Mounting solar panels on a P30

[Jeff Griglack]

I need to mount some solar panels on my P30. I need to produce 48 volts to recharge my 48 volt battery bank (which is the gas tank for my electric motor). That means either 4 12v panels or 2 24v panels. I would like to mount them on the stern rails, somehow, to keep them away from shadows. I am leaning toward AltE Poly 100w 24v panels, but they are 48"x26", and I'm really not sure how to mount them. Any ideas on how to mount them, or other panels?

Jeff

------------------------------------------------------------------
| Jeff Griglack                  "Blithe Spirit" P-30 #182
------------------------------------------------------------------
| "Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent"
|                   - Walt Kelly
| 'Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this
| world, Elwood, you must be" – she always called me Elwood –
| "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant."
| Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.'
|               —James Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd
------------------------------------------------------------------

[Dan Pfeiffer]

Will they be permanent or stowed when you sail?  What do the weigh? 

[Jeff Griglack]

I can't really think how they might be stowed while sailing.  I have seen some installations where they fold the panels down while sailing.

The panels I mentioned weigh 20.5 lbs each.

------------------------------------------------------------------
| Jeff Griglack                  "Blithe Spirit" P-30 #182
------------------------------------------------------------------
| "Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent"
|                   - Walt Kelly
| 'Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this
| world, Elwood, you must be" – she always called me Elwood –
| "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant."
| Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.'
|               —James Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd
------------------------------------------------------------------

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "pearson-boats" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to pearson-boats+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to pearso...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/pearson-boats.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[Bill Robart]

Jeff,

I've seen several panel installations on sailboats and none are really very pretty. Mounted on the cabin top they do get shadowed by the boom and main(not up that often in the grand scheme of things) and also present a tripping and damage hazard. Mounted off the stern they are really ugly but very safe. The best looking installation I've see was as a rigid bimini/dodger but if your boom is low that could impose height limitations in the cockpit or require raising the boom and may also require relocating the main sheet gear. I've not seen any installation that I thought was perfect.

I'd suggest a couple of pieces of 2'x4' cardboard and some 1"x2" battens to try a few locations and see what works best and looks best. As a Bimini My guess is that 3  2x4 panels would fit and you can easily use the extra capacity to extend range and shorten charge time. As a bimini I'd install as many panels as possible that would still allow easily handling of the boat.

I recently read that some sail maker has built a sail with solar cells built-in. That doesn't allow for charging while the boat is hanging on the mooring (I'm sure you wouldn't leave the sails up while hanging on the hook or mooring) but would allow plenty of charging capacity and may allow for better speed and range.

The day will come.....

Bill

[Jeff Griglack]

Thanks for the input.  The bimini idea is pretty much out because the boom is only about 5.5' up from the cockpit floor and I'm 6' tall.  I pretty much resigned myself to the fact, years ago, that I would never have a bimini on this boat (unless I want to move the boom higher and shorten the main sail - and I don't).  So that leaves them on deck, on the sides, or off the back.

I don't think the deck is a good place.  Solar panels tend to be slippery when wet, and I probably shouldn't walk on them anyway.  Besides, there's the whole problem with shadow.

I saw an article in Sail (http://www.sailmagazine.com/diy/mounting-solar-panels-on-a-small-boat/) where they mounted panels in place of a couple of life lines.  Interesting idea, but I can't help thinking they will get in the way more there than on the stern.  Also, I can't help that things are more likely to break if I'm moving them every time I go for a sail.

Which leaves the stern rail.  Not the prettiest place to put them (let's face it, they're not pretty no matter where you put them), and it would eliminate access to the stern ladder.  I would have to build a SS bracket to hold them as they hang out past the stern of the boat like some folded wings,  On the other hand, the traveler is mounted across the seats just aft of the sail locker lid rendering the aft part of the cockpit mostly unusable, so letting them overlap into the cockpit isn't so bad.

I'm starting to think that I should try to mount 4, smaller panels to give me a little more flexibility.

Any other thoughts?  I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks,

Jeff

------------------------------------------------------------------
| Jeff Griglack                  "Blithe Spirit" P-30 #182
------------------------------------------------------------------
| "Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent"
|                   - Walt Kelly
| 'Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this
| world, Elwood, you must be" – she always called me Elwood –
| "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant."
| Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.'
|               —James Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd
------------------------------------------------------------------

[Bill Robart]

Jeff,

I crewed for a friend with a P-26. He had a small solar panel hung of stern pulpit and it was never in the way. Not pretty but safe. He had to install a wire "lace" over the panel to keep the gulls off. Gull poop is a significant problem in Great Kills, Staten Island. Every horizontal surface is in danger there and Gorilla Glue has nothing on Gull Glue! ☺

Bill

[Phong Do]

Is a radar/ arch out of the question?

If I did an electric conversion, having an arch would be the next step, IMO.

Or, skip the panels and carry a small generator? 

[Jeff Griglack]

The boom height makes an arch or a bimini problematic.  I might be able to mount something aft of the boom where it would not interfere with either the boom or the head clearance.  I rarely go very far aft in the cockpit because the traveler is mounted across the seats just behind the sail locker lid.

I have the small, portable generator.  At the end of a sail, I run it, in the cockpit, while I pack the boat up.  The panels are a cleaner, quieter way to do it, and a way to replenish things when I don't have the time after a sail.

In theory, I could throw the generator on deck and be filling the batteries while I'm motoring.  I haven't tried that, yet, but it would turn the boat into a hybrid.

I have a cardboard mockup of one of the panels.  It's bigger than I would like.  I should make another one, and see how they look together.  I'll combine that with a PVC mockup of an arch and see how it works.  Of maybe I'll just bite the bullet and learn how to use a 3D CAD program so I can model it over the winter :).

Thanks for the suggestion,

Jeff

------------------------------------------------------------------
| Jeff Griglack                  "Blithe Spirit" P-30 #182
------------------------------------------------------------------
| "Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent"
|                   - Walt Kelly
| 'Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this
| world, Elwood, you must be" – she always called me Elwood –
| "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant."
| Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.'
|               —James Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd
------------------------------------------------------------------

[Peter Ogilvie]

Had a welder extend the stern pulpit rail forward, added bracing and mounted a 130watt panel on each side of the stern.  They pivot down when not in use and have a stick to hold them horizontal.  Hanging off the back, they aren't shaded by the boom.  The do stick out when deployed and scare our neighbors in the marina who fear they will run into them, no finger piers.

 

Aloha
Peter Ogilvie
'Ae'a, Pearson 35 #108

I saw an article in Sail (http://www.sailmagazine.com/d iy/mounting-solar-panels-on-a- small-boat/) where they mounted panels in place of a couple of life lines.  Interesting idea, but I can't help thinking they will get in the way more there than on the stern.  Also, I can't help that things are more likely to break if I'm moving them every time I go for a sail.

Which leaves the stern rail.  Not the prettiest place to put them (let's face it, they're not pretty no matter where you put them), and it would eliminate access to the stern ladder.  I would have to build a SS bracket to hold them as they hang out past the stern of the boat like some folded wings,  On the other hand, the traveler is mounted across the seats just aft of the sail locker lid rendering the aft part of the cockpit mostly unusable, so letting them overlap into the cockpit isn't so bad.

I'm starting to think that I should try to mount 4, smaller panels to give me a little more flexibility.

Any other thoughts?  I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks,

Jeff

------------------------------ ------------------------------ ------

| Jeff Griglack                  "Blithe Spirit" P-30 #182
------------------------------ ------------------------------ ------
| "Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent"
|                   - Walt Kelly
| 'Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this
| world, Elwood, you must be" – she always called me Elwood –
| "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant."
| Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.'
|               —James Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd
------------------------------ ------------------------------ ------

On Wed, Dec 7, 2016 at 9:18 AM, Bill Robart <wro...@gmail.com> wrote:

Jeff,

I've seen several panel installations on sailboats and none are really very pretty. Mounted on the cabin top they do get shadowed by the boom and main(not up that often in the grand scheme of things) and also present a tripping and damage hazard. Mounted off the stern they are really ugly but very safe. The best looking installation I've see was as a rigid bimini/dodger but if your boom is low that could impose height limitations in the cockpit or require raising the boom and may also require relocating the main sheet gear. I've not seen any installation that I thought was perfect.

I'd suggest a couple of pieces of 2'x4' cardboard and some 1"x2" battens to try a few locations and see what works best and looks best. As a Bimini My guess is that 3  2x4 panels would fit and you can easily use the extra capacity to extend range and shorten charge time. As a bimini I'd install as many panels as possible that would still allow easily handling of the boat.

I recently read that some sail maker has built a sail with solar cells built-in. That doesn't allow for charging while the boat is hanging on the mooring (I'm sure you wouldn't leave the sails up while hanging on the hook or mooring) but would allow plenty of charging capacity and may allow for better speed and range.

The day will come.....

Bill

On Wed, Dec 7, 2016 at 12:27 AM, Jeff Griglack <grig...@gmail.com> wrote:

I can't really think how they might be stowed while sailing.  I have seen some installations where they fold the panels down while sailing.

The panels I mentioned weigh 20.5 lbs each.

------------------------------ ------------------------------ ------

| Jeff Griglack                  "Blithe Spirit" P-30 #182
------------------------------ ------------------------------ ------
| "Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent"
|                   - Walt Kelly
| 'Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this
| world, Elwood, you must be" – she always called me Elwood –
| "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant."
| Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.'
|               —James Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd
------------------------------ ------------------------------ ------

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to pearson-boat...@googlegroups.com.

[Jeff Griglack]

Do you have any pictures?

Jeff Griglack

------------------------------------------------------------------

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to pearson-boats+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.

To post to this group, send email to pearso...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/pearson-boats.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "pearson-boats" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to pearson-boats+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.

[Peter Ogilvie]

Sent you a few pictures that will give you an idea what the panels look like mounted on the extended pulpit.  Unfortunately can’t find the detail pictures that I’d taken and I’m on the mainland till January so can’t take some more till I get back to Kona.  Used plastic clamps from West Marine to attach the panels to the rails.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to pearson-boat...@googlegroups.com.

[Jeff Griglack]

Thanks for the pictures.  I can get a pretty good idea from the ones you sent.  I'm going to look at something similar with my cardboard panel this weekend, before I cover the boat for the winter.

------------------------------------------------------------------
| Jeff Griglack                  "Blithe Spirit" P-30 #182
------------------------------------------------------------------
| "Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent"
|                   - Walt Kelly
| 'Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this
| world, Elwood, you must be" – she always called me Elwood –
| "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant."
| Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.'
|               —James Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd
------------------------------------------------------------------