Solarpanel side mounting

Solarpanel mounts

One way to mount solarpanels on the side of your boat. Let me talk you through it. 

System requirements

When I designed this I had the following criteria in mind; 

• Marinegrade materials only, so stainless A4, Marine grade aluminum or plastics. 
• 0 to 90 degree settable tilt for the solarpanels
• Minimum strain on the solarpanel itself
• Lockable at sea without any shading, so no straps across the panels
• Slim design with no parts that will easily snag lines or crew. 

Bill of materials (for panels on both side of your boat)

• 2x 1320mm stainless steel tubing Ø22x1.5mm
• 1x 1200mm stainless steel tubing Ø22x1.5mm
• 4x stainless steel bimini mounting hinge

• 4x stainless steel end cap with hole
   

• 2x 150 watt solar panels 530mmx1050mm. They are 150w rated, but you have to understand the difference between chinese watts and useable watts. They produce around a 100 watts in the real world. Plenty for my application. 
• 2x M10 index plunger
  
• 2x Sprenger 20mm genoa rail 1m
   

• Various nuts bolts and cabling, you'll be able to figure that out. 

Building notes

Pay good attention to the orientation of the hinges in the down position. It only works one way. Support the panel when first trying to make sure you do not strain the panel. Becarefull of pinch points. 

I wired up individual MPPT's (Victron) for maximum efficiency. 

Bolt the blocks on top of the solarpanel to the solarpanel itself. It worked fine on the tight fit for us until we hit 25 knots on the Bay of Biscay with the panels in out catching the sun. You will need some properly long M4 bolts to do so. 

Disclaimer

My models are always tested on my own boat. We are currently cruising to the Caribbean and you can therefor assume that we load up the part properly. It is however your own responsibility to use these parts when heading out to sea. Use common sense and print spares if you are not able to print onboard. Especially on longer passages. 

Remix

Please remix however you like. If you are not able to design your own parts I do offer a modification service to those in need. A contribution for my effort is however expected. Send me a message on Noforgeinland and I am sure we will figure something out. 
https://www.noforeignland.com/boat/sya