Rain Catching Aboard Charbonneau

The multi-useful Absorber plays a prominent role in our rainwater collection

Janet catches water as it runs off our sun shade.

The gurgling of water rushing into our water tanks was music to our ears. We’d talked to several cruisers about their rain-catching methods, but never really came up with one for ourselves; Mostly, because we’d never come this close to running out before. But, we were now down to our last 20 gallons and contemplating the necessity of actually paying 60 cents per gallon for water in George Town, Exuma. That would equate to paying $90 to fill our tanks. And, then came the rains. Now all we had to do was figure out how to direct some of that water into our tanks.

The rains began (like all bad weather) in the middle of the night. Strong winds were followed by heavy raindrops that actually bounced off the cabin top because it came down so hard. I laid in our bunk until 5 AM mulling over different rain-catching options. We didn’t have any of the specially-made tarps or extra canvas used by other cruisers. Our best hope was to find a way of building a dam around our deck fill opening. The most effective method for damming up the water fill is the use of modeling clay. We meant to pick some up long ago, but it never hit the top of our ‘to-do’ list. So, I did the next best thing; I used one of our Absorber cloths, rolled up and snaked around the hole.

The Absorber took a few minutes to soak up as much water as it could hold and then became heavy and solid, just like modeling clay! We have long preached the virtues of the Absorber for use on a boat. They dry everything to a squeak and last forever. There’s a big list of uses for the Absorber on the outside packaging; Using it to catch water on a boat wasn’t one of them. But, we think it should be!

We caught over 150 gallons as it continued to rain, off and on, for 24 hours. Some of the rains were heavy, but we found that our Absorber dam worked even in the lighter sprinkles. In addition to directing the water into our tanks, we grabbed every large bowl or pot we had and placed them wherever rain seemed to run off of our sun-awning. We felt like ancient pioneers trying to capture that magical elixir – water.

Janet and I couldn’t wipe the smiles off our faces as the rains continued to fall. We both ran out onto the deck with our soap and shampoo to enjoy a rainwater shower. If you’ve never washed in a drenching downpour, you can’t imagine how soft your hair is after that final rinse. For a brief moment we’d returned to our youth, splashing around in puddles during a summer shower. And in the end, we’d successfully faced another challenge of cruising in remote areas – water collection.

Well water works great for showers and clean-up when we can't get fresh water elsewhere. This is a well near Thompson Bay, Long Island in the Bahamas. The tadpoles are still swimming - so it must be good water!

Editor's Note: The installation of a reverse-osmosis water maker can eliminate the need for rain catching or lugging water from local wells. We contemplated the installation of one before heading away from the US east coast, but decided to see how much it would be missed during our cruising. After two years without one, we decided that it would extend our cruising destinations without the worry for fresh water and installed a Spectra Unit. You can read about that installation in our article entitled "Water, Water Everywhere"

Even with the water maker we still enjoy dancing in the rain and the sweet sound of rainwater gurgling into our tanks.