Time it Actually Takes : Watermaker (22)
January 29, 2026 · 21 min · 27K views
What this video covers
Replacing failed membranes in a SeaWater Pro watermaker took two hours of real-time work, documented with a chest-mounted camera and an on-screen timer to show the unedited pace of the job.0:14
The watermaker is installed under the forward mattress in a modular configuration with two 40-inch membrane housings.0:31 The membranes had failed after several years of use, contaminating the tanks with salt water.0:05 Spare membranes had been carried aboard for years, avoiding a quoted replacement cost of $1,500 per membrane.1:16 Removing the housings went smoothly, but disassembling the end caps required a small hammer to drive corroded threaded rods free.5:08 On the second housing, using vice grips to pull a stuck end cap snapped the membrane's nipple off inside the aluminum end cap.10:26 Extracting the broken piece without destroying the soft aluminum or the internal O-ring required Allen wrenches, a screwdriver, and percussion.13:50 The O-ring sustained a small cut during extraction, and no spare of that specific size was aboard; water was used as lubricant to seat the new membrane.14:21 A Dremel cleaned a gouge inside the housing left by the extraction.16:20 After reinstallation, the system was purged of air with the low-pressure boost pump before the main pump brought pressure to 900 PSI, and the watermaker produced clean water.17:31
Corrosion on threaded rods and the directional orientation of flared seals are the two details most likely to turn a straightforward membrane swap into a multi-hour extraction problem.
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