A watermaker is not something that many Practical Boat Owner readers might have considered a decade or two ago – and is still something that’s not necessary for most cruisers based in the UK and elsewhere in northern Europe.

However, the situation is different for those planning to cruise in the Mediterranean on a longer-term basis.

Even in Greece, which remains one of the cheaper areas to cruise, there’s an increasing number of marinas that charge a three-figure sum for a night’s berth in high season, while in busy areas town quays that charge a regulated amount that’s a tiny percentage of that figure are often semi-permanently occupied by boats that may not move for a week or so.

While there are still plenty of free anchorages, topping up water tanks is progressively becoming less easy for a growing number of boats.

My own boat has generous 300lt tanks and taking a couple of 12lt cans ashore in the dinghy to refill from time to time can extend the time two of us can live on board to more than a month without refilling.

But that’s not feasible for many others, which makes watermakers a game changer, eliminating the stress of finding a place to fill tanks every few days without blowing a modest cruising budget.

Now that most longer-term cruisers in the Mediterranean have an abundance of solar power in fine summer weather, a watermaker can often be run using excess power that would otherwise be dumped by the regulator in the afternoons.

The only downside is additional maintenance if you’re not able to use the unit every few days, though even that doesn’t need to be too onerous if it’s approached diligently.

Here’s a selection of compact 12V units that may perfectly suit a 30-45ft cruiser with relatively modest needs.

Nautilus Ocean Practical 25 watermaker

The British-built device is one of the most efficient small 12/24V units available and will make 25-30lt of water an hour with a power consumption of 15A.

There’s also a 15lt per hour unit priced at £2,874, though it uses more power per litre of water produced than the Ocean Practical 25.

Price: £3,594

Contact: nautilusmarine.co.uk

Katadyn Powersurvivor 40E watermaker

The Powersurvivor 40E is a 12V model and one of the smallest watermakers on the market, weighing 11.3kg and measuring 42x39x17cm. Output is around 5.7lt per hour at a power consumption of only 4A.

There’s also a handle available for manual operation in the event of power failure on board.

Price: €4,165

Contact: www.katadyngroup.com

Schenker Zen 30

The smallest of Italian manufacturer Schenker’s new-generation low voltage DC models is just 10cm wide by 71cm long.

Power draw is only 110W, which equates to about 9A on a 12V system.

It’s engineered to minimise the number of components and output is 30lt per hour.

Price: €4,775

Contact: schenkerwatermakers.com

Spectra Cape Horn Extreme 330

This rugged unit is a favourite for ocean races including the Vendée Globe and The Ocean Race.

Maximum output is 56lt per hour and the unit has two pumps, so if one pump fails it will continue to operate at half capacity.

So it’s reliable, but on the downside, it’s very expensive.

Price: £9,950

Contact: www.spectrawatermakers.com

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