The right portable watermaker for a sailboat is not necessarily the most powerful one, or the cheapest, or the one with the most features. It is the one that matches your daily water use, your power budget, your crew size, and the way you actually sail. Get that match right and fresh water stops being something you think about. Get it wrong and you end up with a unit that is either too small to keep up or too big and power-hungry to run without a generator. This guide walks you through the decision, step by step, with honest numbers.
Start With How Much Water You Actually Use
Most sailors underestimate daily consumption until they start tracking it. Drinking and cooking alone runs at around 3 to 5 litres per person per day. Add rinsing dishes, brief saltwater-to-freshwater rinses, and basic hygiene, and a realistic figure is 8 to 15 litres per person per day on a sparingly run passage. A couple on a 35-footer who shower infrequently might get by on 15 to 20 litres total per day. A family of four, or anyone who wants hot showers underway, will want 40 litres or more.
That number is your starting point for choosing output. A watermaker rated at 20 litres per hour (LPH) run for one hour covers a couple easily. A 40 to 80 LPH system suits larger crews and liveaboards. There is more detail on sizing in the article How to Size a Watermaker System Properly.
Portable vs Installed: What Sailors Are Actually Choosing
A permanently installed below-deck watermaker was the only serious option for offshore sailing for decades. It still makes sense on some boats. But the calculus has shifted. A portable unit that sits in a locker, drops its intake over the side, and is making water in minutes has a number of real advantages that a fixed install does not:
- No installation cost, no plumber, no haulout.
- Takes it with you when you sell the boat or switch vessels.
- Serviced or repaired independently of the boat.
- Acts as a backup if a fixed system fails at sea.
- Can be used ashore, at a mooring, or lent to another boat.
The honest trade-off is that portable systems require someone to physically set them up and monitor them rather than pressing a button at the nav station. For most sailors, that is a minor inconvenience. If you want push-button automation and a fully hidden install, a modular below-deck system is worth considering instead. See the Portable vs Installed Watermaker article for a deeper comparison.
The Power Question: Generators vs Solar
This is where many sailors make a costly assumption. A lot of fixed watermakers, particularly European-made units, run on 240V AC, which means running a generator every time you want water. On a passage, that is fuel burn, noise, and engine hours. It also means the watermaker is useless if the generator fails.
A 12V DC watermaker changes the equation entirely. The LEDI Scout draws 16 to 18 amps at 12V. A house battery bank of 200 amp-hours with 200 to 400 watts of solar will run it comfortably for one to two hours a day without dipping the bank into trouble. No generator, no extra fuel, no noise at anchor. That is a meaningful quality-of-life difference on a long passage or a remote anchorage.
If your boat runs a 24V or 48V system, or you need higher output, the LEDI Nomad supports 12V, 24V, and 48V configurations, which keeps it compatible with more modern electrical setups.
Matching the Unit to the Boat
LEDI makes three systems. Here is a plain-language way to think about which one fits which sailing situation.
LEDI Scout (10 or 20 LPH, from $4,799 AUD): Suits trailer sailers, cruising yachts from about 20 to 50 feet, catamarans, and smaller crews. At 18 kg it is a single-person carry. No installation at all: the stainless intake goes over the side, hoses connect, and you are making water in minutes. The pump is a US-made Pumptec 107SS running at around 800 PSI, the membrane rejects 99.4% of salt, and output typically comes in at 250 to 300 ppm TDS, well under the Australian drinking water standard of 500 ppm. A built-in UV steriliser is included. The Scout handles seawater up to 35,000 ppm and also works on brackish or river water. View the LEDI Scout.
LEDI Nomad (40 to 80 LPH, from $8,299 AUD): Built for bigger crews, liveaboards, charter boats, and anyone who wants showers underway or runs a higher daily water budget. It includes an integrated control panel, a CATPUMP high-pressure pump, two-stage pre-filtration, and TDS plus flow monitoring. The Nomad is available very soon and final configuration pricing is being finalised. If this sounds like your situation, register your interest on the Nomad page and the team will be in touch.
LEDI Modular Kit: Designed for permanent or semi-permanent below-deck installation in refits or new builds. Output is configurable from around 10 to 80-plus LPH, with a remote control panel and auto freshwater flush. If you want the system invisible and plumbed into the boat, this is the route. Pricing depends on configuration. See the Modular Kit.
Water Quality: What You Are Actually Drinking
RO membranes do the heavy lifting by forcing seawater through a semi-permeable membrane at high pressure, leaving salt, bacteria, and most contaminants behind. The Scout membrane rejects 99.4% of dissolved salts. Output TDS typically comes in between 250 and 300 ppm, which is cleaner than most town water supplies in Australia. The built-in UV steriliser adds a second kill step for any residual biological content, bringing the output in line with Australian drinking water standards.
The pre-filter catches sediment and protects the membrane. Changing it regularly is the single most important maintenance task. A replacement 5-micron pre-filter cartridge costs $25 and takes minutes to swap. The RO membrane itself typically lasts several years with proper care. More on water safety is covered in the article Is Watermaker Water Safe to Drink?
Running Costs and Maintenance Realities
A portable watermaker for a sailboat is not a fit-and-forget item. It needs basic upkeep, and the honest answer is that this is not complicated once you have done it a couple of times. The three things that matter are:
- Pre-filter changes: Frequency depends on water turbidity. Coastal and harbour water fouls filters faster than open ocean. Keep a few spare cartridges aboard.
- Freshwater flushing: If the unit is not being used for more than a few days, flush it with fresh water to prevent biological growth in the membrane. The process takes about five minutes.
- Membrane pickling: For storage over weeks or months, the membrane needs to be preserved with a food-grade chemical solution. LEDI sells maintenance chemicals for exactly this purpose.
Every wear part on the Scout is field-replaceable and available through the LEDI spares store, with most items posting Australia-wide and internationally within one business day. The Scout comes with a one-year warranty, extended to two years on registration, and LEDI offers lifetime in-house servicing from the Gold Coast.
Why Australian-Made Matters for Sailors
Most watermakers sold in Australia are imported from Europe or the United States, which means overseas distributor margins, freight costs on heavy equipment, and limited local service options when something goes wrong at an inconvenient time. The LEDI Scout is designed and assembled on the Gold Coast. The parts inside, including the Pumptec pump and 316 stainless fittings, are the same commercial marine-grade components used in fixed installs that regularly cost $10,000 to $25,000 installed. The difference is that LEDI has cut out the importation chain, kept the design serviceable, and priced it for real sailors rather than superyacht budgets.
When you contact LEDI, you deal with a person, not a call centre. That matters when you are trying to work out whether a unit suits your specific boat, or when you need a part posted to a marina in Fiji before you leave.
Ready to Sort Out Your Water?
If you are fitting out for a longer passage, moving aboard, or simply tired of rationing water at anchor, a portable watermaker for your sailboat is one of the better investments you can make in comfort and self-sufficiency. The LEDI Scout starts from $4,799 AUD and needs nothing more than a 12V connection and somewhere to hang an intake hose.
For larger crews and higher output, register interest in the Nomad. For a permanent install, explore the Modular Kit. And if you have questions about which unit suits your boat, reach out directly at info@ledi.com.au or call +61 494 562 668. Australian shipping is calculated at checkout. For international orders, contact the team for a freight quote.
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