benjenbav
Well-known member
I think the Bimini looks great and it sounds like the solar arch will have everything- maybe AIS, too? - However, I am mildly disturbed by the symbolism of your fender display at the stern…
Custom Solar Arch - What would you add?
- Thread starter Baggywrinkle
- Start date
gregcope
Well-known member
Extra holes conduit for the cables you might need to add later?
Baggywrinkle
Well-known member
All included with mousing lines pre-installed
Frank Holden
Well-known member
So you aren't planning to actually go sailing then??
KevinV
Well-known member
My understanding is that this should be as close to the centre of movement as reasonably possible? Mine works perfectly well below decks, where all the wiring is dry too.
Baggywrinkle
Well-known member
I bought the boat to replace my previous one which was too small IMO to use as a Mediterranean live-aboard. I intend to retire in 3 years, until then it's my summer holiday, easter holiday and every other holiday retreat .... I have a reasonable upgrade budget and 3 years to get everything sorted for extended cruising in as much comfort as possible ... this includes being self-sufficient for water and electricity and fitting the boat out with a new electrical system, instruments, etc. etc... The arch is mainly a platform for the solar panels but obviously, once it is there, then other useful items can be mounted on it.
Baggywrinkle
Well-known member
The heading sensor for the autopilot needs to be as close to the centre of movement as possible as it is measuring the boats pitch, roll, yaw etc. but it also works in other locations - and if you want ultimate accuracy from GPS then the antenna needs to be in the centre of the boat. In practice, having the GPS or the heading sensor offset doesn't make a discernible difference - my last boat had the GPS mounted below deck in the stern quarter and never gave any problems with the autopilot heading for a waypoint or the chart plotter display. The autopilot heading sensor was on the rear bulkhead of the port rear cabin.
Most important is that the GPS sensor has as clear a view of the sky as possible and the heading sensor is somewhere where no-one is likely to put a mobile phone, ferrous metallic object or magnet anywhere near it.
I intend to have 3 GPS antennas for AIS, VHF, and Chart Plotter mainly for redundancy - one will be going on the arch with the redundant VHF antenna.
vas
Well-known member
many posts should have smilies on...
I'm with noelex re making sure all these don't create a shade, even a thin line may halve or more the solar production...
curious what size ss pipe will be used for the frame, hope it's more than 32mm
Guess panels will be solid, ali framed ones, right? check the way you'll mount them on the frame, I ended up bringing 60mm ss tubes up from the superstructure and creating a L and U shaped frame for the panels to fit in with a strip or rubber. Works fine, but 6-7yrs down the road I want to replace them and I'm seriously limited by the size of the panels :-(
not sure how well the 5G antenna will work if not shading the panels. Wifi will be fine under the frame as that's where the devices will be, albeit doubt it's going to be happy to be hang upside down.
I have a teltonika router onboard, (ok, on a mobo at the lower helm) works fine with the integral 4G 5G antennas and distributes fine using the again integral wifi antennas, maybe you're overthinking it?
wouldn't bother with the gps antenna either, I have two under the coachroof and a third for the AIS.
cheers
V.
I'm with noelex re making sure all these don't create a shade, even a thin line may halve or more the solar production...
curious what size ss pipe will be used for the frame, hope it's more than 32mm
Guess panels will be solid, ali framed ones, right? check the way you'll mount them on the frame, I ended up bringing 60mm ss tubes up from the superstructure and creating a L and U shaped frame for the panels to fit in with a strip or rubber. Works fine, but 6-7yrs down the road I want to replace them and I'm seriously limited by the size of the panels :-(
not sure how well the 5G antenna will work if not shading the panels. Wifi will be fine under the frame as that's where the devices will be, albeit doubt it's going to be happy to be hang upside down.
I have a teltonika router onboard, (ok, on a mobo at the lower helm) works fine with the integral 4G 5G antennas and distributes fine using the again integral wifi antennas, maybe you're overthinking it?
wouldn't bother with the gps antenna either, I have two under the coachroof and a third for the AIS.
cheers
V.
rogerthebodger
Well-known member
If you are concerned about shading of your solar panels, you also need to look at the mast and boom.
Also consider the position you boat is normally moored in relation to the direction of the sun on your normal mooring.
If you moor your boat with the stern to the sun the mast and any fittings on the forward of the arch will not normally cause any shade on the panel so help with efficiency of the solar charge.
On mine the radar can be hinged down when moored so shading is minimum as can other fittings whit a little design thought
Also consider the position you boat is normally moored in relation to the direction of the sun on your normal mooring.
If you moor your boat with the stern to the sun the mast and any fittings on the forward of the arch will not normally cause any shade on the panel so help with efficiency of the solar charge.
On mine the radar can be hinged down when moored so shading is minimum as can other fittings whit a little design thought
Baggywrinkle
Well-known member
The arch will be 40mm, custom made by a stainless steel fabricator in Pula .... this is an example of his work on another boat. I was able to go aboard and swing on it - it didn't move.
Boathook
Well-known member
@Baggywrinkle That does look good. Are you going for davits as well ? Can't remember whether you mentioned them earlier.
Baggywrinkle
Well-known member
The Bav 44 Vision has a poor backstay arrangement for fitting a solar arch ... this is what we are aiming for and I don't think we can't do much better and keep the aesthetics and function acceptable.
I did think of a slide-out solution like Mads on SailLife to double the area but it's just more weight and complexity. My calculations show I need about 1kW of solar and it should fit on the space available.
The boat has a 3,9m wide stern tapering to 3,7m
Boathook
Well-known member
Could the arch be designed to take the load from the back stays ?
Baggywrinkle
Well-known member
Maybe .... but I don't want to risk it.
If the rig came down then the insurance company would be asking questions and I don't want to start making the arch a structural part of the boat. I don't think the man making it would do it either - he was pretty clear about what he could and couldn't do.
rogerthebodger
Well-known member
That solar arch looks very similar to mine and my 80 kgs can swing from the outer end without any issue.
My boat has twin back stays that attach to the stern at Transon level.
I can hoist my rigid dingy on to the back solar arch using my main deck winch's using blocks to direct th hoist lines to the winch
The 2 horizontal braces are used to mount my life rings danbuoys and life ring lights. My autopilot compas is mounted under the solar panels as close to the center of motion as possible.
My wiring goes up the forward legs and the along trucking forward of the solar panels making access to the wiring easy.
mjcoon
Well-known member
Ah, the clackers... wikipedia.org/wiki/Clackers. I believe you can ## get a funny feeling if you bash them on the ceiling ## ... Embolism in your cymbals?
I think the Bimini looks great and it sounds like the solar arch will have everything- maybe AIS, too? - However, I am mildly disturbed by the symbolism of your fender display at the stern…
Seastoke
Well-known member
Horse shoe buoy
jac
Well-known member
Cross bracing on each side to be strong enough for you to use as a step(s) to ensure you can climb up easily to clean the panels?