Boating New Zealand

I still haven't mentioned any 'bling', but the next item was one that Lyn had on her list right from the start. Once we made the decision, this item has had possibly a bigger impact on our cruising than any other single item.

Our watermaker means we no longer need to plan our cruises around where we can get water and no more rationing. We can take long showers, we can hose off after a swim and we can even hose down the boat to get rid of all the salt after a beat to windward.

It is also better for our health. This year particularly there has been an increase in water-borne disease in the tropics with Giardia and Typhoid becoming a problem in some areas.

You can go complicated and expensive or simple and cheap. Open Ocean in New Zealand keep their units simple, without all the bells and whistles that seem to be the first things to break, and with simplicity comes reliability. The reasonable cost is an added bonus.

John Martin, Island Cruising Association, in Boating New Zealand