Let me say first off, Magnolia does NOT NEED a water-maker. This is completely a peace of mind convenience level of modification. Magnolia carries 135 gallons of fresh water in our main tank and another 25 on deck for emergencies. At our 6 gallon per-day consumption rate (which includes a daily hot refreshing shower) that takes us right to 3 weeks. That does not allow for any fresh water deck wash-down other than a good rain fall nor fresh water in in the heads (salt water is not the best thing choice for flushing) but is available. Previously we needed to pull into a marina or I haul jugs it in the dingy as below in the Bahamas. It is a fair amount of work to haul 135 gallons or 1035 lbs of water……

In terms of water-makers there are essentially two types, high-power/high-output (120volt-AC) or low-power /low-output (12volt-DC).  Since Magnolia is equipped with a Westerbeke 8.Kw generator we opted to go for the high-power/high-output unit made produced by Cruise RO.  

The unit is broken down into individual components to accommodate many different mounting configurations in many different boat layouts.

In Water-Maker Part #2 we will commence with the actual installation of the unit and configuration in Magnolia. We me luck, because at this writing we have not begun as of yet!!!!

We cannot believe how fast the time is going by and its good we are being good task maters on getting our chores done or we will be here forever!!! We have made some time for fun though. Three days after our return to or homeport was the Pentagon Sailing Club Memorial Day celebration. We took on our crew of Patricia & Brian and headed out. The first day was and anchorage in the Rhode River. The boats without dinghies rafted up.

Day #2 of the adventure found us in Rockhall, MD for a picnic at the local marina. When we first started planning “the adventure” our friends Greg & Marie (SV Second Sally) gave a us Bahamas courtesy flag to remind us to stay focused and fly when we finally arrived. I thought it was a great tradition and one we should share with our friend John who would like to head out cruising someday.

The crews of SV Magnolia, SV Exuberant and SV Eleanor Q were reunited at Mary Marie and Franks new home in Annapolis. It was a great fun evening and look forward to catching up underway once again!

A number of boats stop along the “migration route” at Annapolis on the way to New England and beyond. It was great fun catching up with the gang. We also met up with SV Journey and again missed the picture with Drena and JR!

Another time when the camera did not get out….Annette’s nephew Byron & friend Alex came out for a visit and the only picture I got was the blessing of the fleet at the local river festival. Nuts!

Just to prove “some” work is being done…we are replacing the fwd head sanitary hoses before we start on the SEPARATE water-maker project. Never been happy with the installation so it was time to get too it. Not fun job, but certainly rewarding!

One of the jobs we have lined up during our stay is servicing our through-hull valves. In preparation for the work to begin I removed a couple of hoses. I was surprised to find water in the bilge from a leaky valve. A little un-nerving but not the end of the world.

Magnolia will be pulled out of the water next week to have a number of maintenance items accomplished so Annette and I will be living in a nearby cottage…living ashore will be REALLY weird!