[sunlover]

I have a Bimini on a Beneteau Oceanis 343. I'd really like to add some solar panels. Feel free to throw out ideas as this is a fishing exercise.

I tried and failed miserable to sew flexible panels into the Bimini.

One potential solution would be to add davits for my fatty knees dinghy and put solar panels on, but it really kills any head room on the small swim platform and I enjoy snorkeling and diving. Are there tall davits as I haven't found any?

Or, can I swap out the Bimini for a hard top and add panels on that? I've found no leads here either.

 

[Barquito]

My plan is to just make a bimini out of hard panels. They would be in a sufficient frame, and be sealed between the panels to keep rain out. Solar performs better when ventilated, anyway.

 

[Skipper Jer]

I added 3 panels to our bimini frame. I used u bolts to hold the panels to the frame. Also added some bracing from the bimini frame to the arch on our Hunter 36.

 

[tempest]

FWIW. I didn't want to sew or zipper panels on to my bimini. The yard electrician turned me on to Solar-Flexx panels from Hamilton Ferris, that use snaps to attach them. I purchased them and was very pleased. Easy to remove if you want to stow away, or fold the bimini. You have to make 4 small holes per panel, but the snaps are gasketed and didn't leak with the panel on or off. Comes as a complete kit. $

SolarFlexx, Flexible Solar Packages (hamiltonferris.com)

 

[AndyL]

At one point I'd considered a pole mount for a small installation but have decided not to go that way. Maybe it would work for you.

 

[bristol299bob]

My panels are my bimini. The panels are mounted on a substantial frame with no fabric whatsoever. there is a ~1.5 inch gap between them in the center, the back stay and the radar post pass through the gap. the gap has not been an annoyance so far. However if it becomes a bother it can be easily filled with a strip of sunbrella snapped in place.

 

[sunlover]

FWIW. I didn't want to sew or zipper panels on to my bimini. The yard electrician turned me on to Solar-Flexx panels from Hamilton Ferris, that use snaps to attach them. I purchased them and was very pleased. Easy to remove if you want to stow away, or fold the bimini. You have to make 4 small holes per panel, but the snaps are gasketed and didn't leak with the panel on or off. Comes as a complete kit. $

SolarFlexx, Flexible Solar Packages (hamiltonferris.com)

Thanks for this. My downfall has been finding a decent fastener. The Loxx pull it up look good though expensive. But next to a $2600 arch, they begin to look reasonable.

 

[MarkofSeaLife]

My new panels are much larger than the old and they do make a great rain cover for aft the bimini. So if you were thinking of replacing the Bimini canvas with solar panels, yes, it can work. But you dont have the same ability to push them back to see the sails/stars/Neptunes wrath.

 

[tempest]

Thanks for this. My downfall has been finding a decent fastener. The Loxx pull it up look good though expensive. But next to a $2600 arch, they begin to look reasonable.

You're Welcome. I've spent too much time in the Sun in my life, so I always left the Bimini up. The snaps have held up in winds up to 25 knots without issue. I replaced one snap (of 8) since I installed them. It takes less than 10 minutes to remove them and stow them below, if needed. Same time to reinstall once everything is set up. Good Luck with whatever you decide.

 

[MikeOReilly]

I designed and built my bimini to accommodate my solar panels. No cloth involved. Works great.

 

[OntarioTheLake]

Our Bimini is suspended on a 1” collapsible, removable frame. I am wondering if I can add supports and use it for solar panels instead of a $3000 arch. The boat isn’t worth investing a ton of money, so I’m eager to see what others have done.

 

[MikeOReilly]

I used 7/8" stainless tubing to build mine, and it's plenty strong. Solar panels are not very heavy, although you do have to account for the force of wind on them. Ours have been up through a Cat. I hurricane, and never budged.

Here's some not-so-great pics:

 

[Grith]

Now posting photos of my solar panel on Bimini and targa bar solution on a 28 foot water ballast trailer sailer.
I held off commenting until my setup was fully tested in at least moderately strong winds and with a short sharp chop.
We crossed Lake Alexandrina ( wider than the English Channel but shallow and particularly nasty) in a storm successfully.
My system has 4 x180w hard solar panels with smaller lighter than usual sized frames. 3 are mounted over my Bimini which is on a 1 inch stainless adjustable frame and one is mounted on the rear of my targa bar in a way which allows it to tilt fore and aft.
The now 720w of solar have allowed me to leave my Honda 2.2 eu generator at home which along with a reasonable amount of required fuel supply weighing about a similar amount to the three new panels I fitted.
The mounting process allows the two outer solar panels on the Bimini to be easily removed if not wishing to carry the full weight for short cruises and for the tilting down all the Bimini three panels for bridge/powerline mast lowering or for carrying the mast when trailering.
Whilst fitting this large a solar array on a very small trailerable cruising yacht may offend some people it is designed to allow very extended remote area cruising in areas without resupply capability.
We cook, refrigerate, water heat, use an ancillary and dingy electric torqeedo outboard, and even have occasional use portable air cond and soon a desalinator all powered via this system in addition to the normal 12v yachting systems charging and using both two AGM batteries and two portable lithium powerbanks.
Subsequent to the two photos below and as can be seen on the third I have fitted two stainless brace bars to the leading edge replacing the tensioning straps both for extra support and a solid handhold for entering and leaving the cockpit.
All the panels are attached by abs bar plastic mounting clamps with thumbscrews allowing easy disassembly.
Due to their rearward unshaded location the panels are connected in series and have even exceeded their rated output at times and are generally performing very well.

 

[MarkofSeaLife]

@MikeOReilly nice boat photos. You should put a few more up in Gallery so we can see the whole boat. 😊

Or in a Photos thread.

Mark

 

[OntarioTheLake]

@MikeOReilly thanks for the details. Where does the power cable route neatly, and where does it pass through the deck(?) on the way to the controller/ battery bank?

I’ve seen a few located like yours with the power cable going thru the companionway and snaking through below decks. The Admiral just said NO to that halfassed arrangement. For various reasons she wants the panels on the dodger, which means I have to figure out the best place and means to penetrate the deck.

 

[MikeOReilly]

@MikeOReilly thanks for the details. Where does the power cable route neatly, and where does it pass through the deck(?) on the way to the controller/ battery bank?

I’ve seen a few located like yours with the power cable going thru the companionway and snaking through below decks. The Admiral just said NO to that halfassed arrangement. For various reasons she wants the panels on the dodger, which means I have to figure out the best place and means to penetrate the deck.

I agree with your wife! I wanted the wires permanent, inobstrusive, and unseen.

It's a little hard to describe... I'll try and find pics if I can, but basically I used the existing dodger-frame sleeve for some of the wire routing. Where wires had to run in the open I used wood L-channel to cover them, and ensure they are unseen. Eventually I route them through a hole drilled through the cockpit bulkhead. They are routed inside my cabin behind a handrail, and eventually to the existing wire channel -- again, all unseen and unobtrusive.

Note: I have four panels, all run in parallel. The two on the bimini are each 150 watts. I also have two 50 watt panels just forward of the dodger. They all run to a single junction box mounted outside, under the dodger. I then run that single cable through to the inside.

@MikeOReilly nice boat photos. You should put a few more up in Gallery so we can see the whole boat. 😊

Or in a Photos thread.

Oh, I'm too shy for all that ☺.

 

[MikeOReilly]

Maybe this helps... it's not the kind of thing one takes pictures of:

 

[OntarioTheLake]

Wow, I didn’t realize how big a junction box is. The photo was helpful, thanks. I suppose where to penetrate depends on the boat, that will have to wait until the cover is off.

 

[SchockT]

I attached flexible panels to the bimini by mounting the panels on sunbrella and then securing them to the bimini with zippers. That way I can remove them when I don't need them and keep them from getting too weathered. The wiring runs aft, down the bimini supports and penetrates the transom using water tight glands. When I take the panels off there are just 2 short pigtails remaining.

Sent from my SM-G981W using Tapatalk

 

[MikeOReilly]

Wow, I didn’t realize how big a junction box is. The photo was helpful, thanks. I suppose where to penetrate depends on the boat, that will have to wait until the cover is off.

I probably could have used something smaller. It's just what I had on hand in the electric bag-o-spares when I did the job. In retrospect, I think it would be better to have the junction box inside the cabin, but that will be for version 2.0.

You can't see it in my pic, but the wires penetrate the cabin just where the tip of my tiller is. I use another wire clam, (similar to this). That's the only place you see a bit of wire, but it's in a place that is out of the way.

ADD: I like SchockT's setup as well. One challenge with mine is, it's not that easy to disassemble. Can be done, but takes a bit of effort.