your Boat

Boat watermakers use a process called reverse osmosis to turn seawater into potable water that can be used for cleaning, bathing, and drinking while spending time on or below deck. A lot of variables go into purchasing the right watermaker for your beloved vessel. Environmental Marine is here to help you make the best choice for you and your crew.

Watermaker Considerations:

Before purchasing the best watermaker for your needs, consider the following:

• The size of your boat
• Desired features & functionality
• Usage requirements
• Length of use
• The number of vessel occupants

These factors contribute to your water usage requirements and will determine the size and output of your watermaker.

What Size Marine Watermaker is Best?

Your watermaker is integral to health and hygiene while aboard a vessel. After all, you do not want your crew drinking seawater. Marine watermakers should have the capacity to provide fresh water to all passengers daily. The U.S. Coast Guard recommends that each person on board be allotted 30 gallons of water daily.

Example: If you are going on a 1-day fishing expedition with 3 people on board, you will need at least 90 gallons of freshwater available.

How To Calculate Your Water Requirements

Water feels like an infinite resource when you’re out on the open sea, but don’t discount the importance of saltwater versus fresh (potable) water.

Saltwater can be used to wash dishes, cook certain meals, wash hands, and sometimes, even for showering. But desalinated water is best for rising the deck, general cooking, personal hygiene, and drinking.

An easy way to calculate the amount of water you need is to use this convenient calculator from FCI Watermakers. You can also find several FCI Watermakers replacement parts and products from Environmental Marine.

Watermaker Running Best Practices

Consider how many hours per day you'd like to run the watermaker to reach your water requirements. Many boaters prefer to run the watermaker between two and five hours per day. From there, calculate how many gallons of water you’ll need to meet your daily potable water requirements. If you want to create 90 gallons of water in a two-hour timeframe, your watermaker will need to process at least 45 gallons per hour.

Marine watermakers are rated based on the number of gallons of freshwater they can produce hourly. Use this in terms of daily production or the hourly rate multiplied by 24.

More Information on Watermaker Output

Marine watermakers available on the market today can produce anywhere from eight to 344 gallons per hour or 200 to 8,300 gallons per day. Commercial systems can output up to 1,750 gallons per hour.

There are a lot of options on the market for watermakers. The good news is that it allows boaters to choose from various unit sizes, capacities, and production yields so they can find the best match for their needs.

If you have any questions about marine watermakers or other marine equipment and accessories, reach out to the experts at Environmental Marine. For more posts like this one, check out our Helpful Resources.