Blue Water Desalination’s new Explorer XL offers high output.
Having high-quality freshwater at the ready aboard megayachts and commercial vessels improves the quality of life for passengers and crew, and that’s where Blue Water Desalination (BWD) has made its mark. The Long Beach, California, company builds desalination systems for a wide range of vessels, and the manufacturer’s new Explorer XL is its most productive system yet.
With the ability to produce up to 6,200 gallons of freshwater per day, the Explorer XL is built for high output. That ensures the crew can concentrate on the safety and performance of the vessel’s operation and not worry about freshwater.
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“An advanced design ensures long-term performance with minimal upkeep, which makes it a strong value and investment for large vessels’ equipment,” explained Jim Santa, Blue Water Desalination’s managing director. “These systems are generally going to be used on megayachts over one hundred and thirty feet as well as on small cruise ships and commercial vessels. Often, they will be installed in pairs to enable super-fast recovery during periods of high demand as well as to provide redundancy.”
The open vertical frame design of the Explorer XL increases access for service while minimizing its footprint within the vessel. The standard freshwater flush feature increases membrane life, and the optional media filter can extend service intervals between filter changes. A media filter is a pre-treatment step that protects the more sensitive components of the desalination system. It helps reduce fouling and extends the lifespan of the membranes used in the process.
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Blue Water Desalination offers two smaller versions of the Explorer XL that are a good fit for cruising vessels between 50 and 100 feet. Unique features of Blue Water units include the high-output capacity relative to the system’s physical size, the simple, semi-automatic operation, and the ease of maintenance due to easy access to key components.
Well-known builders featuring Blue Water Desalination as standard or optional equipment include Riviera, Sunreef, Hargrave, Westport, Viking, Mag Bay, Marlow, Maritimo, and more.
“The Explorer series is available with capacities ranging from twenty to seventy-five gallons per hour,” Santa said. “These are what you would typically find on yachts between fifty-five and one hundred feet. On the upper end of this spectrum, it is common to have two systems to handle both surge demand as well as provide redundancy. For example, a Hargrave 108 is designed with two Blue Water systems.”
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Thirty gallons per day is a reasonable assumption for personal water consumption, but this varies widely depending on the activities of the crew and guests. In addition, it is easy to consume several hundred gallons per day washing down the boat.
“A large sportfishing vessel that is actively fishing will likely consume more than thirty gallons per day per passenger, while a yacht at the dock or on the hook will usually use less,” Santa said. “The Explorer LX series is the middle ground between the Explorer and the Explorer XL, with capacity ranging from eighty-five to one hundred and forty-two gallons per hour. These are what you would typically find on yachts between ninety and one hundred and thirty feet.” Again, two systems are often installed to provide redundancy and handle surge demand.
Another offering for cruising vessels is the Legend, which delivers fully automatic operation. It features a seven-inch full-color touchscreen controller, and full-function remote operation is available. The Legend’s capacities range from 20 to 77 gallons per hour, and models built in 2025 can be controlled and monitored from Garmin OneHelm and Raymarine Lighthouse multifunction displays.
Other Blue Water Desalination products include the ClearMate and the ClearMate Mobile. The ClearMate is a freshwater reverse osmosis (RO) system that produces ultra-pure water from either dock water or your seawater RO system. The ClearMate Mobile is a portable dock water RO system for a spot-free washdown of your boat.
Regarding customer service, Blue Water Desalination has an extensive network of dealers throughout the world that can usually be on board within a day or two of being contacted, depending on the proximity of the vessel to the dealer’s home base.
“Blue Water Desalination has also cultivated and maintained an informal network of service individuals and companies throughout the world that it can call on to help customers in need when a dealer is not available in the area where the customer is cruising,” Santa said. “Customers can also reach out to BWD’s Technical Support line for help with diagnosing and solving most common issues.” bluewaterdesalination.com
-by Doug Thompson
