A compact watermaker for boats lets you make fresh drinking water from seawater or brackish water without a fixed installation, a generator, or a plumber. If you want water independence on a trailer sailer, a cruising yacht, or a catamaran, the right unit is one you can carry aboard, plug into your 12V system, drop a hose over the side, and have running in minutes.
This guide covers what actually matters when choosing a compact marine watermaker: output, power draw, size, ease of use, and which unit suits which boat. All prices are in AUD.
What Makes a Watermaker Truly Compact?
A genuinely compact watermaker for boats is portable enough for one person to carry, draws power from the vessel's existing 12V house bank, and requires no through-hull fittings or below-deck plumbing to operate. The entire system should fit in a locker or aft compartment when not in use.
The LEDI Scout meets all of those criteria. It weighs 18 kg, fits in a single carry, and runs on 12V DC drawing 16 to 18 amps. No generator is needed. Drop the submersible feed pump over the side, connect the hoses, and you are making water. There is no permanent installation required.
How Much Water Does a Compact Boat Watermaker Produce?
Output is the most important spec to match to your crew size and daily use. A compact 12V reverse osmosis system will typically produce between 10 and 40 litres per hour depending on the model. Here is how the LEDI range breaks down:
- Scout 10 LPH: 10 litres per hour. Suits solo sailors, couples, or boats where water use is modest. From $4,899.
- Scout 20 LPH: 20 litres per hour. Suits crews of two to four, coastal and offshore passages, catamarans. $5,799.
- Nomad 40/60/80 LPH: For bigger crews, liveaboards, charter, or showers underway. From $9,899. View the Nomad.
As a rough guide, a person on a boat uses between 4 and 8 litres of drinking water per day, more if cooking and personal hygiene are included. A Scout 20 running two hours a day produces 40 litres, which comfortably covers a crew of three to four. If you find yourself needing around 30 LPH, a Nomad 40 run for fewer hours gives you that without running two separate units.
For a deeper look at sizing, see How to Size a Watermaker System Properly.
Power: Running a Compact Watermaker from Solar and Battery
A compact marine watermaker is only practical if it can run from your existing power setup. The Scout draws 16 to 18 amps at 12V. A house bank with 200 to 400 watts of solar easily handles this without a generator or shore power. That makes it well suited to solar-equipped cruising yachts and trailer sailers where generator noise and fuel cost are concerns.
The Scout runs on DC power only. The Nomad operates on 12V or 24V DC.
For more detail on running a watermaker from battery and solar, see Can a Watermaker Run on Battery Power?
What Goes Into a Compact Watermaker System?
A reverse osmosis watermaker works by pushing raw feed water through a membrane at high pressure. Salt, sediment, and most dissolved solids are rejected; clean water passes through. The Scout's membrane rejects 99.4% of salt, producing output water typically in the 250 to 300 ppm TDS range, well under 800 ppm, which meets Australian drinking water standards.
The Scout includes:
- Pumptec 107SS high-pressure pump (made in the USA, 316 stainless, around 800 PSI)
- 5 micron pre-filter to protect the membrane from sediment
- Built-in UV steriliser for an additional layer of treatment
- Submersible feed pump with 5 m feed hose
- Internal hour meter to track running hours for servicing
- All hoses and fittings to get started
The pre-filter is the routine consumable. In clean ocean water, a Scout pre-filter cartridge lasts around 30 to 40 hours before replacement. In silty or murky water, change it every 10 to 20 hours. Cartridges are $25 and swap in minutes. The RO membrane is not a regular consumable; with proper care (freshwater flush after use, pickling for storage) it lasts several years.
All spare parts are stocked and dispatched from the Gold Coast, usually within one business day. Browse the LEDI spares collection for filters, membranes, fittings, and chemicals.
Feed Pump Options: Extending Your Reach
The Scout ships with a submersible feed pump on a 5 m hose, which handles most over-the-side use cases. For runs where the water source is further away, two auxiliary feed pump options are available, and both use the same SP13 2-pin connector so either plugs straight in:
- Scout Auxiliary Feed Pump: suits moderate distances.
- Nomad Auxiliary Feed Pump: handles the longest runs, roughly 20 to 30 m horizontally and up to 5 m of vertical lift.
This flexibility means the Scout works equally well dropped over the side of a yacht, connected to a seacock below deck, or drawing from a river bank or tender when anchored offshore.
Who Should Choose the Scout, and Who Needs a Nomad?
The Scout is the right compact watermaker for most recreational boats: trailer sailers, cruising yachts between 20 and 50 feet, catamarans, and smaller crews. It is also used by 4WD tourers and campers who want clean water from rivers or brackish sources away from mains supply.
The Nomad suits liveaboards, larger crews, blue water passages, charter boats, and anyone who needs showers underway or a higher daily water budget. It includes an integrated control panel with a TDS monitor and flow meter as standard, two-stage pre-filtration, and 316 stainless DEFLOK fittings throughout. It weighs around 38 to 42 kg, so it is not a single-person carry, but it fits in a cockpit locker or lazarette on most larger vessels.
For boats where a permanent, out-of-sight installation makes more sense, the LEDI Modular is a configurable below-deck system with a remote control panel and auto freshwater flush. Pricing depends on configuration; contact the team for a quote.
See the full comparison in Watermaker Selection: What Actually Makes Sense on a Small Cruiser?
Why Australian Made Matters for a Compact Marine Watermaker
The Scout and Nomad are both designed and built on the Gold Coast. That has a direct impact on cost and serviceability. There is no overseas distributor, no import freight on an 18 kg unit, and no proprietary parts that can only be sourced through a single supplier. Every component is a commercial marine-grade, off-the-shelf part available worldwide.
LEDI offers a one-year warranty, extended to two years when the unit is registered. Lifetime in-house servicing is available on the Gold Coast. Wear parts are field-replaceable, and spares are posted Australia-wide and internationally. You deal with a real person, not a call centre. Contact the team at info@ledi.com.au or call +61 494 562 668.
Frequently Asked Questions
How small is the LEDI Scout compact watermaker for boats?
The Scout weighs 18 kg and is designed for single-person carry. It fits in a locker or cockpit storage area on most cruising yachts and catamarans. No fixed installation is required; the unit stores out of the way when not in use.
Does a compact boat watermaker need a generator?
No. The Scout runs on 12V DC at 16 to 18 amps, which a standard house battery and 200 to 400 watts of solar can handle comfortably. No generator is needed.
How long does it take to start making water?
Once the feed pump is in the water and the hoses are connected, the Scout is producing water within minutes. There is no complex setup or installation procedure.
What water sources can a compact marine watermaker handle?
The Scout handles full seawater up to 35,000 ppm, as well as brackish water and river water. The feed water temperature should be up to 40 degrees C. Pre-filter change frequency increases in silty or dirty water, but the process is straightforward and the cartridge costs $25.
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