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  2. Solar panels stainless steel mounted vs soft panels

Solar panels stainless steel mounted vs soft panels

Danny and Yvonne SIMMS
 

Raul  glad it worked out for you 

Danny
SM 299
Ocean pearl

On 27/08/2022 15:36 Raul Schleier <raul.schleier@...> wrote:


Thanks Danny,
It’s all sorted now. All I needed was to apply some more force when mounting the brackets. 
cheers
raul
sm344

Raul Schleier
 

Thanks Danny,
It’s all sorted now. All I needed was to apply some more force when mounting the brackets. 
cheers
raul
sm344
Danny and Yvonne SIMMS
 


On 26/08/2022 21:07 Raul Schleier <raul.schleier@...> wrote:
Hi Raul, I mounted two panels port side starting just aft of the Cockpit. No trouble with swiveling. I put the rail clamps I/3 in, 2/3 out. I thought it may have been temporary but it has been so successful that 12 years later.....I apply enough friction with clamps so they hold the angle but can be folded up and down without adjustment. No stays needed. Kind Regards. Danny sm 299. Ocean.pearl
 

Hi all,

I am hoping that I can get some hints from the people that are using the NOA rail mount system for their rigid solar panels.  I’m thinking particularly of Greg, Danny and Ian (or anyone else for that matter) who have installed this system.

I have purchased the NOA rail mount fasteners but because of the slight curve in the rail, the NOA mounts point inwards and then outwards depending on the swivel direction.  This prevents me from mounting the damned thing. How did you solve this?  Do I need to apply some level of mild to moderate violence? The below sketch is highly exaggerated but is meant to illustrate the issue.  

 


Raul Schleier
SeaBean SM#344

Raul Schleier
 

Thanks Slavko,

Looks exactly like mine, except that I can’t close the brackets.  Do you remember if you had to apply some force to close the brackets?
Mine are not completely aligned because of the slight curve in the rail.

Raul
sm#344
Slavko Despotovic
 

Hi Raul,

I have it on port side about 1,4 m from the stern. Look good, no problem even under 30-40 kts of wind. Turns easily.
--
Slavko
SM 2000
#279 Bonne Anse in Croatia
Raul Schleier
 

Hi all,

I am hoping that I can get some hints from the people that are using the NOA rail mount system for their rigid solar panels.  I’m thinking particularly of Greg, Danny and Ian (or anyone else for that matter) who have installed this system.

I have purchased the NOA rail mount fasteners but because of the slight curve in the rail, the NOA mounts point inwards and then outwards depending on the swivel direction.  This prevents me from mounting the damned thing. How did you solve this?  Do I need to apply some level of mild to moderate violence? The below sketch is highly exaggerated but is meant to illustrate the issue.  

 


Raul Schleier
SeaBean SM#344

Slavko Despotovic
 

Bellow is set up I have tested during first year of ownership of Bonne Anse. It is very improvised but gave me some result. This are all together 150W at 24V, From May to September it generated 15-20% of my needs. Between 650 to 1000Wh. For next season I will be installing two flexible solar panel 150W 36V so it will generate twice the energy. This position I found very good. Most likely I will add two 180W flexible bellow the boom in direction to mast.
--
Slavko
SM 2000
#279 Bonne Anse iin Umag, Croatia
Danny and Yvonne SIMMS
 

Hi Pat. I'm not the one to answer that regarding the linking of panels.

Kind Regards

Danny

SM 299

Ocean Pearl

On 08 September 2021 at 08:49 "Patrick McAneny via groups.io" <sailw32@...> wrote:

Danny , It may not be an issue,as I have a new plan . I would appreciate if someone would tell me if this would work. I presently have three 140w panels on my arch,they are 26" wide ,same as the railing is tall. Could I install a new 370 W panel on my arch and install two of my old panel (8yrs. old )on the rail ,leaving the third old panel on the arch ,then hook them all four together in series. Can you hook panels of different Watts and open voltage together? 
I have a TriStar MPPT charge controller 45 amp up to 150 VOC input 12-48 volts , 24V -1200 watts .So I guess the controller can handle the panels . Is there a downside to hooking these different panels in series?
Thanks,
Pat
SM Shenanigans


-----Original Message-----
From: Danny and Yvonne SIMMS <simms@...>
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Sent: Tue, Sep 7, 2021 3:50 pm
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Solar panels stainless steel mounted vs soft panels

Hi Pat, I will measure later on today. I set the swivels so the inboard portion gave me room to pass. This is about 1/3 in 2/3 out. It  clears the rub rail when swiveled down. The room I had did set the size of panel, length as well.. As I have said before I wasn't trying to power a floating condo from solar only. 
I let you know later today about the measurement.
Kind Regards
Danny
On 08 September 2021 at 03:51 "Patrick McAneny via groups.io" <sailw32@...> wrote:

Danny, I want to add some more solar and while I never liked the idea of rail mounting ,I don't want to modify my bimini either. My problem is ,that most panels with decent output are approx . 40 + inches wide . From the rail down to the rub rail is only about 26 inches . I would then have over a foot inboard of the rail. How wide of a panel do you recommend ?
Thanks
Pat
SM Shenanigans


-----Original Message-----
From: Danny and Yvonne SIMMS <simms@...>
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Sent: Mon, Sep 6, 2021 3:45 pm
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Solar panels stainless steel mounted vs soft panels

Hi Greg, That was what I would have done had I gone internal but as I said I surface mounted "temporarily" and it was so satisfactory I left it as it was. I don't think anyone even notices the wires.
Kind Regards
Danny
SM 299
Ocean Pearl
On 07 September 2021 at 04:13 Gregory Shea <gmshea@...> wrote:

JB, Danny,
The Frenchman who installed my rail mounted panels had an interesting way of leading the wiring inside the boat. 
You can see the waterproof gland in the gunwhale which he then led into the conduit in the corner of the hull to deck joint. From there he could take the wiring anywhere in the boat, very easily.
Interesting approach.

Greg Shea
Sharki 133 Cap des iles
image1.jpeg

 

On Sep 6, 2021, at 6:17 PM, JB Duler < jbduler@...> wrote:

Danny and Greg, thank you so much! I did not know anything about that Swedish company (I had seen their table).
Great find and a fantastic resource for me.
--
John Bernard "JB" Duler
San Francisco
Meltem # 19, Western Med

 

 
 
 
Patrick McAneny
 

Danny , It may not be an issue,as I have a new plan . I would appreciate if someone would tell me if this would work. I presently have three 140w panels on my arch,they are 26" wide ,same as the railing is tall. Could I install a new 370 W panel on my arch and install two of my old panel (8yrs. old )on the rail ,leaving the third old panel on the arch ,then hook them all four together in series. Can you hook panels of different Watts and open voltage together? 
I have a TriStar MPPT charge controller 45 amp up to 150 VOC input 12-48 volts , 24V -1200 watts .So I guess the controller can handle the panels . Is there a downside to hooking these different panels in series?
Thanks,
Pat
SM Shenanigans


-----Original Message-----
From: Danny and Yvonne SIMMS <simms@...>
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Sent: Tue, Sep 7, 2021 3:50 pm
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Solar panels stainless steel mounted vs soft panels

Hi Pat, I will measure later on today. I set the swivels so the inboard portion gave me room to pass. This is about 1/3 in 2/3 out. It  clears the rub rail when swiveled down. The room I had did set the size of panel, length as well.. As I have said before I wasn't trying to power a floating condo from solar only. 
I let you know later today about the measurement.
Kind Regards
Danny
On 08 September 2021 at 03:51 "Patrick McAneny via groups.io" <sailw32@...> wrote:

Danny, I want to add some more solar and while I never liked the idea of rail mounting ,I don't want to modify my bimini either. My problem is ,that most panels with decent output are approx . 40 + inches wide . From the rail down to the rub rail is only about 26 inches . I would then have over a foot inboard of the rail. How wide of a panel do you recommend ?
Thanks
Pat
SM Shenanigans


-----Original Message-----
From: Danny and Yvonne SIMMS <simms@...>
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Sent: Mon, Sep 6, 2021 3:45 pm
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Solar panels stainless steel mounted vs soft panels
Hi Greg, That was what I would have done had I gone internal but as I said I surface mounted "temporarily" and it was so satisfactory I left it as it was. I don't think anyone even notices the wires.
Kind Regards
Danny
SM 299
Ocean Pearl
On 07 September 2021 at 04:13 Gregory Shea <gmshea@...> wrote:

JB, Danny,
The Frenchman who installed my rail mounted panels had an interesting way of leading the wiring inside the boat. 
You can see the waterproof gland in the gunwhale which he then led into the conduit in the corner of the hull to deck joint. From there he could take the wiring anywhere in the boat, very easily.
Interesting approach.

Greg Shea
Sharki 133 Cap des iles
image1.jpeg

 

On Sep 6, 2021, at 6:17 PM, JB Duler < jbduler@...> wrote:

Danny and Greg, thank you so much! I did not know anything about that Swedish company (I had seen their table).
Great find and a fantastic resource for me.
--
John Bernard "JB" Duler
San Francisco
Meltem # 19, Western Med

 

 
 
Danny and Yvonne SIMMS
 

Hi Pat, I will measure later on today. I set the swivels so the inboard portion gave me room to pass. This is about 1/3 in 2/3 out. It  clears the rub rail when swiveled down. The room I had did set the size of panel, length as well.. As I have said before I wasn't trying to power a floating condo from solar only. 

I let you know later today about the measurement.

Kind Regards

Danny

On 08 September 2021 at 03:51 "Patrick McAneny via groups.io" <sailw32@...> wrote:

Danny, I want to add some more solar and while I never liked the idea of rail mounting ,I don't want to modify my bimini either. My problem is ,that most panels with decent output are approx . 40 + inches wide . From the rail down to the rub rail is only about 26 inches . I would then have over a foot inboard of the rail. How wide of a panel do you recommend ?
Thanks
Pat
SM Shenanigans


-----Original Message-----
From: Danny and Yvonne SIMMS <simms@...>
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Sent: Mon, Sep 6, 2021 3:45 pm
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Solar panels stainless steel mounted vs soft panels

Hi Greg, That was what I would have done had I gone internal but as I said I surface mounted "temporarily" and it was so satisfactory I left it as it was. I don't think anyone even notices the wires.
Kind Regards
Danny
SM 299
Ocean Pearl
On 07 September 2021 at 04:13 Gregory Shea <gmshea@...> wrote:

JB, Danny,
The Frenchman who installed my rail mounted panels had an interesting way of leading the wiring inside the boat. 
You can see the waterproof gland in the gunwhale which he then led into the conduit in the corner of the hull to deck joint. From there he could take the wiring anywhere in the boat, very easily.
Interesting approach.

Greg Shea
Sharki 133 Cap des iles
image1.jpeg

 

On Sep 6, 2021, at 6:17 PM, JB Duler < jbduler@...> wrote:

Danny and Greg, thank you so much! I did not know anything about that Swedish company (I had seen their table).
Great find and a fantastic resource for me.
--
John Bernard "JB" Duler
San Francisco
Meltem # 19, Western Med

 

 
 
Patrick McAneny
 

Danny, I want to add some more solar and while I never liked the idea of rail mounting ,I don't want to modify my bimini either. My problem is ,that most panels with decent output are approx . 40 + inches wide . From the rail down to the rub rail is only about 26 inches . I would then have over a foot inboard of the rail. How wide of a panel do you recommend ?
Thanks
Pat
SM Shenanigans


-----Original Message-----
From: Danny and Yvonne SIMMS <simms@...>
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Sent: Mon, Sep 6, 2021 3:45 pm
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Solar panels stainless steel mounted vs soft panels

Hi Greg, That was what I would have done had I gone internal but as I said I surface mounted "temporarily" and it was so satisfactory I left it as it was. I don't think anyone even notices the wires.
Kind Regards
Danny
SM 299
Ocean Pearl
On 07 September 2021 at 04:13 Gregory Shea <gmshea@...> wrote:

JB, Danny,
The Frenchman who installed my rail mounted panels had an interesting way of leading the wiring inside the boat. 
You can see the waterproof gland in the gunwhale which he then led into the conduit in the corner of the hull to deck joint. From there he could take the wiring anywhere in the boat, very easily.
Interesting approach.

Greg Shea
Sharki 133 Cap des iles
image1.jpeg

 

On Sep 6, 2021, at 6:17 PM, JB Duler < jbduler@...> wrote:

Danny and Greg, thank you so much! I did not know anything about that Swedish company (I had seen their table).
Great find and a fantastic resource for me.
--
John Bernard "JB" Duler
San Francisco
Meltem # 19, Western Med

 

 
Danny and Yvonne SIMMS
 

Hi Greg, That was what I would have done had I gone internal but as I said I surface mounted "temporarily" and it was so satisfactory I left it as it was. I don't think anyone even notices the wires.

Kind Regards

Danny

SM 299

Ocean Pearl

On 07 September 2021 at 04:13 Gregory Shea <gmshea@...> wrote:

JB, Danny,
The Frenchman who installed my rail mounted panels had an interesting way of leading the wiring inside the boat. 
You can see the waterproof gland in the gunwhale which he then led into the conduit in the corner of the hull to deck joint. From there he could take the wiring anywhere in the boat, very easily.
Interesting approach.

Greg Shea
Sharki 133 Cap des iles
image1.jpeg

 

On Sep 6, 2021, at 6:17 PM, JB Duler < jbduler@...> wrote:

Danny and Greg, thank you so much! I did not know anything about that Swedish company (I had seen their table).
Great find and a fantastic resource for me.
--
John Bernard "JB" Duler
San Francisco
Meltem # 19, Western Med


 


 
Danny and Yvonne SIMMS
 

Hi JB. Glad to help

Kind Regards

Danny

Ocean Pearl

On 07 September 2021 at 03:17 JB Duler <jbduler@...> wrote:

Danny and Greg, thank you so much! I did not know anything about that Swedish company (I had seen their table).
Great find and a fantastic resource for me.
--
John Bernard "JB" Duler
San Francisco
Meltem # 19, Western Med
Gregory Shea
 

JB, Danny,
The Frenchman who installed my rail mounted panels had an interesting way of leading the wiring inside the boat. 
You can see the waterproof gland in the gunwhale which he then led into the conduit in the corner of the hull to deck joint. From there he could take the wiring anywhere in the boat, very easily.
Interesting approach.

Greg Shea
Sharki 133 Cap des iles
image1.jpeg


On Sep 6, 2021, at 6:17 PM, JB Duler <jbduler@...> wrote:

Danny and Greg, thank you so much! I did not know anything about that Swedish company (I had seen their table).
Great find and a fantastic resource for me.
--
John Bernard "JB" Duler
San Francisco
Meltem # 19, Western Med

Gregory Shea
 

JB, 
If you buy the NOA brackets and tracks, let me know at gmshea@.... I modified the brackets to control both the friction on the slider and the tightness of the rotation (accreditation Graham Johnston Sharki 196 Zephyr). I can share the mods with you, but you will need a bracket in front of you to understand them. Unfortunately, I'm flying home from Greece tomorrow and I don't have any photos.  

Greg Shea
Sharki 133 Cap des iles
KIlada

From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io <main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io> on behalf of JB Duler <jbduler@...>
Sent: Monday, September 6, 2021 11:17 AM
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io <main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io>
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Solar panels stainless steel mounted vs soft panels
 
Danny and Greg, thank you so much! I did not know anything about that Swedish company (I had seen their table).
Great find and a fantastic resource for me.
--
John Bernard "JB" Duler
San Francisco
Meltem # 19, Western Med

JB Duler
 

Danny and Greg, thank you so much! I did not know anything about that Swedish company (I had seen their table).
Great find and a fantastic resource for me.
--
John Bernard "JB" Duler
San Francisco
Meltem # 19, Western Med
CW Bill Rouse
 

Paul, very well thought out and great power added.

As you are aware, the solar arch we designed and built with Emek Marin in Turkey has been installed on over 100 SMs and 54s, but BeBe 387, was the first. If I had to do it over again today on a SM, I would do what you have done and saved money. I tend to lean toward Solbian as the supplier for ultra-thin flexible panels and really like all of the accessories and especially the custom panel fabrication that they offer.

Bravo!

Bill
CW Bill Rouse Amel Owners Yacht School
Address: 720 Winnie, Galveston Island, Texas 77550 
View My Training Calendar

On Mon, Sep 6, 2021 at 8:32 AM Paul Stascavage via groups.io <pstas2003=yahoo.com@groups.io> wrote:
Like with everything on a boat, there are pros and cons to anything you do.

I was very glad that we took the advise of Bill R and others who said, “don’t make any changes for at least a year...”  

We wanted to add solar when we purchased our SM back in 2016 , but we waited over 2 years to implement the modification, and I am so glad we did,as the result was a set-up that we are completely happy with.  It takes time to review what others have done, look at options, evaluate your needs, and determine what is important for you and your use of power and your use of the boat.

For us, we really did not want to add an arch for a number of reasons.  Semi-flex panels offered us the best solution for our needs.  Initially, we added 680 watts using (4) 170 watt SunPower panels.  We had awning tracks sewn into our new bimini, and bolt rope sewn onto the edges of the panels as we are not big fans of velcro or zippers.  This set-up allows the panels to be easily slid into place and installed or removed in minutes.

The initial wattage met with our daily power consumption, but it was not enough to make up for cloudy days or when our consumption rate increased for some reason.  Last winter we added (2) 110 watt panels (also from SunPower) for a total of 900 watts on the bimini.  

We typically see between 3 to 4 kWh per day for all the panels depending on the amount of sun and any shading from the masts.  Most days it is closer to 4 kWh.  The 6 panels are divided into 2 sets of 3 panels in series with the 3 on the starboard side going to a Victron 100/15 MPPT controller and the 3 on the port side going to a separate but identical controller.

I can’t say how these would compare to hard fixed panels, but for us they serve our needs and they are out of the way. Our daily consumption is approximately 120 amp hours on anchor, and the current set-up (no pun intended) has allowed us to only turn on Onan to run the 240 volt accessories.

All the best,

Paul Stascavage
SM #466 - s/v Rita Kathryn
Currently Exploring City Island, NY

www.RitaKathryn.com
Justin Maguire
 

Very nice installation 


On Sep 6, 2021, at 06:32, Paul Stascavage via groups.io <pstas2003@...> wrote:

Like with everything on a boat, there are pros and cons to anything you do.

I was very glad that we took the advise of Bill R and others who said, “don’t make any changes for at least a year...”  

We wanted to add solar when we purchased our SM back in 2016 , but we waited over 2 years to implement the modification, and I am so glad we did,as the result was a set-up that we are completely happy with.  It takes time to review what others have done, look at options, evaluate your needs, and determine what is important for you and your use of power and your use of the boat.

For us, we really did not want to add an arch for a number of reasons.  Semi-flex panels offered us the best solution for our needs.  Initially, we added 680 watts using (4) 170 watt SunPower panels.  We had awning tracks sewn into our new bimini, and bolt rope sewn onto the edges of the panels as we are not big fans of velcro or zippers.  This set-up allows the panels to be easily slid into place and installed or removed in minutes.

The initial wattage met with our daily power consumption, but it was not enough to make up for cloudy days or when our consumption rate increased for some reason.  Last winter we added (2) 110 watt panels (also from SunPower) for a total of 900 watts on the bimini.  

We typically see between 3 to 4 kWh per day for all the panels depending on the amount of sun and any shading from the masts.  Most days it is closer to 4 kWh.  The 6 panels are divided into 2 sets of 3 panels in series with the 3 on the starboard side going to a Victron 100/15 MPPT controller and the 3 on the port side going to a separate but identical controller.

I can’t say how these would compare to hard fixed panels, but for us they serve our needs and they are out of the way. Our daily consumption is approximately 120 amp hours on anchor, and the current set-up (no pun intended) has allowed us to only turn on Onan to run the 240 volt accessories.

All the best,

Paul Stascavage
SM #466 - s/v Rita Kathryn
Currently Exploring City Island, NY

www.RitaKathryn.com

<IMG_3179.JPG>
<IMG_3177.JPG>
<IMG_0488.JPG>
<IMG_0469.JPG>
Paul Stascavage
 

Like with everything on a boat, there are pros and cons to anything you do.

I was very glad that we took the advise of Bill R and others who said, “don’t make any changes for at least a year...”  

We wanted to add solar when we purchased our SM back in 2016 , but we waited over 2 years to implement the modification, and I am so glad we did,as the result was a set-up that we are completely happy with.  It takes time to review what others have done, look at options, evaluate your needs, and determine what is important for you and your use of power and your use of the boat.

For us, we really did not want to add an arch for a number of reasons.  Semi-flex panels offered us the best solution for our needs.  Initially, we added 680 watts using (4) 170 watt SunPower panels.  We had awning tracks sewn into our new bimini, and bolt rope sewn onto the edges of the panels as we are not big fans of velcro or zippers.  This set-up allows the panels to be easily slid into place and installed or removed in minutes.

The initial wattage met with our daily power consumption, but it was not enough to make up for cloudy days or when our consumption rate increased for some reason.  Last winter we added (2) 110 watt panels (also from SunPower) for a total of 900 watts on the bimini.  

We typically see between 3 to 4 kWh per day for all the panels depending on the amount of sun and any shading from the masts.  Most days it is closer to 4 kWh.  The 6 panels are divided into 2 sets of 3 panels in series with the 3 on the starboard side going to a Victron 100/15 MPPT controller and the 3 on the port side going to a separate but identical controller.

I can’t say how these would compare to hard fixed panels, but for us they serve our needs and they are out of the way. Our daily consumption is approximately 120 amp hours on anchor, and the current set-up (no pun intended) has allowed us to only turn on Onan to run the 240 volt accessories.

All the best,

Paul Stascavage
SM #466 - s/v Rita Kathryn
Currently Exploring City Island, NY

www.RitaKathryn.com
Gregory Shea
 

JB,
I have the same mounting system as Danny. You can buy them direct from the Swedish manufacturer NOA and they are available in the States but you will have to search around to find a retailer. There was one in St Pete, in Florida, but they did not stock anything so I went direct to NOA.
They are top shelf stuff and they do all sorts of solar mountings, tables, radar masts etc.

Greg Shea
Sharki 133 Cap des Iles


On Sep 6, 2021, at 2:26 AM, Danny and Yvonne SIMMS <simms@...> wrote:

HI jB,

i got the panels and everything else in the same place at the same time. Island Water World Sint Maarten. they carried everything custom made to mount them. In 2009 so they have stood the test of time.

Kind Regards

Danny

SM 299

Ocean Pearl

On 06 September 2021 at 10:46 JB Duler <jbduler@...> wrote:

Danny, this is super cool and so well made. Where did you get the hardware to build the mounts, the sliders? Aluminum or SS? This is exactly what I was looking for.
--
John Bernard "JB" Duler
San Francisco
Meltem # 19, Western Med
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