A while back we asked the question 'could solar panels be mounted on the rails as we did not think we had any space to spare'.
We had some great responses - one in particular from Trim.
Unfortunately the project fell by the way side as other priorities and a non sailing bank manager
took precedence.
Last week however we revisited the solar panel project and followed Trim's suggestion of mounting it on the back of the bimini. Blow me down if it wasn't the easiest and quickest project we've completed in a long while!
I had this notion that we needed to build some kind of targa bar over the bimini to support the panel - much as we have done on previous yachts. I was not convinced that our bimini would support the panel alone and then, how do you mount an aluminium square edged frame through canvas and secure it to stainless tube?
Trim's suggestion continued to bubble away in the ol grey cells as we went looking for mounting mechanisms. One quick stop to the local chandlery and we had the answer - use the same fittings already in use on the dodger - duh!
I won't go into details as the attached pics are pretty self explanatory. The only additional thing we did was install two support brackets from the bimini to our pushpit.
Simple, quick and robust solution - many thanks Trim!
And yes - next time we will fly our ensign out of reach of the wind generator!
Linear Mode
