Where to install solar panels

[Safari38LH]

Originally Posted by antoha

Safari, what brand/dimensions are the panels? Photos would also be appreciated. Thank you!
Anton

We put Gioco 95watts. Two went on the Dodger last summer to see if they worked - they did. The new Bimini that will hold the other four is finished and waiting for the summer. Will send pics when done.

We also have had made a awning from mast to stern. The six panels can be move up to that for extended stays in anchorages. All the panels are double Velcroed in place.

https://www.emarineinc.com/Gioco-95W...r-Panel-GSC-95

[Bruno187]

I just had a conversation with my local Lagoon installer about putting solar panels on my stern and he was VEHEMENTLY against it.
His opinion was that the amount of sun exposure (in Southern Fla), combined with the inherent efficiency of solar panels, didn't make sense. He was advocating for a newer wind turbine that could be used 24/7, as long as there was about 5-6 kn of wind, but my thinking is that a hybrid system, with solar panels mounted on a swivel panel above the davits along WITH a turbine would truly provide an off-grid solution to most locales.
Then again, what do I know.

[antoha]

Safari, thank you. So those are the ones with a low voltage, so you need to either put them in series or use a voltage stepping up controller to go to 12V, right?

[David B]

Originally Posted by jonbuilder

I am buy a Block Island 40 and will be looking to install solar panels Where is the best place to install I was thinking at the stern rails with tilting mounts so they can be stored vertically out of the way and tilted up when needed. I guess the easiest way in on top of the doger

Our choice was up and out of the cockpit - too much clutter around the pushpit, and panels would get in the way of everything (including big waves). Plus, the bimini would shade them down there.
We went to the expense of a dedicated arch, built into the pushpit to look like it came that way from the factory. The end result was that it enhances (in our view) the aesthetic of the boat, provides extra hand-holds, provides a place for comms antennas, lighting, passarelle suspension, and davits for the tender. The boom is well short of that area, so there is minimal shading, but the panels are wired in parallel so if one is shaded, the others are not affected.

[SailingJerry]

Originally Posted by Safari38LH

We put Gioco 95watts. Two went on the Dodger last summer to see if they worked - they did. The new Bimini that will hold the other four is finished and waiting for the summer. Will send pics when done.

We also have had made a awning from mast to stern. The six panels can be move up to that for extended stays in anchorages. All the panels are double Velcroed in place.

https://www.emarineinc.com/Gioco-95W...r-Panel-GSC-95

How many amps do you feel you usually get from the 2 panels? I am on LI Sound and am looking to grab a 6 amp boost from them on a typical summer afternoon, mostly to run my reefer and radar. They will be on my bimini. Can't find any reviews of Gioco panels online.
Jerry

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Bruno187

I just had a conversation with my local Lagoon installer about putting solar panels on my stern and he was VEHEMENTLY against it.

If you were anchored out in the Carib with a nice constant F4-5 then yes, but what happens when you are moored up in a marina, canal or waterway in Fl?

CF members have been fairly consistent over the years in recommending solar first and the best bang for buck so his recommendation raise an ebrow or two.

Pete

[GRIT]

Bruno. Get another installer. That guy doesn't know much about solar.

We cruised full time with 300w and only had to run the engine while wintering in La Rochelle. (see caveat below) Otherwise, on both sides of the Atlantic, and from PEI to Trinidad, we never ran the engine to charge batteries (600amp hours of Lead Acid). 8 years on one boat and 6 on another, same setup.

We're now building a new cat, and it'll have more gadgets, so we're going with 500w on each side of the house top. I figure one side or the other will have to deal with the boom/mast shade, so effectively 500w charging from 1000w total.

We did have to run the engine at night for an hour or so while doing ocean crossings, as the autopilot, radar, nav lights, ssb, and computer (games and movies) and watermaker, (half of that stuff running 24 hours a day) were just too much for our batteries.

But while at anchor, and coastal cruising, with all the same equipment running, but for a shorter period of time... we were always happy to let the solar do the work.

Fridge 3 cubic feet, 6 inches of insulation.

So, for what it's worth. Get a bunch of solar, and enjoy 25 years of quiet power, under warranty!

That's it.

Cheers.
Paul.

PS. My apologies for the slightly off topic post. Nothing to do with a B40. Lovely boat, I'd vote for vertical on each side of the cockpit, and a semi-flexible or two on the dodger. If it wasn't for the pinched stern and long overhang, I'd go on top of davits/arch.

[antoha]

Ours is also a Bill Tripp design of same vintage: a 1968 LeComte. Didn't want to add anything which would change the looks (too much). My install of a 100W panel (roughly 40"x20", plenty on eBay for about $200 now) was on the companionway hatch cover, and I had to make a little extension for about 12" of the panel that was just a bit too long. Here are the photos - you can barely tell it's there when looking at boat's profile.
The controller is a Morningstar PWM duo.
Anton

[Safari38LH]

Originally Posted by antoha

Safari, thank you. So those are the ones with a low voltage, so you need to either put them in series or use a voltage stepping up controller to go to 12V, right?

Yes - we have two 2 Genasun MPPT Boost Solar Controllers 8A input/12 output GVB-8-12-PL.

[ramblinrod]

Originally Posted by jonbuilder

I am buy a Block Island 40 and will be looking to install solar panels Where is the best place to install I was thinking at the stern rails with tilting mounts so they can be stored vertically out of the way and tilted up when needed. I guess the easiest way in on top of the doger

To minimize shadows:

a) If sloop rigged, above and aft of the boom over the poop deck.

b) If ketch rigged, over the cockpit before the mizzen mast, above the main mast boom. (Risk of shading by mizzen mast when sun is astern.)

With the narrow stern (pretty) the pushpit is likely too narrow to get adequate solar.

With the CCA influenced design, she will heel too much to mount them outboard of the lifelines / rails (and these often end up shaded on the opposite sun side anyway).

We have very similar issues on our Douglas 32 (sloop rigged). Very hard to add solar and maintain classic aesthetics. I am building a second bimini aft of the primary one, over the poop deck, to mount semi-flex (least noticeable) panels on.

[Safari38LH]

Originally Posted by SailingJerry

How many amps do you feel you usually get from the 2 panels? I am on LI Sound and am looking to grab a 6 amp boost from them on a typical summer afternoon, mostly to run my reefer and radar. They will be on my bimini. Can't find any reviews of Gioco panels online.
Jerry

Normally when we are sailing we use between 6 and 10 amps for the chart plotter, AIS, Autohelm and refrigeration. After a days sail we found we were usually pretty even as far as amp hours used.

We spent two months on the boat this summer, most of it in Maine and the St. Andrews, Canada area. We motor out in the morning and into each harbor at night so the batteries get some from the alternator, but I never once felt like we had to run the engine just to charge to keep out batteries up. Basically the panels covered our daytime activities but we would fall a bit behind at night.

[Pizzazz]

Since you are buying such a beautiful boat... my advice to you would be to resist your urge to add too much solar. Run the engine instead. I would put one 100W flexible panel on the dodger, even make a pocket for it so that when you so not need it, you can zip it up to make it invisible. This would be a good place to stop. If you insist, I would add two 50W rigid panels, either to the sides of the dogder or to the stern rail with flexible mounts so that you can point in any direction. The 50W panels are small enough to store inside, will give you nearly as much as the bigger panel when re-pointed every two hours or so. There is a lot to keeping the boat in period shape, I.e.as the designer intended.

[nwdiver]

Don't have photos but I went from 2 old 90watt panels above the Bimini, to 2 325watt panels, one of which is always in the sun when under sail and they both pull out on tracks about 80 cm so both can be in the sun when moored, my cockpit kinda grows wings...... The 2 90s were ok the 2 big panels are GREAT...... I did have to go 24volt each is on it's own controller. I debated 2 135s on the sides of the pushpit and desided it would be the same amount of work to make them slide and they are up high out of the way........ But they are big mothers I wouldn't like them on the davits I don't have, they would be too heavy that far aft on my boat......

[jonbuilder]

My apologies for the slightly off topic post. Nothing to do with a B40. Lovely boat, I'd vote for vertical on each side of the cockpit, and a semi-flexible or two on the dodger. If it wasn't for the pinched stern and long overhang, I'd go on top of davits/arch
thank you for the imput sounds like the best option I think I will start with the veticals and add if needed
John

[CaptJamesCook]

jon
How about a picture of the finished panels?