Picking up our H23 this weekend!

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DougH

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Mar 16, 2009
12
Hunter 23.5 Annapolis
How did it go?

We are about to put her in water finally! Between the hot summer and lots of small things to fix, this weekend is going to be fun. More photos soon!
So how did it go?

We have had our 1993 H23.5 (Sea Leggs) for the last 3 seasons and love it. We sail mostly on the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis but have also taken her to the Atlantic the last two summers. Sea Leggs can take us places other boats only look at longingly. The only down side is no head:eek: and kinda hard work to put her in and take her out of the water.:redface:

One thought, check the outboard mounting block for cracks. I almost lost my motor last month.........:cussing:

Have fun, its a great boat to learn on.

DH
 
Mar 2, 2011
489
Compac 14 Charleston, SC
Last weekend we had rain and Tstorms so no launch :(. Thus far Saturday looks decent and I will finish up mounting a couple solar panels tomorrow.

We sold the 9.9 outboard (78 pounds) and bought a big trolling motor. From our slip at Cave Run Lake in Kentucky it's 5 minutes to open water on an 8000 acre lake. I expect the 30 watt solar panels to be enough to keep the batteries charged well enough.

Let's hope the weather cooperates!
 
Jun 4, 2011
18
Hunter 23 Mactaquac Sail Marina
Last weekend we had rain and Tstorms so no launch :(. Thus far Saturday looks decent and I will finish up mounting a couple solar panels tomorrow.

We sold the 9.9 outboard (78 pounds) and bought a big trolling motor. From our slip at Cave Run Lake in Kentucky it's 5 minutes to open water on an 8000 acre lake. I expect the 30 watt solar panels to be enough to keep the batteries charged well enough.

Let's hope the weather cooperates!
I will be keeping my fingers crossed for you that your weather is great so you guys can finally get out on the water! Good luck :) Look forward to hearing how everything went.
 
Mar 2, 2011
489
Compac 14 Charleston, SC
Installed a couple 15 watt solar panels on the hatch along with a 100 watt controller. Not the perfect location but it works for me. It's connected to a single 105 ah deep cycle battery but I plan to add a second one next week.
 

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Jun 4, 2011
18
Hunter 23 Mactaquac Sail Marina
Installed a couple 15 watt solar panels on the hatch along with a 100 watt controller. Not the perfect location but it works for me. It's connected to a single 105 ah deep cycle battery but I plan to add a second one next week.
Looks great not a bad spot for them really, our motor has an alternator however not yet hooked to the batteries, it will be a fall project.
 
Aug 9, 2005
825
Hunter 260 Sarasota,FL
Nice mount but you could have gone with much smaller panels if you can get even half the area as unshaded exposure. Any shadow that falls across these panels shunts much of its capacity. Even the shadow of a shroud or a halyard will effect performance in these panels. The shadow of your boom is easily robbing you of up to 60-70% of its ability to generate power, along with the hazard of a fall or misstep by a crew member.

"Advantages and disadvantages of polycrystalline solar panels.

In low light and shady places they are however not the greatest. If you have these types of solar cells mounted in a place with shade you will could lose upto 50% efficiency even though only 20% of the solar panel is in the shade. This is because of the extra resistance that occurs in each of the solar cells when some of the small crystalls become inactive."

http://solarpanelsathome.org/polycrystalline-solar-panel

You might solve both issues with one or both less permanently mounted but facing the most direct sunlight and then simply stowed somewhere safely below while underway.

Just a thought.
 
Mar 2, 2011
489
Compac 14 Charleston, SC
It's a compromise for sure to position them under the boom. However these are amorphous solar panels not polycrystalline and still produce some decent power even in shade. These are "inexpensive" harbor freight panels just to charge up my bank between weekends at the lake. For my $180 investment they will do the job and not be in the way. A Hunter 23 has very limited options this looked the best for my situation.
 
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