Seeking advice for building solar panel mount/canopy

[cortezsailor]

Hey Pirate , Ill throw my 2 cents in because I've been back and forth on this challenge with our boat for awhile now, Ill let you know where I am now in my thinking.

I wanted solar panels and I also wanted a decent shade cover for my cockpit so I thought why not combine the two. What I found was I was pigeon holing myself. I knew to do it right it needed to be constructed of stainless , but like you said its not cheap. Ive looked at many design styles and it always seemed an attractive design was either big bucks or wouldn't give me satisfactory solar results.

As enticing it is to go with a cheaper material beside stainless but I have always wondered if it was just throwing money away on something that wouldn't hold up when tested. Aluminums possible but to equal the strength of stainless you need to go thick which minimizes a lot of the cost savings to begin with.

Right now I'm at the point where I have separated the two goals. I want to maximize my solar ability so I'm leaning towards this option, Solar Panel Mounting Systems - Â* Â* Â*Custom Marine Products - Marine Solar Systems

I can maximize my solar results for about 1000$ and some time. If you were to use flex panels you would need to back them in this case. I plan on installing 1 x 200 watt panel that if I use properly will give me about 50 AH a day. If I'm going to use solar for my main power source I want to make sure I'm not doing it half ass , I have few good options for mounting on my boat.
As far as my cock pit shading goes, that will have to wait for another day, but when I do , not having to worry about the extra strength of material in order to support a solar array will save me some money.

Here is another option for , one ive looked at that would give me partial shade and accommodate solar panels for about half the cost of a larger Bimini.
TARTAROOGA (tm) HARD DODGERS
I had a rep give me a quote for one of these hard biminis that I was going to locate over my stern to provide sun cover behind the wheel and place 2 solar panels on top. My quote was 2700$ Canadian , about 2000$ American. You can also find moulds on line to make this same product yourself if you have the ability.

Hope sharing this helps you and your thinking. Ill be on the islands for the month of November, Ill look for your boat when on Kauai .