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[Roger London]

My understanding is Amelia was intelligent, well educated and enjoyed an outdoor-fun childhood, all enhancing anyone’s resourcefulness. What might Amelia have tried in her quest for fresh water?

Using island resources, could this work on Niku?

Construction:
3 clean, non-perforated tortoise shells: small, medium, large; all employed concave up.
Medium on supporting stones above heat source and containing impure water.
Small, supported* (and centralized) within medium shell, this is to collect distillate.
Large, containing (impure) cooling water, on top supported by medium rim and not contacting the small shell rim. Obtain a good seal, possibly utilizing some garment material for gap packing, this is to prevent evaporate from escaping to atmosphere, and caterpillars, etc, out! Periodically replace this water with cooler water.

Location:
To maximize distillation place in a shaded area and apply continuous heat (a fire) underneath.
Placed in the sun without a fire underneath distillation might  be too slow . . . An experiment for Niku IX?

Function:
Heat makes water in (bottom) medium shell evaporate. This rises and condenses on cooler underside of (top) large shell. Droplets form and trickle down outer curve of large shell to lowest point and drip into small shell.

Reclamation:
Remove top large shell, immediately consume water droplets on under surface. Place shell down on clean surface.
Lift out small shell, wipe underside to remove impure water, drink or decant contents.
Replenish water in (bottom) medium shell.
Reassemble.

Disclaimer!
I’ve not been to Nikumaroro and thus not tried this suggestion!
Construction could differ if glass or a translucent material were available.

* if not supported on stones it could float but might turn onto its side, loosing contents, if the medium-shell water level dropped too low.

[Krystal McGinty-Carter]

I have constructed several versions of the solar still, both in my days of working as a summer camp counselor and while teaching outdoor living skills as part of an after school program, and also at home. (It was something fun to show my kids) There are many methods that can be implemented with any number of items as long as you have the basics: something to seal in heat, something to condense the water vapor and a vessel to collect it. You don't even need to use sea water: You can dig a hole, bury a cup, can or jar at its center, pack fresh foliage around it and cover with a tarp, weighted at its center. (Ground still) The heat evaporates the moisture in the leaves, condenses on the tarp and drips to the center into the cup. This is one of many versions.

The problem with solar distillation, however,  is that it can be a frustratingly slow process, even when you are evaporating sea water and not green leafies. When you are dying of thirst, it can be so tempting to open the tent to see how much water is collected. The second you do that, you have to start at the beginning. The still has to be left undisturbed for extended periods of time, usually several hours. The output varies widely depending upon the size and the method used and weather conditions. More than one still would increase water output but a limited amount of construction material can be prohibitive. Ground stills require a great deal of energy to construct and you often end up losing more water than you distill through perspiration. On a good day, with one still, you can expect between 1 and 2 liters. On a bad day, maybe a cup or two.  Helpful but not likely enough to sustain two people in the Niku environment indefinitely.

I am very fortunate that I have never been in a situation where I actually NEEDED to build one, but I'm glad I know how. Looking at the Electra, I can see many parts that could be hammered off to make a solar still, among other survival equipment. However, someone had to show me how to build these things first. Until they did, it never would have occurred to me.  Being a sailor, Fred might have known how to construct a still, but if he was dead or incapacitated, it would have been up to Amelia. Would she have known how? Would she be in any shape, physically? Would it have been enough?

Coulda, woulda, shoulda.

[Monty Fowler]

I think Roger's Rube Goldberg idea has some merit, but only if, and this is a Big if, the castaways had all of their facilities about them.

Remember, this is Niku in July. It's 100 degrees plus in the shade during the day. You may be injured, you may not be, you may or may not be weak from hunger, but merely to scrape the materials together for a fire is going to require a lot of sweat equity, which may waste as much water as you could lick from a hundred turtle shells. Boiling seawater in or on bottles to condense out the fresh water vapor was something most people might be aware of, so that is what my money is on.

Still, there's gathering the materials for a fire, starting it (the Electra probably had matches, they were listed in the Luke Field inventory, and Fred smoked, but how long would those sources of ignition lasted? Ever tried to start a fire by rubbing sticks together? It really only works well in the movies. Same thing with a binocular lens or sextant lens - it can be done, but it is a PITA to even get the tinder going.)

If I remember correctly, solar stills as a survival tool (digging a hole and capturing the condensate) was only widely taught starting in the late 1950s. As Krystal noted correctly, they are labor intensive - and I'm not sure they would even work in the coral rubble that passes for soil at Niku - so you may end up with a net water loss at the end of the process.

LTM,
Monty Fowler, TIGHAR No. 2189 EC