In 2014, Robert and Rhonda moved aboard their Hunter yacht for a lifestyle change in retirement. Soon they decided that a watermaker was required as they didn’t trust water in the locations they were visiting. They came up with a great metric to define their lifestyle. The “Suck-to-Fun” ratio as described in their post.
We have a metric we apply here on the good ship Eagle Too that we call the Suck-to-Fun ratio. It has an indeterminate scale and infinite limits, but it acts as a basic measure of whether or not we’re enjoying this cruising life at any given moment. When the level of Fun exceeds the amount of Suck, life is good and we’re comfortable with our decision to embrace this crazy and unconventional way of living. When the ratio is inverted, well, it can be a grim day onboard, and makes us wonder why we ever thought voyaging on a small boat was a good idea.
We’re very happy that a Rainman portable AC watermaker helps to improve their “Suck-to-Fun” ratio in life. As they had AC power available, they opted for the high output 115VAC system. A little more about their experience and decision process.
The system has been so easy to set up and operate that even when we were in a marina and water was available from the pier, we still made our own. While in Cuba and Mexico, we encountered a lot of “yes, but…,” when we’d ask if the dock water was potable. There were people that drank it with no apparent ill effects, but bottled water for consumption was the norm.
When we purchased the system, we opted for the 32 gallon high-output version, and it was definitely the right decision. Our water tank holds 75 gallons, and it takes just a little over two hours to completely fill it. Some miserly water users could probably stretch that for weeks, but because we really don’t have to conserve, that’s enough to last us from four to six days. Then in a little over two hours, we’re full again. When talking watermakers with other boaters, our Rainman often gets covetous glances when we tell them how much water we can make. Usually they’ll be running a 4 to 6 gallon per hour DC powered system all day long trying to keep up with their usage.
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