Water. The element behind every boat owner’s passion and a source of hardship for sailors across history. Whether you’re an endurance racer or a pleasure cruiser, attempting an open ocean crossing or just heading up the coast for a few nights, the need for water is a constant concern on board your boat. For generations, boat owners have been forced to make do with limited onboard storage, their routes pre-determined by where they can find water.
But in recent years, developments in desalination technology have made clean, cheap and readily available drinking water a reality for many private boat owners, allowing them to sail further and stay away longer than was previously possible. Nowadays, there are so many watermakers available that it can be hard to know what the best option is for your boat – but there is one name that stands above the rest.
Designed and engineered in Italy, Schenker manufactures some of the most sophisticated watermakers on the market, with models capable of producing anywhere from 30 to 500 litres per hour. Their innovative Zen range is designed for recreational boat owners and is loaded with features that other brands can only dream of, including automatic system flushing and industry-leading low-energy usage.
The advantage Schenker enjoys over its competitors when it comes to power usage is thanks to a patented invention known as the Energy Recovery System, or ERS. The desalination process works by sucking up seawater and pumping it at high pressure through a series of semi-permeable membranes, which trap the salt while letting freshwater flow through.
However, this process is only around 10% efficient and 90% of the water (and energy) used is wasted. While most watermakers will simply discharge the wasted water back into the sea, Schenker’s ERS cycles it back through the system to help drive the low-pressure pump. As a result, energy consumption is reduced by up to 80% compared to conventional watermakers, with the Zen range using only 3.7 watts of power for every litre of freshwater produced.
With such low energy consumption, owners no longer need to worry about running noisy generators for hours or depleting their batteries in order to power their watermaker. This is an especially significant advantage for those who have made the switch to solar panels and have to depend on the unreliable appearance of the sun in order to charge their batteries.
But the advantages of a Schenker watermaker go beyond its power-friendly design. As a self-contained watermaker, the Schenker Zen comes preassembled in a sleek, slimline aluminium case that is small enough to fit on a shelf and light enough to be installed by one person. In addition to the features that we mentioned above, Schenker have designed the Zen range to be incredibly user-friendly and minimally disruptive. The one-button functionality and ability to operate automatically on a timer make the Zen so simple to use, allowing you to set and forget it and focus on enjoying your voyage – an easy task thanks to its near-silent operation.
And unlike many additions to your boat, you don’t need to worry about how the Schenker will hold up to the punishing marine environment. As well as being constructed from corrosion-free materials such as carbon fibre and acetylic resins, the Zen is also backed by a three-year warranty that is supported by Schenker’s international network of sales and service providers.
With so many features on offer, it’s easy to see why Schenker is one of the most popular choices for boat owners looking to install a watermaker. Whatever size your boat is and whether you’re going near or far, it’s hard to overstate the difference that a watermaker can make for your freedom and quality of life at sea.
As well as being desalination experts in their own right, SWS Pacific are also the only Schenker stockist in all of Australasia. If you’re interested in learning about Schenker watermakers and want to know if they’re right for your boat, head over to SWS Pacific for more information and to browse their full range of Schenker products.
