Fritz, I agree with your admiral about the importance of good aesthetics for your solar panels. It was certainly a large consideration for me when designing our arch. I have a picture of the setup on Quiescence which I was always pleased with. I have seen some really ugly arches and solar setups....

Kim Chapman
C400 #249
Quiescence

---------- Original Message ----------
From: Fritz Feiten <fritz.feiten@...>
Date: August 18, 2020 at 10:04 AM

Alan,

 

Thanks for the note. Do you have any photos of your solar set up, or of the boat from a distance (e.g. the entire boat) with the solar panels?  My wife has expressed some concern about how the panels will change the appearance of the boat. Thanks. 

 

Fritz

 

Fritz Feiten

206-914-6899

fritz.feiten@...

On Aug 17, 2020, at 8:56 PM, Alan Johnson <alanwilliamjohnson@...> wrote:



Solar!!

I have had solar since 2004.  First setup had 325 watts that ran my refrigeration as long as I did not have two more than two cloudy days.  I should also mention that I have six 6 volt batteries as a house bank.  I later upgraded to 540 watts and this will handle three cloudy days.  Even on cloudy days you will make up amps.  If you were able to support a heavy dingy, you should have no problem with your solar panels.  Even though I can theoretically make over 30 amps, I have installed a 30 amp MPPT charge controller that does the job.  You always have some amperage in the battery that regulates the amperage going into your batteries.  

 

Alan J  S/V Skol #130

 

On Mon, Aug 17, 2020 at 9:24 PM Fritz Feiten < fritz.feiten@...> wrote:

I have a very sturdy arch on my 1997 400
that has the radar mounted on it and was designed to support a fancy and very heavy rigid inflatable that I’ve replaced with a smaller and much lighter alternative powered by a Torqueedo electric motor.

I’m looking at modifying the arch slightly to support the installation of two 300 watt solar panels that are roughly 66” x 40” and weigh 40 pounds each. I could go with 180 watt panels that are 60” x 27” and 27 pounds, but the larger area and greater weight seem like a fair trade off for the additional watts — perhaps needed to keep the beer cold in a flat orientation in the Pacific NW.

Wondering if anyone has dome something similar and if anyone has any suggestions or cautions.

Fritz

Fritz Feiten
206-914-6899
fritz.feiten@...

--
Kim Chapman
Quiescence
C400-249