What kind of Solar Setup do you have?

[Doublebecket]

I'm trying to find what others on this board have found to be efficient spots for mounting solar panels and what size panels they are using. I have a CD30 and the only place that I can think of that would limit the shading would possible be mounting them on the rails on both sides of the cockpit or off the stern.

Any pictures of your current setup along with information on how effective the setup is would be greatly appreciated. My main power items that I will need to power are my fridge, autopilot, occasional use of the chart plotter/radar and charging my laptop. I have calculated how many daily amps I will use a day, but real world data from current cruisers will give me a better idea of what I should install. Thanks.

[moctrams]

Two 100 watt panels mounted on bimini frame.

[John Danicic]

Four, 40 watt Kyocera hard panels. Mounted on rails so that they can swing up to track the sun. Connected to a Xantrex C40 Solar Charge Controler

They handle all my needs. Lights, refrigerator, instruments. I rarely take the house bank down below 80% even after 4 or five days at anchor because of their quiet, hard working ability.

Having four smaller panels gives you more chance to avoid shade from rigging. Any shade at all on a panel cuts output dramaticaly. The panels can swing inboard for docking and don't have a problem with waves when heeled over. I put a teak trim piece on their tops to soften the hard aluminum frame's look. (Bottom photo) I think the cockpit rail is a good spot for them especially with weather cloths hiding the panel's underside. You need weather cloths in Lake Superior.

[Doublebecket]

Thanks for the ideas, both of those setup-ups looks really good!

[Doug Jesseman]

John Danicic, great idea, I would like to do the same on my CD36. How did you attach the mounting tube to the stanchions? The pictures don't quite show that part.

[Klem]

I would recommend that you do your best to really get a good idea of your loads and the required solar generation. If you mostly weekend, then you might try to get away with a small panel that can spend most of the week bringing the batteries back up so it might be sized to cover 1/3 of your average load. On the other hand, if you cruise for long periods of time, you will need something with an output slightly larger than your average load. Note that when I say output, I am using daily Ah output and the total Ah consumption for a day as your panels obviously have outputs that fluctuate greatly depending on climate and mounting. Unfortunately, average load really depends from boat to boat with the major drivers usually being refrigeration, autopilots and sometimes computers really matter if you use one a lot. I have seen people with refrigeration get by on as little as 100W and others seem to require 600W+ but realistically, if you are doing summer sailing I would think that you are looking in the 150-300W range to keep up with your loads if you do longer term cruising. Keep in mind that you likely don't want to size your solar system so that it covers 100% of situations as it will be far oversized for the majority of situations, it isn't the end of the world if you have to run your main engine for a few hours a year for charging purposes. One good thing about solar is that it isn't hard to add output in the future if you underestimate your needs. If you post the load that you say you have calculated as well as your location and cruising season, we might be able to provide a guess as to what a reasonable panel configuration would be.

I will admit to disliking most solar panel installs while I really like solar panels. I find that the panels are mounted in the way, are easily damaged or block sight lines. Therefore, I like to look for areas without too much shading where no one will step. The most obvious ones are the dodger and bimini. Recently, I have seen examples of neat little snaps to hold on semi-rigid panels as well as some nice velcro attachment (Maine Sail's website has some nice photos of how to do this) which is a lot more slick than the more conventional rigid panels mounted on a stainless frame. While there is more shade often in these areas, if you are willing to put the boom off to the side when the main is not up, they actually do quite well but the semi-rigid panels are kind of expensive. If you already own davits, this is a very logical place to put a panel as it is easy to articulate, has very little shading and is out of the way. On a CD30, I would also consider mounting an articulating panel across the stern outside the rail but this probably would be limited to about 100W. I really believe that the limiting factor in a good looking and robust panel setup is how much panel area you can get without getting into unacceptable compromises.

I know that many people really disagree with me and prefer to try to maximize panel area with rigid panels as it is the cheapest way to get wattage. While this is true, the mounting of these is often quite expensive and I find the issues with many of the mounting arrangements that would be non-starters for me. I am not saying that I think all installations like this are bad but you can really affect the safety, enjoyability and sailing ability of your boat with a "cheap" solar install. This is the reason why I use more expensive MPPT controllers as I consider my limiting factor to be available area. I just installed a solar setup on our new boat and we put a lot of effort into boosting efficiency so that we could get away with very little panel area.

[Paul D.]

Here is my simple 60 watt set up. I like the position as I can tilt it inboard or aft. While not the perfect position, it really has not gotten in the way very much and largely remains in sunlight. I have not whacked it anywhere near the amount I thought I would have when I installed it 12 years ago. Here is the system.

- 60 Watt Kyocera panel (puts out about 2.5 amps in full sun)
- Ham Ferris solar regulator
- 2 x 225 amp Trojan T-105 6 volt golf car batteries wired in series (so 225 amps total)
- An Echo Charger charges the starter battery

I set up this system after the first season with the boat and have been very pleased with it. The T-105's lasted ten years with regular discharges down to 25-50% (about 100 amps max).

[John Danicic]

John Danicic, great idea, I would like to do the same on my CD36. How did you attach the mounting tube to the stanchions? The pictures don't quite show that part.

Doug: I used railing/bimini hardware, (like the photos below) to attach the long SS tube from the gate stanchion post (bottom photo "T") to the curved aft stanchion (top two photos so that it could adjust for the angle). The system went on easily and it can all be removed without a trace if you change plans some day.

There was a CD 30 that used my method of attachment and sailed from San Diego to Australia with no problems with waves so it is ocean tested.

[Doublebecket]

Thanks for all the great ideas, when I got back to my boat I noticed that I completely forgot that I have my radar and a couple antennas on a a gimbaled mount attached to the backstay, so panels mounted on a bimini would probably not be ideal due to the shading. Therefore, I believe both cockpit railing and the stern to probably be the best locations. However, I really like that idea of installing semi rigid panesl on the dodger with snaps, I'll have to look into that more.

My daily consumption is computed to be approximately 85 amp hrs and I primarily cruise for 2-3 weeks without power. So, by my calculations, 200 watts would be just enough to keep up and 300 watts would be ideal, although would take up a lot of room, not to mention be difficult to blend in to the more traditional style of our boats.

[jen1722terry]

Sorry to be late in contributing to this thread.

We have a KC-130, 160-watt hard panel with a controller and battery charge and temperature monitors. The panel is mounted on top of our Kato Island dinghy davits. It's not too elegant but it's out of the way back there
in an otherwise unused area. This set up was installed by the PO, so we can't comment on the install in detail. He was a retired Navy Master Chief who apparently knew his stiff.

We never even think of the batterires most days, as the panel keeps them charged, even in winter under the shrink wrap. We're even considering adding refrigeration.

The panel/davits/dinghy so add some "squat" to the boat when viewed from the side - and inch or two below level at the stern. We plan to compensate by adding a windlass and 90' of chain on the bow.

If you'd like a photo, let us know.

Happy Sailing!

[Doublebecket]

I would definitely appreciate a picture if you have one. I am constantly rearranging my weight distribution on my CD30 to get rid of the squat by the stearn, so I am hesitant to add anything that isn't necessary in that region of the boat. Right now I have 120' of chain, and 500 feet of rode with a rocna and cqr on the bow, and I'm still heavy in the stearn.

Not to go off topic too much on my own thread, but I'm curious how well your davits work at keeping the tender out of the water due to how low our transoms are? I would really like to add davits, but don't want to add extra weight nor have the dinghy ripped off in any sort of seas. Any comments on how this setup is working for you?

[Steve Laume]

I don't think davits would ever be a good idea on anything smaller than a CD-31 and that seems marginal. The CD-30 sits a good bit lower and is definitely prone to some squatting in the stern. Adding even more weight in the bow to sea saw her back onto her lines is only going to make matters worse. Dealing with a dinghy on the CD-30 is difficult. I tow a hard dinghy near shore and bring an inflatable, stowed on deck or down below for long trips.

I do have a wind vane on the stern and sometimes keep a 2HP Honda back there. Other than that I have been trying to move as much weight as far forward as possible. Not into the bow but more towards the center line. Batteries and fuel are pushed right up against the bulkhead and the water heater is under the cockpit sole but as far forward as I could get it. I do have a 35lb CQR and 90' of chain in the bow but try to keep any other heavy objects near the center line.

I have never had the bow go under but I have been pooped twice in a matter of minutes. There just isn't that much freeboard at the stern, Steve.

[jen1722terry]

Hey Doublebecket.

Attached, I think, are 3 photos of our davits/solar panel setup.

Again, note that the PO did the install. If you'd like to contact him, PM me and I'll send his email.

Also, we use a small Achilles with the little Honda 2.3 motor, making the entire dinghy around 100 lbs.

The dinghy rides nice and high and, even with the motor in the down position, we've yet to have a following sea wet the motor.

Another poster questioned the feasibility of davits on a 30, and he may be right. True, the 31 is only a foot longer, but it is 10" wider and carries the beam well aft into the cockpit area, making for a more buoyant stern (at least I think so, but I'm no naval architect). The only reason we kept the davits is that I have a really bad back and they make handling the dinghy a breeze.

Hope the photos come through, if not, I'll try again later.

Good luck!

[M. R. Bober]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KPhwmDKq9A

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster, (Where it all becomes clear.) VA