Solar Panel

S

Stormydog

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Jul 15, 2012
11
Catalina 28 Bayfield-Harbour Lighs Marina
Hello everyone, their are four things I would like to have done to my boat before I retire, one of them is to install solar panel. I can google what size I need, but if anyone has installed a solar panel on a 28' Catalina, please respond to this post. Where was the panel set up? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Or give me old post that I may be able to look at.

Thanks in advance.
 
JK_Boston_Catalina310

JK_Boston_Catalina310

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Nov 18, 2010
2,441
Catalina 310 Hingham, MA
Panel sizing has more to do with what your power needs are and how you want to use the panel than what others have done. For instance, do you want to be totally off of the grid or do you want to recharge a starting battery over a weeks time while on the mooring?

This article from Maine Sail will be a good start to understand what size of panel(s) you are looking for: http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/solar_panel

Good luck and fair winds,

Jesse
 
centerline

centerline

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Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
I have seen other boats with the solar panels mounted overhead in the cockpit on well braced bimini bows.

that is the way mine is being designed, with two large panels mounted in frames overhead that are attached to the bimini bows with rail clamps.
the bimini cover will be replaced with one that has gromments at the ends and a flap of gromments across the middle, so the material can be laced to the front and rear bows, with the center of it laced up to the middle bow. this will allow for full coverage without any special cutouts/voids for where the rail clamps are...
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

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Feb 26, 2004
23,063
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
There are as many ways to mount solar panels as there are Catalina 28s in production. If not more.

The size of your array will determine where, as will having a bimini or not (here on San Francisco Bay we see a lot of solar, but folks with biminis are still wearing ski jackets when I'm in shorts and a T shirt when the sun's out!:)).

What others have done may not apply to your design.

What I would do is size my panels first, then decide if I wanted them on the pushpit and adjustable angled, or whether I'd build a bimini to install them above. There was a recent post somewhere where a skipper said: "Heck, why spend the $$ on a bimini when I can just put the panels up on the frames for the shade?":doh:

Your boat, your choice.

Good luck.
 
K

keys please

.
Dec 31, 2012
91
Catalina 28 mkll #649 Port Charlotte, fl
I have just installed two 100 watt go power flex panels on my bimini. I have only temporarily lashed them down until I decide for sure where on the bimini they will stay…. When I was playing around with just one panel hooked up and pointed that panel directly at the sun it produced up to 7 amps, with a blue sky 2000(mppt) controller. This was confirmed with my link lite battery monitor. On a good day down here one panel more then keeps up with the fridge. It would be worth well to make a system where you could easily direct the panels to the proper sun angle….. It would really help with power output…. But for now just lashed down solves most of my power concerns when on the hook.
brian
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

.
Feb 26, 2004
23,063
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Uhm, so why not simply move 'em where they're clear of shadows?
 
K

keys please

.
Dec 31, 2012
91
Catalina 28 mkll #649 Port Charlotte, fl
Stu, they are well clear of any shadows... The angle to the sun makes a lot of difference in power output… if you made a hatch cover type push rod to change the angle on light flex panels you could get more power on the hook...
brian
 
C

Chief RA

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Nov 26, 2012
2,315
Catalina 250 Bodega Bay CA
Unless sun angle is way off, it does not affect the total a/h for the day much. Stu is letting you know what the killer is: make every effort to keep the shade off your panels! Stormydog, I would go with 2 ea. 100 watt panels if I were setting your boat up. A 300 a/h battery bank seems about right. Realize this is a middle of the road estimate not the calculated need.
Chief
 
CharlzO

CharlzO

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Jan 14, 2014
225
Newport Newport 28 Fair Haven, NY
I have a 26' boat, with a 100w panel mounted off the stern rail. It goes to a pair of GC2 batteries under the cockpit, and it runs the following:

7" chartplotter - on constantly whenever the boat is in use.
VHF Radio - Also on constantly when the boat is being used.
LED cabin lights
12v outlet that powers usually a phone charger most times (I run the Glympse app sometimes from my phone to show my path)
On overnight trips, the LED lights get used a couple hours, and I also have a 24" LED television that I run off an inverter, either on the hotspot from my phone, or I've used my laptop instead.

All that said, I took a 3 day trip up and down the lake last summer, mostly overcast, light rains all three days until the very end, and used the TV for quite a few hours watching Netflix. I didn't monitor the batteries for voltage, but I never had an issue, and certainly had no issues the next weekend. I'm sure it only took a day of bright sun to top them back up after all that.

As was said, it all comes down to YOUR usage, and how often, what kind of conditions you're in, etc. The Maine Sail article is a must read.
 
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