Solar panel on cabin roof

[Syversens]

Hey all, we have a 99 361 and lately I've been looking at solar panel options. I'm sure there are as many solar installations as there are boats with solar but I've narrowed ours down to the cabin roof over the sliding companionway cover.

A few reasons for this, we have a full enclosure/dodger but we often fold that up so mounting there would make that difficult. We have no davit or arch, and neighther are in our budget. The cabin top is all white space, so I'm thinking that would be a good spot.

On the flip side it's under the boom and such but I think it's a compromise I'm willing to make. Wiring it to the battery would be easy as its right above the battery.... Has anyone done this? Both looking for experience regarding location and installation. It's flat so I'm thinking just brackets but maybe I'm missing something.... I'm hoping to fit a 100 or possibly 150 panel, maybe at least it can run the fridge during the peak day hours.

Any thoughts appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[Chief RA]

The boom shading is a serious problem plus shading from mast, lifelines/stanchions, etc. A boat of such size needs far more than a 150 watt panel. I would say you need to evaluate your daily ampere usage and then go from there. Stern rack mounting would seem to be the right way to go for you. Chief

 

[Syversens]

My thinking was that the boom could be moved when at anchor, which is when we're most likely to rig for it's use. We unfortunately do plenty of motoring to and from and our cruising often include docks but often stay put at destination. I figure we get 5-6 hours of 8 amp current, that's 40-50 amp hours pr day. Our smartguage shows we use about 100 amp hours a day so it would make a difference. Of course ideally I'd like to have 300W, but stern is full of outboard, BBQ, flag, throwable devices and other "essentials". Our battery bank is 500 so we normally do some charging within 3 days, maybe with a panel we could do 4.

I realize it's not ideal location or size but I'm not looking for a system that will keep me at 100% but rather something easy to install and give reasonable return on investment. Going 4 days over 3 at anchor without running alternator would be nice and worth a few hundred.

I realize the value of the high performance charging systems like Balmar alternator and a proper solar system might be reasonable for long term cruisers but for extended weekenders like myself its a bit overkill and too much $$. I'm not sure I'm going this direction, just curious if anyone tried having a panel there and know how effective/ineffective it would be.

 

[Philip_Oceanis 361]

I have a plug at the deck (aft port side) connected to the batteries via a controller and when at anchor I connect a 45W solar panel and place it on top of the bimini. Not ideal but it's fine for my needs. A bigger panel would have been better but definately one of those semi-flexible because mine is the solid one. To be honest, if I wanted something more permanet installed, I would also placed a panel below the boom. There's plenty of space there, yes, not ideal because of the boom shade but still better than nothing and can be used also during sailing. An alternative option is one or two panels at the sides of the boat (something like this http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/solar_panel ) but be careful not to hit them.

 

[Chief RA]

Syversens: You will not come even close to that kind of avg amp output over a 5 hr day.
Good luck, Chief

 

[Maine Sail]

My thinking was that the boom could be moved when at anchor, which is when we're most likely to rig for it's use. I figure we get 5-6 hours of 8 amp current, that's 40-50 amp hours pr day..

I'm not sure I'm going this direction, just curious if anyone tried having a panel there and know how effective/ineffective it would be.

I have data-logged this type of installation and performance is severely impacted. A 140W panel would be lucky to do 10-20 Ah's on a prime day where unshaded, with MPPT, it can do 45-50Ah's +. It's not just the boom but mast, dodger, the constant swinging and increased panel temps from being deck mounted that all come together to impact performance.

 

[Syversens]

Sounds like it's a scratch that idea, I'll keep strapping my solar showers there, I know they fit nicely and warm up in no time.

My neighbor has swing up solar panels to the outsides of the lifelines using a stainless tube over top lifeline. This seems like a good solution but I'd be far to nervous having them exposed like that.

I'll keep preaching conservation, that's definitely cheaper and require less equipment.