The most popular sailing rallies
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The most popular sailing rallies
Some great boats on the second-hand market are already equipped for bluewater cruising and have thousands of miles under their keels. If you're looking at an older boat with an existing watermaker, is it a bonus or a liability?
These are Jim Macdonald's tips:
When listed on the vessel’s inventory, a watermaker can be an added attraction to buying the boat. Watermakers are expensive and must be installed properly. If someone has already done this, it’s one less item to add to the shopping list.
When crossing oceans or living onboard where water is difficult to find, the watermaker is used every day and is an essential part of the vessel’s equipment. It gets maintenance and attention from the owner, who needs the water that it produces.
However, when back in home waters, when the boat will normally be kept in a marina or on a mooring, the watermaker soon gets forgotten about. The minimum maintenance required, even when the watermaker isn’t being used, is an annual flush and rebiocide.
Without basic maintenance, the membranes start to foul and may need replacing. Long-term lack of use sees o-rings, seals and internal parts drying out. Some of these can be costly to replace or repair.
Here are the questions that someone buying a boat with an existing watermaker needs to ask:
Is it going to cost more to get a 15 year old watermaker back up and running than buying a new one?
Even with new membranes and parts, a 15-year-old watermaker is still a 15-year-old watermaker. Technology has moved on rapidly in the last 10 years.
It’s then a judgment call as to whether the watermaker is the attraction it was originally thought to be. Specialists such as Mactra Marine will be happy to give information and advice as to the merits of keeping the existing or replacing.
Tel: +44 1983 296060
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120 High Street, Cowes, PO31 7AX, United Kingdom
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