Flexible Solar to Bimini mounting

[PocketAces]

Hi,
Looking to install 4X100 or 6X100W Armada flexible solar panels on my bimini (for Mainship34T, 2008). Those that know this boat know that the flybridge has extra width and so I can set up a 3X2 array with 3X2 series/parallel.
Looking at ways to mount this setup. The easy low cost option seems to be rare earth magnets, but the risk factor in strong winds is a major draw back.

Talking to a canvas shop, the fellow there said the only real way to go is to cover the entire bimini with a second layer of sunbrella. This second layer is attached to the actual bimini top using zippers where the bimini wraps around to connect to the windows. The entire bimini (except for the edges) does not have any added sewing.
The solar panels are then zippered onto the second layer. His rationale for doing this is as follows:
* He scoffed at the idea of using rare earth magnets. Too unreliable and chafing.
* Sewing zippers directly onto the bimini will result in leakage from the seams. (Lots of rain in Vancouver, BC). They will also overstress the bimini fabric.
* Using a small second layer with Panels sewed onto that will result in lots of mould/green stuff over winter.
* The end result is a bimini/solar panel top which is very robust.

So his solution sounds good but is expensive at around Cdn$2,500 which is more than double the cost of the actual solar panels. I am also a bit skeptical since my current bimini already has multiple seams and joins which don't leak through the stitching.

I really don't like the idea of mounting rigid solar panels to hand rails or trying to set up a rigid solar panel arrangement.

Does anyone have experience sewing solar panels directly to a bimini with zippers. Any other suggestions.

On a related topic: I plan to connect the panels to the Bridge Main bus below the flybridge helm. It is much easier to install and the voltage drop from solar to battery via the flybridge helm should be less than taking a 10 gauge wire all the way down to the batteries. (4 Golf carts). I don't know what the gauge for the cable to the fly bridge bus is, but it is as fat as my little finger. Have others tried this?

Thanks

 

[GoneFarrell]

I mounted panels on my bimini with stringers underside mounted to the frame. No leaks. Grommets at the holes. See pics in my album in my profile. Can't figure out how to link those pics here.

https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums...ter-heater-load-dump-57206-2.html#post1021847
See msg 25

 

[DavidM]

Attach the flexible panels to the Bimini fabric by putting stitches through the holes in the corners. Cheap, easy.

David

 

[jgwinks]

Check out the Sailrite videos on YouTube. They have one or two on mounting flexible panels to a bimini. Not that you're necessarily going to DIY it, but it will give you some insight. Your canvas guy's recommendation may be a system he's had the best results with, or the one he makes the most money with. No way of knowing which.

 

[fryedaze]

https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19205.

I had a canvas shop sew lapels with industrial Velcro. It doesn't leak. The system has been on for 8 years and the Velcro is in great shape. One benefit is wind can't get under it. They have endured 65 mph with no effect.
There are many ways to fasten panels.

If I had to do it again,I would consider "pull it up fastener. Easier to remove panels if needed

 

[Comodave]

Sewing to the bimini should not make any more leaks than the original sewing that was used to make the bimini. I just sewed a strip to mu Stamoid bimini. I used double sticky basting tape to hold the strip in place for the stitching and it also helps waterproof the stitching. But Stamoid is smooth not woven like Sunbrella.

 

[Fletcher500]

I have Solbian Flexible panels and had my canvas guy use velcro. The white strips on the far left will have another piece of velcroed sunbrella to cover the leads. The Solbian website has more photos if you are interested in velcro. Whatever method, make sure to not cover any portion of the cells.

 

[Max1]

Regardless of the method you use that requires stitching, any stitching can be easily waterproofed.
I have used woods waterproofing for all my tents and pop up trailers back in the day and never had a leak.
You can get the one meant for fabrics, but they also make a silicone based sealer that you can also use.

It is as thin as water. It can easily be brushed onto all seams or do the entire fabric if you want. I like it because it has a UV protectant that extends the life of your fabric

Being Canadian, you should be able to get it at Canadian tire.

 

[PocketAces]

Thanks for feedback. A lot to digest. I have looked at Sailrite videos, examples of velcro and Loxx fittings. Most of the examples still involve a lot of prep work in terms of fold-overs, double linings and so on. I am getting quotes from another canvas company (who did the original canvas work on my boat so will see what they recommend).

I am still curious about a simple solution where one part of 4"velcro is sewed onto 5" Sunbrella (or more durable material) striops which are, in turn, sewed onto the bimini top. The other part of the velcro would simply be glued to the underside of the solar panels. With this option the sunbrella is not going to be chafed by the solar panels. Using 4" wide velcro should provide good sticking power. The velcro is largely under the solar panels, so protected from UV. The top sides of the solar panels are not covered by anything which should make cleaning them much easier is there is no pooling for grime etc.

@Dave Frye: You said "I had a canvas shop sew lapels with industrial Velcro." Can you provide any further detail or a few pics?

 

[koliver]

Thanks for feedback. A lot to digest. I have looked at Sailrite videos, examples of velcro and Loxx fittings. Most of the examples still involve a lot of prep work in terms of fold-overs, double linings and so on. I am getting quotes from another canvas company (who did the original canvas work on my boat so will see what they recommend).

I am still curious about a simple solution where one part of 4"velcro is sewed onto 5" Sunbrella (or more durable material) striops which are, in turn, sewed onto the bimini top. The other part of the velcro would simply be glued to the underside of the solar panels. With this option the sunbrella is not going to be chafed by the solar panels. Using 4" wide velcro should provide good sticking power. The velcro is largely under the solar panels, so protected from UV. The top sides of the solar panels are not covered by anything which should make cleaning them much easier is there is no pooling for grime etc.

@Dave Frye: You said "I had a canvas shop sew lapels with industrial Velcro." Can you provide any further detail or a few pics?

Tony
You might also check on attaching stiff Solar Panels to your bimini, in the manner chosen by GoneFarrell. You will likely find they don't allow any movement, so eliminate the need to correct for chafe points. I know one boater who had mounted stiff panels to a bimini many years ago and they performed flawlessly in all conditions for those many years until the boat went to a new owner.

 

[fryedaze]

Thanks for feedback. A lot to digest. I have looked at Sailrite videos, examples of velcro and Loxx fittings. Most of the examples still involve a lot of prep work in terms of fold-overs, double linings and so on. I am getting quotes from another canvas company (who did the original canvas work on my boat so will see what they recommend).

I am still curious about a simple solution where one part of 4"velcro is sewed onto 5" Sunbrella (or more durable material) striops which are, in turn, sewed onto the bimini top. The other part of the velcro would simply be glued to the underside of the solar panels. With this option the sunbrella is not going to be chafed by the solar panels. Using 4" wide velcro should provide good sticking power. The velcro is largely under the solar panels, so protected from UV. The top sides of the solar panels are not covered by anything which should make cleaning them much easier is there is no pooling for grime etc.

@Dave Frye: You said "I had a canvas shop sew lapels with industrial Velcro." Can you provide any further detail or a few pics?

The Trawler Forum link is all I have

 

[PocketAces]

Thanks Dave. I never even saw the link at the top of your previous post! I think my brain automatically hides links and commercials from web pages
Just waiting for some feedback from some canvas guys.

 

[Raylee]

We mounted 2 x 200W flexible panels last season on the flybridge bimini, after we saw our sailboat neighbor do it. We used magnets but installed felt discs on them. For the panels, we lined all edges with the one-sided sticky material that stops wind/draft getting through window frames. Installed 8 magnets per panel and monitored them the first 2 days of cruising. Also, looked for chafing.

We cruised for 5 months in BC, in all manner of wind, were on a mooring buoy for 2 days in 35kts wind. So far, the panels did not move at all. I took them off at the end of the season and did not notice any chafing. We are installing 2 more this season.

 

[GoneFarrell]

Pocket,
Do a dry placement of your panels on the bimini and evaluate any sagging that could lead to puddling. Every boat is different in the way the panel load gets distributed to the frame. That's what lead me down the solution path I chose. Couldn't get magnets to work in my case.

 

[lipets]

I looked into flexible panels, but decided to go with a standard hard units.

I beefed up the frame a bit, they will sit about 1 1/2" above the canvas, have a gut making the necessary cutouts for the brackets to avoid chafing.

I'll post some pics as it progresses

 

[Xlantic]

I looked into flexible panels, but decided to go with a standard hard units.

I beefed up the frame a bit, they will sit about 1 1/2" above the canvas, have a gut making the necessary cutouts for the brackets to avoid chafing.

Yes, standard panels are much cheaper and produce more power for a given size than flexible ones. I believe they also last longer.

And with rigid panels one can avoid the canvas altogether which can be more expensive per unit area than standard panels.

 

[jgwinks]

I looked into flexible panels, but decided to go with a standard hard units.

I beefed up the frame a bit, they will sit about 1 1/2" above the canvas, have a gut making the necessary cutouts for the brackets to avoid chafing.

I'll post some pics as it progresses

That's what I did too on my old sailboat. Built a sub frame above the Bimini with the hard panel mounted on that. The panel was quite a bit smaller than the Bimini so I still needed the canvas, with larger or multiple panels the right size you can eliminate the canvas altogether. I didn't plan that far ahead when I bought the panel.

 

[Old Sea Dog]

The previous owner of GB #599 mounted a large solar panel to what I believe was the original bimini top for the flybridge. He relocated it to the top of the aft cabin. The boom has been removed. The solar panel is mounted on bows over the forward section. The original short bimini attaches under the panel which extends over the back deck and aft companionway.

 

[Jflr]

I use rare earth magnets to attach 2- 120 w panels to my Bimini. They don’t move!

 

[Skipper41]

Magnets Work

Last summer in the North Channel I met three boaters who had used rare earth magnets to attach their solar panels to their bimini. All were very happy with this solution.

Hi,
Looking to install 4X100 or 6X100W Armada flexible solar panels on my bimini (for Mainship34T, 2008). Those that know this boat know that the flybridge has extra width and so I can set up a 3X2 array with 3X2 series/parallel.
Looking at ways to mount this setup. The easy low cost option seems to be rare earth magnets, but the risk factor in strong winds is a major draw back.

Talking to a canvas shop, the fellow there said the only real way to go is to cover the entire bimini with a second layer of sunbrella. This second layer is attached to the actual bimini top using zippers where the bimini wraps around to connect to the windows. The entire bimini (except for the edges) does not have any added sewing.
The solar panels are then zippered onto the second layer. His rationale for doing this is as follows:
* He scoffed at the idea of using rare earth magnets. Too unreliable and chafing.
* Sewing zippers directly onto the bimini will result in leakage from the seams. (Lots of rain in Vancouver, BC). They will also overstress the bimini fabric.
* Using a small second layer with Panels sewed onto that will result in lots of mould/green stuff over winter.
* The end result is a bimini/solar panel top which is very robust.

So his solution sounds good but is expensive at around Cdn$2,500 which is more than double the cost of the actual solar panels. I am also a bit skeptical since my current bimini already has multiple seams and joins which don't leak through the stitching.

I really don't like the idea of mounting rigid solar panels to hand rails or trying to set up a rigid solar panel arrangement.

Does anyone have experience sewing solar panels directly to a bimini with zippers. Any other suggestions.

On a related topic: I plan to connect the panels to the Bridge Main bus below the flybridge helm. It is much easier to install and the voltage drop from solar to battery via the flybridge helm should be less than taking a 10 gauge wire all the way down to the batteries. (4 Golf carts). I don't know what the gauge for the cable to the fly bridge bus is, but it is as fat as my little finger. Have others tried this?

Thanks

 

[Capt Ray]

I would recommend looking over some of the really cool "stuff" this marine canvas shop in Rockland Maine sells and uses for their jobs.

https://www.geminiproducts.net/our-products/

The have some pretty cool stuff which I used on my solar project.
https://shellerina.com/2022/07/26/solar-has-arrived/

My design is different from yours, but brackets I used were actually designed for going through a grommet in canvas or other openings in the sides. Ignore that my mounting bolts are longer than the ones that came from them.

They are very innovative, and and it might be fun to pick their brains over the phone.

R

 

[Dougcole]

I would recommend looking over some of the really cool "stuff" this marine canvas shop in Rockland Maine sells and uses for their jobs.

https://www.geminiproducts.net/our-products/

The have some pretty cool stuff which I used on my solar project.
https://shellerina.com/2022/07/26/solar-has-arrived/

My design is different from yours, but brackets I used were actually designed for going through a grommet in canvas or other openings in the sides. Ignore that my mounting bolts are longer than the ones that came from them.

They are very innovative, and and it might be fun to pick their brains over the phone.

R

Man, they have some cool stuff.


Thanks for sharing.


Doug

 

[jbbmillar]

Hi,


On a related topic: I plan to connect the panels to the Bridge Main bus below the flybridge helm. It is much easier to install and the voltage drop from solar to battery via the flybridge helm should be less than taking a 10 gauge wire all the way down to the batteries. (4 Golf carts). I don't know what the gauge for the cable to the fly bridge bus is, but it is as fat as my little finger. Have others tried this?

Thanks

I wired panels to the bus connection at the flybridge and it works fine. I used 2 200W panels purchased at Costco for ~$100ea. For a relatively quick and dirty mount I took redwood 2x4s, drilled holes the sized of the rail, split them lengthwise, added some bolts with wingnuts next to where the rail holes are, and a bit of rubber on the inside of the holes. The panels are mounted to the 2x4s. The wingnuts clamp them on the aft flybridge rails and allow me to change the angle to the horizon. I ran 10ga wire from the controllers that came with mount adjacent to the panels, zip tied to the side rails, under the flybridge seats to the bus connection. It might have been a bit shorter but not as easy or clean to run the wires down the back directly to the batteries.