The main objective of this research is to increase the contact time of water in the basin to enhance yield of fresh water by using a semicircular absorber solar still with baffles. An experimental as well as theoretical investigation is carried out. The productivity and efficiency of present still are analyzed with the influence of the number baffles and the water flow rate. A good agreement between the experimental and theoretical results is observed. The results indicate that, the daily yield of present solar still is higher than that for conventional still approximately by 16.66%. The outlet water temperature present solar still is high subsequently, it can be coupled with multi-state of solar stills to increase productivity. Therefore, the present solar still can be sufficiently extended for other continuous solar desalination systems. Economic analysis concluded that, the payback period of the present model solar still is quicker while comparing it with other solar still. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.