Solar Still For Boats
Solar Still For Boats For Sale
Collect Water in a Solar Still Desert SurvivalText and Photos By Gregory T. JonesThere was the man in tattered clothing, his body sweaty, his swollen eyes squinting over miles of sand. Cattle skulls and scorpions scattered the ground while vultures circled overhead awaiting their imminent feast. In a futile last glance, he held himself up with shaking arms.
Then his head cocked to the side like a confused dog - could it really be? Buried in the waves of heat rising from the sand, a small grove of palm trees rose far in the distance. Struggling to balance himself, he broke into a clumsy run. A gaping smile emerged from his cracked lips. Then, just before a commercial break for the latest soft drink, the leathery victim either did the backstroke in a spring-fed pool of water or collapsed in the wake of a mirage.As a transplant from the Midwest to the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, I grew up with Hollywood's distorted images of the desert Southwest.
However, the reality of not having water in the true desert can be equally or dangerously more life-threatening. The chance of falling upon a desert oasis or spring is extremely unlikely, and the possibility of finding a contaminated water source, such as mineral springs poisoned with arsenic, only decreases the chance for survival.
Even apparently healthy water sources can contain infectious organisms like giardia, causing humans to become ill and lose more bodily fluids. In 100+ degree desert temperatures, a person can hope to survive only three days without water. During this time, the person can expect the quality of their days to steadily decline. Dehydration strikes quickly and overwhelms the mind with irrationality. Physically, depletion of the body's fluids causes the volume of blood to decrease.
Blood vessels then constrict because there is not enough blood to keep them expanded. Nausea, headaches, muscle cramps and dizziness quickly follow.
Emergency Survival ToolFortunately, there is an emergency survival technique for gathering water from our driest deserts during their most brutal seasons. It is commonly known as the solar still. One of the most significant survival tools created in the last 40 years, the solar still was developed by two physicians working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Results of extensive testing in the Arizona deserts by the U.S. Air Force proved that when properly assembled, the still can save your life.The solar still functions under the general principle of the 'greenhouse effect'.
Solar energy heats the ground by passing through a clear plastic barrier. Moisture from the soil then evaporates, rises and condenses on the underside of the plastic barrier above.The still also has the ability to purify tainted water. In fact, it condenses pure water from just about anything. Even urine will produce clean, drinkable water. (CAUTION: One fluid never to be used is radiator fluid, as its toxins will vaporize and poison the water.) MaterialsThere are only 2 essential components to constructing the solar still - a container to catch the water and a 6 x 6-footsheet of clear plastic. A shovel or trowel, a length of plastic tube and tape are all optional.The container can be a collapsible cup, an empty plastic bottle, a small cooking pot or just about anything with a large enough opening to catch falling drops of water.
In a pinch, even tin foil or a sandwich bag can be fashioned into a workable receptacle.The sheet of clear plastic can be a ground cloth used under tents when backpacking or a thin painting drop cloth. Both work well as long as there are no tears or holes. This is the one item that should be carried at all times, since there is no natural substitute out in the boonies. I keep a 6 x 12-foot plastic drop cloth taped inside my daypack, large enough to make two stills if necessary. Some desert rats like to keep their plastic sheets folded inside a hip sack or as part of their first-aid kits.A 6-foot length of flexible plastic tubing, similar to the kind used in fish tanks is a non-essential but desirable addition to the still components.
This will allow you to drink accumulated water without needing to break down the solar still, inevitably affecting its efficiency. ConstructionThe best part of this life-saving device is that for something that collects water from seemingly nothing, the solar still is amazingly simple to build. Here's how:. Dig a pit approximately 4 feet wide and 3 feet deep. Use a shovel, hand trowel, a digging stick or even your hands in soft soil or sand. Look for a sandy wash or a depression where rainwater might collect. In the center of the pit, dig another small hole deep enough for the water container.
Place the container inside, then run the tubing from the container to the outside of the pit. If there is tape available, tape the tubing to the inside of the container. Blanket the pit with the plastic sheet, evenly on all sides, but not touching the bottom of the pit.
Anchor the corners with rocks. Find a small rounded rock to place in the center of the sheet, over the water container. This will keep the plastic centered and control any flapping from the wind.
Gently push down on the center weight until the sides slope to a 45º angle. If the pit is dug deep enough, this should leave the center weight just a few inches above the water container. Next, secure the edges of the plastic sheet with rocks and dirt. Make sure there are no places where moisture can escape. Close the tubing end with a knot, or double it and tie it closed.Within two hours, the air inside the still will become saturated with moisture and begin to condense onto the underside of the plastic sheeting. Because of the angle of the plastic, water will run down towards the center. Finally, drops will gather and fall from the apex down into the water container.
As the container fills, simply sip fresh, sterile water from the plastic tubing. In especially dry conditions, water output can be increased by placing succulent plant material inside the still.The solar still only takes about an hour to build.
If constructed correctly, it can yield about a quart of water a day. And although the palm trees may be noticeably absent, you will have made your very own oasis in the desert, quicker than Hollywood could.
How Did Callahan Survived 76 Days Adrift?After going through a tough phase in his life, Steven Callahan wanted to go away from his life to escape the misery of his recent divorce with his wife. For that, he came up with an ambitious idea to tour the world on his personally designed boat that he dubbed ‘Napoleon Solo’.
Callahan’s epic journey began from Newport, Rhode Island in 1981 in his small 21.3-foot-long boat which he then sailed to Bermuda and reached England safely.Callahan then left famous English port of Cornwall aiming for Antigua as part of a group of sailors taking part in a single-handed race. Unfortunately, Callahan had to drop out of the race in Spain.
A wave of bad weather had apparently sunk a good number of racing boats and had damaged Napoleon Solo badly enough to abandon the race. After a short stop during which Callahan adequately repaired his boat and decided to continue his voyage through Spain and Portugal coming out of Madeira and Canaries.
After stopping at the Canneries Napoleon Solo left for Antigua on January 29, 1982. After a week into his journey, Callahan’s boat collided against an unknown object most probably a giant whale which caused considerable damage to the structure of the boat. Callahan had to abandon the main boat and left it to sink after escaping on a tiny life boat. He went to and fro to the sinking boat to get the necessary objects such as a gun, solar stills and other things that he considered might help in the long run. This decision of preparing for the worst actually contributed a great deal in saving Callahan’s life. He was left with a small life boat, without any food and water 800 miles west of the Canaries in the middle of Atlantic with no sense of direction.
Callahan’s Daily RoutineSurprisingly Callahan did not panic much; well to be honest he did but not to his loss, his panic actually triggered a survival mode that helped him through his ordeal. The first thing he decided to do was to make sure he developed some sort of mechanism to procure water and food.At first, he had to break open a solar still just to learn the entire mechanism of how it works.
He then collected drinking water from the remaining solar stills and used other devices to collect water, together they produced enough water for him to survive a day: almost one pint a day. Next big challenge was to feed himself which Callahan achieved with tremendous success due to his determination and will power. He managed to catch fishes for food mostly triggerfish, but occasionally hunted birds as well using his spear gun.
With no way of cooking the prey in the tiny rubber boat he had to eat them all raw, not very appetizing but it helped to save his life tremendously. Near MissesAfter almost 14 days in the middle of nowhere and with very limited food and water supplies Callahan managed to spot a passing ship. This was a ray of hope for him, and he quickly used his flare gun to attract the crew’s attention, he failed to do so and ship simply sailed by him without noticing him. This made Callahan even more desperate and hopeless and at one time he almost gave up on life.After more than a month adrift Callahan damaged his boat quiet badly while trying to fish for his meal, a whole side of the boat was completely ripped. For the next ten days, he spent days and nights struggling to keep the fragile raft afloat and finally managed to fix the problem.
In his own words when he repaired his damaged life raft it felt like the biggest achievement or some kind of a victory of his life. On the 74 th day, Callahan had only three cans of drinking water left and the hope of survival was slowly fading away in front of his eyes. The RescueOn the eve of 75 th day adrift with almost no food and water Callahan spotted lights on the island of Galante which is located South east of Guadeloupe.
This brought all his hopes back and gave him the courage to carry on a few more hours, the next morning group of fishermen spotted the poor man and rescued him to the island. After spending 76 days in Atlantic Callahan was finally rescued but it took him another few weeks before he could properly stand up on his feet and another few to properly walk again.