Cruising and sailing dictoinary

WATER FILTER - We have a third faucet on our galley sink for filtered water. The water filter is a paper and charcoal filter, which removes silt and chlorine and other minerals from the water. It is a 1 micron filter and also removes parasites such as cryptosporidia, giardia, and the parasite that causes amoebic dysentery. We have also set up a water filtration system for pretreated water brought to the boat in jerry jugs. We have a water filter housing, and two types of filters - the charcoal filter that removes chlorine and other chemical tastes as well as filtering out sediment, and the sediment only filter. In some places, the water is silty or so very foul that we pretreat the water with chemicals in our jerry jugs, let the silt settle, and then siphon the top 75-90% of the jug's contents through the filter into our tanks. Siphoning is only marginally slower. We then can chlorinate the water or not, and the house water filter takes care of the taste. We have a filter housing that is clear plastic so we can see the filter and better judge when to replace it. Even what looked to be quite clean water going into the filter turned out to have lots of silt remaining, turning the snow-white filter brown. (See Water Purification Tablets, "Sodium Metabisulphide", link to choosing a water filter:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/cryptosporidiosis/factsht_crypto_prevent_water.htm

WATER PURIFICATION TABLETS - Contain Sodium Dichloroisocyanurate. "Puritabs" sold to campers consist of 17 mg of above. In the Pacific, usually in the baby care section of supermarkets or pharmacies, find "antibacterial tablets" or “Feeding Bottle Steriliser Tablets” (made by Steadiflow, Milton's [Australia/NZ] or Boots [England], Aqua Tabs) in 500 mg tablets, sufficient to treat 32 litres of water. I also found them in a store in Phuket, Thailand that sold baby gear - clothing, prams, etc., but it was difficult to recognize because it did not have the familiar brand names, and was mostly written in Thai. But it was the same stuff. Only in Singapore were they as expensive as in the U.S. (because they were imported from the U.S. and U.K.) - every place else they were 50% or more cheaper. (See Water Filter; Sodium Metabisulphide; Laundry Bleach)

WEEVILS - People say that freezing your flour will kill weevils and their eggs. Just refrigerating them does not work, though. Even weevil-free flour will often have weevil eggs, so this is a good preventive measure. Many cruisers put bay leaves in their flour, rice, etc. to ward off weevils, but the one time I tried this I found the taste of the bay leaves unpleasant, though I may be the only person who feels this way. If you find weevils in your grains (rice, etc.) and want to salvage, you can try putting a container of grain in the sun and flick off the weevils as they come to the top and die (my friends do this, but I’m too squeamish - I’ll toss the stuff first). I sifted the rice I bought (10 kilos, just could not toss it), which sifted out the weevils, adult and larval. I then heated the rice in the oven and put it into air tight bottles. 18 months later, no weevils have reappeared in that rice (it was’t very good rice, which is why it took me so long to use it all up). Regardless, disinfect the locker where the stuff was stored or you're going to lose everything. An Indian cook giving lessons on cooking curries said that some spices, such as Cumin, are vulnerable to weevils, and if you occasionally “sun” these spices (yes, put them out in the sun), you will kill the weevils and eggs and prevent infestation. So try with all your other items as well. They will bore through cardboard boxes, plastic bags, whatever, to get at your flour or pasta. Nasty things (and they taste dreadful - never mind how I know).