Making Water At Sea

How do you make water at sea?  You think you're okay because you're surrounded by it, but if you drink too much salt water you may die.

On our big boat, it's easy.  You turn on the generator, press a button to turn on the water maker and it makes 50 gallons per hour (gph). 

If, G-d forbid, we are in our liferaft, it is not like we can turn on our watermaker.  To make water in a liferaft, we make a solar still.  You put salt water in a large bowl and put a smaller bowl in the middle.  Then you wrap the top with plastic wrap and put a small heavy object on it.  The heavy object makes a cone shape over the smaller bowl.  The solar still uses the water cycle to make fresh water.  When the sun heats up the salt water, the water evaporates, and the salt stays in the large bowl.  The now fresh water drops on the plastic wrap drip down the cone made by the heavy object right into the smaller bowl.

We actually made a quarter cup in a day, which is nothing.  FYI: at home you use five gallons to wash dishes.  You need one cup per day to survive. [Note from mom:  we've got some work to do!]

You can make a solar still at home, but I don't think you want to be in a life raft!