I thought some of may be interested in my solar panel installation that I recently completed. I attached an 85 watt Kyocera panel to the dodger using aluminum tabs on each end to connect with u bolts on the fore and aft tubing. I have another panel that is only used when anchored that spans between the dodger and the boom gallows. With 170 watts I will get 10 amps in bright sunlight using the Morningstar MPPT controller. In the tests that I have done I am very impressed with the output even with partial sun. I love the quiet, no Honda generator or wind generator noise.
Impressive. Zygote also has a soft dodger with a similar ss-tubing frame. So I’m v interested in the detail of your U-bolts etc.
Could you please post photos showing how the fore panel sits or is attached to the fore tube, how it avoids chafing your boat canvas, and how the aft panel attaches or sits on the gallows? How do you connect the aft panel electrically (ie how do you avoid having a connnector that is exposed to salt spray when Ho’okahiko is under sail)?
The panel on the dodger just barely fits within the space between the fore and aft tubes so the tabs sit on top of the tubes with the ubolts coming up from the bottom through the tabs with just enough clearance from the panel edge. I used some rubber spacers to prevent chaffing as well as raise the aft end some to allow attachment of the awning. I made 2 cutouts in the awning to accomodate the tabs.
The aft panel sits on teak blocks with a cutout in the aft one and a tab on the front one. That way the panel can’t slide forward or back. I also glued two small wood pieces on the top of the gallows inside of the back blocks to prevent sliding sideways. I have also installed two small eye straps to the front so I can use shock cord to hold it down in a wind. The panel is raised that much to allow room for the connector box which is directly above the boom gallows. The 10 ga wire runs into the mushroom vent in the lazerette where it connects to the wire running to the controller. I used a trailer wire plug for the connector using just 2 of the 4 wires that comes with it. It should be corrosion resistant. BTW the panel lays flat in the pilot berth when stowed below or it could be stowed on edge beneath the table.
