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Catalina 25 Specific Forum

How to mount Solar Panel on '89 stern pulpit?

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lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Initially Posted - 05/31/2004 : 21:49:29

Now that I have moved "Quiet Time" from Owl Harbor to her permanent home at Folsom Lake dry storage, I no longer have shore power available for battery charging; so I will be installing a Kyocera 50 watt panel as soon as the backorders are filled and they are in stock again (I have heard that there has been some kind of world wide shortage of solar panels this spring). This panel is 25" square, the largest form factor that seems practical on a Catalina 25. I would appreciate seeing pictures of other Catalina 25's with fixed-mount solar panels to see how you have acconplished the mounting. My idea is to mount it from the stern pulpit somehow, but I am concerned that it will likely interfere with tilting the outboard, and make it more difficult to use the swim ladder. I go swimming off the boat every day we go out in the summer months, so I don't want to impinge on the ladder even a little.

Larry Charlot
Catalina 25WK/TR Mk. IV #5857 "Quiet Time"
Folsom Lake, CA

"You might get there faster in a powerboat, but in a sailboat, you're already there"

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OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 05/31/2004 : 22:11:50

We have a dock neighbor who has one similar to what you describe. He has his hanging out over the rudder, off the stern pulpit - two bar straps attaching one side of panel to the railing - then a small diameter tube fastened to one of the inner stanchion feet tilting outward fastened to the outer edge of the panel. The panel is centered port to starboard.

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Earl Landers
Navigator

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USA
157 Posts

Response Posted - 06/05/2004 : 18:42:35

Larry,
You didn't get any picture responses, so I'll try to show you how I mounted my solar panel off my stern pulpit. I asked this question last year, and the wise-est response I got was that 9 square feet are hard to come by on a C25. My panels are about 1 x 3 feet and there are three of them. When one is mounted on the pulpit it is in the way of the swim ladder and the OB. Also, my pulpit is the older version with a bar that is full width, but I don't think that is a problem.

Two other panels can be mounted between the stantions, one starboard, one port, as follows,

I've found no need to have them mounted while sailing (afternoon daysails), so they are mounted for easy removal, see below.

If I were doing it again, I think I'd go this route

20 Watt panels @ $289 from www.costco.com

Hope these pictures are helpful

Edited by - on

lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Response Posted - 06/06/2004 : 12:16:10

Earl - thanks for the photos. I had not thought of hanging them off the side stanchions. Actually, I don't think that would work for me as Quiet Time is in a dry storage lot with other boats close by on both sides, and I'd hate to have a neighbor whack one of my solar panels while trying to back his boat onto his parking space. I am also looking for a permanent mounting, if possible, so that when I am in the San Juans for a two or three week cruise, the panel can b remain mounted all day even when the boat is underway.

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JimB517
Past Commodore

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USA
3285 Posts

Response Posted - 06/07/2004 : 15:52:32

why not get the flex panels and just tie them to the boom? My 2 United Solar Flex 11 panels get tied on or simply laid on the deck. Then rolled up and put away when not needed.

They charge the batteries up from 12.5 volts to 13.6 in about 4 hours of sunlight. I use the voltage regulator to keep from overcharging my gell cells.

I think you would only need 1 US flex 11 ($90) for keeping a battery charged while in dry storage.

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lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Response Posted - 06/08/2004 : 00:54:21

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by JimB517
 I think you would only need 1 US flex 11 ($90) for keeping a battery charged while in dry storage.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I tried the US Solar flex panels on my Catalina 22 several years ago, and while the small 11 watt panel was adequate to keep the battery topped off when the boat was in storage, it proved insuffient for a multi-day cruise when I moved up to a Catalina 25 and spent a week in the San Juans. During that cruise, the depth sounder and GPS were running 24/7 (in anchor alarm mode at night) except when I was in a marina slip, and the VHF was on 15 hours a day. The stereo was in use about 6 hours a day, and my CPAP respirator 7 to 8 hours each night. Cabin, Nav, and Anchor lights were in use several houres each evening, and the result was that I had two dead-flat batteries by the morning of the third day. On my second San Juan cruise three years later, I had a 32 watt Solarex panel, and even it was not enough to keep up with the average daily battery drain after the third or fourth day. I later figured out that the problem is in the way most people assume the panel is making it's rated output whenever the sun is shining on it, when in fact you only get maximum power when the sun is within about 20º of straight overhead (11:00 am - 1:00 pm in the summer months). And even then, the panel has to be aimed directly at the sun to get 100% output. Angle the panel awy from the sun even a few degrees, and output begins to fall off. If the panel is tilted more than 40% from the sun's direct rays, the output will drop to barely more than the equilibrium voltage of the battery, i.e. no charging current is flowing. On a typical RV or boat installation, unless you take the trouble to constantly re-aim the panel as the sun moves across the sky, the actual time that full charge is being delivered to the battery is liable to be no more than 4 or 5 hours per day, and maybe another 4 or 5 hours in morning and afternoon that the panel gives maybe 50% of full power. When I go to the San Juans next time, I plan to have two 50 watt panels, one each side of the stern pulpit, and hopefully that will be enough. The real problem is my CPAP machine; it is very sensitive to low voltage and will shut down if the battery drops below 11.0 volts, and it will refuse to power up if the voltage is below 11.5 when you plug it in.

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ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 06/08/2004 : 10:00:31

Larry, with your special need for power, I'd sure think about one of those little Honda generators. Don't have to worry about cloudy weather that way, an hour or two of runtime will recharge your batteries.

http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/ModelDetail.asp?ModelName=eu1000

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JimB517
Past Commodore

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USA
3285 Posts

Response Posted - 06/08/2004 : 10:33:21

Ah, well Larry I thought you were only asking about keeping the battery charged while in dry storage. I have 2 US Flex 11s for my cruising needs, plus the 6 amp current from the Honda. I may borrow a 33 watt flex panel from Gary (solar boat project) for our upcoming 3 week cruise.

If it is sunny, the 2 11 watt panels charge my batteries up by early afternoon. I re-aim them occasionally. I try to use minimum power, and have candles and an oil lamp for night illumination plus one of those Davis mini mega anchor lights.

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RichardG
Admiral

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USA
990 Posts

Response Posted - 06/08/2004 : 12:11:08

Larry:

How many batteries are onboard (and what kind)? What's your total Amp-hour carrying capacity?

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lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Response Posted - 06/08/2004 : 23:05:53

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by RichardG
 Larry:
How many batteries are onboard (and what kind)? What's your total Amp-hour carrying capacity?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Boat has two batteries installed, with one of those "1-2-both-off" switches to select them. Primary battery is a Size 27, 80 amp-hour, and the backup is a Size 24 with about 50 amp hours. Both are deep cycle, wet cell batteries. Would prefer to replace the size 24 with a second size 27, but the battery compartment will not hold two size 27's.

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Leon Sisson
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1893 Posts

Response Posted - 06/09/2004 : 00:18:21

Larry,

For charging, I use:

1.) The outboard motor alternator.

2.) A pair of the 11W Unisolar flex panels permanently mounted on deck above the head compartment.

3.) A 20A x 3-bank shore power smart charger.

4.) On longer trips, I carry an 800W Honda generator, which I run for a couple of hours every few days to power the smart charger. When doing so, I also run the 12VDC output of the Honda to one of the batteries. (The smart charger and battery combiners automatically take the additional unregulated 12V power source into account as the batteries approach fully charged.)

The solar panels about keep up with a typical weekend daysailing pattern of use.

On day trips, my daylight load is typically a fishfinder, GPS, VHF, and modest stereo.

My typical evening load is an 8W cabin light, a 12V computer fan, VHF, and the stereo.

My overnight load is a fractional amp fan or two, and an anchor light.

-- Leon Sisson

P.S.: My batteries consist of two flooded cell deep cycle group 27s as house bank, and a flooded group 24 for cranking.

Edited by - Leon Sisson on 06/09/2004 06:57:02

RichardG
Admiral

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USA
990 Posts

Response Posted - 06/09/2004 : 01:04:08

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">a Size 27, 80 amp-hour, and a Size 24 with about 50 amp hours<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I'm not sure, but it sounds like you're blowing through your capacity too quick. Plus, as a result, your batterys' capacities may no longer be as indicated on the labels. I understand if you don't want to disturb a quiet anchorage with a generator, but more and bigger batteries may be required with your large, daily load.

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