April 2017
I wanted a smaller solar panel that conformed to the shape of the cabin top and had a bit more style than a satellite. I wanted to design it to look like it belonged with the boat. As these panels are configured to put out nearly 50 volts of DC current safety is a concern. It is better to have the panel such that I don't have to worry about it while sailing. After a bit of thought I came up with a plan that will be apparent from looking at the next few pictures. I built this panel in May 2017.
The build starts with wooden laminated arches.
Here I have fitted the 4 arches to the top of the cabin to get the positions right.
I planed lands in the arches. Then I screweed and glued on the plywood strakes. Here I set it up to drill holes for threaded rods in the 4 corners. The panel will be secured to the cabin top with wingnuts.
Here is how it looks fitted to the Elver
To get to this stage I cut strips of mahogany on the band saw. Then I carefully planed down some gentle tapers so that they matched the gaps between the strakes. I then glued the strips in permanently. I also test fitted some solar panel modules to make sure they slid along the whole length easily. If they did not then I sanded the mahogany.
Here I have applied an initial coat of varnish to the strips and epoxy to everything else. This panel is to last indefinitely.
The epoxy is followed by a dark one part primer. The holes are for wires.
And that is followed by two coats of black glossy paint to hide the edges of the solar panels.
Here I am attaching squares of velcro with 3M 5200. I feel this is one of the few appropriate uses for 3M 5200. It will withstand the heat of the sun without melting.
I have attached the solar panels. These are 12 cell modules that put out around 6 volts open circuit or .4 amps short circuit. There are 4 parallel strings of cells arranged 8 in series for a total of 32 panels.
Here is what it looks like mounted on the boat. During testing the panel appeared to be generating around 50 watts of electricity. Given that the boat looked a bit naked and incomplete without these mounted I feel like I succeeded.
The plan now is to use the boat in the present configuration. I have a few ideas though.