Water makers are just too expensive, (at least $2.000) and require ongoing cost and maintenance, and seem to be overkill for my 26 footer while coastal cruising.
However, did come across the portable Nimbus Watermaker WM5-50(left) for the surprising low cost of only $371, but each time your replace the filters will be another $140, and it's unclear how often that might be required. EDIT - My mistake, the Nimbus above is for freshwater, so that's no help.
Anyway, time will come my Grampian 26 will be my live-aboard for a time, or longer. And though I don't foresee any real difficulty maintaining a fresh supply of water for drinking and cooking, as can just carry a gallon or two each time back from shore to keep reserves topped off. (I don't think I'll be crossing oceans anytime soon.)
Still, don't want to waste that supply on showers, or dishwashing, or flushing the toilet.. and I mostly do not care for resorting to showering in saltwater...
Many cruisers fabricate some form of inexpensive, very low maintenance methods of collecting rainwater which is drained to a holding tank for such uses, but they don't drink it... Some drink it, but only after a filtration unit... While others don't bother with a filter, convinced that rainwater is purer and safer to drink than public tap water.
My research has thus been brief, but I already know it will be necessary to incorporate a simple rain catching method to easily maintain an ample supply of clean water on my boat. It's been done for countless centuries for free, and is still so today.
I'll be looking into this closer soon enough.
Was looking at this Grampian 26 for sale on ebay, (not that I'm shopping).
What I find curious is the much steeper slope on the cabin front - in that it almost appears straight up and down, whereas my own is much more slanted (which to me, not only looks better, but also provides that much more space in the v-berth interior).
The Canadian Yachting magazine review stated that "Early versions also had a slightly steeper slope to the forward end of the coach roof and lacked the ridge above the ports, which was a cosmetic variation on later models." which confuses my prior deduction (based on my hull #26349) that mine is a 1972 and not a 1976 as it had been advertised on craigslist when I purchased it.
Or maybe the picture angles are just deceiving.. I dunno. Update- Just had a brief chat with the guy who bought it And he says the picture is deceptive and does have the usual slant http://www.sailnet.com/forums/general-discussion-sailing-related/256818-grampian-26-questions-3.html#post3550834
It also states 6'1" headroom, where my own I measured mine to be only 5'10".. Although 6 foot headroom was a big selling point for the Grampian 26 line, it seems this to must have varied an inch or two from boat to boat, as I have asked other G26 owners if they really have 6 foot clearance on the YahooGroups Grampian Sailboats forum..
Allen Stokell replied: "Does my G26 have 6 foot headroom? Only when the cabin sole is removed." But George Kuipers said; "I have shrunk to just about 6' and can stand up with my hair touching the liner. A PO replaced the stringers under the sole and could have increased the headroom."
Which brings up another point.. My G26 doesn't even have stringers under the sole, nor does it appear it ever has. I'll take a picture under the sole and post below when I do.
I look forward to the day mine looks as good as the one on ebay..
Mine still needs a lot of cosmetic work..
Pictures from the Craigslist ad before I bought it back in October 2015.
Not sure if I have this in the links, but will be sure to add it if it's not there already..
Been watching this guys facebook page for a while. He uses it to "track progress fixing up my family's 1970 Grampian 26 sailboat" Which incidentally is what I will be doing here on this blog soon for my own G26...
Anyway, I've enjoyed watching this guys progress. If your interested, I suggest you keep scrolling down his page until you get back in time to August 22, 2015 - and start there, and go up.
There's nothing spectacular, I think his boat was gorgeous to start with (the above picture is actually before he began "fixing up", can you believe it?!). It's inspirational if you plan to do some work on your own Grampian 26. https://www.facebook.com/Grampian26/
Ever hear of cleaning your boat hull with spinach?
Well, not exactly; the ingredient is oxalic acid, but spinach happens to be very high in in oxalate (oxalic acid), as are Beets, Rhubarb, Cocoa, Kale, Sweet potatoes, Peanuts, Turnip greens, and that's just to name a few... Actually Oxalic acid is found in almost all plants, but in varying degrees, and there's only trace amounts in meats.
Now I didn't know that, nor do I particularly care, perhaps you don't either. But it is vaguely interesting that oxalic acid is also used to improve beer production at many breweries... And we all know that boats and beer tend to generally go hand in hand; so it naturally stands to reason that it must be good for cleaning the hull of your fiberglass boat (the oxalate for cleaning, and the beer for drinking while you work).
Ok.. Let me explain what the hell I'm talking about..
It all began when I came across this youtube video (below) of some guy and his wife (or girlfriend.. or his sister for all I know) were making various attempts at cleaning the fiberglass hull of their trailered speedboat. They didn't have a clue what they were doing, nor did they pretend to. They had already tried bleach, mildew cleaner, magic eraser, green scrubber pads, and repeat efforts, but the hull was just not coming clean.
Finally they bought a 6lb jug of oxalic acid (it's dry granules or powder) for $16.85 (that's the current price), then mixed a couple ounces of it with water and applied to the hull.
It's amazing how quickly and easily the hull came clean.. Now I don't mean the barnacles, I mean the embedded off color, stained, dingy, residue or whatever remains; the barnacles obviously require scrapin. But the point is that it almost instantly made the hull look new.
However, I couldn't help but wonder what they might really be doing to their hull?.. what if that acid was setting up some kind of chain reaction to start deteriorating the fiberglass?
So did a little quick research on oxalic acid, and amongst other facts, discovered that oxalic acid is the primary ingredient of toilet bowl, dishwasher, swimming pool, and spa cleaners.. and get this; it also happens to be the primary ingredient of commercial fiberglass hull cleaners!
A quick browse through boat forums also confirmed that using the method as in the above video
is an extremely effective and economical method of cleaning the hull.
Cost only about $16 for enough of this stuff to last a lifetime. http://www.soapgoods.com/Oxalic-Acid-p-889.html
