Well, I started this thread last Nov, and my
solar install is now almost done. The biggest issue was how to mount this, and now after doing it, I can now do it again for probably half the effort and cost! And probably better.
My
boat is a new
Lagoon 380, in retrospect, if I had the choice of having
lagoon do it, I probably would have, but that wasn't an option for me as I purchased a
boat already here in the states.
The conclusion I came to was to use brackets that mount to the
davits, see the picture below. These are made by
lagoon, and are used for their mounting. Unfortunately, lagoon uses older ineffecient
panels, they need 3
panels to get what I get with 2.
The first picture is just the mounts on the davit running along the top of them.
The second picture is a frame welded up from
aluminum. It was made from 3/16" L bracket, with a T running down the middle to hold each panel.
Two 1/4" T bars are running across the mounts to attach. The mounts came pre drilled, the holes are 22.625" apart.
Unfortunately, the 380 has the traveller across the back of the boat and not up on the
bimini. So the length from the back of the brackets to the traveller is very short, and I limited this to being 8" to make sure the traveller can clear the frame (i am still worried about this, I have yet to really sail the boat with the frame on). The panels themselves are 66", which means I have more than 50% of the panel un supported by a cross bar. So some filets were added to provide some support.
Only have 1 panel on, need to get the other one from my shop. The panel when bolted in strengthens the frame, so a bit worried about sailing this week with only 1, but will see how it goes.
I did hook up the panel and tested it about 7pm, controller was saying about 2A out. The panel should put out about 22 at 14V in full direct sunlight, so don't know if this 7pm reading is good or not. Will post more after I get back to the boat. Hope someone can learn from what I did.