Andy’s other two South Pacific cruises were both done without water making capabilities and refrigeration; likewise the cruising we did 10 years ago in the Caribbean. So we are quite excited that we will have both on this cruise.

We have a Little Wonder Water Maker. Love that name! It came with the boat and we recently had it serviced. It was found to be in good condition. As a plumber, Andy has a good understanding of how it’s supposed to work. Betty on the other hand hasn’t a clue.

We hired a technician to come to the boat to check the system and teach us how to use it. It is mounted in the port side cockpit hold and the valves are a bit awkward to access since the hold contains so much stuff. But the technician walked us through the process and then handed us a cup of water which he said was nearly pure. “You can drink this,” he said. Andy and I both looked at each other and decided to pass. Pacific Ocean water yes, Duwamish River water, no thanks.

Our Little Wonder can make 11 gallons/hour; we anticipate only having to run it for 1-2 hours a day while we’re at sea. We don’t yet know how many amps it will draw, but with the solar panels possibly generating 20 amp hours, we should be in good shape energy-wise and not have to run our engine. Our refrigerator only draws 4 amps. How nice to think about fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese, maybe bacon 1,000 miles out at sea. Oh, and then there's that cold beer. Cheers!