We've managed to cut way back on freshwater use by taking saltwater showers on the stern steps and washing our clothes in seawater also. The biggest savings probably comes from doing the dishes in seawater - definitely a big savings there. We managed to go 5 days before hitting the 50% point on the port water tank which is what the kitchen draws from. The starboard tank was still over 75% at that same time.
To restore all this power to the batteries, we use our engine's alternator or, if the sun's high in the sky, the solar panels. Generally we have to use the alternator about 7 hours per day. This is way more than I expected.
We have two 220liter fuel tanks. The starboard tank is currently at 30% and the port tank is at 50%. During the first days of this trip on the way south toward the Cape Verde islands we used the engines for propulsion quite a bit of which we've done none of since we turned west. So having 40% of our fuel remaining after the halfway point is far from dire. Also of note is that eBay we have been referring to as the halfway point is "as the crow flies", aka on a rhumb line, from Tenerife to Barbados. We have not taken a direct path (by design) so likely are at about the two-thirds point in our journey.
40% fuel and 2/3 of the journey complete is much better than I imagined when you first posted about the fuel issues. Good going!
ReplyDelete