[wind_magic]

I've considered it ...

I have some folding panels but they are used for camping where you can't really take a full sized panel. The folding panel seems to work well, I like it, but of course it is of limited usefulness because of its size. They do make larger panels, however.

For the boat I think folding panels could be useful. Besides being a replacement for normal panels (an expensive replacement) you could also use folding panels in ways that you can't use regular solar panels. Many of the folding panels have metal eyes on them so you can hang them up, are lightweight, etc, anyone for a solar panel riding sail ? How about hoisting some folding panels up with the halyard for a little extra power ?

I think something that is going to eventually become big for boaters is using cheap very thin panels as a layer when laying fiberglass. It would be very easy to glass thin flexible panels directly into the boat under some clear, even if it isn't much in terms of power at least it could be enough to keep the clocks set to the right time, or run the burglar alarm or something.