[SanderO]

My panel(s) have a long chord which plug into a socket in the dash. I can place them anywhere... at anchor on the for deck.

 

[Bill Berner]

My panels are mounted to Kato Davits. It just requires me to stoop a little when coming up the boarding ladder, and that’s with a kayak strapped to the Davits under my o e 430w panel. One nice thing about the Kato Panel Mounts are that they pivot for and aft a bit giving you the ability point the panels towards the sun abit.
An advantage to having panels on Davits or an arch is that shadowing is really not an issue, as it can be from boom and sails when they are on the Bimini.
Consider series, or a combo of series and parallel wiring to minimize the potential problem.
That said, I am putting up 600w of flexible panels on my Bimini next month.

 

[skipgundlach]

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.

We thought we were going to do a hardtop bimini/cockpit enclosure, for solar panels.

Instead, we did an arch, which holds LOTS of stuff as well as the only solar we've needed.

And I designed it to be tall enough to see under the dinghy when we raised it (the reason I took off the $6000 davits which came with the boat).

There's a recent discussion thread on the subject at the facebook link below. But a heads-up; flexible panels have far less life, and output, and other nuisances making it, if you can possibly manage it, far superior to use hard panels. And if you do, you should look for Sunpower panels or at least cells, as they are by far the efficiency leader in the field; efficiency defines how much wattage you can get from a given space, so it's important.

Here's the thread link; you don't have to be a member to see, but you do if you want to post...

Morgan 46 Sailboats | After polishing every inch of both the arch and the frame, I got high and reattached the two for the upcoming doubling of watts for solar power genera...

After polishing every inch of both the arch and the frame, I got high and reattached the two for the upcoming doubling of watts for solar power generation...

www.facebook.com

 

[jimlindaevans]

I had a high arch made where I could put solar panels on the top clear of shading by the boom. This is important. I extended the bimini to the arch and solar panels with a fabric panel. This made much more shade and rain protection. I could hoist the dinghy high for ocean passages and low to see over it otherwise.

 

[OntarioTheLake]

We have an integrated solar panel that was factory-installed; it puts out some power now (29 years later) but it's negligible. What this means is we have TWO places to put panels, albeit one of them (over the old panel) is quite small.

In the product recommendation by @tempest the supplier cites this:

HAVE SHADOWS? THEN YOU NEED "SHADOW-GUARD" !

Designed specifically for the Solarflexx and F-Series solar packages using 2 or more solar panels, Shadow-Guard optimizes your solar power system, protecting you from the power robbing effects of shading on part of your solar array. Shadow-Guard is available as an "add-on accessory" to all of our solar packages. Typically done upon the initial installation, the Shadow-Guard option provides a seperate MPPT solar controller for each solar panel, along with the additional components & wiring needed to create individual "home-run" paths. Choose one Shadow-Guard package for each additional solar panel in your system, after the first.


Does anyone else have a separate controller for each panel?

 

[skipgundlach]

I had a high arch made where I could put solar panels on the top clear of shading by the boom. This is important. I extended the bimini to the arch and solar panels with a fabric panel. This made much more shade and rain protection. I could hoist the dinghy high for ocean passages and low to see over it otherwise.

Hi, Jim/Linda!

L8R

Previously Flying, now, Grounded, Pig...

 

[MikeOReilly]

Does anyone else have a separate controller for each panel?

I know lots of people (online anyway) who do this. It's probably the best way to get the absolute most of the panels. But it also adds a lot of complexity, wiring, controllers, and of course, cost.

I use one controller, but run all panels in parallel to limit the shading problem, which is pretty serious in my case. I don't know how much more power I'd get with four separate controllers, but I've been very happy with the power output using just the one.

 

[wrwakefield]

We have 3 rigid monocrystalline panels with a combined output of 560 watts (nominal).

One is above the bimini on a separate floating ss tube frame; two form a water tight cover over the davits. All can be tilted, and each of the 3 panels have their own Victron MPPT controller to mitigate loss from shading on our ketch.

More details- including our insolation data from higher latitudes.

In case this is helpful.

Cheers, Bill

 

[Aquarian]

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.

This is what we did. We have 340 watts total in 2 flexible panels. There is a thin sheet of aluminum under each panel to support it and they are held in place by Velcro sewn to the casing on the Bimini an glued to the panels with jb weld. The whole thing weighs about 10 pounds and is simple to remove. We did beef up the Bimini frame a bit to make it more stable.

 

[Aquarian]

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)

You can buy those fittings from sailrite and use them for any brand of panels with eyelets.

 

[OntarioTheLake]

@Aquarian interesting, thanks. What is "the casing on the Bimini "? I am unfamiliar with what casing is.

I like the aluminum backing idea to reduce flex- cheap, easy.

 

[Aquarian]

@Aquarian interesting, thanks. What is "the casing on the Bimini "? I am unfamiliar with what casing is.

I like the aluminum backing idea to reduce flex- cheap, easy.

It is sunbrella fabric sewn to make a frame with a Velcro backing.

 

[Aquarian]

It is sunbrella fabric sewn to make a frame with a Velcro backing.

I should also add that the aluminum also prevents sagging that collects water and causes more problems. They also seem to help dissipate heat. The aluminum panels are what makes this design work.

 

[bigdogandy]

It’s interesting to see the variety of panel types and approaches to mounting them. So many variables to consider…how the design of the boat, power needs, and personal tastes / preferences affect which direction to go.

I opted for rigid panels mounted on top of my existing Bimini frame. Wiring is run down the frame and through a clam on the coaming. The only shading they typically get is from the backstay. 400 watts provides enough power for my needs, although I may add another panel to the top of the davits for some redundancy.

 

[OntarioTheLake]

It’s interesting to see the variety of panel types and approaches to mounting them. So many variables to consider…how the design of the boat, power needs, and personal tastes / preferences affect which direction to go.

I opted for rigid panels mounted on top of my existing Bimini frame. Wiring is run down the frame and through a clam on the coaming. The only shading they typically get is from the backstay. 400 watts provides enough power for my needs, although I may add another panel to the top of the davits for some redundancy.

Those Gemini stands/ offsets: looks like they bolt through the canvas then through the tube frame? Interesting; I was thinking about doing similar but cutting out a hole for such standoffs but then the thing would leak in the rain. Your setup, if I see it properly, is very unlikely to leak rain.

 

[Grith]

View attachment 147042
View attachment 147043
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It’s interesting to see the variety of panel types and approaches to mounting them. So many variables to consider…how the design of the boat, power needs, and personal tastes / preferences affect which direction to go.

I opted for rigid panels mounted on top of my existing Bimini frame. Wiring is run down the frame and through a clam on the coaming. The only shading they typically get is from the backstay. 400 watts provides enough power for my needs, although I may add another panel to the top of the davits for some redundancy.

I see many similarities with your solar panel mounting system. As my yacht is trailerable my mounting has to be movable to accomodate lowering the mast and trailering the yacht carrying the mast over the panels.
I have used thumb screws in clamps to allow the Bimini and panels to be tilted down to allow this to happen.
The panels themselves are mounted by rail mount style plastic clamps whilst the Bimini frame includes stainless and plastic clamps which can be hand loosened to allow the whole structure to tilt down. I have now also fitted front stainless supports that slide up and down the front Bimini support strut and mount down to the cockpit sides. As the structure is lowered at the front these move down the support strut. After the mast is lowered and detached and moved to its carrier position the structure can be raised again and secured against the wind forces generated whilst trailering with these new solid front supports.
The whole thing has taken a lot of time and experimentation to get all the angles exactly correct but it now works very well. 🙂

 

[sunlover]

Thanks. I really like the idea of the arch, but I think I'll try to mount them on the Bimini again as I have all the materials. I think my mistake was just trusting an amateur (other than myself 😬) to do a professional job.

 

[Jeff356]

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.

Skipper, have any pics as I have a 356 and looking to do the same...

Thanks, Jeff

 

[OntarioTheLake]

I truly appreciate the insights on solutions and product for mounting on locations other than davits. Davits/ arch are pretty much a non-brainer, but for those who don't have davits, there are more challenges. Thanks to everyone who's pitched in on the topic, I'm absorbing it.

 

[Skipper Jer]

Skipper, have any pics as I have a 356 and looking to do the same...

Thanks, Jeff

The vertical strut replaced the webbing strap that applied tension the frame. The diagonal strut from the arch to the bimini frame eliminates sideways movement of the bimini frame.

Used 3 to 1 combiners before passing the wires down the starboard side of the arch. Port side was occupied with speaker wires. Replaced speakers at the same time. Used some surplus canvas to replace the blue canvas. Didn't want to experiment with existing canvas.

Close up shot of the using U-bolts to hold solar panels to the bimini frame. Had to drill new holes in the frame. Truly a pain to get the nuts started.